Epilogue - Cardinal Cushing Library - Emmanuel College

ARCHBISHOP'S RESIDENCE2101 COMMONWEALTH AVENUEBRIGHTON 3 5, MASS.DEAR l\1EMRERS OF EMMANUEL '56:I t is wi th p leasure t hat I comply wit h your request fO l' a few wo rds of greeting to t heClas. of 1956 t hrough t he page of its EPILOG E. I send you my heart iest congl'atula tionand my sincel'est wi hes for yO Ul' happine in t he years ahead.Up to now it has seemed to you, I am sure, t hat ~' o u have been li ving in two pel'iod oftime, the present a nd t he fu ture, and that t he e would merge on t he day you receive yourdegree. Of such is the longing of youth. Now, as you approach that gl'eat day, you can pau eand ee that this d ivision of life's epochs is but imaginary. Actua lly, we live only in thepre ent, a nd t he p re en t must be so li ved a to pre erve the unity of life and make it anacceptable gift to offer to God . H owever diverse yoUI' special fi eld of study, whatever pathin life you follow, t here is only one great career: to be a lways uni ted to God in love, to bealway a devoted member of His l\1ystical Body . Go fOl, th a nd teach, by word a nd example.By bapti m you a re a witness for hrist. This is yO Ul' uninterrupted p resen t, ending only atdeath; in it you al'e ble ed .Saul wa a young ma n when he took pa rt in the toning of Stephen. H e had made aname fO l' hi m elf as an agitator again t the new religion. ocia l distinction and the guerdonof succe were his for t he taking. But once he k new 'hrist, t here was no wavering in hipurpose to make all people know and erve Him; a nd no cessation in his efforts toward theaccomplishment of that p Ul'pO e. H e tells us of the jOUl'ney' he undertook ; of the dangel"he encoun tered; t he courging, t he lashings, a nd t he beating; the hipwrecks; t he toil a ndthe wearine s; t he cold, the hungel', the thir t; the burden of hi care a nd a nxiety for thenewly established chUl'ches.Your te timony will be Ie s a r'd uous, but ma ny of P a ul' difficulties you will meet. T hegreat apostle might have been add r'e ing u when he wrote: "l\1ake no m istake a bou t t heage we li ve in ; alread,v it is high t ime for us to awake ou t of our sleep. " Put on t he a rmourof light. It is the battle again t the powers of dar'kness which we a re fi gh ting: t he unend ingwar of nature a nd upernature. In the same epistle t. P aul points out that to live the lifeof nature is to t hi nk t he t houghts of natUl'e, and natul'al wisdom brings only death. But tolive the life of t he pirit i to think t he t houghts of the spiri t, a nd t he wisdom of t he spiritbrings life and peace. T he power' of natUl'e a re at t he di position of sin- sins of thought,of word, of deed, Ot' of om is ion. The grace of God, an d our re pon e to it, lead u a longthe way to the implement ing of t he in ten tion which we know a re a lways pre. en t in t he mindand will of a child of God.To fo llow the patte/'l1 of the Christia n life is your gloriou vocation, } 01' it you a reinstl'Ucted a nd tl'ained. Let no d i traction, no pau e, no in terl'U ption mal' 0 1' de troy yourcareer. T he essence of unity demands not only consistency, it dema nds a l 0 continuity. ' Veli ve always in t he we ent, and of that p resen t is t he reward God hold in Hi acred H andswhen the great degree i awarded at the judgment seat.Upon your careel' of cho en member of t he 1ysticaL Body I ask God's blessing. l\1ayyou escape t he blight of the centUl'Y a nd ju tif,)' our high hopes in you.D evotedly yours in (,hr'ist,[ ] ,5 1.11 rchbishop of Boston