I hope the start of a new school year went well for all of you. There is a possibility that there might be some parents who are more excited about the start of school than their children, but we won’t go there right now! If you are a student who is already counting down the days until the next summer vacation, you will definitely want to keep reading.
Where do you get the motivation to get out of bed for school on those mornings when not even a week ago you could sleep through until lunch? There was a mom who kept pleading with her son to get up and get ready for school. She must have yelled up to him about ten times. Each time all she got was a grunt and he would just wrap the pillow around his head to block out her voice. In frustration, she finally burst into his room, grabbed his pillow and shouted, “Get out of bed right now! You’re going to be late for the first day of school! Afterall, you’re the principal!” These are times when we have to dig deeper. It can be hard to put our heart into something when we don’t see or understand the purpose. How many times has a student complained to a teacher about math for example, and said, “when am I ever going to use this?” That can happen with lots of things in life. We often refer to the things that we have to do when we don’t feel like doing them as crosses. I think you know where this is going. You need the help of your best Friend. Jesus is with you all the time. We often forget that because we are using to seeing in only one way, namely with our eyes. That may seem like a strange sentence to read! Doesn’t everyone see with their eyes? There is another way. It is through the eyes of our heart.
Before you get out of bed in the morning, before you jump into the day, pause to pray. Close your eyes (be careful not to fall back to sleep!) and take a moment to speak to Jesus. Invite Him to ride with you on the bus to school, to sit with you at lunch, to come with you to class, and to help you battle through homework. Ask Him to help you find a reason to get up and go. Sometimes all we really need to hear is, “I really need you to do this for Me.” When it comes from a good friend, someone we love and who loves us very much, we often don’t need much more of a reason or a motivation. It may not make things easier, but it certainly makes them doable.
On behalf of our best Friend, I would like to invite you and your families back to Mass. It’s not the same without you! Coming together in God’s house each Sunday (or Saturday evening) makes Jesus happier than we could ever imagine. It the place where He looks forward to filling our hearts with special grace. We get to hear His voice in a special way in the stories from the Bible and we see Him in a special way in the Eucharist. He makes sure we have everything we need to get through each week.
I would like to ask everyone to pray in a special way for peace in our hearts and in our world this weekend. We not only remember and recall the events that took place on 9-11, we also give thanks for the many selfless people who did so much to help us through such a difficult time. We pray for those who lost their lives and for the families that continue to grieve. May we find consolation in the Sacred Heart of our faithful Friend.
I will keep all of you in prayer. May God bless you and your families.