“Now Is the Time”
On a hot and humid August morning, Mr. Jeremy Reuther ’01 challenged the student body to relentlessly pursue God's greater glory.
“Now is the time.” With these words, Mr. Reuther ’01 set the tone for the new school year. There is always a certain excitement at the beginning of each year, but also present is a growing list of concerns and fears. A new year brings new hopes, but also new challenges. The message from our new principal is not to ignore these difficulties, not to run away from them, but to turn and face them.
Hot and humid, typical of the New Orleans summers, the setting for the first Morning Assembly of the year is almost always stifling. Despite the heat, the students were attentive, eager to hear the guidance of their new leader. Mr. Reuther’s voice carried through the crowd with conviction, addressing both the excitement and the anxieties that accompany a fresh start.
“Do not say that I am too young. Let us together make this the best year yet for building up the kingdom of God at Carrollton & Banks. I have full confidence that you can do it.”
He used scripture to urge students to be who God wants us to be. “God called to Jeremiah in the same way he calls to each of us now as we begin this year: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you,’” said Mr. Reuther. He emphasized that, like Jeremiah, we may feel hesitant to accept God’s invitation. “At these words of deep intimacy with the Lord, Jeremiah shrinks from God’s invitation, saying, ‘I am not ready. I have nothing to say. I’m too young.’ Perhaps we all have a little of this belief within us as we begin our year together.”
Mr. Reuther emphasized the fact that we are all infinitely valuable. “Perhaps you’ve let others who put you down to make themselves feel better convince you of your value. You are infinitely valuable. That is how we, the faculty, strive to see you—as God does,” Reuther said passionately. Mr. Reuther pushed us to become better men of faith and men for others through service to our communities and families. The speech made me look at Jesuit more as a place of preparation for the rest of my life. We are all offered opportunities here at Jesuit and it is our task to make the most of them.
As he concluded, he called for a challenge to the student body: “Do not say I am too young. Let us together make this the best year yet for building up the kingdom of God at Carrollton & Banks. I have full confidence that you can do it.” At Jesuit, we receive a superior education, but not for ourselves only, but for our brothers, for our community, and to strengthen our bond with God. After that first Morning Assembly, there has been little doubt that the future is bright at Banks Street with Mr. Reuther at the helm.