Bishop Edward Malesic posed a question to the Lake Catholic High School community during his recent visit. Telling the group that the altar reminds us that God gathers us together to celebrate the faith and noting that Jesus gives himself to us there, he said Jesus asks us, “Will you give your heart to me?”
It takes faith to see Jesus in the Eucharist and in their classmates, he told the school’s nearly 500 students, adding, “Don’t make it hard for your classmates to see Jesus in you.”
He also reminded them that faith must be at the heart of all they do.
“If you don’t open your heart to him, how will he be able to fill it? If all you do is learn about the faith, but you don’t practice the faith, it is like reading the instructions to riding a bicycle without ever getting on one,” he said. Faith allows us to live life, enjoy life and be happy in life, the way God intended it. “Faith makes impossible things seem possible.”
Bishop Malesic said Jesus used the image of a mustard seed to illustrate faith, explaining that if our faith is the size of a mustard seed, we would tell a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey. He explained that mulberry trees have extensive root systems and they are difficult to uproot. Also, if a mulberry tree is uprooted, it can’t be planted in the sea and grow – except with faith.
A lover of the Star Wars movies, the bishop illustrated faith by telling the students that in one movie, Yoda told Luke to lift the X-wing out of the water using force. Luke said he would try. Yoda replied, “No! Try not! Do. Or not! There is no try.” Luke tried; the spacecraft rose a bit, but sunk completely in the swamp. He told Yoda, “You want the impossible.” Then Yoda closed his eyes, pointed his finger toward the swamp, focused and lifted the ship out of the water, gliding it over the swamp and placing it on dry ground.
“I don’t believe it,” Luke said.
“That is why you fail,” Yoda replied.
“Why not have the same with our faith? Have faith to succeed. Believe so we don’t fail at the task the Lord sets before us. Ultimately, the goal is to be saints. That’s our end point,” the bishop said. “Elsewhere, Jesus says that faith can move mountains, not just X-wing fighters.”
Examples included faith conquering communism when St. John Paul II proclaimed the Gospel in his native Poland. Faith allowed Mother Teresa to care for the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. It also is the glue that holds marriages together, allowed the bishop to answer his call to the priesthood, inspires the teachers to be at Lake Catholic and is the reason most of the students’ parents sent them to Lake Catholic.
“Faith doesn’t exclude science,” Bishop Malesic said, explaining it helps lift science to a higher level allowing us to know what’s behind the science we understand. Science answers what, when, where and how, but faith answers how, he added. The “big bang theory” was developed by Georg Lemaitre, a Catholic priest, the bishop said, asking, “Who made that stuff that exploded? Who said, ‘bang’, and why? Our faith tells us that it was God who made something out of nothing and got the whole ball rolling. Science can be done without erasing faith,” he added.
Jesus calls us to put our faith into action, the bishop said, noting we are told to love justice and that every person deserves to be loved, treated fairly, given equal opportunity and allowed to worship freely. If we have faith, we should work for justice and work to end racism and poverty, making the world a place where all can live in safety and work to each person can be the man or woman God created them to be.
“All of you are blessed to be here,” Bishop Malesic said. “This is the place you can come alive in faith – if you want … Don’t be afraid. And most importantly, here is a place where you can learn to be saints – something that is impossible without saying to Jesus, ‘I believe in you.’”
The Nov. 8 liturgy was concelebrated by priests from nearby parishes including Father Tom Johns, pastor, and Father Martin Dober, parochial vicar, St. John Vianney; Father Dave Woost, Divine Word pastor and former Lake Catholic campus minister; Father John Betters, pastor, SS. Robert and William and St. John of the Cross; and Father Eric Garris, parochial vicar, St. Gabriel and a 2008 Lake Catholic graduate.
Deacons assisting were Deacon John Nelson of Immaculate Conception Parish in Willoughby and a 1987 Lake Catholic alumnus; Deacon Tom Shettina, St. John of the Cross, and father of two Lake Catholic alumni; and Deacon Bob Grgic, St. Gabriel, also a former campus minister and father of three Lake Catholic alumni.
After Mass, Lake Catholic President Mark Crowley presented the bishop with a “swag bag” filled with Cougar gear, including a baseball cap that he modeled. Crowley led the bishop on a tour of the campus, pointing out the chapel and its striking stained-glass window, a digital memorial board, various classrooms with new technology, the media center and displays of student artwork.
The bishop enjoyed lunch with a group of students and posed for selfies before ending his visit. He also saw the girls volleyball trophy for their recent win in the regional championships. The team will play in the state semifinals on Nov. 12. In recognition of the achievement, Bishop Malesic – with Crowley’s approval – announced there would be no school that day.
“I am so proud of you. Try to be your best. Try for that excellence of spirit. You can do all things with faith,” the bishop said, reminding the Lake Catholic community they are in his prayers. “You are the young Church,” he told the students. “Don’t be afraid to share your faith with others. Talk about the Lord, what he does for you, and about Lake Catholic.”