Welcome Address

The following welcome address for the 2008 Closing Mass of Thanksgiving was delivered by Maryangela Gadikian:

Good evening. Welcome to the closing Mass celebrating the completion of another year for the Catholic Biblical Studies program.

We students have many to thank for our Biblical Studies experience. We thank our teachers – Barbara, Fr. Paul, and Sr. Mary – who have each contributed not only their Biblical expertise and understanding but also their energies and patience in guiding us along the way. We also thank each other. The small group discussion is an invaluable part of the experience. I learned so much from my fellow students.

We thank our families as well as our friends and parishes for the support provided. We thank Mary Denne for all the "behind-the-scene" work and all who help keep the program running.

In preparing to write this welcome, I spent time thinking about my four years in the Biblical Studies program and even went through my notes and materials, trying to decide which of the so many meaningful experiences to include. I found that the first of the many notes I took over the four years was this: "The Bible is the Word of God full and complete."

And so it begins.

With Exodus as our starting point, we studied the Old Testament. We began our exploration into the significance of the Covenant. Studying the New Testament in the second year, we came to appreciate how much an understanding of the Old Testament contributes to our understanding of the New. We learned the importance of considering three worlds – behind the text, of the text, and in front of the text – as we got to know the prophets and experienced the richness of the Psalms. As the program concluded for us, we began with Wisdom literature to explore the Jews as a renewed covenant people and we studied how both the Diaspora Jews and the early Christians struggled to established themselves and live their faith within a larger world.

It's been an amazing four-year experience.

Just over two weeks ago, on the day before my last class of my last year in the program, I commented to my 11-year old son, Isaac, on how weird that felt. After some thought, he asked me: "Besides spiritual and religion education…oh, and a trip to Israel…what's in it for you?"

My immediate response to him was to simply say that that was quite enough to get from it but his question proved to be thought-provoking. I thought of how the program has affected me and my fellow students. We encounter God through the Word. At Mass, we hear new levels of detail and nuances that lead us even closer to the intentions of the text. It has deepened our prayer lives. Our daily lives and interactions are enhanced. Faith has taken on new meaning. A verse from Hebrews, the last book studied by those of us who are graduating this year, struck me: "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." Truly, we do not need more "in it" for us than the spiritual gratification of studying the Scriptures.

Still something very important that's "in it" for me is that I know my Biblical Studies experience helped to sustain me when, just before the start of my third year, my daughter Victoria was killed in a car accident. I was prepared in advance to know God's love even when faced with that tragedy. It's not that I miss Vicky any less or that I don't mourn over what her future here on earth should have held - faced with the mystery of life and death, there are no easy answers. And yet, though my grief remains profound, through this program I better understand the reason for our hope.

What's "in it" for me, for each of us, is certainly not all the answers but perhaps more and better questions. What's "in it" for us is that it is more than a four year program that ends when we complete it. "It is a program that imparts first of all a reverence for the mysterious and powerful word of God and secondly teaches (you) the skills to help (you) continue this journey for a lifetime!" (from Barbara's September 2006 letter to students)

We are blessed to have this opportunity for spiritual growth. We don't need to ask ourselves what's "in it" for us.

And so we move forward. Each of us considers where we are to go from here, how we can be of service to others. We are moved to action. We are hearers of the Word called to be doers of the Word.

And so it continues…and we are gathered to celebrate.