Do Not Be Afraid — You are the Now of God
Message for Graduates from our Catholic Schools
This is a very happy time for young people graduating from the Catholic schools within our Diocese, as well as for their parents with all of their families. Over the past years, they have grown much in their faith and have learned much about themselves, our world and the path they wish to follow in life. The faculty and staff of the schools have journeyed with them during these years out of love and commitment to give them the best in terms of education and true respect for themselves on every level. They are graduating from outstanding Catholic schools, which will not only be part of their memory but also places where they have homes as proud graduates. I take this opportunity to address a few words to them.
Your graduation takes place during a very significant time during the life of the Church as it is a Jubilee Year. Such Jubilees occur every 25 years, the last one being the time of the millennium when you were not even yet born into the world. This year, given to us by our beloved late Holy Father, Pope Francis, is dedicated to the virtue of hope. It is the Year of Hope under the title from the words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans, “Hope does not disappoint” (5:5). You young women and men are reason for all of us to hope, and we know that you will not disappoint us in this hope.
You are also graduating at the time when the Church has a new Pope, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Part of his first words in his new role were addressed to young people at his first Sunday appearance in Rome, which was also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. He expressed, “To young people I say, Do not be afraid! Accept the invitation of the Church and Christ the Lord!” The words of the first United States-born Pope were the same as those of the great St. John Paul II in 1978, when he made his first appearance after his election as Pope. In our world today, there is much to fear, and we can only not be afraid by casting aside the fear we all have to be the unique and individual persons as God created us in His image and likeness.
Shortly before his passing, Pope Francis issued a special message to young people which was tied to the celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, when Pope Leo addressed young people as well. This message is especially relevant for you as you graduate and as you more deeply consider the call to which God invites you in life. Each one of you has a unique call which truly will make a difference, not only in your lives and the lives of your families, but for the life of the world as well. It may be a vocation to marriage, family life, the pursuit of the good of others in many different ways, or to priesthood or religious life. No matter what your vocation may be, it must be inspired by hope, marked by confident trust in God’s providence. As Pope Francis stated to you, “Hope is more than mere optimism: it is a certainty based on our faith in God, who is at work in each of our lives.”
In his message, Pope Francis strongly expressed that “Your youth is not an in-between time. You are the now of God.” You are the now of God! On the Sunday after Easter, the formal canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis was to take place in Rome but had to be postponed because of the passing of the Pope. This will now be one of the first celebrations for Pope Leo XIV. Many of us are familiar with this new saint of the Church who was a teenager living like every other teenager, but with a focus on faith and hope in his life. That made him a joy for so many. I am very pleased that many young people are taking his name for their Confirmation name, which shows what an influence he had.
Carlo was dedicated to media and electronic communication. However, his interest in these were not in themselves, but as a source of communicating with others in deepening his own faith. He was extremely devoted to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and even put together an exhibit of Eucharistic miracles that traveled around the world and included our own Cathedral of St. Ignatius in Palm Beach. He died at the young age of 15 from leukemia, but always possessed a spirit of joy until the end which manifested the purpose he knew was part of his own life. One of his well-known sayings was, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies.” Carlo was not afraid to be the unique person as God created him to be. Carlo lived a true life of hope which made a difference in the lives of others.
Pope Francis warned in his message that so many of the situations in our world fill young people with a great deal of dismay as they look to the future. Many times, insecurity about their prospects of employment are experienced as well as a very profound identity crisis, leading to depression, a crisis of meaning and values in the midst of a confused message that comes to us from an abundance of the digital world, which gives us not security but insecurity. We live in a world of instant communication, much of which is not meant to transmit the truth but offer interpretation of the truth. This is happening in the world quickly developing artificial intelligence, which very well can lead away from the human heart. In fact, Pope Leo XIV expressed, after his election, that this was a reason he took the name of Leo, as Pope Leo XIII lived with different but similar issues which he addressed. We also live in a world filled with the brutality of war, hatred and political unrest. Pope Francis expressed in his message, “Yet the Lord, who knows the human heart, does not abandon us in our uncertainty. He wants us to know that we are loved, held and sent as pilgrims of hope.”
In his message, Pope Francis expressed how the discovery of God’s call to us in life comes about as the result of a journey of discernment. As I previously indicated, that journey has taken place in a significant way at our Catholic schools. These schools are communities which have developed your Christian identities and walked with you as you now walk into the future in new directions. Continue to carry with you through the future what has been given to you. Know that the value of true human interaction leads you to knowing who you are as individual persons made in the image and likeness of God. Respect and love the person you are and you will respect and love all other people who come into your path. You will also discern better what God is calling you to live in this world.
I wish to conclude by quoting Pope Francis’ words, which he prepared as meant to be directly addressed to you at this time: “Dear young friends, hope in God does not disappoint, because in every step of the way He accompanies those who entrust their lives to him. Our world needs young people who are pilgrims of hope who courageously devote their lives to Christ and are joyous in being His disciples and missionaries.”
My dear young people, I congratulate you on this very significant occasion. I thank your parents and all those at our wonderful Catholic schools for their journey with you, and their willingness to continue that journey. You truly are the now of God and the promise not only of the future but of today. In the spirit of this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are all very confident that you will not disappoint. It is so fitting that the first words of Pope Leo and the last words of Pope Francis are addressed to you. “Do not be afraid. …You are the now of God!”
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
