Pius X High School invites supporters to ‘Restore All Things in Christ’
LINCOLN (SNR) – Pius X High School in Lincoln will celebrate its patron saint and launch the new school year with prayer, fasting and feasting, inspired by Pope St. Pius X’s motto, “Restore All Things in Christ.”
The event calls the Pius X community and supporters to join through a common prayer, to participate in a day of fasting Aug. 20, and to celebrate St. Pius X’s feast day Aug. 21 with Mass and a feast at the school.
Tom Korta, chief administrative officer, explained the school’s plans.
“During the past 12 months, our country has seen an increase in division among its people, from racial tensions to political divides, differing opinions about the pandemic and masks and vaccines. Our own school community has not been immune from these sources of division…. I feel that Satan has been pleased to watch the hurts and division that have fomented in this past year,” he said.
Korta, who served as principal at Pius for nearly 15 years, was named to take over as chief administrative officer on an interim basis after Father James Meysenburg announced his retirement after 14 years in the role.
“As I fill in as chief administrative officer for the coming school year, my prayer and reflection have drawn me back to our patron’s motto: ‘To Restore All Things in Christ,’” Korta said.
In choosing the word “restore” as the overarching theme for the upcoming school year, Korta explained: “We know that God, who is all loving and all merciful, has the power to defeat Satan and desires to root evil and dissension from our hearts and our community. We also have seen throughout salvation history that the people of God have been called to prayer and fasting as an efficacious means of inviting His healing presence to restore what has been lost.”
To join in the special intention of restoring unity in the Pius X family, who Korta said are “literally spread throughout the world,” all are invited to fast Aug. 20 and to regularly offer a specific prayer:
Loving Father,
Your holy Saint Pope Pius X desired to restore all things.
Through his intercession, we confidently turn to you and beg you to restore
the Pius X family.
Restore our school and bring unity and peace.
Restore broken relationships and heal our hurts.
Restore our understanding of the dignity of each person,
who was made in your image.
Align our hearts and minds so that we may be united as a family.
Make this school community a sign of unity and an instrument of your peace among all people.
We ask this in your name. Amen.
Pope St. Pius X served as pontiff from 1903 until his death in 1914. He lamented the “disastrous state of human society today,” with “the greater part of mankind fighting among themselves so savagely” and explained how peace without God is impossible, calling for “The Restoration of All Things in Christ” in his first papal encyclical, E Supremi (Oct. 4, 1903): “There are many… who, in their yearning for peace… band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God….
“Oh! when in every city and village the law of the Lord is faithfully observed, when respect is shown for sacred things, when the Sacraments are frequented, and the ordinances of Christian life fulfilled, there will certainly be no more need for us to labor further to see all things restored in Christ….”
In the same encyclical, Pope St. Pius X cited “religious instruction” as the “principal way to restore the empire of God in [mankind’s] souls,” illustrating “why Christ commanded the Apostles: ‘Going forth teach all nations’ (Matth. xxvii., 19).”
Pius X High School continues to be inspired by its patron saint, Korta said, and is grateful to the entire Pius X family who support the school in providing a Christ-centered, Catholic education for approximately 1,100 students annually.
In addition to prayer and fasting, Pius X High School will host a feast day celebration to help “Restore all things in Christ.” The event will be held Aug. 21 at Pius X High School, 6000 A St. Mass will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Bishop Flavin Gymnasium, celebrated by campus chaplain Father Joseph Bernardo.
A brunch will follow from 9 a.m. to noon, with refreshments provided by the Waffleman and Pius X Nutrition Services in the commons.
There is no charge to attend, but free-will offerings can be made by anyone who desires to help offset event costs.
To help the school in planning, RSVPs are appreciated by Aug. 13, at piusx.net/RSVP.
“But please attend even if you don’t get a chance to RSVP,” Korta said. “Thank you for joining us to pray, fast, and feast together, to restore unity in the Pius X family.”
