Congrats CRJ Class of 2021!!!

Baccalaureate Homily Cristo Rey Jesuit 

Baltimore  June 2021.

Rick Malloy, S.J.

Remember when you were a little kid, and you did something, and you’d call out, “Look at me!”

Well, we have been looking for you for these past four years.  Today we see you.  Young scholars.  Open to growth; committed to being life-long learners; ready to work hard in all arenas of life; burning with the desire to see a society of Justice; ready to love in ways that will make a world of peace and prosperity, joy and justice, hope and healing, faith and freedom, life and love.

It has been a long and trying year.  Classes online, the never ending Covid crisis, so much of life disrupted and disjointed.  The tragedy and pain of the loss of our beloved Gabby.  But through it all you have persevered.  You have applied to and been accepted by so many wonderful colleges.  From Morgan State to Morehouse, from Notre Dame in South Bend to Notre Dame of Maryland, from Loyola and Johns Hopkins here in Baltimore to Howard University in Washington, DC: on and on!  You are set to go and set the world on fire!

Let me today say something about fires, good fires and bad fires, and something about freedom.

St. Ignatius says, “Go and set the world on fire.”  There are two kinds of fire.  There are fires that burn down and destroy.  And there are fires that transform and give light.  Today, as young men and women for and with others, Go and set the world on fire with the transformative fires of justice and truth, peace and love.

Our faith in liberation begins with the experience of Moses.  He’s out in the desert.  He has run away from Pharoah.  He is living quietly and comfortably.  And he comes upon a burning bush, a good fire that reveals the presence of God.  It is a burning bush that is not destroyed by the flames.

From that good fire comes the communication of our mysterious God.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob says, maybe screams, “I have heard the cry of my people.  I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers.  I am moved by their suffering.  I have come to rescue them.”  And so, Moses knew he stood on Holy Ground.

Holy Ground.  This is Holy Ground today.  Cristo Rey Jesuit, on Chester street, and online, is Holy Ground.  You stand today on the Holy Ground of your future, our future.

Class of 2021, you are poised to go on to college and careers.  You are like Moses.  You are like his sister Miriam.  You are called by God to work today for the liberation and freedom of those who are oppressed and enslaved.

Today, there are a lot of bad fires burning out there.  These bad fires need to be put out.  Some of Baltimore is burning.  Our environment is burning.  Our society is being burned by systemic racism.  Our politics are burning in the fires of polarization, misinformation and outright lies.  The destructive fires of prejudice and hatred directed at LGBTQ persons, Asians, African Americans, and Latinos and Latinas, are burning down norms of civility and truth telling.  There are thousands of fires burning on the Southern Border of the USA, La Frontera.  Thousands of people, many of them little kids, are fleeing for safety.  Their homelands are burning. 

But the good fires, the transformative fires, also burn.  The good fire of the bush that Moses saw still lights the way to God and community.  Out of that burning bush comes the Word.  The Word is transformative fire, the fire of God’s love that lights our paths. 

Go and set the world on fire with the transformative fire of God’s love.  Throw water on the destructive fires of hate and prejudice, injustice and political insanity.  Get busy.  Go and confront Pharoah.  Go and tell Pharoah to let the people go Free.  Go and make a world of Faith and Justice and Reconciliation.  Go and establish Social Justice in the land.  Go and love one another.  Go and worship the God who gives us the grace, the power, to do all these things.

Congressman John Lewis, the great civil rights leader, who was no older than you when he began to work with Rev. Martin Luther King in the early 1960s, said,

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair.  Be hopeful, be optimistic.  Our struggle in not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year.  It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

That’s what Moses did.  He got into trouble with Pharoah.  That led to setting free the enslaved Israelite people.  The second Moses, Jesus, comes and begins his public ministry with the promise and challenge “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” 

St. Paul tells us “For freedom, Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1).  Us… all of us… not just the few, not just the rich, not just the mighty…. Us…. all of us, free.  Jesus wants us all to be truly free.

Cesar Chavez, who organized farm workers in California once said,

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community… Out ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”  Chavez also said, “It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity.”

This awesome opportunity is your story.  Michelle Obama says, “Your story is what you have, your story is what you will always have.  Your story is something to own.”  Own the story of freedom, the story of liberation, the story of Moses and Jesus, of John Lewis and Cesar Chavez. 

Mrs. Obama also says,

“You cannot take your freedoms for granted. Just like generations who have come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms... you need to be preparing yourself to add your voice to our national conversation.”

Class of 2021, young scholars, you matter.  You are loved.  Go and Be like Moses and Miriam.  Go and be like Jesus.  Go and be like John Lewis.  Go and be like Cesar Chavez.  Go and add your voice and tell the story of Freedom of which Mrs. Obama speaks.  Go and bless the world, for you are blessed.  You have blessed Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.  Thanks for who you are.  Remember: You matter.  Go and make a world wherein we can all grow happy and healthy and holy and free.  God Bless you this day and all the days of your life.

And may our Good and Gracious God grant you all Joy for the Journey, Courage for the Choices, Faith for the Freeing, Hope for the Healing and Love for the lasting.  AMEN.

Wonderful Video on Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge SD by Jeremy Zipple SJ

Interesting data on Young Catholics From The Barna Group

http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/605-the-spiritual-journeys-of-young-catholics-plus-their-views-on-birth-control-sexuality-and-the-church

The Spiritual Journeys of Young Catholics, Plus their Views on Birth Control, Sexuality and the Church

February 19, 2013 – The Catholic church has been making news. On February 7, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected the Obama Administration’s revised rules regarding mandated insurance coverage for contraceptive health. Less than a week later, on February 12, Pope Benedict XVI resigned, citing his age and failing health. While unrelated, these events reveal a faith segment very much at a crossroads. Representing about one quarter of Americans, the Catholic church continues to grapple with the consequences of its sex scandals, faces increasing political pressures and—like many of its evangelical counterparts—must deal with growing disillusionment among its youth. A Barna study among young adults ages 18-29 who attended a Catholic church at some point during their teenage years, looks at the faith journeys of these young Catholics and how these controversial issues factor into their faith and their perspective of the church. Sexuality and Birth Control The Catholic church’s stance on some of the most divisive social and political issues of the day has garnered significant media attention. And issues of reproductive health appear to be one of the major disconnects for some young Catholics and the church. Yet, reflecting our increasingly fragmented society, millions of other young Catholics have no qualms at all with these teachings on sexuality. The study shows most young adults who identify as Catholic say “the church’s teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date” (60%). Still, only one-quarter of young Catholics (23%) say this perception is “completely true” of their experience—the most extreme end of the scale provided to survey respondents. The segment of 18-29-year-old Catholics surveyed includes a range of individuals, from those who are very active to those who have essentially dropped out of church. Among young Catholics who are still religiously active, only one-third (37%) raises some level of concern about the church’s teachings on birth control and sexuality and just 12% say it’s “completely true” for them that the church’s teachings on these matters feel out of date. In contrast, among young adults who have dropped out of Catholic churches, 69% are concerned about the church’s teachings on sexuality and birth control and 23% say this is a major concern. It is important to note that this kind of survey research does not imply causation—we do not know if or how these views about sexuality affected the spiritual journey of those who dropped out of church, only that the connection exists. Interestingly, among those who attended a Catholic or faith-related school growing up, 65% said they have some misgivings about the church’s stance on sexuality and birth control, slightly above the average. David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group and author of You Lost Me, points out that these data have to be interpreted in light of the millions of young people who are represented across the spectrum of viewpoints. “Even when we look at a fairly defined demographic segment like young adult Catholics, we find a great deal of differences. While many young Catholics are at odds with Catholic teaching on matters of birth control, only about one-quarter are very discontent and many do not at all share these perceptions.” Clergy Abuse Scandals The priest abuse scandals are another controversial dimension of today’s Catholic experience—and one that has had inevitable impact on many people’s beliefs and feelings toward the church. Among all 18-29-year-olds who have a Catholic background, 43% say the “priest abuse scandals have made me question my faith,” with 11% indicating this is completely true of their experience. This perception was particularly common among young Catholic dropouts: 57% say this has been a stumbling block for them and 11% say this has been a major obstacle to their faith. The study also looked at how young Catholic’s feel about the church’s stance toward ordaining women. Overall, just under half (45%) of young Catholics say it bothers them “that the Church does not ordain women as priests.” Just 14% feel strongly about this. Young Catholics who remain active in the church are even more likely than lapsed Catholics to say this is an important consideration (13% versus 9%). While not a majority view among young Catholics, it is a very strongly held sentiment even among those who have stayed connected to the Church. The Faith Journeys of Young Catholics “Keeping the next generation” has consistently been a major concern of religious institutions, but perhaps never more so than today. With the well-documented rise of the “nones”—those claiming no religious affiliation—and the growing number of young church exiles, faith leaders of all kinds are focusing on how to attract and keep young people. The Catholic church is no exception, and in many ways, faces some unique challenges in retaining its future congregants. A majority (56%) of young Catholics (ages 18-29) admit they’ve dropped out of attending church at some point after having gone regularly. This percentage is slightly lower than the dropout rate among young Protestants with a Christian background (61%). Still, 65% of Catholic-raised young adults say they are less religiously active today than they were at age 15, which is slightly higher than their Protestant counterparts (58%). Also, more than half of young Catholics (51%) say they have been significantly frustrated with their faith and four in 10 (41%) have gone through a period when they felt significant doubts about their faith. These rates are on par with young Protestants. While many young Catholics may have left the church or questioned their faith at some level, very few have outright abandoned their Catholic roots. Only one in three (35%) admit to having gone through a period when they felt like rejecting their parent’s faith (statistically on par with the 32% of young Protestants). Yet, while most young Catholics may have dropped out of church at some point, the desire to be part of a historic religious institution remains. Four in ten young Christians (41%) say they’d rather have “a traditional faith than be part of a hip version of Christianity.” Similarly, most young Catholics still consider themselves spiritual. Only three out of 10 (29%) say they are less spiritual today than they were at age 15. So if most young Catholics embrace their religious roots, are spiritually oriented and desire a traditional faith, why the high drop-out rates? One reason may be that many young adults find Mass to be dull and uninteresting. One-fifth of all young Catholics (18%) admit, while they know Mass is supposed to be meaningful, they consistently find it to be a boring obligation. Two-thirds say this has been true for them at least some of the time. Young Catholics also admit they feel excluded in church at the expense of older adults. One in four young Catholics say they’ve felt their parish values older people more than younger people. Not surprisingly, compared to those young adults who remain religiously active, Catholic dropouts are more likely to express these kinds of criticisms of their experience with Catholicism. One of the surprising revelations of the research is that those who have attended a Catholic or faith related school are essentially no more favorable—or unfavorable—than the norm toward Catholicism, the church and Mass. Attending a Catholic school doesn’t seem to cause additional disaffection, but neither does it insulate students from such frustrations. In fact, about one-quarter of all young Catholics (26%) say they had a mostly negative experience in Catholic school. Among those who attended, the proportion is about two out of five (40%) who remember their educational experience unfavorably. Observations With the bishop’s recent announcement regarding health insurance and contraceptive coverage, there’s a lot of skepticism about young people’s positions on these issues. Yet the data suggests that most active young Catholics are in agreement with the Church’s teachings on abortion, birth control and sexuality. Additionally, while many devout Catholics are discussing this—and other recent church and political clashes—as religious liberty issues, that’s not what younger adults are talking about. In fact, a recent Barna study found that religious liberty isn’t much of a concern for young people. “While the Catholic Bishops’ decision will likely connect with religiously active younger Catholics—who tend to be conservative on matters of sexuality,” says David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group. “An important part of the story seems to be in how those young Catholics who have left the church—or who are moderately active—feel about these issues. Interestingly, among those who are just semi-active in the Catholic church, their perceptions of sexuality are much more like those of Catholic dropouts, which suggests the struggles over birth control and reproduction are likely to affect millions of ‘swing’—that is, moderately involved—Catholics.” Kinnaman says that while “it’s worth understanding the spiritual journeys of a group of people,” that does not mean trying to cater to their preferences of church or religion. “Leaders have to be in tune with the people they are serving,” he says. “Especially in America’s increasingly fragmented religious landscape where people are influenced by many factors beyond their church or spiritual heritage.” He also points out that doubts, questions and even dropping out of church for a time are not always the end of the story. “We have to acknowledge that the spiritual transitions people experience can be a good, productive thing,” Kinnaman says. “Anyone who takes their faith seriously will at some point in their life call certain aspects of it into question—and that includes the priorities and teachings of their religious institution. It isn’t necessarily the doubting or the questioning that’s cause for concern—it’s what young people do as a result of those questions. “And, with nearly two-thirds of young Catholics having dropped out of church at some point, this should be a high priority among Catholic church leaders, as it has become among many Protestant leaders. Being effective among Millennials requires understanding what makes them tick, which includes knowing how the church’s teachings and positions on key social issues affects and is interpreted by young Catholics.” To help educate faith leaders about Millennials and faith, Barna Group has been hosting a series of events, called You Lost Me Live, around the country. About the Research This Barna Update is based on research conducted for the Faith That Lasts Project. The research included a series of national public opinion surveys conducted by Barna Group. In addition to extensive quantitative interviewing with adults and faith leaders nationwide, the main research examination for the study was conducted with 18- to 29-year-olds who had been active in a Christian church at some point in their teen years. The quantitative study among 18- to 29-year-olds was conducted online with 1,296 current and former churchgoers. The Faith That Lasts research also included parallel testing on key measures using telephone surveys, including interviews conducted among respondents using cell phones, to help ensure the representativeness of the online sample. The sampling error associated with 1,296 interviews is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level. The sample of young Catholics included 536 interviews with18- to 29-year-olds who had experience attending a Catholic church prior to age 18. The sampling error associated with this sample is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level. The online study relied upon a research panel called KnowledgePanel®, created by Knowledge Networks. It is a probability-based online non-volunteer access panel. Panel members are recruited using a statistically valid sampling method with a published sample frame of residential addresses that covers approximately 97% of U.S. households. Sampled non-Internet households, when recruited, are provided a netbook computer and free Internet service so they may also participate as online panel members. KnowledgePanel consists of about 50,000 adult members (ages 18 and older) and includes persons living in cell phone only households. About Barna Group Barna Group (which includes its research division, the Barna Research Group) is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization under the umbrella of the Issachar Companies. It conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located in Ventura, California, Barna Group has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each update on the latest research findings from Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website (www.barna.org). Additional research-based resources are also available through this website. © Barna Group, 2013.

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