At least three times during my time in seminary, I received mail from you, seniors. It’s common for seminarians to get mail from students in Catholic schools of the diocese. We get pictures, letters, art projects, all kinds of things. The teacher chooses a seminarian from the poster, gets his address, assigns a task to the students and mails it off.
Your teachers for some reason liked choosing me. Perhaps it’s the same reason I chose to celebrate this Mass before the school year had even started. For those that don’t know, Juan Migone, a senior, is my nephew.
When you were in second grade, Mrs. Hoffman’s class sent me letters with pictures you drew. You told me about your favorite sports and your pets. You drew pictures of a priest celebrating Mass and of you playing with your friends. I still have these letters, just not here with me today, they’re filed away somewhere.
I do have with me today a picture drawn by one of you, I’m guessing in fifth grade. When I saw this picture I had a very good laugh. I 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. You can still see a bit of the brown door here on the tape.
The teacher explained the assignment to me in her letter: the students had to create an ad inviting people to come to church. The 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:
“Church is no monkey business” “Don’t imitate this guy”
I would tell you who drew it, but I would probably embarrass David.
David, thank you for this picture. Thank you for providing the theme of my homily many years ago.
Church is no monkey business.
Seniors, you are part of God’s Church, you are part of God’s family.
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. You are friends of God. This, my friends, is no monkey business. This is your identity. This is who you are: a friend of God because Jesus Christ died for you and as we heard in today’s Gospel passage “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
During these four years at Aquinas, you have received much from what soon will be your Alma Mater:
You have received an excellent education and the discipline that will allow you to excel in the future.
You have received friendships that will last for a lifetime.
You have received wisdom to guide you and help you, especially in difficult times.
I tell you this not because it’s the appropriate thing to say as you graduate. I tell you this because I recognize that I received these from this very same school when I graduated fourteen years ago. I am grateful and will continue to be grateful for it.
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. I hope your relationship with Jesus Christ is one that will continue to guide you and sustain you. I hope you will walk through life with Christ as a friend. He has called you his friend, will you call him your friend? This, my friends, is no monkey business.
You have reached this milestone together as a class and now you will go in different directions. You will live in different cities, you will go to different schools, you will make new friends, you will choose different career paths. Your friendships of today will continue, sometimes strongly, other times weakly, but they will be there.
Do not be afraid to go out there and engage the world. We have been called by God to live in the world today, with all its beauty and wonder and with all its tragedy and disillusionment. Go out unafraid of the next step the Lord has prepared for you. If we fear the world, the world will not hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. God calls us to go out and to be strong, to bring his light and make it shine wherever we go.
Hold on tight to your roots and you will not waver. Know and remember that the Catholic Church is and will always be your home, here you belong. Go to Mass in college. Remain engaged. Learn from your mistakes. Seek God in all things.
God wants each one of you to be fulfilled; he wants each one of you to be happy. Take your faith seriously as you go forth unafraid and cheerful, prepared to be surprised by the blessings God has in store for you.
Church is no monkey business. You belong to Christ’s Church, and you always will. Be strengthened by this reality now and always as you go forth.
Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.
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