On October 14, 2023, The Honourable Chancellor Mr. Justice Kevin Feehan addressed the newest graduates of Newman Theological College at the 54th Convocation ceremony hosted at St. Joseph Seminary. The following address has been edited for length.
Let me begin my comments this afternoon by saying congratulations and well done! Whether you will be receiving your degree this afternoon for the degree of Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies, or Master of Religious Education...You have studied hard, learned much, shared much, laughed, cried, lived and survived together.
My message today to you, the 2023 graduating class, is that you are called upon, in your vocations, to be the voice of the Church in society. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit which is left in your trust today. This is what your diplomas enable you to bring to the hungry minds, bodies, and spirits of the people with which you interact every day. This is why you poured all of that effort, all of those hours, and all of that intensity into your education, and into the successful completion of your studies today.
As many of you know, I am a justice of the Court of Appeal of Alberta. In that role, I have learned a few lessons which you may wish to explore in your lives. Be patient; good things come to those who wait. Persevere; the best things in life take effort, and do not always come easily. Listen carefully; everyone has something worthwhile to say and deserve to be listened to. Be kind, everyone deserves kindness, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. It is often true that there but for the grace of God go I. And finally, laugh every day. There is fun in every area of work, and service, and vocation: you only have to look for it.
Your journey of faith formation has not been a quick or straight path, but there was always a beacon shining in grace, in glory, and in love, guiding you gently with the waiting and open hands of our loving father. You are being called to be a beacon of guiding love for all God’s children. Let your faith be your compass.
Your education has been a vocation of love, because with love at its center, you cannot miss seeing the people who you will be serving in our community, our archdiocese, and our province. You stand here today with a challenge. You are called to be leaders in faith and in the lives of your students, parishioners, and members of the Church. You are called to be disciples and to evangelize. You are called to foster the future development of multi-dimensional leaders formed in the Catholic faith. You must always remember that love is at the center of your vocations. A tradition and history of your prayers and actions connects you together with all Catholics, past, present and future, engaged in your faith as a call to action.
I ask you to continue to explore questions of spirituality, leadership, faith, love and sacrifice as you journey together as a collegial family. The motto of this college is “Faith seeking Understanding”. In that light, we are called to love debate, seek consensus, delight in conversation, learn the art of discernment, and rejoice in the role of laughter, and the gift of surprise. We are called to delight in difference, the difference between men and women, the old and the young, the believer and the non-believer, the conservative and the liberal. As Father Timothy Radcliff said in his meditation on the present Vatican Synod “Conversation on the way to Emmaus,” we are called to dialogue, “we proclaim our faith by entering into conversation,” we are called to listen with all of our imagination. He said: “love is always the triumph of the imagination, as hatred is a failure of imagination. Hatred is abstract, love is particular.”
I ask you to think more and hesitate less, to engage more, read more, discuss more, and worry less. A strong, safe, nurturing environment created by our schools and parishes is developed because we are called to know each other by name, to love each individual with whom we work. Remember the gifts you have been given at Newman Theological College, the gifts of time, knowledge, patience, and understanding. Remember that underlying everything you do from this day forward is the gift of love, as professed in the Gospel according to John: “We love, because he first loved us,” 1 John 4:19.
Again, congratulations on this most important day in your lives. Well done!