Sudden Beauty

There are brief moments in the life of St. Michael that are extraordinary. They often come suddenly, unexpectedly, in the middle of our regular routines.

Yesterday, during our weekly mass, we had  such a moment.  Stephen Sylvester was leading the music, and it happened just after communion, in our cafeteria. 

Imagine 320 teenagers, kneeling on the hard floor, with most of them singing: 

“No place that I’d rather be, No place that I’d rather be. No place that I’d rather be, than here in your love, here in your love. Set a fire down in my soul, that I can’t contain, that I can’t control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God.”

Teens kneeling before the altar, singing, asking God to “set a fire in their soul” was so powerful I found myself unable to sing with them, choked up by the beauty of it. 

But the real blessing of St. Michael, and of Catholic schools nation-wide, is that I’m not sure the students saw it as “remarkable.”  I don’t mean that it wasn’t a moment of grace. I mean that Mass, prayer and (sometimes!) singing are so much a part of the Catholic school culture that it begins to feel natural  to students, and may even at times go unnoticed, like breathing. 

And that’s the true beauty of Catholic education.  Immersing our children in a culture of a lively, joyful and credible faith is the greatest blessing we can give them.  I’ve been thinking about this fact a lot lately, watching our seniors as they now approach graduation. They came here as part of the original 99 students to start the school in 2016, our first freshman class—children, really.  And as I look at them now, I see young adults who are confident, excited by their futures, and buoyed in their faith.  

I am sure that our students’ faith commitments beyond high school will follow many paths, but I am convinced this place has marked that path in a way that is profoundly positive.  What a gift  our Church, this community, our teachers, our donors, and our parents have given them!