From the President’s Desk
Our stories are our mythology
Dear friends:
The Mooney Family once again paid its last respects. The grief was that of a community that had lost a young man, husband, and father. A man whose personal radiance warmed our community. Mr. Brian Varley died at 49. R.I.P.
I was struck again by the outpouring of support and care from the “Mooney Family.” It showed up en masse at Mr. Varley’s funeral. This inspired Fr. Martin Celuch to observe that ” not since Christmas 2019 had Holy Family been overflowing.”
The Mooney Family gathered at different locations for a variety of reasons in recent weeks: the Spring Cleanup; in wind, rain, and sun at athletic contests; and at the football and cheer banquet. Over this time, the Class of ’21 came together as it will for the upcoming Baccalaureate mass and commencement.
At every gathering, there are generations present — Mooney alumni from all decades come out to support our students and school. There is, however, more to the Mooney Family than support. In every gathering, our students learn an approach to life, ethics, and morals through the stories and narratives of those who came before them. These stories and narratives are far more helpful in building a community than a code or a set of commandments, because they bring into play imagination, manner, and style.
That is why Jesus chose to talk in stories, rather than blunt commands (although He did that too). He wanted to teach about the manner and style of actions, not only their substance: to be gentle, to be kind, to be forgiving, to temper one’s treatment of others.
We learn narratives from family, our teachers, and through our surrounding community and its culture. At each of the events I’ve attended, in every conversation I have, it has become clear that Mooney’s uniqueness is found in its stories and narratives and the lessons taught within them. Those stories and narratives sustain its culture as each new generation create their own stories, add to the Mooney canon, and pass them along to the next.
We are living in a time when we are seeing a change in fundamental cultural narratives. And these will have concrete implications for Cardinal Mooney High School, particularly as they relate to religious liberty. However, standing counter to our national narrative, Mooney is grounded in common-sense reason and humbled faith.
On May 30, we will graduate the Class of 2021. By my calculation it will be our 64th commencement exercise. Throughout our 65th anniversary year, I will be asking you to share your stories and narratives. Those will help me strengthen our culture and future.
– Cardinal Mooney President, Tom Maj
Click here to download our full May 9, 2021 bulletin (PDF Format)