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By Erika Anderson
ATLANTA—At a Mass held at the Cathedral of Christ the King
April 11, select students from Catholic schools in the archdiocese celebrated
tolerance and prayed for an end to violence.
Msgr. Terry Young, then Secretary for Education, celebrated the
Mass, which carried out the theme, “One Body Through Christ, One World
Through Love.” Students who were selected by their peers and teachers as
peacemakers attended the Mass and a lunch afterward at the Hyland Center.
Students from St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, carried banners
printed with themes of tolerance, peace, justice and love. The Christ the King
Children’s Choir then led the congregation in singing “Blest Are
They” to begin the Mass.
 Words of violence ultimately become acts
of violence, but God says that goodness will prevail.
Monsignor Terry Young
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Student representatives from Immaculate Heart of Mary School,
Atlanta, and St. Anthony School, Atlanta, read the first and second readings,
respectively.
In his homily, Msgr. Young encouraged the students to reject
hatred.
“Words of violence ultimately become acts of violence,”
he said. “But God says that goodness will prevail.”
Msgr. Young told the students that he did not realize the
tendencies that America has toward violence until he traveled to Europe.
“Other countries don’t have the propensity toward
violence that we do,” he said.
Though they may not be able to change everyone, the students have
the potential to at least start with themselves, Msgr. Young said.
“You may not be able to change all of society, but you do
have the ability to change yourself,” he said. “You can be an agent
of peace, a witness of peace, a person who will not resort to violence.”
He told the students to envision a world without war, without
killing, without violence and without intolerance, and told them anything was
possible with God.
“You already have the power of the love of God dwelling
within you,” he said. “Dreams become reality only if we have the
faith and courage to put them into action and all of us have that potential if
we love God.”
Students from several schools read the general intercessions. Then
students from St. John the Evangelist in Hapeville and St. Thomas More in
Decatur led an offertory procession, carrying white doves made by the art
department at St. Jude the Apostle in Atlanta. Students from St. Mary’s in
Rome and Queen of Angels in Roswell carried the bread and wine.
Before the final song, “Let There Be Peace On Earth,”
Peggy Warner, principal of CKS, gave the students Webster’s definition of
tolerance, as well as a more personal connotation.
“Tolerance is our capacity to withstand pain or
hardship,” she said. “Each of you out there encounters some form of
pain or hardship when someone talks about you behind your back or when a friend
betrays your trust, perhaps by sharing confidences with others. These things
hurt, but the tolerant person learns from it and does not retaliate or get
even.”
Warner praised the students who exemplify peace and nonviolence in
their schools.
“By being persons of tolerance, you bring peace to our
everyday lives,” she said. “You create order from confusion and most
important of all, you become a messenger of God, keeping the faith alive and
well in your everyday lives. You are to be congratulated and we are proud of
you.”
Following the Mass, students gathered at the Hyland Center for a
lunch. A mix of various plaids united to form a wash of blues, greens and reds
as students greeted friends from other schools and ate together.
Alyson Hoskinson is a sixth-grader at Our Lady of the Assumption
School in Atlanta and a member of the school’s Peace Patrol, a group of
students that monitors the playground during recess and encourages students to
work out their differences. She said that serving on the Peace Patrol has
helped her own confidence level.
“When people think you can help, it really raises your
self-esteem,” she said.
For many students, being known as a peacemaker is more than just
an honor, it’s a responsibility.
Bernard Michél, a seventh-grade student at Sts. Peter and
Paul School in Decatur, does not believe he is too young to make a difference
in the world.
“I can do anything I want,” he said. “It’s how
God wants it to be. I like helping people out and I like working hard for other
people. It’s just wrong to be mean and not to lend a helping hand.”
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