Fr. O'Neill's Baccalaureate Homily
We gather here this evening, to celebrate your journey of the past four years
A milestone on the pilgrimage that is your life
Pilgrims
An appropriate way to describe you Saint Ignatius College Preparatory’s Class of 2009
In his autobiography, St. Ignatius calls himself, simply, “the pilgrim”
Over your own journey over the past four years, you have become familiar with much of his life story
The cannonball
The conversion
The founding of the Society of Jesus
I want to share with you this evening a story that you probably have not heard
A moment in Ignatius’ life
A landmark on his personal pilgrimage
That is most appropriate for this evening
And where you find yourselves at this moment in your lives
It happened before there were any official Jesuits
-- although Ignatius had already begun to collect his little posse of followers
it happened when Ignatius was still virtually unknown,
save those few fellow students with whom he had spent the past few years
S.I. and his companions they were on the road
On their way to Rome
Pilgrims on a pilgrimage
It was October of 1547
Six miles outside of the gates of Rome
Ignatius and two companions stopped to rest and pray at a small chapel at the side of the road
It was a significant moment
A transformative moment
There was much he had left behind him
And even more ahead of him
Behind Ignatius was his wild youth
Dreams of being a hero on the battlefield
And then being a hero for heaven
The cannonball
The painful recovery and conversion
Months of vigil and prayer
Soul wrenching and heart-freeing time with God
His own Kairos time
And there were the years in a desk, sitting in classrooms
learning, growing in mind, heart and soul
All of these memories, times, places and events brought him to this point
To this place
And time
The little chapel of La Storta
Six miles outside the walls of Rome
There was much ahead of Ignatius, as well
So much that was unknown
Unplanned
Yet to be determined
The horizon was wide open
And so very uncertain
He had a destination – Rome
But what that meant
What would happen there…
What all the implications would be…
Who he would find there and what he would do…
All of that was unknown
The pilgrim was nervous
Anxious
Excited
Hopeful
And terrified
It was time to take a moment
And say a prayer
Something happened in that little chapel at La Storta…
While his two traveling companions saw nothing and heard nothing
Something profound happened to Saint Ignatius
Something that would change Saint Ignatius – S.I. – forever
Ignatius had a deep – to the very core of his being – experience of God
God looked at him
Knew all about him
All his strengths and failures
God sized him up for who and what he was
And…
And Ignatius heard God the Father say to Jesus, His Son
“Take this man, Ignatius, to be your companion”
The pilgrim felt, deep in his bones, that God was literally placing him – Ignatius – at the side of Jesus
At the side of Jesus
He’d been traveling with his buddies from Paris
But now there was a new Companion
From that moment on
And forever
Jesus would be there
Saint Ignatius became Saint Ignatius because, in a profoundly intimate and honest way,
He found Jesus as his companion…
Although, maybe it would be better to say, that Jesus found him…
You’ve cheered it
You’ve yelled it
You’ve believed it
“We are S.I.”
Well, yes you are
You are Saint Ignatius
You’ve carried his name on tee shirts
And on the windshields of your cars
You’ve worn it proudly on your jerseys
And once you learned how to spell it correctly, you’ve written it in countless essays and college applications
And in just a few hours, you will receive a hard earned diploma with that name
His name
Engraved upon it – clearly, firmly and forever
It’s a name not to be taken lightly
You carry a dignified and noble title…
But remember, it remains now as ever, the name of pilgrim
Saint Ignatius would ask you a question this evening:
Have you found his Companion?
Where have you found Him – Jesus – the Companion that made Saint Ignatius, into Saint Ignatius?
- Maybe it was a Friday Morning Liturgy
Sitting there with a team
Or maybe, a couple of times, just on your own
- Maybe it was on a retreat
Hearing a classmate’s honesty and openness
Enjoying the beauty of God’ creation and the quiet that can happen in your heart, if you just give it a chance
Recognizing that that guy in your small group – the one you thought was so very different from you, was actually more like you than you ever imagined
- Maybe it was on an immersion trip
Where you discovered that you could make a difference
And that you are not all that different from the people that you served
That afternoon, six miles from Rome, Saint Ignatius caught a glimpse of God
Where did you catch that glimpse, Saint Ignatius?
A glimpse of the Truth, Beauty and Love that is God?
- Maybe it was in class
Reading a poem that brushed up so painfully close to your own feelings
The ones you thought no one could ever fully understand
The feelings that some writer who died a century before you were born somehow managed to capture and express
Or maybe it was unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos
From the tiniest microbe to the furthest galaxy
Learning not to be afraid to ask any question
Or question any answer
Or wonder any wonder
- Maybe it was on the field or on stage
Discovering your talents and gifts
Developing them and being able to share them…
…Or maybe not
Maybe you got the lead or got to start
Maybe you sat on the bench – or were injured
Maybe you got cut
What did you do with that?
Maybe the greatest act of courage
Maybe the greatest contribution to any team or Company
Was not to be in the middle of the scoring drive or standing at center stage
But summoning up just enough energy, courage or humor
To cheer as loudly as you could
To sing with your whole heart from the back row of the chorus
And to never give up on yourself
To never accept the notion that attention is the same thing as dignity
Or that popularity is the same thing as love
Ah, yes, love
In the end, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it – a glimpse of God –
It’s all about love…
It was for the first S.I.
And so it is for you
The friends you made
The friends you lost
Navigating relationships – that particular person who has come to matter so very much
The one you hope to see, or catch a glimpse of, in the hallway
You are a generation hard-wired and plugged in
But behind all of the texting
The Facebook and MySpace
The late night phone calls and e-mails
In the end, it comes down to what it always has been…
In the end, it all comes down to your hearts:
Are you loved?
Does she love me?
Does he feel about me the way I feel about him?
Can I be loved just the way I am?
Or do I have to try to be something – someone – different?
In all of that – the beauty and the mess
The blessed and the broken
In all of that, dwells God
A glimpse of God
In your hearts
A vision of God
In your tender, strong, valiant, sometimes broken hearts
That’s why it is so important to those of us who have been with you these past years
That is why it is so important for us that you come to know Jesus
Because Jesus is God
Jesus is God with the same strong, valiant, sometimes broken heart that you have
The Creator and Master of the Universe
The God who hewed mountains and spun out the galaxies…
…and veined violets
Has a heart as tender and vulnerable and beautiful as yours
That is why you belong with Him
At His side
As His companion
S.I. has given you a lot
A wonderful education
A doorway into the future
Preparation for college and career
Skills, experiences, networks and friends
I know that I speak for my colleagues
The men and women who have taught you
And coached you
And directed you
And counseled you
Who have loved you
I know I speak for them when I tell you this
Of all of the things that we have sought to do
Of all of the things that we have labored to do
Of all of the things that we have prayed to do
We hope that we have found a way to place you with God’s Son
We hope that we have found a way to place you with Jesus
It may not be clear
It may not be certain
You may be filled with questions and doubts
Wonder and skepticism…
A brother Jesuit, who knows you better than I do
Says this to you tonight – I paraphrase:
“Odds are, you may not be drawn to Jesus yet
Odds are – you will be someday, after much more life has passed
And maybe not a little suffering…”
If you choose to love
If you choose to allow yourselves to be loved
You will find God
Because you will need God
It is a lesson as old as the ages:
Moses speaks powerfully and directly to those first pilgrims wandering in the desert
Traveling to the Promised Land for all of those 40 years
“Choose life” he prays
Choose life, that you may live
What Moses begs
What God demands
Is a life of integrity
Honesty
And love
It is important to remember that the other option is still out there
The option to not choose life
Or more dangerously, to choose something that seems to be life…
It is powerful and prevalent in our world
You will face it everyday
You have faced it everyday:
It tells you that
Success is all that matters
Winning is everything
You are what you wear or where you live
It’s important to look good rather than to be good
That we must be the best
We must have it all
No.
No.
You must choose life
Your pilgrimage moves forward from here, but you already have the roadmap in hand…
Choose life:
Remember all of the moments when you have shown that you can do just that
Remember the moments that you have chosen to live
The moments you have chosen to live and love
Openly
Honestly
And freely
Taking responsibility for a mistake or a bad decision
Doing your very best, honestly – without cheating or lying
Forgiving a past hurt – or hoping that one day you might be able to
Facing life honestly, openly – without the crutch of alcohol or chemicals
Think of the ways you have chosen to live and love
Taking a moment in the hall way back in sophomore year to say hello to that kid no one else would talk to
Picking up some trash around campus so someone else didn’t have to
Doing something for someone else that appeared on no record, no transcript – something that no one but you will ever know about
Wearing a piece of tape over your mouth for an entire day to witness to the fact that everyone is beautiful just the way God made them…
Choose life
Choose love
Now, be forewarned…
It won’t be easy
It will sometimes break your heart
And, from time to time, something will happen to you in your lives…
Something that we at S.I. don’t talk much about
You will fail
Sometimes, it just won’t work
Sometimes, the world won’t let you love
Sometimes, the world will tell you that you cannot love
That it is just not in you
That it is not there for you unless you become who you are not
And you may be tempted to believe it
Remember then
Remember that you can love – and that you have loved
Remember-that-maybe-just-one-moment when you were you
When you could love as God created you to love
And you took the risk to love
It may be known to everyone…
Or only to you
No matter:
Remember that moment
It is in you
It is you
Don’t ever forget it
It may save your life
It may save your soul
If you choose to love
If you choose to create a space of love within yourself
Others will come to inhabit that place
And you will find joy
And you will find peace
And you will find suffering
There is no other way of being human
That is what the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus means
That is what the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus means for you
That is why we who have come to love you these past years
Pray that you find a place next to Jesus
And with Him
And in Him
The first Saint Ignatius felt deeply in his bones and in his heart
That he was placed intimately and firmly and forever at the side of Jesus
That is our hope for you
That is what we hope, more than anything, that we have given you
That you have become a Companion of Jesus
And that your trials and joys will be His
And His trials and joys – His life, passion, death and Resurrection
Will be yours
That you be Companions of Jesus:
This is what we hope for you
What we pray for you
On this, the journey that you continue as you leave our care
And move onto the gates of whatever adventure awaits you next and beyond
We did not begin this work on our own
Each of you come from families
From parents and siblings
From grandparents, step-parents, aunts and uncles
Who have loved you to this day
They fashioned and molded your hearts long before we ever knew you
We have but built on the foundation prepared by their love
Remember to say “Thank you” to them
And remember that the lessons of life and love that you are learning are not yours alone
Mom and dad, and all the rest, continue their own pilgrimage
They are on the same path that you are on…if only a few steps ahead
It probably hasn’t always been easy
But remember, that we are all in this together now
Companions on the journey of a lifetime
In that little chapel, six miles from Rome
Saint Ignatius knew that he had been placed forever as a companion of Jesus
We pray you know, somewhere – somehow – that you are His companions as well
As you leave us – one last bit of the story
The rest of Saint Ignatius’ vision
It is our valediction
And God’s promise
As Ignatius felt himself tethered intimately to Jesus
He heard the voice of God calm his soul
Ignatius was anxious
He was nervous
He was on the road to Rome
And he had no idea what was going to happen one he got there
Ignatius heard God say, “I will be favorable to you in Rome.”
“I will be favorable to you in Rome.”
It’s going to be o.k.
And that is God’s message to you tonight
Wherever you go
God will be there
Your companion
Your friend
There is a future out there waiting for you
There is a world out there desperately in need of you
In need of your love
Go
Go and pour yourselves out
Empty yourselves into the lives of others
Into the brokenness of the world
You will be successful
And you will fail
You will be for others
And sometimes against them
You will be with others in successes and joys
And you will be with them in brokenness and in anguish
You will be on the clear path
And you will get lost
You will run and finish the race
You will stumble and fall
You will do it all
Find everything
And lose everything
You will be all things
But this most of all:
You will never be alone
You are given to God
And placed with His Son
You will never be alone
Welcome to the path, fellow pilgrims