St. Francis Will Produce Servants

The great orator and statesman, William Jennings Bryan said “Service is the measure of greatness . . . The human measure of a human life is its income; the divine measure of a life is its outgo, its overflow–its contribution to the welfare of all.”

It is for this reason that the act of service will not be a theoretical discussion or a favored platitude for St. Francis College Prep students. Instead, service will be part and parcel of their daily education and expectations.

This commitment to service pushes back against today’s standards when children’s most valued possessions begin with the letter “i” and corporations are filling their minds with statements like  “Just Do It” or commercials that constantly underscore the old saying, “he who dies with the most toys wins”. Is it any wonder we are living among the nation’s most selfish generation?

To accelerate this descent into the cauldron of “self” the modern educational system is now all about the individual student versus the common good of the community. So, not only are our children inundated with self-importance via corporate culture, they are taught it daily in school.

St. Francis will not add to this cultural toxin.

To ensure our students understand the measure of true greatness, St. Francis will incorporate service into its teaching and programs. The focus of life will become others versus that face in the mirror. Our students will not only understand what their true value in life is, but they will also understand what true leadership is; and, it is their leadership that will allow them to have an exceptional impact on our community and the world around them.

But, most salient, St. Francis students will understand how critical their faith is. They will grasp that their service is measured in eternity, not anything promoting “i”, “me” or “my”.

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’” Mother Teresa