Bishop Byrne: “A Western Massachusetts Perspective”

Audio

By the Most Rev. William D. Byrne
Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts
Remarks at the Inauguration of Paul J. O’Reilly
October 22, 2022

As we gather for the inauguration of President O’Reily as the fifth president of Thomas Aquinas College, I am grateful to offer a New England — or, more precisely, a Western Massachusetts — perspective on the impact of the of College on my part of the People of God.

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth — in a word, to know Himself — so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”

“To those who helped make the New England Campus of TAC a reality, thank you for your hard work and for not getting in our Savior’s way.”

With these words, St. John Paul II begins his encyclical Fides et Ratio. Prophetically written to speak to a culture suffering from the unnatural separation of faith and reason, it articulated what Thomas Aquinas College had already been witnessing to the world for 30 years.

As the Blue Book states, “Contrary to what is often assumed, liberal education does not take place in spite of or even apart from the Christian faith. Rather, the Christian student, because of his faith, can be liberally educated in the most perfect and complete way.”

I stand before you humbled by the ineffable Grace and Mercy of God. His providence has deemed it valuable for this witness to be brought to New England, more specifically to the Diocese of Springfield.

My small but beautiful portion of the people of God has suffered greatly. This once vibrant Church has experienced much pain as not only churches but also hearts and minds closed to the teachings of Christ as well. Yet, thanks to Thomas Aquinas College, I became one of the few bishops in the Northeast to actually consecrate — not deconsecrate — a church, and what a glorious celebration it was!

This is not the work of men and women, as gifted as the collaborators may be. God alone receives the glory and the praise forever and ever! To those who helped make the New England Campus of TAC a reality, thank you for your hard work and for not getting in our Savior’s way.

As I said in my homily for the dedication of the Chapel at the Northfield campus, “The Dedication of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel blooms like the first flower of spring. Winter makes way to summer. Days lengthen and life prevails.”

“The presence of the newly renovated chapel is a sign of the presence of Christ found the faculty, staff and students. ”

The presence of the newly renovated chapel is a sign of the presence of Christ found the faculty, staff and students. Like all who have received the Eucharist, we become tabernacles of His presence in the world. Each of us not only must bear Jesus in our bodies, but also we must be adorned externally with His joy, His Mercy, His love for others. But the living, walking, studying, laughing tabernacles that are the students of TAC are witnesses to fides quaerens Intellectum, “faith seeking understanding.” As Pope Francis stated, “When our eyes are illumined by the Spirit, they open to contemplate God, in the beauty of nature and in the grandeur of the cosmos, and they lead us to discover how everything speaks to us about Him and His love.”

Thank you for bringing this sense of wonder to Western Massachusetts, and thank God for Thomas Aquinas College’s New England campus. President O’Reily, I pray you will be with us often.

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