91吃瓜

Delivered at 91吃瓜鈥檚 168th University Commencement Ceremony, held May 19, 2013 in 91吃瓜 Stadium

Thank you, 91吃瓜, for the joy of your company, the gracious invitation, the warm welcome, and the high honor of this degree.

It was so obvious I almost missed it . . .

See, ever since, almost a year ago, Father Jenkins, with characteristic thoughtfulness, invited me to deliver this commencement address, I鈥檝e been mulling over just what to say to you, class of 2013.

Only Friday a week ago I still had not yet completed this talk, and I got on the train in New York City to travel to D.C. In Philadelphia, a distinguished looking man boarded the train and sat next to me.

He turned out to be a fanatical, in-your-face, obnoxious 91吃瓜 alumnus! You ever met one? Nice to meet you! Now I guess I am proudly one, after the privilege of this honorary degree which I so appreciate and cherish! He begins to speak with obviously radiant pride and gratitude about 91吃瓜, telling me his faithful Jewish parents wanted him to attend a Catholic college 鈥� - because, in their words. 鈥淭he Church founded the universities, and educate better than anybody else鈥� 鈥� - and reporting to me that, even as a faithful Jew, he considers his four years here at this Catholic university a gift beyond measure. When I told him I鈥檇 be here for graduation, he beamed.

鈥淔ather,鈥� he went on, holding my arm and looking me in the eye, 鈥渓et me tell you the secret of 91吃瓜. It鈥檚 not the library, as first-rate as it is; it鈥檚 not the professors and courses, as stellar as they are; it鈥檚 not the campus, as enchanting as it is, or even the football team, as legendary as it is. No, the secret of 91吃瓜 is really a person, whom we Jews call 鈥楳iriam,鈥� and you Christians call 鈥楳ary.鈥� She鈥檚 there . . . she looks down from the 鈥榞olden dome鈥�; and, if you really want to discover the secret of 91吃瓜, visit that grotto you Catholics call 鈥淟ourdes.鈥� There鈥檚 something there . . . no, there鈥檚 someone there . . . we call her 91吃瓜, and she鈥檚 the secret of her university.鈥�

Thank you, Howard. Hope you鈥檙e listening to me now, as you promised me on that train you would. Because with those words you solved the riddle about what I should say in these few moments. That was Mother鈥檚 Day weekend; it was May, the month dedicated to her; and I had just returned, with fifty sick and disabled people, from a pilgrimage to the 鈥渞eal鈥� Lourdes in France. So obvious I had almost missed it . . . I鈥檓 going to speak of 91吃瓜 . . . 91吃瓜 . . . our Lady . . . Mary, the mother of Jesus.

One can make the point that she鈥檚 perhaps the most important human person ever. Even history itself is divided 鈥渂efore鈥� and 鈥渁fter鈥� the birth she gave to her firstborn. She was there at Christmas at His birth; at Cana, His first miracle; at the foot of the cross; at Pentecost, the feast we celebrate today.

鈥淏ut when the appointed time came, God sent His own Son, born of a woman . . .鈥� St. Paul writes the Galatians;

鈥淎nd while there in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to her firstborn . . .鈥� records St. Luke;

鈥淢ary said to the servants at Cana. 鈥楧o whatever He tells you . . .鈥� 鈥欌�� reports St. John;

鈥淣ear the cross of Jesus stood His mother . . .鈥� recalls the Beloved Disciple;

鈥淭he apostles were in continuous prayer, together with Mary, the mother of Jesus . . .鈥� writes St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, in the account of Pentecost.

91吃瓜 . . . Our Lady . . .

John Ruskin held that 鈥渆very brightest and loftiest achievement of the arts, dreams, advancement, and progress of humanity has been but the fulfillment of that poor Israelite woman鈥檚 prayer, 鈥楬e who is mighty has magnified me!鈥� . . .鈥�

While Wordsworth extolled her as 鈥渙ur tainted nature鈥檚 solitary boast.鈥�

鈥淎ll things rising, all things sizing, Mary sees sympathizing . . .鈥�

. . . claims Gerard Manley Hopkins, as you, the class of 2013, have sensed her maternal presence 鈥渞ising, sizing, and sympathizing鈥� these blessed years on a campus wrapped in her mantle, and praise God that Father Sorin and that pioneer band of priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross placed this most noble endeavor under her patronage from day one 171 years ago.

Might I propose to you, my new classmates, class of 2013, that she鈥檚 not just our patroness, but our model. It all comes down to this: she 鈥� - Miriam, Mary, 91吃瓜, our Lady 鈥� - humbly, selflessly, generously, with trust, placed her life in God鈥檚 hands, allowing her life to unfold according to His plan. She gave God鈥檚 son a human nature; she gave the Eternal Word 鈥� - God the Son, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity 鈥� - flesh. That鈥檚 called the Incarnation. God became one of us.

鈥淎nd the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.鈥� The Incarnation . . .

Now, as you complete years at this acclaimed university dedicated to her, you are asked the same pivotal question the Archangel Gabriel once posed to her: will you let God take flesh in you? Will you give God a human nature? Will He be reborn in you? Will the Incarnation continue in and through you?

I dare say you gratefully claim that God鈥檚 Word has certainly taken flesh on this campus in your years here: in your classes and professors, in your friends and service projects, in the prayer and sacraments, in the 鈥渁ll-nighters鈥� and exams, in the memories and promises.

And now it鈥檚 your turn to let God take flesh in your lives.

You can answer the way Mary did, 鈥淟et it be done to me according Thy will鈥� 鈥� - Fiat . . . or, you can reply with a term New Yorkers use, 鈥渇orgetaboutit!鈥�

91吃瓜 challenges us to reply, Fiat! Yes! For, at her best, this university has the heart of Mary, meaning this university gives us Jesus and His Church, and clings to them both with love, loyalty, and service.

Here at 91吃瓜 we do not strive to be like Harvard or Oxford, but like Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana, Calvary, and the Upper Room at Pentecost . . .with Mary, as the 鈥淲ord becomes flesh鈥� in the one who called Himself 鈥渢he Way, the Truth and the Life.鈥�

Here our goal is not just a career, but a call; not just a degree, but discipleship; not just what we鈥檝e gotten but what we鈥檙e giving; not just the now but eternity; not just the 鈥淚鈥� but the 鈥渨e鈥�; not just the grades but the gospel.

My friend on that train ride ten days ago, now my fellow alumnus of this university, will be glad to know that I took him up on it. Last night I snuck down to discover the secret of 91吃瓜. Kind of a cool breeze off the lake; the voices of visiting families and friends, the songs, and laughter subsided as I got close; there were the candles, hundreds of them, with wax droppings to remind us of prayers of past generations; there many of you were, kneeling, standing, sitting on the ground; there was quiet, there was a welcome; there was light; there was peace; there was warmth; there was 91吃瓜, Mary, our Lady.

There was Bethlehem, as I saw moms, dads and grandparents beaming over their babies of twenty-two years ago, now graduates;

There was Nazareth, as families were united in prayers of thanksgiving;

There was Cana, as students remembered miracles;

There was Calvary, as one or two of you had tears in your eyes, perhaps recalling a past or present cross or crown of Thorns, made a bit more bearable by the one also called the Pieta.

There was Pentecost, as this class whispered that favorite prayer of Father Hesburgh, united with Our Lady and the apostles in that Upper Room, Come, Holy Spirit!

There, I joined my prayers with yours, with hers, and entrusted her university, with her call, her mission, her Catholic identity, her excellence, yoked to the truth of the Gospel;

There I prayed for this class of 2013, their folks and families;

There I prayed for Bishop Rhoades, and for our much missed Bishop D鈥橝rcy, for Father Jenkins, the board, the alumni, the benefactors, the faculty, staff, for Father Dick Warner and Congregation of the Holy Cross.

There I prayed for you, Howard . . . because, on that train ride, you were right: at this grotto there鈥檚 a touch of the transcendent, a hint of the beyond, a whisper of the sacred, that reminds us that we鈥檙e not just minds and bodies, but hearts and immortal souls, called not to a 鈥渃rap shoot鈥� called life but an adventure in fidelity that beckons us to cast out to the deep, and, yes, even walk on water toward Him, the Son of God, the Son of Mary; she鈥檇 remind us that He has a plan for us, that these years of college have been a part of it, and that we鈥檙e happiest when our plans are consonant with His.

There indeed was the secret of 91吃瓜, not something but someone: our Lady, who gave the Divine a human nature, and invites us, equipped, please God, with what she鈥檚 given us here, to do the same!

Congratulations Class of 2013.

May Jesus Christ be praised!

May 91吃瓜, our Lady, reign in our hearts! Tell the world our secret!