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In 1997, Fred Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from his colleagues at the Emmys. Many of us would remember Fred more affectionately as Mr. Rogers, the lovable and kind neighbor from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. His acceptance speech was, to no surprise, gentle, and moving, and humble, and powerful.
As he reached the stage, Mr. Rogers made a slight bow to the crowd of people before him and said, “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Those who have cared about you, and wanted what was best for you in life. Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time.”
After the ten seconds were up, Mr. Rogers leaned back towards the microphone and said, “Whomever you’ve been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made.”
I think about this every year when we approach the month of November. Next week, we celebrate the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. With these two feasts comes the thoughtful remembering of those whom we have loved and who have loved us in return, our ancestors in faith and family, our friends and our neighbors.
As we move closer to the month of November, it is good to heed the message Mr. Rogers shared with us 26 years ago - to sit back, if only for ten seconds, and remember those who have gone before us, those who have loved us into being. And when we have remembered them and their love and their laugh and their smile, let us pray for them. May they enjoy forever the company of the Saints, and witness the love they shared with us echoed back to them.
The crisis in the Holy Land has unfolded into humanitarian catastrophe after the October 7 attack on Israel, which is being met with a bombardment of retaliatory strikes on Gaza. More than 4,300 deaths have been reported across the region, not including the impact of a recent deadly hospital blast in Gaza city that is estimated to have claimed hundreds of lives. An estimated 1 million people, almost half the population, are displaced following an order for people to evacuate the northern part of Gaza.
In coordination with partners across the region, CRS is helping to meet urgent needs. We are responding to the rapidly changing context, and are being especially mindful of people’s needs—both physical and emotional—at a time of tremendous uncertainty, fear, loss and despair. CRS is able to draw on our extensive experience and partnerships in the Holy Land, where we have been active for decades, including responses to the needs brought by the 2014 war and successive conflicts.
With your gift, families affected by violence in the Holy Land will receive assistance.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
Follow us online for news, events, prayer and spiritual resources, plus much more:
Dorothy from Wizard of Oz said it best: There really is “no place like home.” Home is where we share an irreplaceable treasure of memories with the people we love most. Home is where our hearts can melt into the safety of a joyful sense of true belonging.
As we celebrate homecoming this week, our doors and hearts are open. Alumni return, friends are reunited, stories of cherished memories are shared, and new ones are created. There truly is no place like a university that feels like home, where you have been shaped, guided and loved into a better version of yourself.
As people of faith, we are blessed to realize that heaven will be our ultimate homecoming experience. One day, we will fully return into the glory of our Father’s heart and experience a sense of reunion beyond what we can imagine from our earthly vantage point.
Even our gorgeous campus with fall leaves glistening in the breeze can’t compare to the majesty of eternal life that we will one day experience as believers.
Thankfully, we don’t have to click our heels together to gain access to Christ - no flights, hotel reservations or long drives are required either. Jesus proclaimed “The Kingdom of God” is at hand, and his words are still true today.
Every day can be homecoming for believers because at every moment, we are welcome to dwell in our Father’s heart, which is filled with grace beyond our wildest dreams. Every day, we can be shaped, guided and molded into a better version of ourselves by choosing to accept his unconditional love.
As we celebrate the special connection we share as Ambrosians this weekend, I pray our hearts can melt into the safety of a joyful sense of true belonging as members of the body of Christ.
The crisis in the Holy Land has unfolded into humanitarian catastrophe after the October 7 attack on Israel, which is being met with a bombardment of retaliatory strikes on Gaza. More than 4,300 deaths have been reported across the region, not including the impact of a recent deadly hospital blast in Gaza city that is estimated to have claimed hundreds of lives. An estimated 1 million people, almost half the population, are displaced following an order for people to evacuate the northern part of Gaza.
In coordination with partners across the region, CRS is helping to meet urgent needs. We are responding to the rapidly changing context, and are being especially mindful of people’s needs—both physical and emotional—at a time of tremendous uncertainty, fear, loss and despair. CRS is able to draw on our extensive experience and partnerships in the Holy Land, where we have been active for decades, including responses to the needs brought by the 2014 war and successive conflicts.
With your gift, families affected by violence in the Holy Land will receive assistance.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
