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Thursday, April 30, 2020
5.3.2020
What Remains
None of us has been a stranger to change in these past two months. Professors have had to change the way they teach. Students have had to change the way they learn. Certainly, we in Campus Ministry have had to change the way we do ministry. Families have had to change how they connect with each other. Even our eating, shopping, cleaning, grooming, exercise and entertainment habits have dramatically changed. It’s enough for us all to scream, “Stop the ride already! I want off!” But, of course, there’s no “stopping the ride” - it’s life. And we know by now that we will never completely “go back to the way things used to be.” This pandemic will have effects that reach far beyond the immediate crisis in the areas of health care, personal and communal hygiene practices, economic policy, travel, globalization, education, evangelization, you name it! And so, given all this change, what - if anything - remains the same? Two verses from the New Testament spring to mind for me. The first is Hebrews 13:8 - “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Amen! What a reassurance to know that in these tumultuous times Christ remains our constant. The second verse that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 13:13 - “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” This present crisis has already proved this true time and again, as we see many heroic examples of love and people reaching out in whatever way they can to family, church, community and those in need on a scale that we would have cynically thought fantastical at the outset of this year. And this isn’t all that remains. Human beings remain the same, in their divine bearing and fundamental goodness. The needs of our world, too, remain largely the same, even if in scale they seem amplified. The mission of the university, therefore, also remains the same: to enable its students “to develop intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically and physically to enrich their own lives and the lives of others.” As I revisit these words, I think especially of our soon-to-be graduates. While, unfortunately, they will have to forego (or at least postpone) the traditions and celebrations we associate with commencement, and while they enter a very different world than the one they knew at the beginning of their time here, their mission remains and the world needs them now more than ever. As we continue to adapt to the changes happening all around us and look to the future, my hope is that we can cling to Christ and to faith, hope, love all the more! Blessings and best wishes to the Class of 2020! The world needs you and I know that you will make us proud. --Fr. Thom
Fr. Thom and Megan Grady host a podcast where they discuss pop culture as well as topics regarding faith.
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