{"id":135,"date":"2014-05-23T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/05\/aquinas-senior-farewell.html"},"modified":"2016-03-25T17:42:52","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T22:42:52","slug":"aquinas-senior-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2014\/05\/aquinas-senior-farewell.html","title":{"rendered":"Aquinas Senior Farewell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/div>\n

At least three times during my time in seminary, I received mail from you, seniors. \u00a0It\u2019s common for seminarians to get mail from students in Catholic schools of the diocese. \u00a0We get pictures, letters, art projects, all kinds of things. \u00a0The teacher chooses a seminarian from the poster, gets his address, assigns a task to the students and mails it off.<\/p>\n

Your teachers for some reason liked choosing me. \u00a0Perhaps it\u2019s the same reason I chose to celebrate this Mass before the school year had even started. \u00a0For those that don\u2019t know, Juan Migone, a senior, is my nephew.<\/p>\n

When you were in second grade, Mrs. Hoffman\u2019s class sent me letters with pictures you drew. \u00a0You told me about your favorite sports and your pets. \u00a0You drew pictures of a priest celebrating Mass and of you playing with your friends. \u00a0I still have these letters, just not here with me today, they\u2019re filed away somewhere.<\/p>\n

I do have with me today a picture drawn by one of you, I\u2019m guessing in fifth grade. \u00a0When I saw this picture I had a very good laugh. \u00a0I liked it so much that I decided to share it: I taped it to my door in the seminary and left it there until I got ordained. \u00a0You can still see a bit of the brown door here on the tape.<\/p>\n

The teacher explained the assignment to me in her letter: the students had to create an ad inviting people to come to church. \u00a0The message of this ad, written by one of you, is my message today to all of you, but in particular to you seniors, as you reach this milestone in your life and move onto something new:<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch is no monkey business\u201d \u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t imitate this guy\u201d<\/p>\n

I would tell you who drew it, but I would probably embarrass David.<\/p>\n

David, thank you for this picture. \u00a0Thank you for providing the theme of my homily many years ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Church is no monkey business.<\/p>\n

Seniors, you are part of God\u2019s Church, you are part of God\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Wherever you go, wherever life takes you, whatever your next step after graduation may be, one thing is certain: You belong to God and He will never cease to call you his son; He will never cease to call you his daughter. \u00a0You are friends of God. \u00a0This, my friends, is no monkey business. \u00a0This is your identity. \u00a0This is who you are: a friend of God because Jesus Christ died for you and as we heard in today\u2019s Gospel passage \u201cno one has greater love than this, to lay down one\u2019s life for one\u2019s friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

During these four years at Aquinas, you have received much from what soon will be your Alma Mater:<\/p>\n

You have received an excellent education and the discipline that will allow you to excel in the future.<\/p>\n

You have received friendships that will last for a lifetime.<\/p>\n

You have received wisdom to guide you and help you, especially in difficult times.<\/p>\n

I tell you this not because it\u2019s the appropriate thing to say as you graduate. \u00a0I tell you this because I recognize that I received these from this very same school when I graduated fourteen years ago. \u00a0I am grateful and will continue to be grateful for it.<\/p>\n

The one thing above all things that I hope you received during your time at Aquinas is a deep love for God and His Church. \u00a0I hope your relationship with Jesus Christ is one that will continue to guide you and sustain you. \u00a0I hope you will walk through life with Christ as a friend. \u00a0He has called you his friend, will you call him your friend? \u00a0This, my friends, is no monkey business.<\/p>\n

You have reached this milestone together as a class and now you will go in different directions. \u00a0You will live in different cities, you will go to different schools, you will make new friends, you will choose different career paths. \u00a0Your friendships of today will continue, sometimes strongly, other times weakly, but they will be there.<\/p>\n

Do not be afraid to go out there and engage the world. \u00a0We have been called by God to live in the world today, with all its beauty and wonder and with all its tragedy and disillusionment. \u00a0Go out unafraid of the next step the Lord has prepared for you. \u00a0If we fear the world, the world will not hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. \u00a0God calls us to go out and to be strong, to bring his light and make it shine wherever we go.<\/p>\n

Hold on tight to your roots and you will not waver. \u00a0Know and remember that the Catholic Church is and will always be your home, here you belong. \u00a0Go to Mass in college. \u00a0Remain engaged. \u00a0Learn from your mistakes. \u00a0Seek God in all things.<\/p>\n

God wants each one of you to be fulfilled; he wants each one of you to be happy. \u00a0Take your faith seriously as you go forth unafraid and cheerful, prepared to be surprised by the blessings God has in store for you.<\/p>\n

Church is no monkey business. \u00a0You belong to Christ\u2019s Church, and you always will. \u00a0Be strengthened by this reality now and always as you go forth.<\/p>\n

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least three times during my time in seminary, I received mail from you, seniors. \u00a0It\u2019s common for seminarians to get mail from students in Catholic schools of the diocese. \u00a0We get pictures, letters, art projects, all kinds of things. \u00a0The teacher chooses a seminarian from the poster, gets his address, assigns a task to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAquinas Senior Farewell<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At least three times during my time in seminary, I received mail from you, seniors. \u00a0It\u2019s common for seminarians to get mail from students in Catholic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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