Given at the opening Mass of the new school year at St Richard Reynolds Catholic College, Friday 10th September 2021
Today we celebrate the opening of the new school year, and pray that we may see the Good Things of the Lord (Videte Bona Domini) in the lives of the students and their families.
New uniforms, too large, a bit uncomfortable, there’s excitement, some anxiety… Perhaps those uniforms with room for growth are like a symbol of the possibilities for growth at St Richard Reynolds Catholic College with all the opportunities that the College provides to develop the God-given gifts of the pupils.
I am pleased to remember the Council meeting when Paul Barber, the Director of Education, and I argued, with the support of Catholic schools and families from the whole borough, in favour of the proposal for a Catholic secondary school in Richmond. I remain grateful to Lord True for navigating this decision through the Council, in the face of much opposition. There were decisions to be made, money to be found, plans, the foundation to be laid and so on. Today we rejoice in the opening and blessing of the Sir Harold Hood Auditorium, a building which shows the resilience and determination of Mr Burke and his staff, Mr Cole and the Governing Body, and the donors to make the school a success. It is a monument to the hard work of the Catholic community to provide Catholic education in the borough.
Foundations, concrete, steel, glass etc., are the materials for a building. But it is having Christ at the centre that enables pupils and staff to transform the bricks and mortar into a Catholic school, so that each person can become the person God has created them to be with their gifts being developed for the good and service of others. We desire that all staff and pupils will develop their gifts in their fullness so that we may see the glory of the Lord lived out in love, service, generosity, thanksgiving, family life and the world of work. Christ at the centre also means that the school helps families and children to deal with sickness, tragically at times death, and reach out to the poor.
The naming of the school after St Richard Reynolds was very insightful and providential. St Richard Reynolds was an English Bridgittine monk living locally at Syon Abbey, which was founded by King Henry V. He was a scholar of Latin, Greek and Hebrew and a shrewd spiritual counsellor. He was arrested with other monks and executed in 1535 for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy to King Henry VIII. As a martyr, he reveals his love for his faith until death and his passion for Christ and his Church. He is an apt patron in an age when today’s pupils will face great challenges to their Catholic faith in their adult lives and in the years ahead. We know that St Richard Reynolds is interceding in heaven for the school.
We seek the prayer and inspiration of our house patron saints. Their prayers are vital as the saints intercede for us in heaven. It is good to know there are powerful friends in heaven praying for the school and its success.
The lives of these holy men and women of Catholic faith can inspire our young people. They are Catholic heroes in heaven. I think of the six house saints: St Josephine Bakhita (against trafficking), St Martin de Porres (serving the sick), St Maximilian Kolbe (who gave his life for another man in Auschwitz), St Anne Line (a local mother and martyr who sheltered priests), St Gianna Beretta Molla (who preserved the life of her unborn child in the face of medical opposition even unto death), St Francis of Assisi (a patron of the good of creation), women and men of courage, love and faith, patrons against trafficking, for the good of unborn life, for the good of creation, for the poor and sick, for the safety of priests.
At the beginning of this new school year, we pray for all your families, taking the next steps out of the pandemic, with all its suffering and disruption it has caused, and hope that all staff, pupils and families will see the good things of the Lord. In the words of St Gianna Beretta Molla: ‘The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what he is sending us every day in his goodness.’
Photo: St Richard Reynolds Catholic College