This is graduation season.
And this past Sunday I attended my grandson's graduation in
Worcester, Massachusetts.
He was graduating from a Catholic high school, so the
program included Sunday Mass.
And it was Pentecost Sunday.
The day the Spirit descended on Jesus' disciples
and gave them the power and the courage and the ability to
spread the Good News.
The priest gave the homily and the headmaster gave an
address after the Mass.
Both noted how appropriate it was to have a graduation ceremony,
a commencement,
on the Feast of Pentecost.
The headmaster said the school had helped these students
prepare.
They'd spent four years getting ready to go out into the
world.
Four years of growing in knowledge and character and confidence.
And in the Spirit.
The headmaster urged them to carry the Good News with them
wherever they go.
We all know the quote from St Francis of Assisi:
Preach always, and if necessary use words.
And the old saying:
Actions speak louder than words.
The priest, in his homily, added a new dimension to that—at
least new for me.
He noted the disciples speaking in tongues on Pentecost.
They were understood by all the visitors in Jerusalem
despite their different languages.
The priest urged the new graduates to use all their
languages to spread the Good News.
And he listed some specific examples.
Actions and accomplishments that are metaphorically “languages”.
The language of service, the language of friendship.
The language of science, the language of sports.
We interact and communicate in so many ways.
And we can convey our message in any of those languages.
Today's Scripture readings tell us to serve the Lord.
To commit our lives to the Lord.
To trust God.
To reach out to the child—the uninformed, the weak and the
powerless.
That's our purpose in being.
That's what God created us to do.
Growth in the Spirit is a life-long process.
Every year is another year of preparation for us.
And this time, this graduation season, is a good time to give
ourselves a little exam.
A time to see if we're ready to commence service at a new graduated
level.
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