Traditions Spring 2005.indd - Junipero Serra High School

FROM THE PRINCIPAL, MR. LARS LUND“TOTUS TUUS” — A LIFE WELL LIVEDAs I write this letter, the cardinals of the Catholic Church have entered the Sistine Chapel for the first ballotof the papal election. It will be hard to imagine a Church without John Paul II as our Holy Father.It was divine providence that gave us a man whose hometown was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empirejust two years before his birth, who suffered the early deaths of his mother, brother and father, who sufferedunder the oppression of the Nazis, and who courageously spoke out against the Soviet Empire. It wasprovidence that allowed him to become the 265 th Bishop of Rome-- the Vicar of Christ, the Pope of theRoman Catholic Church.His intellectual brilliance did not camouflage a simple and single-minded faith. Nazi occupation of hishomeland, Soviet dominance over church and state, nor an assassin’s bullets could separate him from thelove of Christ nor his devotion to the Blessed Mother. His faith, which animated his human courage, sawhim through many losses, challenges and times of loneliness.His faith called him to forgo the joys of married life, of parenthood and, given his many talents, a life ofpersonal wealth and power. Instead, he became a priest and lived a life of obedience and celibacy for thesake of God’s Kingdom and our Church. As a result, he was not only a witness to the many upheavals ofthe 20 th Century, he was also a major player in the events that led to the end of Soviet communism andthe unseating of many dictators in the Third World.He called attention to the appalling conditions in which two-thirds of the human race live. He shed light onthe injustices visited upon the poor and marginalized. He was a prophetic witness against the conspicuousconsumption of the industrialized world, a prophetic leader in his apologies to Jews and Muslims for previoussins of the Church, and a prophetic witness to the gospel virtues of faith, hope and love.This man from Poland called us to have faith in God and to live this faith with courage, reason, and passion.The motto for his papacy was “Totus Tuus” which means, “I am all yours.” He knew that Christ, throughMary gave him all of his talents and abilities. He returned these gifts through a life of absolutely selflessservice to others.Perhaps it is providential that this edition of Traditions focuses on the service that the Serra community-- students, teachers and parents -- provides to the Church and the local community. As a Catholic schoolour mission is to provide students a program of intellectual, moral and spiritual formation that will helpthem to become men of faith and service, leaders who will make a difference for the good in our world.Karol Jozef Wojtyla was such a man and now, through his intercession, we pray that our students andalumni will follow his example.His was a life well lived.Lars LundPrincipal