Dear Friends,

Gratitude and Generosity are at the heart of Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises.  These two qualities are fundamental to our ability to find God in the world and then to share and spread God’s love.  Our hearts, so moved by this profound experience of love, cannot help but cry out to God, “Send me, Lord.  Let me be your hands on this earth.”

Perhaps the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 in Luke’s gospel perfectly captures these themes of gratitude and generosity (Luke 9:13-17).  When the disciples come to Jesus and ask that he “do something about this crowd of hungry people,” he is quick to  reply: “You give them something to eat.”

What do the disciples do?  They immediately find the poor, thoughtful soul out of the 5000 who woke up that morning and said, “Hmmm…it could be a long day… I better pack a lunch,” they take his picnic basket and bring it to Jesus.  I suspect they did this to prove to Jesus that there were too many people. There just was not enough food.  This is where Jesus steps in, takes what they offer, and works a miracle.

The miracle of that picnic basket starts with gratitude.  Jesus begins by taking the humble offering of 5 loaves and 2 fish and giving thanks.

Jesuit High School Sacramento has always been a loaves and fishes kind of place, where hundreds of young men get fed every day.  I see this miracle of generosity in our teachers and staff as they show up each day to spend 8-12 hours mentoring, teaching, tutoring, guiding, coaching, and forming our students.

Your generosity to Jesuit High School continues to hungry.  The math miracle I want to share with you is at the very heart of Jesuit’s mission.

Last month, I had the pleasure of leaving campus with about 30 young men in the class of 2027 to do a morning of service.  We met in the chapel.  Parent volunteers showed up to accompany us and to drive the vans.  We were sent out in groups of 8-10 to work at various food banks around Sacramento.  I got to spend my morning at the River City Food Bank.  

We sorted carrots and onions.  We loaded shopping bags.  We sorted frozen chicken and beef. We greeted the families in line.  We walked with them to unload their groceries, and then we returned the shopping carts so the next person could go through the line.  

That seemingly limited and cramped food pantry never seemed to run out of food.  The basket kept churning out loaf after loaf.  Fish after fish.  

River City Food Bank serves nearly 300,000 people a year.  They distribute almost 3,000,000 pounds of food each year.  The Sacramento Family Food Bank feeds nearly 300,000 people each month.  That’s almost 3 million pounds of food each month.  That’s 73,000 children being fed each month.  

These food banks partner with more than 150 community organizations, and your sons, our students at Jesuit, are doing their part.  Since last May, Jesuit Sacramento sophomores, juniors, and seniors have served almost 1500 hours at local area food banks.  109 freshmen in the class of 2027 have started playing their part in that same miracle.  I was so edified to join the Jesuit community and that miracle last month.

Miracles like the feeding of the 5,000 defy our basic understanding of math.  They are beyond any calculus we can contrive to combine 5 loaves and 2 fish and have it equal 5000 meals with leftovers.

As you read this annual report, I hope you feel connected to the Jesuit legacy of education and generosity.  It dates back to 1963 and even further back to the middle of the 16th century.  When Ignatius sent his brothers out to the corners of the world, he was starting the legacy of leadership and service that Jesuit Sacramento students are a part of today.  You and your legacy of support are a part of that initial spark; you are light, heat, and energy that sustain our efforts to form men for others day in and day out so that our students might go forth and do the same.

We cannot do this without your continued support.  Because Jesuit does not charge families the full cost of educating each student, we rely on the donations cataloged in this report. Gratitude and Generosity are at the heart of everything we do.

Your continued support is the miracle that multiplies five loaves and two fish and is also the miracle that keeps us going.  You are a part of that miracle in the picnic basket.  Your generosity allows our students to go out and feed the 5,000, not just for the past 60 years but for the next 60 years and beyond.

Very Gratefully,

Chris Alling

President