A wise priest once told me, “Peter, when you are grateful for everything in your life, the things that you like about yourself and even the things you do not like about yourself, then it is impossible to not be humble. And vice versa: if you are humble, it is impossible not to be grateful for everything in your life. Even the things we do not understand.” I think this is part and parcel of what it means to be “poor in spirit.” That is, to lovingly accept from our God and Creator who we are and to be thankful for it.
Graduates, parents, faculty, trustees, families, and honored guests: as I stand here before this community, and before The Catholic University of America’s Class of 2023, I am indeed grateful, and deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve as the President of this remarkable University.
You all – our graduates – you are what makes us all proud of being Cardinals!
Commencement is a moment of transition, and this naturally prompts reflection about the past. What have we done, how far have we come? It also prompts reflections about the future. What’s next? Do I have what it takes to embark on this next stage of my life? Will there be three Starbucks options and a Chick-Fil-A within a quarter mile of my next residence?
But the question that I think touches everyone deeply is the one Arthur Brooks mentioned in his address. Will I be happy? I would like to speak from experience and affirm that if you follow the advice of our honored guest, and if you do whatever comes your way with love and excellence, you will experience great happiness.
I would like to add a special ingredient to that recipe, just for our graduates. I would argue that by leaning into what you learned here as undergraduate or graduate students, and trusting in the education and formation you received here, you will find your way forward. You are heading into some choppy waters. The division, disunity, and toxicity that characterize our culture in
2023 will not be easy to navigate. You have been educated in a tradition that seeks Truth (with a capital T). Our culture now largely believes that truth is whatever I make of it.
But I wouldn’t focus your time, attention, and energy on what the culture lacks. Your focus should be on who you are, and what you have to offer this world that desperately needs your light. God designed and formed you in your mother’s womb as uniquely created men and women with strengths and weaknesses, and unique personalities, as a never to be repeated human person. And I would affirm that when we lovingly accept our personhood, our identity, as gifts of a loving God, that this is the secret of happiness, and to success. Remember St. Paul: “all things work to the good of those who love God.”
Earlier this week, I attended the funeral of Tom Mulquin, one of our very beloved staff members and an alumnus of this University. It was a beautiful Mass. Tom had been struck down by cancer at a much too young age, leaving his wife Karin, four grown children, and a chapel full of friends, admirers, family, and fellow alumni. It was clear Tom had made a huge impact on everyone’s lives. Tom’s eldest son Patrick paid tribute to his Dad at the end of the Mass and quoted one of Tom’s life maxims: “Be grateful for what you have, and do not worry about what you do not have.”
We have so much for which to be grateful: our very lives, our intellects and wills, our family and friends, our faith, and the hope that stirs deep within us. We also should be immensely grateful for our ability to love. And if we are, we will derive the strength, the courage, the grace to love without limit and to pursue life with excellence.
One of my favorite saints is the Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux. By the world’s standards of fame and success, Therese was a nobody. She came from a large family, her mother died early in life, which left Therese very troubled and fragile emotionally. She then had a remarkable transformation of her psychological challenges at Christmas at the age of 13. She entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux at age 15 and died of tuberculosis at age 24. By the standards of worldly success, Therese’s life was short and uneventful.
But Therese was very deeply grateful for everything Our Lord had given her: her deep and abiding faith, the peace of heart that came with her psychological conversion, and a commitment to what Jean Pierre de Caussade, a French spiritual director and confessor from a couple of centuries earlier, called “the sacrament of the present moment.” Therese said: “If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look to the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.” She is widely recognized as one of the greatest saints of the last 200 years. She is the patron saint of the missions, and St John Paul II named her the third woman doctor of the Church in 1997. And all she did was live her life with gratitude, tremendous love, and excellence. My wish for you is that you strive to do the same.
God bless you and congratulations again!