Valedictory Address by Brendan McGuire

Your Eminence, Honorable Senator, Mrs. Bethell, Reverend Fathers, Dr. O'Donnell and all the faculty, dear family members, friends, and fellow graduates in the class of 2003 – joy, health, love, and peace in Christ our God.

In the fifth century--an age very much like our own, when the faithful sons of the Church found themselves faced with the challenge of evangelizing amid the ruins of a collapsing civilization – St. Prosper of Aquitaine wrote to a young man pursuing liberal studies:

"My son, be not discouraged. Even when the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the sea in turmoil bears you along in but one surviving ship, it would still befit you to maintain your enthusiasm for studies unimpaired. Why should lasting values tremble if transient things fall?"

Why, indeed, should lasting values tremble if transient things fall! Prosper's words reach right to the heart of what we have been engaged in here at Christendom College. Guided by our beloved professors, we have been granted the grace of taking part in the great conversations that form the western tradition. In an age that repudiates perennial truths of metaphysics and morality, preferring practical formulae for material success, young men and women at Christendom College devote themselves to wisdom for its own sake. Have we thus been deprived of the means to lead fulfilling lives in the modern age? In no way; we have, on the contrary, been given a glimpse of that in which human fulfillment (on the natural level) consists: the contemplation of truth.

More still have we done; or rather, not done, but received, for we have been given the grace here, not only to study perennial wisdom, but to encounter Wisdom incarnate – Christ Himself. The opportunities of growing closer to Christ here have been many – the Sacraments, Eucharistic Adoration and contemplative prayer, the active ministries of Shield of Roses, the Legion of Mary, and sidewalk counseling at the Planned Parenthood. The centrality of the Liturgy in the life of the College meant that every activity, every moment of our time here was ordained to the service of Christ our God, the Uncreated Source of all Wisdom. How blessed we have been!

How blessed we have been in our community life, developing deep friendships that are rooted in love for Christ!

How blessed we have been, by the spiritual direction of our dedicated chaplains! --How blessed we have been, by the edifying example and advice of our professors!

How blessed we have been with the notion, drilled into us by our Founding President, that the time we spend at Christendom College is time spent in training for the reconquest of western society!

Now however, that period of training has come to an end, and it falls to us, equipped with the proper tools and assisted by the grace of God, to prove the mettle of our formation. The world is not friendly to our message, yet, although most of us are called to live in the world, we are not of the world. We have nothing to fear, however, for the prince of this world has been judged. Our mission has been clearly laid out before us in the Scriptures, in the writings of the orthodox Fathers, and, no less clearly, in the exhortations of Dr. Warren Carroll--we are to bring Christ Jesus to a broken world, all the while remaining a people set apart, always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us.

What does this mean for us in the practical realm? It means, first and foremost, that we continually avail ourselves of the sacraments and prayer, not forgetting the habits formed while living in this vibrant community. It means, moreover, that we divorce ourselves utterly from the materialism, consumerism, and sensuality that dominate our age, so that we who by no merit of our own have become the children of light, may not be so readily confused with the children of this world whom we can then call, in love, to share our way of life. Indeed, we must never cease striving to become worthy of the kingdom promised us.

The words of St. Prosper of Aquitaine are especially appropriate at this moment, as we set out from this halcyon community into hectic lives, that will be filled with stresses and temptations of all kinds: Be not discouraged. Even when the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the sea in turmoil bears you along in but one surviving ship, it would still be befit you to maintain your enthusiasm for studies unimpaired--and not only for studies, but for everything that we have experienced at Christendom – it would still befit you to maintain your enthusiasm for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and His Blessed Mother, for evangelization and witnessing to the Gospel, for the joy of Catholic friendship, fellowship, and camaraderie, for beauty in the Church's liturgy – all unimpaired by the wounds and the turmoil of this life. Why should lasting values tremble if transient things fall? Hold to what is lasting and eternal; your Christendom education has released you from being merely a child of the age.

I would like to close by commending the whole graduating class to Mary, the Mother of God. She is the true Seat of all Wisdom, for she bore Wisdom in her bosom. Let us fly to her, and ask her to guide us along the path to the heavenly city.

Although the valedictorian is supposed to offer a farewell, let us remember what C.S. Lewis said to Sheldon Vanauken when, after the two had developed a deep friendship and Sheldon had concluded his studies at Oxford – Lewis said, "Sheldon, a Christian NEVER says goodbye!!!"

Viva Cristo Rey!