Last week was a busy week here at St. John’s University.  Wednesday marked the last day for final exams, and most of the students who were left on campus departed.  Friday, the commencements began with five of the SJU colleges sending forth their grad students.  Saturday held the big commencement mass with some 3,000 people in attendance.  On Sunday morning, we had the undergraduate commencement on the “Great Lawn” which was packed with chairs and people.  Sunday afternoon contained the Law School graduation and marked the conclusion of our Spring semester.

I really like being at the University.  I am convinced of the Vincentian character of the ministry of education.  Sister Louise Sullivan, D.C has an article on “The Core Values of Vincentian Education” which provides my regular starting point when I speak of education as an important part of our charism and mission.  She writes at the very end of her excellent article:

Education was central to the Vincentian mission of evangelization of and service to the poor and as such had values unique to it. Indeed, education was the most far reaching form of service since it enabled the poor to break the cycle of poverty, find meaningful employment, and thus enhance their self-respect and confidence. Moreover, by providing quality education to all, the Vincentian institution also was able to transmit this vision of service to others who would later carry it on in their own lives.  (Vincentian Heritage Journal, 16:2, p. 179)

She emphasizes the two points that I value in this ministry.

First of all, a good education provides a direct service to the poor.  Enabling a woman or man with few provisions to learn material that leads to better employment and a deeper ability to care for a family points to the definition of the Vincentian charism.  An educated person can take advantage of a world that seeks knowledgeable and trained workers.  With this background, the marginalized can begin to inhabit a world where there are sufficient resources for a dignified living.  The adage “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” holds weight in this world.  St. John’s University (as well as other Vincentian Universities) was founded with that principle in mind.  And with a good education, we hope to deepen our students in faith, hope, and charity.

The second important point in Sr. Sullivan’s article moves beyond simply educating the poor so that they can advance themselves.  All those who attend a Vincentian and Catholic school should learn the truth of the Gospel that calls all of us to be attentive to the needy.  A solid education helps one to learn the situation of the poor and the reason for that condition.  It also suggests ways in which I can contribute to overcoming the limitations suffered by others.  Structural sin contributes powerfully to the oppression of others, and it can only be overcome by practices that involve systemic change.

Both Vincent and Louise, as well as Elizabeth Ann Seton and many others, were educators and they lead the way for our action in a world that continues to oppress the poor.  When we speak of a” good” education, we mean more than that it is well crafted, but that it also teaches the “good.”  Our earnest hope is that our students will emerge as believers and doers.

My prayer for the young women and men who are graduated from St. John’s is that they use their study as a steppingstone to greater wisdom in carrying out their life’s goal and to greater virtue in the way that they live and treat other, particularly the poor.