The month of May (in the US) is a month of whirlwind, wrote author and speaker Laura Kelly Fanucci. It is a month of “sacraments and celebrations, graduations and confirmations, gardens to plant and yards to tend and summer to plan” [1]. Her words certainly resonated with me as I was fortunate enough to personally experience all of those last month. In fact, at times May this year felt more like a tornado than a whirlwind to me and my wife Lili.
On Saturday afternoon, May 6, I had a privilege to be the Confirmation sponsor of a fine young man, William, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas. Much like what happened to the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday, the Sacrament of Confirmation is a rite in the Catholic Church that bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit upon a faithful person and empowers him/her to bring Christ to others. Following his middle name, he chose St. Christopher as his patron saint. St. Christopher is also a patron saint of travelers, and being someone who travels quite a bit (who doesn’t these days?), I feel good to be “more closely connected” to the saint now 🙂.
A week later, our family gathered in Norman, Oklahoma, to joyfully celebrate our son Martin’s graduation at the University of Oklahoma. Four years after obtaining his master’s degree there, Martin received his PhD in Meteorology. As we drove from his house to the campus, we could see the houses that were hit by the recent tornado; their torn roofs served as poignant reminder that much work is still to be done in the severe weather prediction science. A week later came another reminder: a powerful hailstorm struck an area in Plano where we used to live.
The third celebration happened across the country in Philadelphia. Austin, our youngest son, graduated from Villanova University with a MS in Human Resources Development degree. We joined fellow families and graduates as we celebrated the beautiful outdoor Baccalaureate Mass in the Augustinian tradition on May 19 and the Commencement Ceremony on May 20. We also spent some time exploring the city (and ate Philly cheesesteaks, of course).
Three days later we attended our niece Brittney’s graduation in Fort Worth. She received a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of North Texas, culminating four years of study after her undergraduate study.
We closed the month with a big celebration: a gathering of 368 Indonesian American Catholic people, priests, and sisters from across the US in the scenic Trinity Pines retreat center near Houston. It was a joyous event that warrants another story of its own.
In between those events, I tended my yards and planted “rabbit-proof” flowers. I also traveled for business a couple of times. All the while, poor Bevo, our senior dog, moved back and forth between our house, our close friend Irene’s, and Martin’s as we traveled around.
Despite the overwhelming number of activities last month, being with the young people during those celebrations filled me with hope. Just as May marks the end of spring, the sacraments and graduations mark the culmination of a journey that began when they made a decision to grow spiritually and personally. And like the flowers in my garden, these young people have their summer of life still ahead of them – brimming with possibilities. William is moving on to high school and planning to join the band, Austin is embarking on a new career in Boston, Martin sets his sights on a post-doctoral fellowship position, and Brittney will start a new job soon. I pray that their journey will bring them closer to what God created them to be. To become – in author Matthew Kelly’s word – the best-version-of-themselves.
Looking back at it, I can’t help but think that May is a perfect month for the “sacraments and celebrations, graduations and confirmations” as the word “may” in English carries with it the connotation of “possibilities.”
Now that the May whirlwind is over, I can finally plan for summer. Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll just let the Texas summer days roll by and see what they bring. As long as our young people are doing the right things, I think we’d be okay.
Congratulations to all sacrament recipients and graduates! May the Lord lead you in the right direction always.
References:
- Fanucci, L. K. (2023). Wherever you turn. Give Us This Day, 13(5), 5-6.
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, WORK, AND FAITH IN THE 21ST-CENTURY AMERICA 