Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:15-17
To all the Members of the Georgetown Prep Community:
The words of Saint Paul, written nearly 2,000 years ago, seem so apt to this time of year, particularly at Georgetown Prep. We have so much to be thankful for!
- A dedicated faculty and staff who work tirelessly and selflessly for their students.
- Loving parents and guardians who sacrifice much to send their sons to Prep.
- A devoted staff who keep Georgetown Prep running on a daily basis- the maintenance and grounds staff, the dining staff, the custodial staff, the security team.
- Committed moderators and coaches who provide our students with role models and with the opportunity to succeed and learn beyond the walls of our classrooms.
- Remarkable accomplishments in the arts and athletics, with a wonderful production of Sense and Sensibility, and I.A.C. Championships in Soccer, Football, and Cross County, as well as remarkable faculty, student, and family support for all these efforts.
- The graces of our retreat and service programs which are the very lifeblood of the deeper education we aspire to, coupled with the sense of brotherhood and community that we share.
- All our benefactors, who in their gifts of time, talent, and treasure help us to do all the good things we do here.
"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies."
It is in this context that the sins of division and hatred become agonizingly plain. They are finally, in a land of abundance and beauty shed with liberal hand upon all, sins of ingratitude.
So while it is certainly right and proper that we should count our blessings, our Jesuit legacy—and indeed our national legacy—ask more of us. Saying thanks for our accomplishments and the many blessings we share here is a good start, but it cannot be the end of the story. It is true that we have much to be proud of as a community, but when we recognize what it is that we have really been given, we have so much more to be humble about. For when we really look at things, we come to realize that it is all gift. The incredible collection of talent and intelligence and commitment and passion and generosity and brotherhood and support that constitute this community—these are not things we have created of ourselves. They are gifts, and even our capacity to employ and enjoy them is a gift.
And that finally helps me to comprehend a bit of what this great feast truly needs to be for us: not the mere saying of thanks nor the counting of blessings as good as those may be, but the deeper commitment to live gratefully—the commitment to understand and to hold and use all as gift, and to reverence the giver, whether that be the friend or the colleague or the student I encounter or the Almighty. And when I am truly grateful—when I truly understand that this person is a gift, or that challenge is a gift, or the brief ray of sunshine or the quick squall of sleet are alike gift—my approach to all is changed. Nothing and no one can be taken for granted anymore. A day cannot pass without its purpose. A task cannot be meaningless. A person cannot pass who is not a friend, a sister, a brother. All await our response. All is gift.
In that spirit and mindful of these things, with great gratitude to Prep and to you who comprise this community, I want to wish you one and all the Happiness and Blessings of this Thanksgiving Day.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. James R. Van Dyke, S.J.
President