Fortitude: Remembering Dr. McArthur, One Year Later

By Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem. (’78)

 

Note: Head Chaplain Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem. (’78) delivered the following homily at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Friday, October 17 — the one-year anniversary of the death of Thomas Aquinas College’s founding president, Dr. Ronald P. McArthur.

 

Audio:

“We are always courageous” — words of our reading today from St. Paul.

Rev. Hildebrand Garceau, O.Praem. (’78)The late 1960s were, perhaps not the best time to start a college. There were already plenty of colleges and universities, both Catholic and secular, and there was also in addition to that fact a lot of turmoil in colleges, especially on college campuses in those days. And yet Dr. McArthur and the small group of founders of our college saw that, whether it was opportune or not, it was urgent to reform Catholic liberal education.

This task took more than simple courage. It took spiritual courage, also known as fortitude, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And this gift of the Holy Spirit provides inner strength to accomplish, or to endure, a difficult enterprise.

We might look to the example of today’s saint, St. Ignatius of Antioch. St. Ignatius was a martyr. He faced difficulties in the founding of churches and communities of Christians. And then, of course, he finally had to face the end of his life with a painful death.

Fortitude — this is what is the stuff of martyrs. But martyrs are also witnesses, and 45 years after the founding of the College, we can see the fruits of this courage, this spiritual courage. When St. Paul speaks of our earthly dwelling as a tent, it may remind some of us, or some of you, of the original portable buildings that once covered this campus, little more than tents in those days. However, these have been replaced by dwellings somewhat more permanent, and this is thanks to the hard work of the founders as well as the generosity of the benefactors.

It took courage to see ourselves through those years, those early years here on this campus, and it was Dr. McArthur and other founders who saw us through that time. They had great spiritual courage, but not only that, their courage was built upon faith, a very sincere and deep faith.

We pray today for the repose of the soul of Dr. McArthur. As Jesus says in the Gospel, the grain of wheat must die in order to produce fruit. Now that Dr. McArthur has passed from this life, we pray that the seed that he planted here, at this college, may continue to bear fruit for the building up of the Church; and we must pray for ourselves, that we may be vigilant in the Faith and may be also men and women of spiritual courage to continue the good work that has begun.