California
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September 29, 2021
“We thank God today for His many graces and blessings during these past 50 years,” said the Most Rev. José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, at a Mass of Thanksgiving offered for the 50th Anniversary of Thomas Aquinas College on Sunday. “We ask His continued blessings upon all your benefactors, faculty, and staff, all the students and families down through the years, and everyone who has helped to build up this fine school.”
Some 500 students and members of the faculty, staff, and Board of Governors gathered for the midday liturgy in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel on the College’s California campus. There, Archbishop Gomez and the Most Rev. Robert E. Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, offered the Mass, joined at the altar by the campus’ chaplains and several alumni priests.
“This is the privilege and duty of this college, founded in the name of the Angelic Doctor, to teach and proclaim this beautiful truth — the transcendent dignity of the human person, created in God’s image, called to be perfected in the image of the Father’s only Son,” His Excellency said in his homily. “As we celebrate these past 50 years of grace, let us dedicate ourselves again to this beautiful mission of teaching the Word of truth and building the Kingdom.”
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Following the Mass, the congregation convened on the academic quadrangle for a celebratory luncheon. Taking to the dais, President Michael F. McLean thanked Archbishop Gomez, Bishop Barron, and the assembled guests, then invoked the words of Psalm 90:
May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
“To this point in our history, God has, indeed, answered the Psalmist’s prayer,” Dr. McLean remarked. “But we cannot rest. Rather, we must offer this prayer unceasingly, confident in God’s gracious providence, as we turn from the past and look forward to the next 50 years of fidelity to our mission and service to Christ and His church.”
Dr. McLean then welcomed Bishop Barron, who offered his own reflection on the occasion. “This place is very special to me. It’s a point of joy and pride that it’s in my Santa Barbara pastoral region, and what a point of pride for the whole church this place is,” His Excellency observed. “It is a pleasure to see this place flourishing so beautifully 50 years after its founding. This is a place where the great values are cultivated and taught, and that’s indispensable for our society.”
