Inauguration Liturgy Homily
Posted Oct. 5, 2007
Homily Delivered By: Fr. Charles Adam
When I was asked to give the homily for this inauguration mass, Sister Joan had two simple requests: One, that I keep it fairly short. And secondly, that I not talk only about her.
I am fairly certain I can fulfill one of those two requests… So, let me tell you about Sister Joan.
In all seriousness, I very much appreciate the humility of Sister Joan’s request, but it is also a way of saying that this inauguration celebration is a day of joy for the entire St. Ambrose University community: its students, faculty, administration, staff, board members, alumni, and friends.
It is also a day to celebrate with you Sister Joan and all who are important in your life: Your family members and friends; your religious community, and former colleagues from St. Mary of the Woods College and the Sisters of Providence. To all of you, I extend a generous welcome and we thank you for the influence you have been in the life of Sister Joan. In the wonderful bonds that God forges in our lives, we know that as you have enriched Sister Joan’s life, the life of St. Ambrose is now so enriched through her.
The scripture readings, chosen from the Mass of the Holy Spirit, offer some vivid images for our common venture as a Diocesan Catholic University. Isaiah’s words of hope, spoken first to a people overcome with the daunting task of re-building their lives after the exile in Babylon, give assurance that God’s spirit was at work among the people. He announces the release of captives, comfort for all who mourn, oil of gladness in place of mourning, and a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. We’ve all heard the words of that wonderful reading before. But what we don’t always hear are words of the very next line of that passage: “They will be called oaks of justice planted by the Lord to show God’s glory.”
Those familiar with the history of St. Ambrose University are aware of the significance of the oak tree for us. When Bishop Cosgrove, together with Fr. Schulte, the first president of St. Ambrose, recognized a need to move the growing institution of St. Ambrose from St. Marguerite’s School to a new location, he found the perfect sight on what was then a grove of Oak trees at our present Locust Street location. We honor the oak in our alma mater which will be sung this afternoon. The Oak has even been incorporated into the design of our altar and ambo in this chapel.
For the people who first heard Isaiah’s prophecy of hope, to be told that they would one day become an “Oak of Justice, planted to display God’s glory” would have seemed almost unfathomable. But thinking about that fact helps us to understand why the oak tree is such a revered symbol for us. With its solid hard wood, its majestic branches extending out like arms to the world, the oak is a great symbol for an institution founded first and foremost to educate leaders to serve the church and society. That’s what we celebrate today in the presidency being passed from Dr. Edward Rogalski to Sister Joan Lescinski. Thus, the theme of this inauguration, Enriching Lives: Our Heritage, Our Future.
The genius of Isaiah’s image of the oak tree was in the hope it offered. Recall that such a mighty tree was once a mere acorn. An old joke says that an “oak tree was once just a nut that held its ground.”
Today the charge given to our new president and to all of us who work with her is to hold our ground and uphold the mission of St. Ambrose University. As Paul reminds the Christians at Ephesus, God empowers us with the gift of ministry, equipping each of us in different ways for the various roles of ministry, “so that we will no longer be tossed by the waves, and swept by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery.”
It is the part of the oak tree that we don’t see that helps us hold our ground. It’s the underground root system that connects us deeply to a heritage of faith learning justice. And like a tap root, so crucial to the life of an oak, as a Catholic University, we must be firmed rooted in Jesus Christ and the sacramental life of his Church. With that firm root, we can question and challenge---the work a university must do in order to seek wisdom and advance knowledge---and do it without fear of being tossed in the winds of the latest trend. Rooted in Christ, we are that Light set on a lamp stand that illuminates the world and glorifies our God. Rooted in Christ, we are like salt that flavors and draws out goodness from our students and helps them to see potential, they never before knew existed, deep inside themselves.
If I might stay with that image of salt for just a moment, there is a function of Salt that is not often considered. I was once a part of a Lectionary based bible study when serving in one of the parishes in our diocese. Together with five other ministers from various traditions in that community we would meet weekly and discuss the upcoming Sunday readings. Someone in that group told a story of another bible study where this particular passage Matthew’s Gospel was presented. In that group, the ministers went around the room and each of described a function of salt: salt heals, salt preserves, salt brings out flavor, salt cleanses. And finally they came to the Baptist minister who had spent much of his life working for civil rights and equal opportunities for minorities. In a manner that only one who had been involved in the hard and bitter struggle for justice could do, in his deep voice that made everyone sit up and listen, he said simply and emphatically, “Salt makes you thirsty!”
Perhaps our prayer in this mass of the Holy Spirit asks exactly for that, that St. Ambrose University never grow complacent. Holy God, Give us zeal. Make us thirsty-- thirsty for knowledge and truth; thirsty for a world free of all that dishonors the goodness of life; thirsty for the source of that life---Jesus Christ himself.
That sentiment is expressed well in one of the Maxims handed on by the founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondalet, Fr. Medaille. It says,
“Your zeal will always be in proportion to the Love of God in your heart. If your love is deep and intense it cannot fail to find its true expression in generous zeal.”
Filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the love of God in our hearts, may the era of President Joan Lescinski, CSJ which we begin today be a time of new zeal. May St. Ambrose University remain deeply rooted in the love of God. May we be salt. May we be light. May we be oaks of justice.