My Dear Friends in Christ,
Congratulations! Your graduation is a significant accomplishment, and the whole Church in the Diocese of Columbus rejoices with you. Your hard work has paid off. We are grateful for your parents, family members, teachers, administrators, coaches, and friends who have accompanied you on your journey and helped you to make the most of your God-given talents. As you go forth into the world, please know of our heartfelt congratulations and our continued support.
In the modern day, sometimes we reduce education to learning technical things; to getting good grades; to getting into a good college or university; and, ultimately, to getting a high paying job that we will find satisfying and for which others will respect us.
Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, the late Archbishop of Cincinnati, once said to me: “Don’t let your studies get in the way of your education.” At the time, I was leaving for doctoral studies in Rome, but I think what he meant is that our education involves much more than what we read in books. The true education is the education of the heart. The primary concern of a true and sufficient education is that of educating the human heart as God made it.
Each one of us has been given a heart by God – a heart that longs for that which is true, good and beautiful. Each of us has a longing within us to belong, to love and to be loved. It is precisely this heart that must be educated. This means apprehending the reality that is before us. Authentic education trains the mind to think critically – not negatively – about reality. How does what we see and encounter in reality correspond to the desires of the heart?
Education assists us in seeking the truth – in authentic investigation – rather than simply accepting propaganda. It means being open to that which is before us and to exploring it more profoundly. Education certainly involves more than what one reads in books. It involves relationships. During my time in Rome, I learned a lot about art and architecture, about the history of Western civilization, about food and cultures simply from walking around the city, but I would say I learned even more from the people I met in Rome.
Time and again, over a meal or in the TV room, I would have a good conversation with a fellow priest. I would learn about what he was studying, but I would also learn from his experience. In the course of a human encounter – through a conversation – we would communicate something of our experience to each other. This is also part of the educative experience.
I would invite you – our graduates – to think about what has been communicated to you by your principals, teachers, coaches and friends through your educational journey. What are those lessons which you learned that aren’t found in books?
Although I spent the majority of my life in the classroom as a student, teacher or professor, I would have to say that most of my education I received on my knees, conversing with the Teacher par excellence. Jesus invites us to come to Him: “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke open your shoulders and learn from me, for I am meek in humble of heart.”
From Jesus, we learn how to develop not only a humble heart but a compassionate heart. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the priest and Levite are well-educated in the law, but they do not have the emotional intelligence to do the right thing; whereas, the Good Samaritan, a figure of Jesus Himself, sees where mercy and compassion are needed and acts.
Jesus, in dining with tax collectors and sinners, teaches us not to be judgmental but to offer others hope. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lays down His life for His friends, demonstrating the value of sacrificial love. Jesus educates us to the value of service in washing His disciples’ feet. It is He who challenges us to arise from mediocrity, functionalism and efficiency to the greatness to which the human person is called – to live, not as a slave to work or efficiency, but to live in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. In the end, we hope that we have offered you an education that serves you now and into eternity.
Offering you my heartfelt congratulations and prayerful best wishes, I am
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Earl K. Fernandes
Bishop of Columbus
