THE SCHOOL YEAR PICK-UP

On Compass Day, I teased the freshman parents about the ways in which they navigated the first day of school drop-off. There were the slow, “driving-away-while-snapping phone-photos” parents who watched as their children entered the raucous gang of cheers. Then there were the “walk-you-halfway-to-the-entrance” parents who gently nudged their children to the aforementioned raucous gang of cheers. Finally, there were the “you-can’t-stop-me-I’m-coming-in-too” parents who accompanied their children through the pandemonium of welcome. Each method beautiful to behold.

The drop-off experience reminded me of a presentation by Fr. Tim Kesicki, SJ, the president of the Jesuit Conference in the United States and Canada, who shared a picture of a foundling wheel at a conference a couple of years ago. The image still resonates with me. A foundling wheel was a place where people (typically mothers) brought babies, usually newborns, and left them anonymously in a safe location to be found and cared for with no fear of punishment. Foundling wheels were built into the walls of convents, churches and hospitals. In Rome, the early Jesuits ministered at these places, receiving young babies, orphans, prostitutes and the handicapped, and cared for them.

Our drop-off circles in the front of each building remind me of foundling wheels. Parents leave their children in a safe place to be found and cared for, trusting the very capable hands of our faculty and staff. Where is your foundling wheel? Where does God drop you off? Where does God pick you up?

During several mornings throughout the year, I have the privilege of watching our students enter campus. Each morning I meet Jesus. Occasionally, he’s carrying Starbucks and sometimes an art project, always on to something new. And when I say good morning, Jesus typically refrains from snarling or throwing iced-coffee at me; our students respond with “good morning,” and we proceeded together, anxiously awaiting where God is going to drop us off and show up in our lives in new ways.

Thank you, parents, for the drop-off. Thank you, faculty and staff, for the pick-up. Thank you, students, for your openness to new life, for your capacity to love and for always responding with, “good morning.”

Welcome to the 2019-20 school year. Let’s take our heaps of hope and be ready for those times when God picks us up.

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This is Jimmy Tricco's second year as the principal of Regis Jesuit. He writes for Inspire & Ignite each month, generally on the third Friday during the school year.