Best of the Week 2020-2021: Holy Cross Values

THEOLOGY LESSON TIES IN WITH THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE

Freshman Theology courses are centered on how to read and interpret the Bible and this week, students read John 6:1-15, the account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. For students to best interpret the passage, Theology teacher Pat Chrosniak '02 helps students extract details from the text, analyze footnotes for clarification, and ask in-depth questions to understand the word of God.

"Pope Francis offered a challenge in an Angelis address he made in 2013 when he said, 'This is the miracle: rather than a multiplication it is a sharing, inspired by faith and prayer.' We explore this claim to understand this miracle as a sharing," says Mr. Chrosniak. "The text of this biblical story says that Jesus' miracle was a test, but what if the miracle was that Jesus' spotlight of the perfect offering opened the hearts of those gathered to share as well? What if Jesus was saying to the people, 'You can be the miracle!'"

As the St. Ed's Community prepares for the launch of this year's Thanksgiving Food Drive, Mr. Chrosniak's lesson sheds light on how we can be part of God's everyday miracles, especially feeding the hungry. "The connection that our lesson makes to the food drive is coincidental. The goal for this year's food drive is to raise $15,000 to help feed 600 Lakewood area families for Thanksgiving and Christmas through Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation," says Mr. Chrosniak. "In the Bible, when Jesus asked Philip if it was possible to feed all the people gathered, Philip responded, 'Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.' Coincidentally, 200 days' wages at minimum wage today is roughly $15,000. In a very real way, we are called to be the miracle: to gather 200 days' wages today to feed those who are in need in our community."

St. Ed's is partnering with the Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation for the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Due to health and safety concerns, LCAC will provide "grocery only" gift cards to families and St. Ed's will assist by raising $15,000 through online donations and providing student service opportunities to help during the Thanksgiving season. The Thanksgiving Food Drive will start on Monday, November 2 and will run through Thursday, November 12. For more information, contact VP of Mission Effectiveness Liam Haggerty at lhaggerty@sehs.net.