Congratulations Seton Graduates!

Your hours of study, of taking tests, and of writing essays, have paid off with your high school graduation today!

Congratulations too, to your parents and others who helped you along the way. Your graduation is a milestone in all your lives.

Seton Graduates: today is a day of celebration, to celebrate your graduation from Seton Home Study School. I wish you and your families the very best of God’s blessings in the coming years.

Our Lady as Our Model

In the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 1, we read about the amazing and miraculous event called The Annunciation, when an angel appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary to tell her she would miraculously “bring forth a Son and call Him Jesus.”

In addition, the angel revealed to Mary that her elderly cousin Elizabeth was also miraculously pregnant. Mary clearly understood that Elizabeth would need her help. However, Elizabeth lived some distance from Mary’s home.

As I thought about you graduates and your family’s concerns about potential difficulties related to safe travel, I thought about the Blessed Virgin Mary’s travel plans. She was surely aware of the dangers and the physical discomfort of making such a difficult trip to visit her cousin.

We moms can easily believe that Mary would have liked to spend her pregnancy in quiet prayer in the comfort of her own home.

However, Mary trusted that God would protect her on the difficult journey. She trusted that God would give her the strength to withstand the problems associated with the journey to visit her cousin.

Trusting in God for her health and safe travel, the Blessed Virgin Mary decided to make the distant journey to help her cousin Elizabeth.

Sometimes in life, we find ourselves in a situation when we must make a decision to do something which will bring us discomfort or difficulties, but which will be helpful to someone in need.

When we help someone because we care and because we know Jesus wants us to help those in need, positive results often come our way.

Called to Help Others

Our Lord Jesus wants us to give our time and effort to help others, especially our children, spouse, parents, and other family members. And because the ultimate goal for all of us is eternal life in Heaven, as followers of Jesus, we must think about helping others, even those outside our family.

Jesus, the Son of God, could have stayed in His comfortable home we call Heaven, but instead, He came to us on Earth and showed us how to live a life of prayer, and how to sacrifice to help others.

What we soon discover on our earthly journey is that Jesus and Mary take care of us, most especially when we are helping others in need.

There are many examples throughout history about people who took the time to help someone in need and found a grateful friend. These various ways of helping others, of showing concern, can seem very small to us, but are very large in the eyes of Jesus. When we take those small daily opportunities to make the effort to help others, we give great pleasure to Jesus and His Blessed Mother.

Even a single kind word at the right time might be a great encouragement to someone. Christian life can be like that, helping others in need and having others help you when you are in need.

We Christians should help each other, especially through prayer for someone in need. Helping someone in need is part of being in the Mystical Body of Christ. That is how Jesus and Mary want all of us to live.

Graduates, when you receive your diploma, make a decision to always remember this day. Remember it not only for your graduation and not only for the school work that you have done over the past four years. Make a decision to always remember those who helped you to receive your diploma: your parents and other relatives, your friends, and your Seton counselors.

But most of all, remember to thank the Blessed Mother and her Son Jesus, both of Whom not only helped you to accomplish your high school work, but will continue to provide for your needs.

Daily Spiritual Support

It is also very important to stay in constant daily prayer, asking Jesus and Mary to guide you. Constant daily prayer does not mean only formal prayers, but constant awareness of the presence of Jesus and of His Blessed Mother. Also, have a constant awareness of your patron saints, one of whom was named at your Baptism and the other whose name you chose at Confirmation. These saints are waiting for you to ask for their help. Don’t neglect to stay in touch with them.

Graduates, many Catholics have found a wonderful way to stay in touch with the spiritual aspect of life by attending daily Mass and receiving Holy Communion.

Try to attend Mass every day. No prayers or religious practices can be greater than attendance at Mass and receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If it is impossible to attend Mass in person, at least say the Mass prayers with a televised Mass.

Recitation of the Rosary every day is essential for the Catholic spiritual life, especially if you cannot attend Mass every day. Say the Rosary every day in appreciation for all the past, present, and future gifts from the Blessed Mother and her Son Jesus. Many of us join others in praying the daily Rosary on EWTN, which occurs several times during the day.

With every day having so many concerns and being so hectic with important activities, it’s easy to lose sight of the permanent things, such as the Mass and the Rosary. The Rosary can help you step back from temporary concerns, and, like the sister of Lazarus in the Gospels, help you focus on “the better part.”

Saying the daily Rosary can and will bring miracles into your life, as evidenced by so many saints, as well as by many homeschooling parents.

The daily Rosary truthfully could be called the daily miraculous Rosary. Jesus and Mary listen carefully to our Rosary prayers. And they will answer your prayers in the way that is best for you.

Source of Special Graces

The Blessed Mother is “in our corner,” so to speak because she loves us. With her Son Jesus, Our Lady is dedicated to helping us. We know from her many apparitions, especially at Fatima and Lourdes, that she goes to her Son and asks Him to help those of us in need. As we petition her for help while saying the Rosary, she petitions her Son Jesus for us.

When Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, she told Bernadette that she wants to give out graces, but people don’t ask for the graces. Praying the Rosary every day is a good way to make sure that you ask for the graces which the Blessed Mother wants to give us.

Congratulations Graduates! And congratulations to your parents who have worked so hard to help you succeed in your academic lessons along with the Catholic Faith.

May Jesus and His Blessed Mother bless you students, you parents, and all your family members.