As professor emeritus I continue to attend the
University of Rio Grande Commencement every year as well as the special Sunday
Mass at St. Louis Church Gallipolis, Ohio for all of the new high school
graduates in the parish. I like to give
each person I know a hug and a request: “Don’t forget your great mission for
God and Country”. Indeed God has a
special mission for each one of us and we will not die until we have the
opportunity to accomplish that mission to the point that God wills. However, the mission has little meaning and
will bear few fruits without a close relationship with God through prayer and
trusting in His will. We depend upon Him
for His help and strength according to His will. At the same time I give each one of them the
following reflection.
GRADUATES & ALL: MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR GOOD
This is the season for graduation
from high school and college and also a time to think: What am I going to do with my life to make a
difference for good? Older parents,
relatives, and friends should also reflect:
In the time I have left, what can I do to make the world a little bit
better? Young graduates, never lose the
ideals of your youth; don’t fall into the cynicism that age can bring. Never lose your youthful enthusiasm.
AMDG.
There is one overriding principle for life:
Ad majorem Dei gloriam or its
abbreviation often put at the top of letters or other personal writing,
AMDG. It is the Latin motto of the
Jesuit order which means “For the greater glory of God”. That is to discern God’s will for our lives
and try to follow His will in everything we do as we serve Him and His people
either as a leader or as a member of a team working with others, all
contributing to the family, the community, the parish, and/or the organization
that produces a good or a service. Remember
the little way of St. Therese, the Little Flower; “Do little things well for
the love of God”. Upon getting out of
bed every day, say a short morning offering to the Lord everything you do
that day.
Every
one of us can do something to further Christ’s kingdom on earth……a kingdom
where love prevails and people care about each other instead of taking each
other…….in the family, in the parish, in the community, in the organization
where we work in little or big ways by prayer and example, by word and
deed. Work for something bigger than
yourself. Even the bedridden can make a most
valuable contribution by offering his/her sufferings to God as a dynamic prayer
for the Church, the Missions, a better world, and for his loved ones. Every saint had to suffer before reaching
glory and sooner or later we will suffer also.
Properly taken as a preparation for eternity, suffering can lead to
sanctity. “No cross, no crown”. No life is a waste as long as s/he surrenders
him/herself to the will of God, prays, tries to love, and aspires to serve
others in little or big ways.
Inspiring
is the life of Fr. Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit priest. He was a Polish-American who was raised in a
tough neighborhood. In the late 1930s
Pope Pius XI asked for missionary priests to volunteer to serve the persecuted
Church in Soviet Russia. Knowing Polish,
Russian was easy for him. So he clandestinely
crossed into Stalinist Communist Russia.
Finally he was caught and confined to Russian prisons and the Gulag or
slave labor camps in frigid Siberia for 23 years. Thinking himself as tough, Fr. Walter thought
he could take anything that the Communists could dish out. Trying to maintain control, he was
miserable. Finally, Fr. Ciszek
surrendered himself to the will of God with complete trust in Him. He attributed every cross to His permissive
will in that God generally does not send suffering, but allows it to happen as
part of the human condition after the Fall of Man. That complete resignation to the will of God turned
his misery into joy as he ministered to those around him, thus making him a
saint, now on the road to canonization.
In 1963 the U.S. Government traded two Russian spies for his
release. He shared his experience to
strengthen the faith of the people back home until his death in 1984. You can read his two major books published by
Ignatius Press and also available at amazon.com: “With God in Russia” and “He
Leadeth Me”.
The Christophers. As a youth in college, I encountered the Christophers, founded by Fr. James Keller, a Maryknoll priest in the 1940s. It has had a profound influence on my life. Christopher comes from the Greek, "Cristoforos", meaning Christ bearer. According to its name, the Christopher movement is directed to the lay person to bring Christ to all segments of Society, especially through the critical professions of education, government, social work, social communications, and labor-management relations.
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| St. Christopher |
Their motto comes from the Chinese proverb: "Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness". With such a positive attitude and willingness to serve, you’ll have a happier and more satisfying life. May we light many candles in the classroom, the work place, the home, the parish, in our community activities, and even at social gatherings. And through our children, students, subordinates, or colleagues may we illuminate the entire country, as Fr. Keller envisioned in his book, “You Can Change the World” and “Change the World From Your Parish”.
Their
monthly pamphlet, the "Christopher Notes", is quite
interesting and have been excellent for my personal and professional
development. They've given me many
insights and practical ideas about diverse topics of daily living as well as
how to be a more effective apostle in whatever state of life and/or job one
has. They are very inspirational. You can obtain a free subscription by writing
to The Christophers; 12 East 45th St.; New York, NY 10017 or
www.christophers.org. They are willing
to send them in quantity free to schools and youth groups every month. They also have fine books, videos, and audio
tapes. Their TV program, "Christopher
Closeup" is great. It's on
the Faith & Values channel, EWTN cable and satellite, and on the internet at www.ewtn.com/tv.
Making a Difference Wherever You
Are. The Christopher movement has been a great influence upon me since I
was an undergraduate in college.....especially their emphasis upon individual
responsibility for making the world just a little bit better because of
you.....that God has given each one of us a special mission, a mission that He
has not given to any other. One person
can do little to change the world, but you can do something.....a little today,
a little tomorrow, and a little the next day.
Then with God's help, the accumulation of many small deeds over a career
can add to greatness (grounded in humility).....as great as many noted people
in history, who have only one or two major positive accomplishments or
contributions, but nothing more. Thus,
you can change the world. The key to
great achievements and greatness itself is perseverance.....a little every day
as God works through each one of us.
Continue learning in order to serve God and people more effectively.
Each one of us in our careers
touches the lives of hundreds of people.
For you, it could be in the thousands someday, especially if you’re in
mass communications, a teacher, writer, musician, actor, or a leader. There must be many unknown heroes and saints
out there who do their little bit every day for God, Country, community,
parish, family, and neighbor. In the
inner cities, for example, there are mothers who raise great persons for the
Lord despite having been abandoned by their husbands. There are the sick and the hurting who offer
their crosses as dynamic prayers for a better world. When you die, nobody will
remember nor care how much money you made, but how you enriched other people's
lives in little or big ways.....beginning with the immediate family and
reaching out to groups or individuals in the work place, the parish, and the
community.
Enriching people's lives
---starting with the family is crucial since a child benefits more from and
later remembers a parent's time in quality and quantity more than the toys
showered upon him or her--- may be just little things........being there when
somebody needs help or a patient understanding ear, giving someone a little
time even when in a hurry, a kind word of encouragement and praise that
reinvigorates, a greeting and a smile
that communicates a little love, accepting
one who is difficult to like, being patient with one who taxes one's
patience. A bit of kindness or just
being nice with a big smile that communicates a little love can make a person’s
day. I have an ideal and a
desire.....that when I die the world will be just a little bit better because
of me. We wish the same for you.
Dealing
with Failures. Inevitably, at times things will not go well. Occasionally, there will be opposition,
criticism, frustration, disappointment, and failure. Offer that up too and don’t give up; don’t
quit. Our Lord also values your failed
efforts done in loving Him and His people.
Remember the words of Blessed Mother of Calcutta: “God does not ask that
we be successful, but to be faithful” to Him and the vocation He has called us
to. "God doesn't require us to
succeed; He only requires that you try." “Love begins at home, and it is not how much
we do... but how much love we put in that action.” “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is
just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing
drop.” “If you can't feed a hundred
people, then feed just one.”
From the Christophers, came my ideal
of putting Christ into Business and other organizations through
our students. Bishop Sheen promoted:
“Put Christ into the Market Place”. If every alumnus from your school or every
member of your parish, for example, would light just one candle, we could
illuminate the whole country.
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