I’ve always found it very interesting that graduation ceremonies, which mark closing a chapter of one’s academic studies, are called ‘commencements.’ The Oxford English Dictionary defines a commencement as a “time of beginning.” Though a commemoration of the past years of study, the university ‘commencement’ is, then, principally a celebration of a “time of beginning.” Nominally, it is less about celebrating the hard work that leads up to the reception of degrees and more about celebrating the beginnings of graduates’ post-collegiate life and the flourishing of their vocations and careers which is to follow. Harkening back to the question that we were all asked by Fr. Michael Himes at freshman orientation, it is a time to begin using our Boston College education to answer that question: “What brings me joy, what am I good at, and who does the world need me to be?”
Admittedly, when first hearing this last question four years ago, I was annoyed that it was not structured as “Who does God need us to be?” After all, I thought, “the world” is often called one of the three enemies of the soul (alongside the flesh and the devil). I now see the foolishness of my original skepticism. Firstly, though God gives us unique callings, He does not need any of us to be at all, neither does He need for us to do anything. Secondly, though the Christian is to reject the prideful temptation of “the World”, the worlds in which the Christian lives,: our families, neighborhoods, cities, nations, and Church, do have needs that each of us can meet, by the grace of God.
For those called to marriage, future spouses and children need us to be self-giving, strong, and loving models of the relationship between Christ and His Church. Whether married or single, in our work lives, we will be called to pursue excellence for the common good of society, to use our talents and for the betterment of others. Though their work will be different, the teacher, doctor, business executive, politician, and waiter all have the same responsibility to use their positions to manifest the love of God that pours out into love of neighbor and build up the common good.
For those called to the active religious life, a hurting world needs those who will salve the wounds of spiritual and material poverty and injustice, and provide joyful examples of the Christian life lived in community. Those called to the diocesan priesthood are reminded that “the priest is not his own” but that the world needs priests to model the Good Shepherd in preaching the Good News, offering the Sacraments, and serving as a sacrificial victim and bridge-builder between God and His people in one’s parish. For those called to the contemplative life, the loud and self-aggrandizing world needs a great host of hidden and humble souls who sacrifice the legitimate goods of the world to pray for the peace and salvation of the world.
In the early 19th century the Venerable Bruno Lanteri established a religious order that sought to fuse the spirituality of St. Ignatius with that of Redemptorist founder St. Alphonsus Liguori. His order, the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin Mary, operate St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine in Back Bay and St. Francis Chapel in the mall of the Prudential Center—both of which have a plethora of Mass and confession times. Among the most poignant pieces of oblate spirituality is the concept of Nunc Coepi. These two Latin words come from the vulgate translation of Psalm 77:10, meaning: “Now I begin.” It conveys the importance of trusting in the mercy of God and always looking forward in the spiritual life. Lanteri wrote “If I should fall even a thousand times a day, a thousand times, with peaceful repentance, I will say immediately, “Nunc Coepi.” Nunc Coepi is an invitation to commencement, a call to start anew.
Perhaps like me, though you are graduating Boston College in three weeks, you are still working on job applications and interviews with yet an unclear clear vision of what comes next. I am confident that if we trust in God and cooperate with the call to holiness—the perfection of love—that we all have, each will discover vocations at the intersection of what brings us joy, what we are good at, and who the world needs us to be. As I look beyond graduation with a bit of uncertainty, I can nonetheless say I am excited for commencement. I am excited to say Nunc Coepi.
Featured image is courtesy of Mark Ramsay via Flickr
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