Working For What Endures

In setting up the goals of Catholic Education in Rural France after the Revolution, St. Marcellin was careful to make sure that the ultimate goal of "making Jesus known and loved," was not lost amidst the short term goals such as adequate buildings for the students and the brothers, gardens to provide food for their meals, and salaries necessary for reasonable but substantial needs associated with an institution that was intended to have a long life. In more cases than one would expect, not all these goals were met, and the closing of schools, or the removal of brothers from them, was a common enough experience, even in our early days. We tend to think that it is only now that we face this unfortunate situation.
Jesus warns us, "Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (Jn 6: 27). He was talking about the gift of himself in the Eucharist, but also about the faith needed to appreciate that gift. When asked what to do to accomplish the works of God, Jesus answered: "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." (Jn 6: 29). And this too is the legacy of St. Marcellin, to keep the faith alive, to foster it, to keep on passing it to the next generation. It is the faith that endures, not the buildings, not the state-of-the-art equipment in them. It is for this end that our schools exist; it is for this end that we as educators, supported by parents, former students and friends, continue to work. As we go about today's tasks, may they be informed by our faith so that the simplest things become "God's Work" and thus, something that endures.