Recent readings for the Masses of the days after Pentecost include Peter’s first letter to the new Christian communities that he addresses as the exiles from the Dispersion. In the opening verses are some of the loveliest—and stunning—words: “We have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . . In this you rejoice . . . Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.”

Peter’s words reach beyond the exiles of the first century to the present day and beyond cities of the then-known world to all peoples on earth. And I find them stunning, coming from Peter, the once-bluff fisherman who walked away from his boat and its nets. Remarkably, he was captivated by the itinerant preacher who spoke with authority and insight into the God he, Simon Peter, had heard about each Sabbath all his life. As a devout believer in the one God, he had all the qualities of mind and body needed to earn his living through his labor. Where did he find the voice, the ideas, the certitude of this letter?

In his daring option to be a follower of Jesus, Peter saw and heard Jesus under circumstances of adulation and disdain. After the resurrection, Peter speaks with the authority of an eyewitness, and in this epistle he describes life viewed with the eyes of faith for the followers who believe in his words: God so loved the world.

My second source of wonder in this liturgical season comes from the celebration of the feast of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs from about 304. The date and the paucity of biographical detail about them sends me back a few years in memory to a visit to the city of Brescia, Italy. I remember being speechless with awe at encountering the ruins of a Roman center, above-ground reminders of the Roman presence from the first century BC, far north of the city of Rome.

Below the floors of the churches in Brescia, excavations reveal the remains of ancient churches from the third century. Walking through these spaces, viewing the mosaics, and learning the dimensions of their history, one cannot but be open-mouthed in awe at those early Christians who held fast through persecution and martyrdom. Wonderment at Marcellinus and Peter, Lucy and Agatha, and all the nameless faithful of the beginnings. Until Constantine became emperor in 306, Christians were an underground and harassed church. Their faith, as Peter’s epistle describes it, held firm.

Who were these people? Soldiers, who carried the faith to their various postings. Ordinary people doing ordinary things—but transformed and dignified by the message of the Apostles. Aristocrats finding their way from an ethos of class to a fellowship of believers. Many died for their faithfulness. All seem to have passed along the faith, through hard times.

That’s the inheritance we enjoy. And that’s the wondrous reminder, the gift that these readings after Pentecost give to us who gratefully receive it and believe.

Bridget Puzon, O.S.U., Web editor

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Serviam Girls Academy (SGA), a full-scholarship middle-school for girls in Wilmington, Delaware, will open its doors in September 2008 to provide a safe, caring, faith-based environment that will encourage and challenge its students. The desired outcome for each student is that she excel academically and grow personally through a rigorous curriculum that prepares her for readiness to continue educational achievement in high school and college. The SGA emphasis on education and on service to others and the community (Serviam) develops leadership and responsibility in the student, so that the benefits of her education extend beyond herself and her family to the wider community.

Serviam Girls Academy will open on September 2, 2008, with a total of 30 to 40 students in fifth and sixth grades. SGA will grow each year to achieve an enrollment of approximately 70 to 80 girls in grades 5 through 8. Each student will receive a full scholarship to enable her participation for four years. An extended school day and school year, personalized attention in small classes, and a summer program for academic and personal development are important components of the program.

The Ursuline sisters of Wilmington have collaborated with a group of parents and teachers from Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, in an independent initiative to establish the Serviam Girls Academy. The Ursulines bring their 400-year heritage of educating girls to the enterprise, including respect for oneself and others, a strong academic curriculum, and a model of service. At the same time, the Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, founded by the Ursulines in 1893 continues its 100-years of dedicated service of education from pre-K to 12th grade.

Admission criteria for Serviam Girls Academy include the academic promise developed in the student’s current educational setting and the selection of students whose family income meets Federal guidelines for reduced price and free lunch program.

Serviam Girls Academy is a member of the nationwide NativityMiguel Network of Schools with their record of demonstrated success. Ninety-two percent of NativityMiguel Network school graduates complete high school, and 65 percent go on to attend a two- or four-year college or university. A boys school, Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington opened in the fall of 2003 through the initiative of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

Visit the Serviam Girls Academy Web site at www.serviamgirlsacademy.org.