20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Welcome Week



          We pick up right where we left off last week in the “Bread of Life Discourse” from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel.  But this week, we get this lovely “preface” of sorts in the first reading from the Book of Proverbs.  We hear about the “banquet” that wisdom (always personified in the feminine in the Old Testament) has prepared for us.  And so, we heard these words: “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table,” and invited us, “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!  Forsake foolishness and advance in the way of understanding.”
          “Advance in the way of understanding.”  Could there be a more perfect reading for our Masses this weekend right before the start of a new academic year?  This is why we are here after all.  This is why this university exists, that this “house” was built, so that we might “advance in the way of understanding,” and as our mission statement reminds us, “to enrich [our] own lives and the lives of others.”
          It also occurs to me, that what our students are about to begin on Wednesday with the start of classes is very much like a “banquet.”  Soon, there will more than you can eat!  So, going with this analogy of the “banquet” as it applies to your education and development “intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically and physically” here at St. Ambrose University (as again stated in our mission statement), allow me to offer a few good “dining tips.”
          First, don’t settle for baby food any longer.  What do I mean?  You are in college now.  Courses will inevitably be more difficult than when you were in high school.  This is okay; just as courses that you had in high school were undoubtedly more difficult than what you had in grade school or middle school.  If we don’t progress in learning, there is little point to it.  And so, I urge you to challenge yourselves.   Don’t just sign up for the “easy classes,” but sign up for classes you know will stretch you.  “Don’t “skate” by, but apply yourself diligently in whatever endeavor you take on.  Set aside the baby food and enjoy the rich, solid food that is before you at this banquet of wisdom.
          Second, chew your food thoroughly.  Good learning takes time.  There will be concepts that you encounter in your time here that cannot easily be grasped or “digested” in one reading or one class setting.  You will need to “chew” on these ideas over time, outside the classroom, perhaps in further reading or in discussion with professors after class; perhaps in conversation with your friends and peers.  This is how learning, at least any meaningful learning happens.  Now, I know you are all here to try to take as many classes as you can and get finished with college as  quickly and inexpensively  as possible (I see the parents all vigorously nodding their heads), but take your time…within reason (we do want you to graduate on time, after all).  Don’t overload yourself.  Do to do so is about as easy as chewing with a mouth crammed full of food.  It isn’t pretty and you’re likely to choke.  Go about your education deliberately and carefully, and you will succeed.
          Third, don’t be a “picky eater.”  Expand your horizons; expand your palate; try some different kinds of food.  People who know me well, know that I like all kinds of food (and like most priests, I especially like food that other people have prepared).  I would call myself an adventurous eater.  In fact, I can really only think of one food that I tried once and have all but vowed never to eat again…okay, I know you’re dying to know what it is.  It’s durian fruit.  Its outer husk is covered with sharp, pointy spikes – that should have been my first clue – and it has a horrible odor, a strange texture and an awful, lingering taste.  There’s a reason it’s banned on public transportation in several Southeast Asian countries.  But I digress.  The point is, there is a wonderful world of food out there.  There is a wonderful world of knowledge out there too.  Wisdom has indeed prepared a feast for you here.  There are some “foods,” some ideas that you have never considered that you will love.  There are others you may not.  There are still others that you may not care for at first, but in time you may develop a taste for them.  If all you eat is the educational equivalent of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, you may find that you’re missing out on what life and this university has to offer.
          Fourth, eat your vegetables.  Okay, what do I mean here?  As you know, we are a university rooted in the liberal arts tradition, which means that in addition to your core courses for whatever major you have chosen or may choose (the “main dish,” so to speak), there are things that we feel strongly every human person should have some exposure to in order to have healthy minds and to be truly well-rounded.  And so, regardless of your major, you will have the opportunity to study philosophy, theology, history, art, music, literature, languages, science, math, et cetera as part of your general education requirements.  I really shouldn’t have compared these to “vegetables,” because I love these things (okay, maybe not math so much), but I love the fact that we are not simply producing “cogs for the machine” here at St. Ambrose. Rather, we’re striving to form insightful, curious, thinking, well-rounded and compassionate “scholars of life” who will in turn, we pray, strive to make the world a more insightful, curious, thinking, well-rounded and compassionate place.  So, don’t approach those general education courses like “hoops” to jump through or like something on your plate you just have to choke down before you can have dessert, but look at them as opportunities to grow and to become more than just and “employee,” but a person with a calling, a person of mind and heart.
          Fifth, don’t rely on cramming.  When it comes to your education, cramming works about as well as eating one gigantic meal for the whole week or for the whole semester.  You’ll soon get sick of learning and you won’t receive that more gradual nourishment that your minds need.  Regular “meals,” regular study over the course of the day, the week, the semester will be much better for your “intellectual metabolism.”  You will be healthier for it (mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually) and you will become eager learners as a result.
          Lastly, with all that you have to do between classes, sports, work, clubs and other extra-curricular activities, do not neglect to be fed spiritually in prayer.  I encourage and invite you especially to come here frequently for Mass, to be nourished and strengthened in both word and sacrament in our celebration of the Eucharist.
          Without mincing any words, Jesus tells us in the Gospel: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”  And lest there was any mistaking His meaning here, He adds, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him…whoever eats this bread will live forever.”  We need this nourishment.  We need, in a way I think we will only understand fully in heaven, the Eucharist.
Starting this Wednesday night, we have Mass daily here in the Chapel, and twice on Sundays when the university is in session.  We offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation forty-five minutes before our weekday Masses, so that we might be prepared and have the right disposition of heart to partake in this great gift.  In addition to our Masses, we will have times of Eucharistic Adoration at different points during the year.  Or perhaps on your way to or from or between classes you would just stop in here and pay a short visit to Jesus, here in the tabernacle under the humble appearance of bread.
Wisdom has indeed set her table before us.  Come, let us eat of her food, and drink of her wine.  Let us forsake all foolishness and advance in the way of understanding!

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