Graduation 2020 Homily

Truth in Aphorisms
by Msgr. Bradley S. Offutt, Pastor

(transcribed from the Class of 2020 Graduation Mass homily given June 11, 2020)

Down through the years, we receive wise sayings, you know, aphorisms they are sometimes called. It’s good to learn some of them. They’re pithy and they can contain a lot of truth, like Benjamin Franklin: “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Man, there’s a lot of truth in that. I think sometimes of that one by Lord Acton, what was he an 18^th century Englishman? “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts. Absolutely.” That’s a good one to bear in mind. I think my favorite aphorism is from Old Testament wisdom literature – it says it in different ways in different places and it goes like this: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Man, I like that. “If you want make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” That’s easy to remember and it is so true! It just quickly gets to the heart of human life and divine potential. “If you want make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

Young people, all your life, you will hope and you will plan. You can’t help it. You will hope to be in a certain place. You will plan to do a certain thing. You will hope to acquire a certain item or position. You will plan to pursue a certain kind of relationship. You will hope and plan. You will plan and hope. You cannot help but do it because, to be human, is to hope and plan. In many ways, we are not much more than little hoping, planning machines. The problem is that the life that we have in common is chock full of moveable parts and unknown quantities. And we have, like, ZERO control over most of these things. And when some of these significant moveable parts and unknown quantities collide with your plans, they just crumble up . . . and blow away.

Why, look at tonight for instance. Look at this school year. There’s our principals right there. You can rest assured that our principals and the faculty had this school year planned . . . right down to the nth degree. They had graduation planned. But then along comes moveable parts and unknown quantities – Covid-19, city and diocesan directives, and the whole thing kind of goes up in smoke. Young people, you will encounter this over and over in your life. Everything will be going along, you know, okay. But then you’ll lose your money or you’ll lose your job or you’ll lose your health or you’ll lose your ambition or you’ll lose a life and then suddenly, man, those plans that you had invested so much of yourself in, they just very quickly obtain all the currency of . . . a buggy whip. And when that happens, when your hopes and your plans disappear, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because it teaches us really quickly, even violently, the limits of our own power and control. That’s a good thing to learn. But, when your hopes and plans change, it can also make you really afraid. It can make you really afraid. When the people and the things that you depended on are no longer there, it’s hard to hope in strangers in strange places. It’s hard to trust in unknown circumstances.

And so, what can we do? Well, we can be recklessly despairing: “Oh, everything’s no good - always has been and always will be!” That’s where I’ve been many times in my life. That’s not a good place. Or, we can be recklessly optimistic: “Everything’ll be okay!” Those of you with good sense will pick up the pieces for those who are recklessly optimistic many times in your life. Or finally, we can do what scripture tells us tonight in that reading from Isaiah and that wonderful reading from Philippians where the apostle says to keep thinking, thinking, thinking. Here’s another aphorism for you: “Thinking is the hardest work there is. That’s why so few people ever do it.” That one’s from Henry Ford. The apostle says: “Keep thinking about what good and true and pleasing and honorable and commendable.” And then the apostle says: “Keep doing. Keep on doing what you have learned from respectable, responsible people. And do not be afraid.”

Now you’re gonna be afraid. Many times in your life you’re gonna be afraid. No matter how much the Bible tells you and me not to be afraid, we’re gonna be afraid. And our fear isn’t even necessarily a bad thing. You can learn a lot from your fear. But, don’t let your fear kill your courage. When your fear kills your courage and you stop moving forward, however tentatively, you’ve rolled off the right road. Which is why I’m sure every person of experience in here prays for you young people that you will keep thinking about what is good and pleasing and pure and commendable and honorable. And that you will keep doing what you’ve learned from the respectable, responsible people in your family and that you’ve encountered in this place. If you do that, then you’re going to arrive in a day when you say: “You know, I may not exactly like where I am. I may not have exactly thought I’d be here. But God has always taken care of me. I can see that looking in the rear-view mirror. God has always taken care of me.” And because I know God has always taken care of me despite my foolishness, you and I have reason to believe that God will keep taking care of us. And so Isaiah says, “I know you. I made you. I’ve called you by name for God’s sake. I love you so much that I even died and lived that you might know how to live and die. And I’m with you. I’m with you all the time. So try not to be afraid.” You know, young people, if you leave Visitation School with scarcely more than a sturdy sense of God’s presence to you and a sturdy sense of Christ’s love for you. If that’s all you walk out of here with, I venture to say that will be more than enough.