Dear St. Edward Community,
For those who do not know me, my name is Owen Williams, and I graduated from St. Edward as a member of the St. Edward Class of 2013.  Currently, I am beginning my second year of formation for priesthood and religious life in the Congregation of Holy Cross at the University of Notre Dame.  Obviously, St. Ed’s is incredibly near and dear to my heart, and I am beyond proud to be an alumnus of Eagle High.  When I heard about this year’s theme while helping with the very first St. Ed’s Student Ministers Retreat over the summer, I honestly could not help but become super excited!  The “Courage to Act” theme is such an incredible model of how Edsmen should live both inside and outside of school, and it truly exemplifies Fr. Moreau’s vision for his educational institutions.
Blessed Father Basil Moreau, CSC, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, describes education as helping young people to have the competence to see and the courage to act as people of faith.  Fr. Moreau’s model of Christian Education is made manifest in all of our Holy Cross Educational Institutions around the world, but St. Edward High School’s theme for the year of “Courage to Act” truly brings Fr. Moreau’s ideas to life in a very real way.  I am so incredibly excited about the theme for this school year at St. Ed’s, and I hope each one of you are as well.  I think the ultimate model of courage is, of course, Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection.  The Cross is, in fact, our only hope, and each of us is called to embrace and carry our daily crosses with courage, strength, and trust in Divine Providence.
For me, having the courage to act as people of faith means so much.  We are all called by God to act in such a way that will help to make God known, loved, and served throughout the world, and thus, save souls.  That is the mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and that is the mission of St. Edward High School.  As a Holy Cross Seminarian, I come into contact with people each and every day who truly have the courage to act. In our St. Edward Community, we have plenty of people who have the courage to act.  One member of our St. Ed’s Community who sticks out in my mind as someone who had the courage to act through even the absolute toughest times and worst possible circumstances is Michael Orbany, a member of the St. Edward Class of 2014.  I have had the pleasure of getting to know the Orbany Family quite well over the past few years, and I am so incredibly honored to have become so close with them.  Michael faced one of the toughest battles a child could possibly face, and he did it with such incredible courage, faith, and strength.  He Never Ever Gave Up, and he has now claimed his victory with God and all the angels and saints in Heaven.  Michael truly exemplifies this year’s theme of having the courage to act as a person of faith, and he is the absolute perfect example of embracing the Cross of Christ as our only hope.
As we begin this school year, I encourage all of you to keep Fr. Moreau’s idea of having the courage to act as people of faith in your hearts and minds in all that you do.  As Edsmen in the tradition of the Congregation of Holy Cross, we are called to make God known, loved, and served throughout the world, and thus, save souls.  Let us never forget Big Mike’s motto of Never Ever Give Up (NEGU), and let us always remember that Michael is watching over our entire St. Ed’s Community.  He will continue to guide each of us as we work to always have the courage to act as people of faith in the Holy Cross Tradition.   Let us never forget that idea, and let us work especially hard this school year to have the courage to embrace our daily crosses in order to bring Christ to all those we meet.
May God bless each of you, and may God continue to bless dear St. Edward High.  Please know of my prayers for all of you.
St. Edward, St. Andre, Blessed Basil Moreau, Our Lady of Sorrows, and St. Joseph, pray for us!
 
God bless,
Owen Williams ‘13