Just like many of you, when my wife and I prepared to send our children off to college, we hoped that the institution they attended would become a worthy home — one that mirrored the values of our own home.  We prayed that they would develop the practical tools, knowledge, moral character and wisdom to tackle life’s challenges as an adult — and learn to impart their faith, knowledge and wisdom to others.

I juxtapose that with the recent news that some wealthy parents paid large sums of money to fraudulently secure their children a place at a prominent university without having earned it. What a great disservice this hollow “success” is to the young men and women who believe this is a legitimate path to maturity and advancement. 

As thousands of young men and women, including my son from college and my daughter from high school, prepare to graduate this spring, I applaud their true success. I am grateful for the education they have received and for their hard work to reach this moment. While this stage of their education may be drawing to a close, the need to continue learning and growing, especially in knowledge of God, never ends.

“Wonder,” as St. Thomas Aquinas has said, “is the desire for knowledge.” And intimate knowledge of God and his plan for us is the charge for all of us.

I congratulate the graduates of 2019. Whatever their path, I pray they continue to carry Aquinas’ wonder with them and that they continue to seek the Lord and his perfect plan for their lives.

God bless you!