Lessons from Loyola Hall

As Christians, we must ask: Where did the seed land in my life? Am I one who hears, but does not understand? Have I fallen away from Jesus and His Church because I have no deep roots? Have I chosen the riches of this world and give only lip-service to the Gospel? Or have I taken the Good News to heart and produced good fruit?

One of the most memorable of the long list of impressive honorary degree recipients at Harvard was the Russian writer and exiled former prisoner of the Soviet state, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In 1978, he gave what has become possibly the most famous graduation address in the history of American higher education. Its lessons reverberate today.

Children bring life to a street in more ways than they could imagine as they remind us of our own carefree summer days. But they also help us to recall the words of Jesus, both in this weekend’s Gospel as well as throughout the New Testament, that children hold a special place in His heart and in the Father’s Kingdom. We would do well to have child-like hearts.

The public works of Blessed Pier Georgio Frassati were well known. But many of those who attended his funeral were drawn to him by stories of private acts of charity and concern. As we approach this Fourth of July, his vision of social action that brings the world to Christ is worthy of our consideration.