Jesus sat down next to the man and said, “Brother, I know how you feel! They haven’t let me in that church for years!”

Two weeks ago, we began our celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of our church and school. It is a good time to ask ourselves whether Jesus and his mission are still welcome here. This is especially true in light of our hosting the Archdiocesan celebration of the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and our kicking off the Archbishop’s Appeal. Education, social justice, and charity are all things that we as church are called to do. None is optional because each of them provides for us an opportunity to make Christ known.

In the Gospel today, a voice very familiar to us shows up on the scene with the announcement: Behold the Lamb of God! John the Baptist continues: I did not know him but the reason I came… was that he might be made known…” The reason St. Augustine church and school came to be a century and a half ago was to make Christ known.

The reason we work so hard to preserve our school and the reason that Catholic schools in general are worthy of every sacrifice is so that Christ continue to be made known to the children who attend them. The reason that Dr. King and many other people of good will fought against the injustice of segregation and discrimination was because it was necessary to make Christ known!

And the reason we must make every effort today to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and defend the defenseless is for the same reason: That all know that Jesus is alive, present and welcome in our church, our hearts, and our lives.