The following is an edited version of the homily I preached at the Baccalaureate Masses for our five Catholic diocesan high schools. I ask you to share it with a high school senior you know who is a 2022 graduate from a public or private high school.
Graduation is a time to look back on your four years of high school and possibly be flooded with memories, which can trigger sadness in you. You are leaving your friends, teachers, the familiar and the school that you have come to love. In addition, Graduation is a time to look forward to a new beginning. You are moving on to a future, to an unknown future. As your Bishop, I want to share some advice with you. It is this – as you move on, as you go forward, do so with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. Eager for your future. Energetic for what is to come. With interest and joy, for all that tomorrow holds. Enthusiasm means all of these and more …
You may be surprised to learn the word enthusiasm has to do with God. The etymology or the root of the word enthusiasm is from the Greek, theos, meaning, God. It should not be a surprise that my advice has to do with God. I have been a priest for 51 years and a bishop for 18 years; both have exposed me to a wealth of experiences. My prayer and my hope are that as you move on, you carry God in your deepest self, in your soul, which is forever and which directly relates you to God.
Too many of your peers in our American society have no reference to God, no reference to religion and no reference to church. There are alarming statistics that confirm this observation. The absence of God shows in society. It is frightening. There are too many young people spiritually vacant, empty of values, without moral foundation, no religion, no God. It is not their fault. The blame is with those who raised them Godless, with the collapse of family life, with encroaching secularization in every aspect of life and with an education system that prohibits reference to religion.
Live with enthusiasm. Be with God. You will not only live a fuller life but also a happier life. With God, you will survive the little deaths that life throws at you; with God, you will handle the bad cards that life deals you. If you have enthusiasm, if you have God, you will rise from those deaths. If you have God, you will manage the difficulties that happen.
Much darkness has recently covered our country. The recent carnage of medical professionals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The slaughter of the innocent 19 children and their two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. The massacre of 10 Black Americans doing their weekend shopping in Buffalo, New York. Murdered because of the color of their skin. What an irony that the name of the Uvalde murderer was Salvador, Savior. He is no Savior. He is a Destroyer. I tell you neither he nor that racist Buffalo murderer had God in them. I say that because God is love. They committed deeds of hate. I say that because God is good. They committed dark deeds of evil. I say that because God is peace. They committed acts of violence. If you have God with you, you can see light even as you experience darkness.
You will tell your children and your grandchildren that you survived a worldwide pandemic, which claimed one million lives in our country, the United States of America, and six million lives around the world. You will also tell your children and grandchildren that for almost two years in high school, you wore a mask that covered your mouth and your nose. That from time to time, classes had to be Zoomed or taken online, and when in class and in school, spacing regulations between students had to be observed. The pandemic and the accompanying masks are identifying characteristics for the Class of 2022.
Peter Cropper, a distinguished British concert violinist, was loaned a 258-year-old Stradivarius violin to play at a prestigious music festival. The violin was handmade by Antonio Stradivarius and is considered one of the most valuable violins in the world. The music festival came. As Cropper walked on the stage, he tripped and fell on top of the violin. It was cracked and broken.
A master artisan heard of the incident and contacted the British Royal Academy of Music with an offer to repair the violin. They hesitantly agreed because they thought that the broken Stradivarius could not be repaired. However, against all expectations, when Peter went to retrieve the instrument, he was astonished. It was perfect. He could not tell that it was ever broken. When he lifted the instrument to his shoulder to play, the sound was superb, angelic and beautiful. Peter Cropper played that Stradivarius violin in Carnegie Hall to rave reviews on his first American tour.
The Lord Jesus will make all things new in your life. Not just once or twice, but nearly every day. When everything seems lost, Jesus, like what that Master Craftsman did with that Stradivarius violin, takes what looks like a disaster and turns it into glory. That is what happened on the Cross, which was followed by the Resurrection. Death to Life. Go to the Lord with your weaknesses, failures, problems, disappointments and sins, and He will recreate you. He will make you new.
God Bless. Congratulations, graduate! May you always know the blessings and love of God. As you go forward, do so with enthusiasm. With God.
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Camden