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Being Family

We grow close to one another as a family by living together in the community. If we do not love the brothers and sisters whom we see, then we cannot love the God whom we have not seen. - Bl. Basil Moreau, Constitutions 34

It is important to understand the origin of "Being Family" for our community. Blessed Father Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, wanted his community (priests, brothers, and sisters) to be rooted in the virtues that were present in the Holy Family’s household amongst Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He wanted these individuals who were going to be living and working together to have a model of humility, sacrifice, patience, and love. So, he gathered together separate communities of priests, religious brothers, and religious sisters into one Congregation of Holy Cross that we are a part of today. 

So what does that mean for us? The same thing. Even though we are not a community in the same way as the religious communities that were led by Father Moreau, we are a community founded in that same image. When we say we are a family, it is not just a sign-off at the end of an email. It is to serve as a reminder to all of us that we are bonded together by a common mission to provide young people with the opportunity to learn and grow not just academically but emotionally, spiritually, and socially as well. It is to serve as a reminder that, like the Holy Family, we are not without problems. Ultimately, we must remind ourselves to look to the Holy Family and the Congregation as a model of humility, sacrifice, and love that puts God at the center. 

Building Respect

Teachers who are meek and who follow the example of Jesus Christ... put themselves in their students' places... They are always guided by a heart full of compassion and kindness and make their decisions without stubbornness or injustice. – Bl. Basil Moreau, Christian Education

Building Respect is the second pillar of Holy Cross and one that is easily said but harder to put into practice. It can be easy to think that respect is just “you do what you do, I do what I do, and we don’t tell each other what to do.” But Blessed Fr. Moreau’s quote points to something deeper when it comes to respect. Moreau points to Christ and more specifically, to the meekness of Christ. What a hard thing to be! Being meek conjures up images of lambs, passivity, and docility but the reality is much more difficult. 

Conforming to the example of Christ does not mean that we become passive. Instead, it means we seek out how we can serve those around us, in love. Building respect, therefore, is an active choice we must make each day to be meek. To see where those we encounter are coming from, and help create the space for others to understand them as well. 

Educating Minds & Hearts

We shall always place education side by side with instruction; the mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart. While we prepare useful citizens for society, we shall likewise do our utmost to prepare citizens for heaven.—Bl. Basil Moreau, Circular Letter 36

To understand the pillar of Educating Minds & Hearts, we must look at Father Moreau's writings on education where it’s clear that he viewed education as a means and not an end in itself. In our world today, we are being bombarded with messages that glorify success, accomplishment, and wealth. Those things are not evil by themselves. But when we lose sight of what our true end is and begin to value the means as the end itself, we start a descent into selfishness and pride that often leave ourselves and others hurt and broken.

Father Moreau understood this even back in the 1800s. Education is not the end that we are preparing our students for. The mind can not be valued over the heart. As much as we want our students to succeed and strive for excellence, we must desire MORE that our students value the end that actually fills our heart’s desire. This end is love - love that is patient, kind, rejoicing in the truth, and unselfish in its intent. Our hearts long for authenticity and relationships that feed our souls. We long for a connection with something bigger than ourselves that still values our individuality. Fr. Moreau understood this to be the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. We too, are called not only to bring this love into our classrooms but to value that love more than anything else.

Ultimately, this pillar is a challenge for us in two important ways. First, we must strive to be examples to each other of how to value an end of love above anything else, even as education continues to be an important means to that end. Secondly, we all are teachers in the realm of love. Fr. Moreau understood this to mean that students and teachers alike must resolve to educate their hearts alongside their minds. The relationships we build with each other are the grounds on which we learn more about our hearts and our capacity for love. 

Bringing Hope

This world needs hope. We are and must always be men and women of hope. We can say with all our hearts: “Ave Crux, Spes Unica."  Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope.

What does it mean to bring hope?  This might be our most abstract pillar - the pillar that we know what the words mean, but not necessarily how to apply them in our lives. The idea of bringing hope stems from the resurrection story. Jesus’ passion, leading up to his resurrection was not easy, but it led to goodness. It is a story of turning a personal struggle into a gift for many to enjoy. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he brings us hope for eternal life. He paved the way for us to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

As a Holy Cross school, we are called to bring hope to all members of our school community as well as those that we encounter outside of Bishop McNamara. Hope is not just something for seniors to hear about during their last year of high school. Bringing hope is a task for us all. One way to think about this task is by looking at areas of life in which you have encountered opposition and then identifying what gifts you have received to help navigate your way through them. After you have identified these gifts, then start to think of ways in which you can share them with others. This is bringing hope. By sharing with others something that you needed in a moment of struggle, you are bringing hope.