Faith is a Verb
During the Mendoza Centennial Mass on September 30, Father Oliver Williams delivered a beautiful homily that recalled the life of our founding dean, John Cardinal O’Hara, and the charge highlighted in the passage below that continues to inspire us:
O'Hara understood the great challenge of living the gospel in his time. … The reading from the letter of James says, "If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,' what good is that?" And of course the point that James is making is that faith is not just a noun, it's a verb. If we have faith we're implied to action, to try to in our own small way, make the world a better place for us having been there.
The highlighted passage reminds us that our work at Mendoza is an expression of our faith and our collective commitment to make the world a better place. It is an encouragement to consider the larger picture as well as an affirmation of the importance of our individual roles. Our history is made up of the individual contributions of people like you whose faithful service has made the world a better place for having been here.
Our mission at Mendoza is to make “faith” into a verb, to quote Father Williams. This thought is reflected in three key and interrelated themes in the papal encyclical, Laudato Si’: Creation is a gift from a loving God; everything in the world is connected; and there is a divine call for a change in our personal response to God’s gifts.
Father Ollie also mentioned what is probably O’Hara’s best-known expression that “[t]he primary function of commerce is to serve humankind,” explaining its origin as his answer to a negative outside perception of the role of business schools:
O'Hara, as I mentioned, was not afraid of controversy. In fact, the year after he took over as dean, the 1923 Dome — Dome is the yearbook of Notre Dame — mirrored many of the sentiments of the time. And the Dome said, and I quote, "Universities are becoming man factories, mere means for training men to make money. The business courses are popular, the liberal arts courses are neglected. Our measure of success is money making."
John Cardinal O'Hara, just a priest at that time, answered quickly. And I quote. He says, "The primary function of commerce is to serve humankind. Business has a code of ethics based very largely on divine principles. And when the code is followed, commerce can and does advance civilization. The College of Commerce has a real function. It should send people into business with a sound knowledge of business theory, with the sort of character that should grace a gentleman of the world, with lofty ideals of citizenship, and a sound conception of business morality based on the seventh commandment and the eight Beatitudes. And this person should have a character that will put those principles into practice under whatever temptations the world might offer."
I hope you find encouragement in considering our history as a long record of service to humankind made up of the individual contributions of people like you. We find examples of our commitment to our mission in the grace and generosity of our community every day. To name just two: Cathi Kennedy wrote a deeply touching “Make Your Mark” essay about serving as a sacristan for daily Mass, where she describes the comfort of worshipping with students and colleagues. John Sikorski recently contributed a beautiful Faith ND reflection about Luke 16:9-15 reminding us of one of Jesus’ “hard sayings” about our call to stewardship.
My thanks to Father Williams for his timely and meaningful homily, and to the many others who made the Mendoza Centennial Mass a special event. I encourage you to watch the video of the Mass to hear the entire homily. My thanks also to Cathi and to John for their reflections, and to all of you for your many acts of service to the College and Our Lady’s University.
In Notre Dame,
Martijn