10th and Lawrence Streets, N.E. Washington D.C. 20017
Festivities
Fr. Kleinstuber's Homily
35th Reunion - June 14, 2003
Today we are celebrating the feast of the Holy Trinity and the 35th anniversary of the graduation of the 69 young men and women who made up the St. Anthony's High School class of 1968. There is certainly an element of mystery in both of those topics. Scholars and theologians have wondered about, theorized about, and written endless books about the mystery of the Trinity: How, after all, could there be one God and yet three persons? There is surely some aura of mystery as well about the class of'68 - the first mystery is "How they all graduated?" given the same degree of industry that some members of the class exhibited! Given the myriad of distractions and temptations to which they were subjected and to some of which they succumbed, there is certainly mystery in how so may of you have embraced and become proficient in modern technology when as chemistry students you could barely put equipment together without breaking it! There is great mystery in your inability to convince your children about to make the same mistakes you did, in spite of your best intentions as perhaps selective memory!
Yes, there is certainly a lot of mystery connected with the class of '68 - but then that is true of every high school class - because high school students are by nature goofy in between not a lot of past but with an unbridled future! As you look back at the 35 years - as you will a good bit this evening - perhaps the mystery of God in your lives has become a little clearer: the unforeseen successes and failures; the serious and not so serious decisions guided by an unseen hand; and the sad times which still remain unexplained. I stood by while many of you exchanged marriage vows and shared the joy of many of your children begin their life of faith at baptism. Many of you have traveled and seen first hand the majestic powers of God's creation as demonstrated in nature. Many of you have knelt beside your children at bedtime and introduced them to what you now know as the person of Christ. As young persons growing up, you marveled at various strokes of luck which got you out of jams or kept you from getting into them, but a stroke which you now know was the prompting of the Spirit. From the vantage point of 52 or 53 years experience, as persons of faith, you are better able to fathom the mystery of life as well as the mystery of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hopefully, you will continue to learn about the world around you as Catholics and Americans. You have had a window on some of the saddest events that have taken place in the world, as well as our country. You have also been witness to the greatest explosion of human progress, both intellectually and technologically, in the last half of the 20th Century than in all of human history, which preceded it!
So today stand in awe at the mysteries which are still hidden from all of us and revel in the mysteries which you have managed to uncover.
And enjoy the pleasures of your company this evening!