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Homilies - Bishop Brendan Leahy

St Munchin's College Graduation Mass

St Munchin’s College Graduation Mass

In conversation recently with a young man, about 22 years of age, he said to me his graduation day was important. Someone made a remark that day that struck him: “Remember, you are more than a result”.

Results, of course, have their place but not they are relative. Take the story of a Professor of pharmacology. His Leaving Cert didn’t achieve what he had hoped for. His mother knew someone in England who recommended another line of study. He went there but then he got interested in another topic that led him on to do further studies. Today he is a Prof. of Pharmacy

But back to the young man struck by the comment: “I am more than a result”. That set him on a journey. Yes, college, etc. but there’s more to life. We need to dig deeper. He recognised he had more to give in life than just results.

That “something more” that each of us can contribute in life is made up of good choices.

An image I like. Look at a night sky. We can see great patterns of stars that fascinate and captivate in their harmony. Look at the earth: wars, environmental destruction, famine. What’s the difference? The stars follow the in-built laws of thermo-dynamics. They have no choice. Humans have choice. They too have an in-built law, the law of love for which they were created. But it’s up to them to choose this. It’s up to them to choose to live the great commandment of love that the Gospel this evening presented to us.

For everything there is a time says the First Reading. Some of you here will live into the twenty second century. But all of you will be leaving a mark on this century. Each of you has a contribution to make.

A final point. Don’t live life on your own. Yes, you need others, your family and friends. But I want to invite you to see how you need God. Don’t live as if in a bunker with no windows. Be open to working with God who wants to work with you, the God who created you, the God who can see further than you, the God who wants to help you to be fully alive, mature, realised.

The day after winning the US Masters Scottie Scheffler, who donned the famous green jacket after winning, spoke about being almost overwhelmed the morning of the final round, breaking down in tears, talking about not being ready ‘for this’. Like so many of us he turned to an ally for support, his wife Meredith who asked, ‘who are you to say you are not ready?’. They then talked about God’s will. ‘God is in control and the Lord is leading me. And if today is my time, then it’s my time.’

Now you’re concluding your second level college education. This is your graduation time. You’re more than a result. Make good choices that make a positive difference in the world. Work with God. Pope Benedict said it well: “Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”