Thursday 5th Week of Lent
Inter-Diocesan Schools Leadership Retreat
Basilica of the Assumption
March 26, 2026
I. It is a pleasure to welcome all of you, the leadership of Catholic Schools,
from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, the Diocese of Wilmington,
the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond, the Archdiocese of Washington,
and, of course, the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The sum of expertise and dedication gathered here is beyond reckoning.
Thank you for your love for the Lord, for his Church,
and for the young people and families whom you serve and form
in faith, virtue, knowledge, and generosity to those in need.
May God bless your ministry so important to both Church and society.
Indeed, I am offering this Holy Mass for you and for your intentions.
II. During your time together, you have reflected on your mission
and on how best to accomplish it in the current context,
with all its joys and sorrows, opportunities and challenges.
Perhaps what I want to say about this evening’s Gospel
will also provide a little more grist for the mill.
III. As we approach Holy Week,
our daily liturgies reflect the mounting drama in Jesus’ life.
The Scribes and Pharisees are seeking to trap him
so that they can bring charges against him and condemn him.
They are engaging Jesus in debate, not friendly debates,
but debates that aimed at discrediting Jesus in the eyes of the people.
Such is the case in this evening’s Gospel.
At stake is the identity of Jesus as the Son of God.
IV. Here’s what I would like to highlight tonight.
The Scribes and Pharisees could be forgiven, I think,
if they were confused or amazed beyond words
by what Jesus said and did and by who he claimed to be.
They saw the miracles he performed.
They heard him preach and perhaps at some level understood
why people said that he taught with authority, or that he spoke like no other.
Yet, when Jesus claimed that those who kept his word would not see death
or that Abraham rejoiced to see the days of Jesus’ earthly sojourn,
or when Jesus claimed to have a unique relationship to the Father
and even referred to himself with the divine name, “I AM” –
he was altogether too much for them.
They thought their only recourse was to destroy him.
V. But another course of action was open to them.
They could have listened to his words.
They could have questioned him, not to trap him,
but truly to discover who he is and why he spoke as he did.
They could have met in counsel, not to rush to judgment,
but to ask themselves if Jesus really could be Messiah and Lord.
In other words, they could have listened, engaged, prayed, and discerned.
They did none of that.
VI. I think you might agree that today’s society does precious little of that.
Today’s culture sometimes feels like one big rush to judgment.
People who don’t ‘go along to get along’ are typically
labeled, bullied, ridiculed, canceled, and publicly condemned.
This is especially true in politics – which lately is more vitriolic than usual –
but it is also very true on various social media platforms.
Among those hurt the most by this collective rush to judgment are the young,
the very young people who are in our classrooms.
VII. Among your many responsibilities is to work with parents
to form the upcoming generations differently –
to form new generations who are willing to slow down –
to listen to others, to ask good questions, to try truly to “see” the other.
We are striving to form young people
who will bring their questions, dilemmas, and choices to prayer,
who will engage in dialogue, strive to discern
and thus reach sound judgments rooted in charity and truth.
VIII. And isn’t it more likely that such souls will be more open
to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,
more open to those who follow him as members of the Church,
more discerning about their vocations,
more generous in knowing, loving, and serving the poor?
IX. In fulfilling your responsibilities well and wisely,
you are performing an immense service for the Church and society –
for a Church that strives to accomplish its mission in a synodal spirit,
for a society that needs badly to heal its broken political and social bonds.
You are right to focus on affordability, on test scores, on sports,
on facilities – and 1,001 other things –
but I know that at the very heart of your ministry is a passion
to help young people become the persons God meant them to be,
to encourage parents to love their children and help them flourish.
In so doing, you are helping to mend the fabric of Church and society.
May I thank you yet again for what you do day in and day out
and may I ask the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
upon each of you and upon your co-workers,
and may God bless you and keep you in his love!