It’s Never Over
“Everything’s always ending. But everything’s always beginning, too.” ~ Patrick Ness
We will be celebrating an ending this evening. Our eighth grade class will gather for a special Graduation Mass to mark their successful completion of studies at St. Thomas More School. After the Mass, they are no longer grade schoolers. They become high schoolers.
The transition from one level of studies to another takes place a few times in our lives. Some set the first transition from kindergarten to grade school. Most would acknowledge the transitions between grade school and high school, high school and college, and college and graduate school and/or college and career. Some choose not to go to college and, instead, mark a transition from high school to trade school where they are on their way to becoming steel workers, welders, pipefitters, and a whole host of other occupations.
All these transitions are good and should be marked by celebration as they denote new stages in the lives of the students. They mark a maturity of sorts. They herald new possibilities.
Just as we transition from one stage of life to another via graduations, we transition from one stage of our spiritual lives to another by becoming more proficient, if you will, in our faith. We begin with the basics — learning our prayers — and then move on to more complex things such as volunteer service, in-depth study of the faith, learning complex ways of praying, and the like.
All of theses things — graduations and transitions — reflect endings and beginnings. Some people become very sad at the end of a school career. They become depressed and morose because they think about all that they are leaving behind. In order to feel better about the situation, all they need to do is look ahead because there are new experiences, new friendships, and new knowledge that await them.
To all the graduates of 2023, whether grade school, high school, trade school, college, graduate school, or another program, congratulations! Look ahead with joy and know that new opportunities await you all.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all graduates as they prepare to move on to the next stage of their lives.