Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated the first school Mass of the new year with students at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland on Jan. 5. The Mass was also a celebration of the feast days of both St. John Neumann and St. André Bessette, a patron saint of the school whose feast day is Jan. 6.
The cardinal’s homily highlighted the two saints, and he shared how he was present in Rome when Pope Paul VI canonized St. John Neumann in 1977.
“I was a student in Rome when Pope Paul VI canonized the first American bishop. So there’s hope for me,” Cardinal Gregory said.
St. André Bessette was a doorkeeper in Montreal, Cardinal Gregory explained.
“He did not have a very famous responsibility in the monastery where he worked, but he had a great heart. People would come to him because they knew that encountering André Bessette, they would find someone who was filled with compassion,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He also highlighted the passage from the Gospel of John, when Nathaniel was “a cynic” about Jesus.
“And yet Jesus chose [Nathaniel, the apostle Bartholomew]. In selecting his disciples, Jesus often chose people that we probably wouldn’t. He chose fishermen, he chose Peter, and Peter had quite a mouth on him; he chose Thomas, and he was a doubter. He chose these disciples in spite of their human weaknesses,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He added that Jesus chose his disciples because of the potential and possibilities he sees in people.
“Obviously, that is one of the things that Bishop McNamara does in selecting and admitting students. We see possibilities in you, that there’s something inside of you that is tremendously great and loving,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He went on to tell the students that Jesus sees their potential.
“Jesus chooses us, not because we are brilliant or handsome or knowledgeable, but because he looks inside of the hearts of each and every one of us and he says there’s something great inside you, let it out to play,” Cardinal Gregory said.
After the Mass, Amanda MacMillan, the director of campus ministry at the Catholic high school sponsored by the Brothers of the Holy Cross, said, “Celebrating the Feast of St. André Bessette is important for our community. One because I think it’s always important to ground ourselves in our charism and in our Catholic faith. But two, I think it’s really special that our patron saint is so known for humility. I think Cardinal Gregory did a great job of weaving that into his homily and showing our students that it’s not necessarily who has the most prestigious job or has the most influence, even. It’s the person who can put their heart and soul into whatever task that they have and can make an impact,” MacMillan said.
Seniors Nayyir Locke and Merilyn Morfaw shared what they like about Bishop McNamara and the last four years.
“I would say [I like] the amount of opportunities we have to do different things. I would never have known I wanted to major in forensics if I couldn’t take forensics class last year. Also, there are just different classes like peer ministry now and MEL (McNamara Emerging Leaders training), a summer program I did for helping the freshmen. Just fun things you can just insert yourself in to get to know people in the school,” Morfaw said.
Locke, who wants to pursue engineering, said he appreciates how welcoming the school is, and he is confident his current course load is preparing him for his future.
“Right now, I’m taking an engineering class, so I should feel prepared by the time I graduate. Everything is going well,” Locke said.
MacMillan described how Bishop McNamara stands out as a school.
“We are really blessed with students who care about learning more about themselves, about being a member of their community, about being people who are going to go out into the world and bring hope and spread the gospel. I think that’s really beautiful. We have kids who really care about their academic career and their personal career,” MacMillan said.
