Boys to Men

Seeing the great value of Catholic high schools

01/22/2023

Mt 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This Sunday we enjoy a very happy coincidence, or as people of faith say, a God-incidence, because we see God’s hand clearly at work. Last year I started promoting a Catholic high school in Tontitown (in Northwest Arkansas) called Ozark Catholic Academy, or OCA. But here in the River Valley, we also have a strong and long tradition of supporting Subiaco Academy (another Catholic high school). So I decided that one Sunday every year we would have “Catholic High School Sunday.” Why?

Well, because in 1973 St. Anne High School closed here at IC, and five years earlier in 1968, St. Scholastica High School had closed. And I feel those closings were a tragedy for our community, and a terrible loss for our children. So, I want to help us see that we still have strong Catholic high school options available to us here in Fort Smith.

Now, why is this a coincidence or better a God-incidence? Well, because Pope Francis has declared this Sunday every year to be the Sunday of the Word of God, where we give God thanks for his Word both in the Scriptures but in how the Bible leads us to his Word in the sacraments. You see, God’s Word is not a book; it is really Jesus.

So how are these two - high schools and Holy Scriptures - related? Well, the one thing you find in Catholic high schools that you don’t find in other high schools is the Word of God in Scripture and sacraments. And the Word of God (Jesus) is the most crucial component of a young man and young women’s education.

When I was at Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock, my classmates and I often complained to our principal about the name of our school. We whined to Fr. Tribou: “Why is our school called ‘Catholic High School for Boys’? It should be called ‘Catholic High School for Men’!” Fr. Tribou calmly answered us: “While you are here you are boys. And when you graduate from here you some of you might become men.” And that is exactly what Catholic high schools, like Subiaco and OCA do: they take young boys and young girls and transform them into men and women.

But notice that the job of a Catholic high school is not merely to make you any kind of man or any kind of woman, but to make you the Christian-kind of man and the Christian-kind of woman. What’s the difference? The Word of God (Jesus) is the difference! When you graduate from a Catholic high school you should know, love, and be ready to live the Word of God (Jesus), that is, to be another Christ in the world.

In other words, graduating from a Catholic high school would be equivalent to a Jewish bar mitzva. Do you know the literal meaning of bar mitzva? It literally means “son of the law” or “son of the commandment”, or better “son of the Word of God”. A bar mitzva - or a bat mitzva for girls - is a rite of passage from being boys to becoming men. And the critical piece of becoming a man, especilly a Christian man, is the Word of God (Jesus), whom we find in the Scriptures and sacraments, in short we becomes a son of the law, a daughter of the law.

Let me share a few personal stories of how a Catholic high school taught me to become a son of the law. Our principal, as I said, was named Fr. George Tribou, who loved us as fiercely as he disciplined us. He taught us the best definition of a man, saying: “A man is he who controls the animal within which he lives.” I have never heard a better definition of a man. And by the way, that is exactly why our school was called “Catholic High School for Boys”. Teenage boys more often act like animals than men.

Another thing Fr. Tribou taught us was in sex education class. He said that French-kissing a girl was like using someone else’s toothbrush. No wonder I became a priest! Another lesson Fr. Tribou taught us was how to be comfortable. In the 1980’s Catholic High, like many Catholic high schools, did not have air-conditioning. But Fr. Tribou did install air-conditioning in two rooms: the chapel and the library. And that is how you inspire teenage boys to pray and read books. In his own way, Fr. Tribou was teaching us how to become sons of the law, sons of the Word of God. To go from boys to men.

My friends, you don’t have to look very far to see that we live in a society desperately in need of teaching young boys and young girls how to become men and women, especially Christian men and Christian women. Sadly, our culture does not have a clearly defined rite of passage from boyhood to manhood.

And that is why we see thirty years old and forty year olds and even fifty year olds still acting like adolescents. They have not learned how to become sons of the law, or daughters of the law. Perhaps if they had attended a strong Catholic high school they would have gone from being boys to men.

Praised be Jesus Christ!