Good Morning! On behalf of my classmates from the Class of 1983, I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here and to be part of this year’s Thanksgiving Drive. As many of you know we are the ones who buy the turkeys that go in the baskets you make and we are grateful for that opportunity.

I’d like to tell a story. I first heard this story during a retreat at Manresa. Fr. Peter Callery directed the retreat and he liked to tell stories to help us in his audience visualize the message he was trying to convey. His story goes like this.......

There was a small town that had been hit by a terrible storm. Everything in the town had been affected...homes, businesses, schools, churches. Many had been destroyed. In a courtyard of a church in the center of town there had stood a statue of Jesus.....the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was a statue like we have all seen thousands of times. It was life size...Jesus wearing a long cloak...toes exposed and his arms and hands outstretched. It was the focal point of the town. Everyone was proud of that statue. During the storm, the statue fell and when it did, both hands were crushed. 

In the days following the storm several people turned their attention to that statue. They wanted it returned to its rightful place. So they picked it up, placed it back on its pedestal, and cleaned it. But the statue’s hands were crushed beyond repair. So there stood this beautiful statue of Jesus, perfect in every way, but with no hands.

Several days later an inscription mysteriously appeared on the base of the statue. It read....I HAVE NO HANDS BUT YOURS.... I HAVE NO HANDS BUT YOURS. That inscription was a “call to action” to those townspeople to continue to do God’s work in that place at that time despite all of the distractions they were experiencing. 

And just like those townspeople, we can use those powerful words as our “call to action” during this year’s Thanksgiving Drive. In the coming days, we, the entire Jesuit High School community, past and present, will feed over 400 families. Please do not underestimate the importance of your individual contribution. I urge you to engage yourself in this drive. Do not look at this as just an opportunity to raid your family pantry of some canned goods. It is much more than that. If you get the opportunity to deliver the baskets, take time to meet and talk with the families. Remember we are doing what God calls us to do...to serve the needy...to feed the hungry...and to be Men For Others.

Remember that statue....Use your hands...Together lets use our hands to make this the most meaningful Thanksgiving Drive that we can. Again, thank you for having me this morning. God Bless you all, God Bless the Class of 1983, and God Bless the entire Jesuit High School community.