Dear Cristo Rey Jesuit Community,
On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with our ninth- and tenth-graders during our Racial Justice Prayer Service. I want to share a brief reflection with the full school community, because the message is not only for our students. It is for all of us.
We are living in a changing world. The pace of information, the reach of social media, and the diversity of the spaces we now occupy mean that none of us can afford to live or lead in isolation. The future will require more collaboration across differences of race, culture, language, belief, and lived experience. Learning how to live and work with one another across those differences is no longer optional. It is essential.
Many of our students already know what it feels like to be prejudged before their story is known. Assumptions are often made based on skin color, language spoken at home, or the neighborhood someone comes from. Those experiences shape how young people move through the world. This reflection was not about blame or shame. It was about responsibility and about what we do when we notice unfairness in our classrooms, at our job sites, in Baltimore, and online.
We spoke honestly about racism as a pattern, not just a moment. Patterns of lower expectations, fewer resources, tighter rules, and harsher consequences still exist in our city and across our country. The greatest danger is not only that these patterns persist, but that people become used to them. As a Jesuit school rooted in a faith that does justice, we cannot allow that to happen.
We also spoke about racial justice as action. Cristo Rey Jesuit exists because someone believed that ability matters more than background and that where a young person starts should not determine how far they can go. Justice is not simply access. Justice is ensuring that access leads to excellence. For our students, that means showing up prepared, engaged, and confident in classrooms and professional spaces, especially when they may be the youngest person in the room, the only one who looks like them, or the only one with a native language other than English.
Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan grounded our reflection. In a world marked by division and mistrust, Jesus intentionally lifts the outsider as the one who stops, responds, and shows mercy. The priest and the Levite saw the injured man, but they walked past. The Samaritan crossed boundaries, acted with compassion, and took responsibility. The message is clear. Seeing is not enough. Action matters.
This story challenges us to ask hard questions in our own context. When we encounter harm, exclusion, or injustice, do we step up or step past? In a world that often encourages us to stay comfortable and stay silent, the Gospel calls us to stop, to respond, and to care for the dignity of others, especially those who are most vulnerable.
At Cristo Rey Jesuit, we are forming young people to lead in that kind of world. Leadership is not about titles or positions. It is about how we treat people, how we collaborate across differences, how we respond when something is wrong, and how we show up in person and online. Being seen is not the finish line. Being responsible is.
I am grateful for our students, faculty, staff, families, and partners who continue to lean into these conversations with honesty and courage. May we carry the spirit of Friday’s reflection into our classrooms, our work, our relationships, and our choices. Justice does not begin in courtrooms or headlines. It begins with people willing to act with compassion.
With gratitude and hope,
Walter D. Reap, Sr., President
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School- Baltimore
