Cardinal celebrates Mass for Catholic Schools Week

Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published January 27, 2006

Talking with Cardinal Adam Maida before Monday's Mass in honor of Catholic Schools Week are Regina High School, Harper Woods, seniors (from left) Jennifer Paruk, Rhonda Crittle, Allison Accardo and Caileigh McKenna.

Detroit – Cardinal Adam Maida drew on this year's Catholic Schools Week theme – "Catholic Schools: Character. Compassion. Values" – when he celebrated Mass Monday for about 800 students from 80 of the 122 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Teachers and administrators from the schools and archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools helped fill the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament for the Mass.

Catholic schools are more than just an educational alternative, Cardinal Maida said in his homily.

"While the academics are outstanding, from the beginning, Catholic schools were established for a religious purpose – to form people in the ways of the faith, to help them think and act according to the mind and heart of Jesus Christ," he said.

Among students from St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, at the schools Mass are (from left) junior Dionte Allen and seniors Jordan Jonna and Ted Lawrence.

Saying Jesus was a man of great compassion, the cardinal continued, "Through Catholic school education, we are being formed in the mind and heart of Jesus, to be people of compassion — caring about the needs of our brothers and sisters near and far."

And he said he was proud of the way area Catholic students responded with generosity to the victims of the December 2004 Asian tsunami and those displaced by last year's hurricanes. Speaking of Jesus as an exemplar of character, Cardinal Maida said, "The same must be true of us. A person of character does not cheat in sports or in school work; he or she is always truthful, even if it means admitting a mistake."

Touching on the third note of the theme, values, he continued, "To be able to act like Christ and according to His teaching, we need to study our faith; to learn the Gospel and the Commandments, to discuss questions of good and evil. We have to learn to follow Christ's values and not those of the world."

Caileigh McKenna, a senior at Regina High School in Harper Woods, said she liked coming to the Mass in honor of Catholic Schools Week, because "it helps to know we're not alone – that there are a lot of other young adults who share our beliefs." And she echoed the sentiment of fellow Regina senior Allison Accardo that it was good to see many other teens who think "it's cool to be Catholic."

Ted Lawrence, a senior at St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, said it was his third time attending the annual schools Mass. "I like it a lot. You know, a lot of these guys from other schools are our opponents on the playing field, but today we're all here for the same reason – the love of God," he said.

2006 Catholic Schools Week Events and Activities
Catholic Schools Week Poster