During his homily, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel said the purpose of Holy Trinity School in Jasper is to help students grow in holiness and know Christ. The Message photo by Megan Erbacher
By Megan Erbacher
The Message editor
Bishop Joseph M. Siegel told students that the purpose of Holy Trinity Catholic School in Jasper is to help them grow in holiness and know Christ so that they can worship him, as they were doing on the morning of Nov. 22 during a schoolwide Mass.
Bishop Siegel celebrated Mass at Holy Family Parish in Jasper Nov. 22 to celebrate Holy Trinity’s milestone of 10 years of providing Catholic education to the families of Dubois County. Father Jeff Read, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Jasper; Father Brian Emmick, pastor of Precious Blood Parish in Jasper; Father John Brosmer, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Jasper and Dean of the East Deanery; and Father Jaison Kuzhiyil, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish in Jasper, concelebrated Mass with Bishop Siegel.
By attending Holy Trinity School, Bishop Siegel told students they are able to pray daily in school and learn about Christ in their religion classes. Educators at Holy Trinity also ensure kids get the same Catholic faith in all that they do at school, whether it’s in science class, math or any subject, there’s always something to learn and it’s seen as a gift from God. There are many ways students can grow closer to God, he said.
During his homily, Bishop Siegel spoke about the day’s Gospel, Luke 19:45-48, on the Memorial of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr. When Jesus entered the temple and drove out those people selling things, he said to them, “It is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Luke 19:45-48). Bishop Siegel said Jesus’ anger was justified because he saw how his father’s house, the temple, the great place of worship for Jewish people, was being abused by those who were selling things and making it a marketplace, taking advantage of those who were going to the temple to worship God.
Bishop Siegel explained that at our baptism, we were also made temples — temples of the Holy Spirit. We were consecrated and made holy by God to be his sons and daughters, he continued, to give worship and praise in our lives by worshipping and praising him at Mass, by loving and serving one another and caring for one another. In that way, Bishop Siegel said, we become truly those temples of God, temples of the Holy Spirit.
However, like what happened at the temple of Jerusalem, Bishop Siegel said, sometimes that can happen to us when we allow bad attitudes, actions or words to impact our spiritual temple. These things — acts of unkindness or meanness, harsh words, gossip or the way we criticize or make fun of others — keep us from God and make our temple unclean.
The Lord wants us to cleanse our hearts, Bishop Siegel continued, and we have the wonderful opportunity to do that with the sacrament of confession, where we confess our sins and those sins are washed away, making the temples of our hearts, the temples of our lives, cleaner by our Lord.
St. Cecilia was persecuted for being Christian and a follower of Jesus. Bishop Siegel said that we’re all called, like Cecilia, to be faithful witnesses to Christ. Hopefully, not by shedding our blood, he said, but by living the lives Christ called us to live, giving worship and praise to God and serving and helping others in our acts of kindness, forgiveness and mercy.
As St. Cecilia kept that beautiful temple of her spiritual body pure for Christ, Bishop Siegel said, when you’re here at school, how can you learn to be good witnesses to Christ? Know your faith, and share it and live it, he continued.
Bishop Siegel asked St. Cecilia to pray for all and help everyone grow closer to Jesus, grow in their Catholic faith and knowledge and in their desire to serve others and turn away from sin.
Always keep dedicated to God, Bishop Siegel told those present at Mass, so that one day we might live with St. Cecilia and all the saints and angels in heaven.
Holy Family Parish in Jasper was full Nov. 22 as Bishop Siegel celebrated Mass to recognize Holy Trinity’s milestone of 10 years of providing Catholic education to the families of Dubois County. The Message photo by Megan Erbacher