To the Band of Brothers: March 13, 2023

Something is happening to me in my old age that I cannot control. To be honest, of all the things that come with age, I didn’t expect this one. I expected back and knee pain, loss of hair, impatience, weight gain, and maybe senility, but not this one particular thing. It seems the older I get, the more sentimental I am. And, the more sentimental I am, the more I seem to burst into tears. It’s crazy.

 

I’ve always been a bit of a crier. I think I get that from my grandfather who at the drop of a hat would tear up. Interestingly enough, like my grandfather, I find that crying comes with the good things in life, not the bad. Again, like my grandfather, I don’t cry because of stress or heartache, or bad news. I cry when there are great things that are happening. It seems my heart has moved on from merely smiling and laughing to just simply sobbing. Okay, maybe not sobbing, but definitely heavy moisture in the eyes.

 

On Friday, I had more of the same with those tears. In the Our Lady of Belen Chapel, with members of the 8th-grade class present, we received Jadiel Estrada ’27 into the Catholic Church. Some of you may not know exactly what that means. Jadiel was baptized a Christian as a child, but it wasn’t in the Catholic faith. After three years at Belen, he made a decision to officially enter the Catholic Church. Because of what he learned in theology class from his teachers, the experience of the celebration of the sacraments with the Belen community, and his participation in various retreats, he decided he wanted to define his life as a Catholic. The Church recognizes his baptism, but wanted to officially receive him as a member before he embarks on the extraordinary journey of receiving his First Communion and Confirmation.

 

You see, there are a lot of beautiful religious faiths out there. Within the world of Christianity, there are a lot of beautiful denominations. But we are Catholic and our faith is the only one that can trace historically and religiously its roots back to Jesus Christ himself. Our faith is clearly defined and has been defined since the very beginning. We have a creed we profess every Sunday at Mass that clearly states what we believe. We believe in one God who is creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son who was born of the Virgin Mary, died, and rose from the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirt, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. This creed, unique to the Catholic Church, has been professed for 2,000 years. Men, women, and children have gladly gone to their deaths defending this creed.

 

This is important to understand because as beautiful as all these different faiths may be, there is only one Catholic Church and, out of respect for ourselves and for all the others, we are not like any other. This is immensely important, especially in an age when everyone seems to lump everything together without respect for the uniqueness of each one. It is more critical than ever to understand exactly who we are, what are our identity is, and stand by it ready to defend it come hell or high water. Knowing clearly what we believe and who we are enables us to dialogue better with others, strengthen our personal convictions, and give us fortitude and courage because we stand on solid ground.

On Saturday, 182 of our brothers received the sacrament of Confirmation, two were also baptized, and 6 received their First Communion. These young men affirmed in the presence of Archbishop Wenski, their families, the Belen community, and, more importantly, in the presence of God that they wanted to be Catholics for the rest of their lives. They were no longer infants who were carried into church by their parents to begin their Catholic journey. No sir, they were young men who after careful consideration and study decided they wanted to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit and take on the challenge of living their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ as full fledge members of the Catholic Church. It was a momentous occasion. And yes, I cried.

 

Who knows, maybe old age and the tears that accompany it are just a result of greater awareness and joy of the awesomeness of God. To see the Spirit working His extraordinary grace in these guys is nothing short of outstanding. If that doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, then nothing will.