Homily preached by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D., at the Church of St. Pius X, Forked River, New Jersey, for the Confirmation of Nolan Santos.
‘I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons,’ wrote our latest doctor of the Church – the great St. John Henry Newman – in one of his more famous meditations. His words have been coming back to me as I recall how I first stepped into a classroom of Ocean County College over a decade ago. It was my maiden voyage onto an unknown sea, difficult to navigate, because I was so shocked by the general ignorance of the products of twelve years of public education, let alone the overall lack of moral compass among the student body.
I discovered, however, that not a few students were genuinely open to a serious learning experience. I convinced the college administration to offer a course in Latin, after a hiatus of many years. Two of the students in that class were lifelong buddies, Nicholas Bacchione and Nolan Santos. The former was keen on playing academic “catch-up” ball; the latter, not so much so. And he headed for the hills
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