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 Lord Jesus, Your Excellency Bishop Mulhall, Reverend Fathers, Reverend Deacons, Reverend Mother and Sisters of Our Lady Immaculate, Dr. and Mrs. Cassidy, esteemed members of the board of directors and senate, Mr. and Mrs. Sanders, all members of the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy Community including parents and my fellow students:
Before I begin – Elizabeth Enright will function as our joke meter. If she laughs, that means I said something funny.
It is a great happiness to represent Our Lady's school and in particular these classmates of mine. Coming here to St. Hedwig's and the Academy is one of the best gifts I have ever received – the best gift is the gift of Our Lord whom we received in Holy Communion only moments ago.
Two weeks ago each of us in the graduating class was asked to come up with a definition for "OLSWA." I looked around at the students; I thought about the staff, the secretaries, the faculty and the help that comes to us from far and wide. The definition was obvious: The Academy is what happens when Our Lady makes a fruit salad for Jesus. And it is beautiful. It's...fruity. I feel fruity. I think I'm a grape. It is my privilege to tell you that the Sisters of the Valley of Our Lady Cistercian Monastery have accepted me for postulancy in June. We come here for an education but it is also a very good place to discern. Marissa Henry, a former graduate, is entering the Poor Clares, also in June, and Rene Holt is in his second year of the Fraternity of St. Peter Seminary. We are also celebrating the soon to be Mrs. Thompson and the soon to be Mrs. Baklinski.
Look at all this fruit Our Lady has brought together. There’s a pomegranate, at least two bananas, some apples and berries and citrus… but not one single lemon. And with a few stories I would like to share some of the secret acts of grace that reflect the goings-on here so that all of you will know what kind of people your caring has helped to produce.
The first people who came to my mind were Paul and Janine. We cannot know for certain in this life that they are in heaven, but we believe that they are and that they are praying for us. Janine so loved consecrated life that she would have been ecstatic to have seen the Sisters of Our Lady Immaculate here – the Academy’s own powerhouse of influence with God. When I went to visit the Valley of Our Lady last spring, the vocations director told me that Janine had also
been hoping to enter there.
Thinking of Paul reminded me of a young man I met when we went to Paul’s funeral. I think this young man was sixteen or seventeen and he told me about a time when he went to the adoration chapel and he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and for a moment he saw Our Lord and Our Lord said to him, “Welcome home.” The young man credited Paul with his return to the Faith.
And that reminded me of another young man who, when he first came to the Academy, was pretty sure that the Catholic Church didn’t ‘have it quite right’. But after getting to know a certain young lady, he told me that she removed all of his defences against Jesus because she forgave him: immediately and repeatedly.
There is Elizabeth Enright who started a youth group with her sister and John Espadero who helps them. And Krisztina Orgona, who puts as much love into a salad or a lamb chop as anyone I know and she told me that no matter what happens when I go to the monastery, it will be worthwhile. And just as essays and assignments were piling up near the end of the school year, Hanna Corkery put in a full day of work to help prepare the faculty appreciation dinner. Then there is Cassie Farrell, who took her commitment to Janine and Paul’s memorial so much to heart.
There was also an incident last fall, at the start of the school year when there was a sewage backup in one of the girls’ residences, just as they had moved in. The sewage had spread to the carpet and another generous young man came to do the cleaning. In the meantime Maura McNeely held a meeting to disperse the twelve young women in groups to the other girls’ residences with already busy bathrooms. The first three words of the meeting were: “Thank you, Jesus.”
At the Academy relationships quickly become friendships. In Christ, the friendships we’ve been given will be lifelong.
Academically, the people who make the Academy what it is hope to foster free thinking. They want to foster individuals who are free to be faithful to revealed truth and who are capable of reading and questioning and problem solving; capable of acknowledging beauty and recognizing fallacies; capable of correcting a destructive idea and of developing a good one. A great part of this learning is words. Our vocabularies now include words like “munificent,” “somnambulant,” “hylomorphism,” and “squirrelize”. Okay, squirrelize isn’t a word – but it could be! And we have learned many other words too. Words that are part of us, that have changed us; words that signify sacred realities that we will cherish forever. Words like: Zakrzewski, Schintgen, Freeburn, Kerr, Merrick, Lieflander, Nicholson, Meenan, Beresford and Cassidy. Names we will never forget.
They are true leaders. They have taught us what the true reality of Catholicity means. They open their offices and their homes to us. They host parties, repair school and personal computers, manage the library, serve on committees and help us with classes other than the ones they teach. They pray for us and they forgive us.
Professors, thank you for forgiving our acts of disrespect, whether voluntary or careless, and for our sometimes poor appreciation of who you are. We love God more because of you. It is our hope that no matter where we go or what we do, and no matter what it costs us, we will remind others that they belong to God.
Mom and Dad, I cannot appreciate fully what your love for Amy, Mary, Elizabeth and I has done for us; and it is not possible for me to express the things you deserve to hear. Thank you for being here today.
Thank you to all the parents for coming. In the beauty of this Academy family it means a lot to us to have each others’ parents here.
Thank you Your Excellency, we are so happy that you are here. Your presence means a lot to each of us.
Mr. Zakrzewski rendered this in Latin for me at the last minute. The graduating class of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, 2010, would like everyone who has supported and cared for us to know:
In Sanctae Communionis mysterio
propter vestram
caritatem in caritate
succrescimus.
In the mystery of Holy Communion,
we are growing in charity because of your charity.
Thank you.
Correction:
Although it is not possible to mention everyone, I made a serious mistake in this speech by not mentioning, at least with a thank you, Father Paul Burchat and Father Christopher Shalla, who daily gave us Christ’s own love in the Sacraments, in Fatherhood and in friendship. May we ever pray for you both by name in thanksgiving to God. |
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The red and gold vestments of the Mass of the Holy Spirit shimmered, the full-voiced tones of the organ resonated, and incense rose high above the congregation as Bishop Michael Mulhall ascended into the sanctuary of St. Hedwig's Parish on September 7th. The entire student body and faculty of OLSWA were in attendance at the academic year's inaugural Mass, graced by the presence of the diocesan bishop of Pembroke. The solemn Mass marked the first day of classes, and provided the professors their opportunity to swear their annual Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium.
Students Jonathan Baker, Michael Hayden, and the small Canadian Crossroads team passed through Barry’s Bay last week on their summer-long walk across Canada. Faculty and staff of OLSWA were proud to welcome back these students who, with the help of their small team, have collectively walked some 3800 km of the 5000 km walk.
Baker, Hayden, and the rest of the Crossroads team have walked both night and day, in all kinds of weather. They have walked through the mountains, across the desert, through the flooded prairies and dry western Ontario. The Crossroads team has spoken at churches and prayed outside abortion clinics, wearing white t-shirts with “Pro Life” written prominently across the front. While the visual witness is important, however, it is not the only aspect of their walk.
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Every year approximately 1.6 million children are aborted in Canada and the United States. Worldwide the figure is over 40 million. The numbers are stunning. This summer two students from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Michael Hayden and Jonathan Baker, have decided to do something about it. They’ll be going for a walk.
