A Baccalaureate Mass in the Catholic faith celebrates and blesses graduating students before their commencement ceremony. It's a time of prayer, reflection and celebration of the students' academic achievements and the support of their community.
Bishop Robert J. McClory presided over three Baccalaureate Masses this month, celebrating with the graduating class from each of the three diocesan high schools. The liturgies were held: June 4 for Andrean High School at Our Lady of Consolation, June 5 for Bishop Noll Institute at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels and June 11 for Marquette High School at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
“We could ask ourselves, ‘Did Jesus ever give a commencement address and did St. Paul ever give a commencement address?’ I would suggest that both of them did,” said Bishop McClory in his homily.
The bishop referenced the Ascension of Jesus, celebrated in the Catholic Church this year on June 1. The scripture readings for the week, he said, focused on Jesus preparing his followers for his departure from earth.
“He ascended where we hope to be, at the right hand of God, the Father, our eternal heavenly destiny,” Bishop McClory said. “Jesus kept preparing them that there would be something, even with that separation, that would be so beautiful, something that would be so incredible, that He would be with them always.”
The bishop noted that St. Paul also came to a point with the Ephesians, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, where he had to let them know that the time had come for him to depart. St. Paul prepared them with some sobering words, but he also ended their time together “with some words of encouragement, and a moment to embrace, have some hugs, have some tears, because this may be the last time they would see him. There was so much love and so much of a sense of purpose.”
Jesus’s commencement address and St. Paul’s commencement address, the bishop added, are to be aware of the challenges in the future, to move forward with confidence, knowing that God is with them.
Reflecting on his own life, Bishop McClory acknowledged that he went through many graduation moments. He graduated from high school, college, graduate school, law school and seminary, earning one degree and then another.
“There really is nothing like these times because it gives you a chance to savor what you’ve experienced and to ask yourself, ‘What are you really hoping will stay with you?’ because things are going to be different,” he said. “What you have been given has enduring value.”
Bishop McClory recalled the time when he graduated from college and was preparing to enter graduate school in New York City. Being a “suburban kid,” he had never been to New York and a friend told him, “You're going to be sent like a lamb among wolves.”
While most of the New Yorkers he encountered were good people, Bishop McClory admitted it was true that he hadn’t prepared himself to enter into a different environment. He encountered others who didn’t come from the same kind of area and didn’t have the same background.
“The reality is that there may be voices out there who would say, ‘Jesus isn't real. He really doesn't love you and doesn't have a plan for you,’ and it's important to hold on, to be aware that there will be some who will oppose what we have come to believe,” the bishop said, speaking to the senior class. “Don't be surprised by somebody who shares something with you that might be disturbing or from a different perspective, but rather be aware. Then, remember the essentials.”
St. Paul, the bishop said, asked people to remember what they had learned – to be kind and gracious and know that it is better to give than to receive. These can be different from other values in the world that can sometimes encourage individuals to do whatever they can for themselves.
“St. Paul says to look out for one another and ask, ‘How can I help those who are weak? How can I help those in need?” he said.
Bishop McClory explained that Jesus delivered a similar message. In the Gospel of John, Jesus prays with his disciples, knowing he will soon be departing from them. He prays to God, not for himself, but for others.
Reciting part of John:17, the bishop read, “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are . . . Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.”
Bishop McClory said commencement was a time to celebrate and reflect, but also to take notice of what the Lord has given.
“I pray for all of you graduates, for all of us here today, that you savor that which is most essential and that you go forward with gratitude, knowing the Lord has sent you on mission,” Bishop McClory said.
