Fort Smith Military Academy

Embracing the high standards of Catholic schools

11/07/2018

Luke 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,  wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.  In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple."

One of the biggest decisions you will make as a teenager is which college you will attend. Different colleges and universities have different levels of difficulty; some are fairly easy while others are really hard. But do you know the hardest colleges to get into? They are the military academies; the well-known ones are West Point, Air Force Academy, and the Naval Academy, but there are others, too.

My nephew, Isaac, just started at West Point, the academy for the U.S. Army. The first thing they did was shave his head, and the poor guy had a lot of hair, as Taylor Swift sang, Isaac was “the fella over there with the hella good hair,” but not anymore. Before school started he endured a boot-camp called Beast Barracks, a lot harder than Coach’s Vitale’s summer football practice. He gets up at 5 a.m. every day and lights have to be off by 10 p.m. After graduating from West Point, Isaac will have to serve in the U.S. Army as an officer for five years.

In other words, if you choose a military academy for your college, you are not taking the easy college life of frat parties, and sleeping in late, and skipping class. You are asking for a life of personal discipline, academic rigor, and patriotism over pleasure. I am so proud of my nephew, Isaac, because he has chosen the road less traveled, because not many make it into a military academy. He will look back on his years at West Point with great pride and deep satisfaction.

Back in September, 2017, these high standards of the military academies were put to the test when someone wrote a racial slur on the door of an African American cadet’s room at the Air Force Academy. Someone wrote: “Go home, you so-and-so.” Lt. General Jay Silveria, the superintendent of the Air Force Academy, gave a no-nonsense speech stating that racism would not be tolerated. He called an assembly of all the cadets, who all stood at attention, while the general declared: “Just so you are clear on where I stand on this most important topic, let me leave you with my most important thought. If you demean someone in any way, you need to get out. If you cannot respect someone of a different gender, whether man or woman, you need to get out. If you cannot treat someone from another race, a different color skin, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.”  The general’s speech went viral on Youtube and had over one million views. In other words, the general made it clear to all 4,237 cadets: you have a choice of which college to attend, and if you choose to come here, expect high standards and uncompromising values. Otherwise, get out and attend another school which is easier.

In the gospel today, Jesus sounds a lot like General Silveria in the high expectations he sets for his disciples. He says: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is giving his followers a clear choice. They do not have to follow him, but if they choose to, they are electing the hard road, the way of the cross. Christianity is not the easy path.

Other religions and philosophies offer people easier roads in life, they promise pleasure and popularity, fun and frolic. Choosing Christianity, however, is like choosing to attend one of the military academies: you choose the cross, self-sacrifice, discipline, and pain over pleasure. If you do not want to carry your cross, then as General Silveria said, “you need to get out.” But here’s the payoff: when we choose Christianity, we also find the sure path to peace and joy, a life that we can be proud of having lived.

Boys and girls, each of you has chosen to attend Trinity Junior High, or maybe your parents chose this school for you, but in any case you are here. However you got here, though, I want to be very clear with you that there are high standards and lofty expectations here, especially in three areas. And I do not want you to forget this. First, academics: you will have homework every day, you will have tests several times a week and sometimes several tests in one day, you will cover a chapter a week in some classes. If you don’t want such high academic standards and challenges, then you need to get out and find an easier school.

Second, discipline: you will wear a uniform, boys will have short haircuts (be glad we don’t shave your heads), you can only have certain color socks, and your phone should be in your locker. If you don’t want that kind of discipline in school, then you need to get out and find an easier school.

And third, Christianity: we respect each other as if the other person were Jesus himself, we pray together in Mass and we pray for each other, we love the poor and have to complete service hours. Let me paraphrase General Silveria’s words and address them to you: “If you demean someone in any way, you need to get out of Trinity Junior High. If you cannot treat someone from another race, or different color skin, or another gender, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out of Trinity Junior High.” Trinity is not an easy school.

If you choose to attend this Catholic school, or even if your parents have forced you to come to this school, this is what you can expect; otherwise, you are free to leave. These are the uncompromising values to which we will hold every student, every teacher, and every staff member – including Fr. John and Fr. Stephen. And if you don’t want to live by those standards, then you need to get out. Attending Trinity is like the junior high version of a military academy here in Fort Smith. If you do not want to live by these high standards, then you are free to go to another school where things will be much easier: no uniforms, no prayer, no homework, no service hours.

But I can promise you this: if you graduate from Trinity Junior High, you will look back one day on these hard years and feel a lot of pride and satisfaction. Why? Because you took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference, as the poet Robert Frost famously said. You will feel deep pride and great satisfaction because you did something hard, and not something easy. But the choice is yours.

Praised be Jesus Christ!