Graduation season and our Catholic schools

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

On May 6, I had the privilege of celebrating the Baccalaureate Mass for St. Elizabeth’s University, in Convent Station. In the past week, in the course of five days, I participated in the commencement exercises at four high schools: Mary, Help of Christians in North Haledon and our three diocesan high schools, DePaul Catholic, Morris Catholic, and Pope John XXIII. As I was asked to share some remarks on those occasions, I encouraged the students to be grateful, especially to their parents and family, to their teachers, coaches, school staff, and administrators. I also encouraged the students to continue to live a life of faith, guided and strengthened by prayer, weekly Mass, and an openness to their vocation, or God’s plan for their lives.

As I was privileged to share in these moments and aware that so many students, parents, families, and school communities have shared in the joy of this graduation season, from pre-k all the way to college, I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections on what it means to mark and celebrate these moments and accomplishments. There are three themes that stand out for me:

Gratitude

Together with the whole Church, we follow a liturgical calendar that helps us to remember and give thanks for all the blessings that we receive, day by day, and over the course of a year, especially remembering the most significant moments in salvation history, such as Christmas and Easter. At the completion of a certain level of education, a graduation certainly is a moment to stop and give thanks. As we give thanks, we can realize that, with blessings come responsibilities and one of the best ways we can show our gratitude is by taking advantage of the opportunities that we are given, such as our education, and by giving back or generously sharing the blessings we have received. In the graduations I attended, I was very happy to hear so many of the student speakers expressing gratitude for all that they have received and, especially to their parents, teachers, and school communities. On behalf of the graduates, but, also, on behalf of the Church of our Diocese, I took the opportunity to thank all the parents, grandparents, and family members of the graduates, as well as the school administrators, faculty, and staff.

What a difference a year makes!

In addressing the Class of 2021, I shared with them my belief that in the years to come, they will have a special connection with the Class of 2020. We are all aware of how difficult things were at this time last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We can be especially grateful that we were able to have in-person graduations this year, as so many graduations, as well as the accompanying celebrations, such as senior proms, could not take place last year or had to be done virtually. As we pause to reflect on this year, in this graduation season, we pray that the class of 2020 and the class of 2021 will become even better leaders, public servants, and people of faith and prayer because of all the adversity and challenges that they faced and overcame together. They also have been blessed to see the heroic, creative, and dedicated example of their school administrators and teachers who transitioned to remote learning in March 2020 and who opened our schools for in-person as well as hybrid, remote and other combinations to continue to provide a well-rounded, safe, as normal as possible, and as excellent as usual Catholic education.

Our Catholic Schools

Just as I was privileged to attend the college and high school graduations, I am aware that all of our diocesan Catholic grammar schools had their graduations as well. I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to say “Thank You” to our Superintendent of Schools, Mary Baier, and her staff, Father Stan Barron, our Vicar for Education, the principals and pastors, teachers, staff, and volunteers of all the Catholic schools in our Diocese who have been so consistently dedicated and committed to open our schools and keep them open, caring for the health and safety of students and all. Our Catholics schools have been one of the true highlights of my first year as the Bishop of Paterson, just as their light has been a “beacon of hope” during the darkest days of the pandemic. We are all aware that we still have more work to do, but in these days of the graduation season, as we honor and congratulate all our graduates, let us also offer our thanks and prayers of gratitude to all those who offer that well-rounded, as normal as possible, excellent education offered in the Catholic schools of our Diocese.

Gratitude, Prayer, and Vocation — those are the three words that I invited our graduates to reflect upon and hopefully remember as they move on to the next chapter in their lives. In having been able to attend the commencement exercises at some of our schools, hear the speakers, and feel the joy, I was reminded how much we have to be grateful for, especially in the graduation season of 2021 and because of the Catholic Schools in our Diocese.