My Dear Friends in Christ,
Congratulations on your recent graduation! With your family members, friends, school administrators, teachers, and coaches, we rejoice with you, grateful to God for all you have accomplished and all that He has accomplished in you.
Recently, I was part of a panel discussion in New York with Dr. David Steiner of Johns Hopkins University, who authored A Nation at Thought. He lamented the state of education today, noting that very often we teach basic skills and technical skills, without truly preparing good citizens. Many students graduate today without a sense of history and the richness of culture. Sometimes we think of education as mere training to get a good job to earn money to possess things.
Catholic education seeks to form the whole person. It is my sincere hope that your education has prepared you to rise to meet the challenges of life – that it has contributed something to the formation of your person – body, spirit, and soul. There is no doubt that a certain passion for knowledge and learning is necessary for students, but it is necessary throughout our entire lifetime. Years ago, when I was a seminary professor, I had a sign on my desk, which had words, attributed to Michelangelo, “Ancora imparo,” which can be translated as “I’m still learning.”
We learn from our successes and from our failures. Hopefully, you have learned that there will always be challenges and disappointments in life, ones that can be confronted and overcome with the grace that comes from on high. Furthermore, the late-Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati once told me, “Don’t let your studies get in the way of your education.”
I think what he meant to say is that we learn a lot from our peers, from our friends and elders – through relationships. I was leaving for my studies in Rome, when he said these words to me, and I think he wanted me to be caught up in wonder at the art, architecture, music, and people I would encounter. As a spiritual man, he also hoped that I would learn something outside the classroom, perhaps, in prayer in the chapel.
As I grow older, I continue to learn that Christ is the answer to all the major questions of life. For our part, we want to train minds and hearts to ask the right questions. I pray that we have succeeded or, at least, helped you along the journey of life.
Finally, during this Jubilee Year, we are “Pilgrims of Hope.” We have great hope for the future because of you. Hope does not disappoint because God has poured out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us. (Romans 5:5).
Wishing you every blessing, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Earl K. Fernandes
Bishop of Columbus