9 June 2013
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Right now we are preparing for final exams. Santa Clara University is on the quarter system, so while their friends have been out of school for a month, my students are yet busy with their papers and projects, their studies and other end-of-year endeavors, at least for one more week. Liturgically, too, we are drawing to a close of sorts: the great season of Easter is over, the solemnities of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart have passed, and we count the Sundays from their ordinal numbers (hence the designation “Ordinary Time”).
The wisdom of Jesuit formation dictates that I will soon make my annual retreat, which is an opportunity to return to the wellsprings of prayer and grace and examine the past year in light of divine truth. While not everyone is blessed with such an opportunity, this is still a good time of year to examine one’s conscience, in accordance with one’s state of life. How well has my life borne witness to God at work in the world? How well have I kept the commandments, seven days a week? Parents in particular, as the ones primarily responsible for their children’s education, can take the opportunity to ask how well they are learning righteousness along with the other three “R’s.”