Graduation Homily 2019 - Milestones

Graduation Homily 2019

Milestones on the Journey

            One of my least favorite movies is “The Polar Express”. I know for many people it’s a Christmas classic, but there was one line that completely ruined the movie for me. The little boy is about to board the train, but he stops and asks the Conductor, “Where are we going?” And the Conductor responds with a smile and an outstretched hand, “It doesn’t matter where we’re going, all that matters is that we hop on board!”

            I almost threw the remote control at the TV when I heard that. Doesn’t matter where we’re going? I know it’s fiction, but come on! If I’m trying to get to Boston and I hop on a train going south, I will never reach my destination. It’s pretty important to know where we’re going – because then we’ll know if we get there or not!

            [At the Catholic Academy of Stamford, a teacher has a big motivational poster outside her room with the words, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” Um, actually, no. It’s definitely about the destination!][At CAS this year, we have had as our theme song “Enter the Journey” which is a very nice song but it leaves a question quite unanswered – where is our journey taking us?] What is the goal of life? Where are we going? How do we know if we are making progress?

            The Ancient Romans knew if they were making progress on a journey: they had milestones to tell them. The word milestone actually refers to an ancient Roman custom of putting up large stones to mark the miles to Rome. As the old saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome” and that was certainly true. Even in France and Spain and Portugal, some roads still have giant granite blocks with Latin lettering telling them how many miles to Rome. In the center of Rome, there used to be what was called the “Golden Milestone” because it was a big gold pillar that every other milestone was measured against. So if a milestone said, “15 miles to Rome” it meant that there would be fifteen miles until they reached the “Golden Milestone” in the center of the city.

            Graduating from eighth grade is a significant milestone in your life. But a milestone only makes sense if we know the goal that we are seeking. What is the goal? It is Heaven. The goal is to become saints. Because, really, nothing else matters. The intermediary goals of getting a high school and college diploma, getting a great job, a great spouse, a great house and kids and a dog named Rex – all that is good, but not our ultimate end. Those other things are milestones along the journey, not the goal of the journey itself.

            I have known you all for many years, and I can say that some of you have made real progress in holiness in these past (three/four) years. Others of you have chosen not to pursue the goal of holiness, and instead to live for the things of this world.

            But on this night when we celebrate this milestone, this point along the journey where we pause and look at how far we’ve come and how far we have left to go, I would challenge you to redouble your efforts to keep going on the journey to holiness, to becoming saints.

            How do we do this? Keep doing your “Ten-a-day”. Parents, last year I challenged your kids to pray for ten minutes per day, and many of them committed to doing it. If you aren’t, get back to it! A couple weeks ago, I was at Scalzi Park in Stamford watching a little league game, and afterwards a Catholic Academy kid came up and greeted me. He said, “Hey Fr. Joseph, I will make you happy in five seconds.” This piqued my curiosity – I was hoping he’d hand me a twenty-dollar bill or something! But even better, he said, “I’m still doing my ten-a-day, and I already did mine today.” Wow! That is the beginning of a life of friendship with the Lord. If you never started doing ten-a-day, start now! You will need His grace in high school!

            Second, look up. In Philadelphia recently a man was texting and walking in a subway station and accidentally fell into the tracks! Thankfully, the train wasn’t coming so he survived…quite injured and embarrassed! That’s such a perfect metaphor for modern life, though – when we are focused on ourselves or the things of this world, we get lost and hurt and confused. So look up – look to Heaven to find your true direction. In ancient days, sailors could only tell their direction by looking up, at the stars and the sun. In our lives, we can only tell the direction when our eyes, our goal is focused on the Lord Jesus – pursuing Him, possessing Him in Heaven.

            My friends, tonight we celebrate a milestone in your life. But a milestone only makes sense if there is an endpoint to this journey. The endpoint is being a saint. When we look back at our years at CAS/RPA, have we made progress toward that goal? Four years from now, when you are sitting in your high school graduation – or eight years from now when you get your college degree – will you be holier than you are now? Because there’s a big difference between making a journey and wandering around, completely lost. You will never be lost if the Lord Jesus Christ is the compass of your life.