Note: Each year the graduating class elects one of its members to present the Senior Address at Commencement. Upon graduation, this year’s speaker, Joshua Brittain of Tempe, Arizona, plans to teach third grade at Cicero Preparatory Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Audio:

“Leave with Hearts full of Love”

Sister Regina Marie Gorman, members of the Board of Governors, President McLean, faculty and staff, family and friends: The Class of 2015 thanks you for your presence today. You have graciously gathered to honor the 41st graduating class of Thomas Aquinas College.

This four-year immersion into the wonder of the great books has been magnificent and challenging, and the community deems it fitting to crown our days as students with a dignified ceremony in front of family and friends. If it is right that we celebrate on this day, then may the College commend us and may our parents be filled with the best kind of pride.

Graduates, let us remain ever mindful of this reality: The greatest thing worth celebrating today is the priceless gift we have been given. As the undeserving recipients of that gift, let us not neglect our most urgent duty to give thanks to Almighty God, from Whom all blessings flow, and to give thanks to all those who have lovingly made our celebration today possible. I am eager, on behalf of my peers, to do so.

To begin, we would like to posthumously thank Dr. McArthur, Dr. Dillon, and Mr. Berquist, men whose love of the truth and love of the one, true faith was made manifest by humble, lifelong service to our beautiful college. We pray they rest in peace and we pray they know that their labor and love have borne the fruit of an institution that has bettered so many lives.

We thank our benefactors, whose generosity made the dream of our visionary founders a reality and whose continued assistance has enabled this college to provide its unique education to students who would otherwise be unable to attend.

A special expression of thanks is due to our priests and teachers, the day-to-day heroes of our community. The priests obediently serve the Magisterium by humbly and faithfully serving us, bringing God to us through the Sacraments. Their service brings forth the holy hush of our beautiful chapel and their service is what makes Thomas Aquinas College truly Catholic. We thank our teachers, whose love of the truth and love of students have illuminated the dark and rugged path to knowledge, and whose docile and steadfast love of the Church has shown the young souls of students what it means to study as a Catholic. Together our priests and teachers realize, on a daily basis, our unique mission: to provide a Catholic liberal education.

Lastly, we thank our loving parents. You, who have loved and supported us since the day we entered this world, are the biggest cause of our being who we are today. We thank you for the gift of life, but more importantly, we thank you for the gift of faith. Your loving hands presented us at the baptismal font, where we became part of the Mystical Body of Christ. Your prayers now fall from our lips, your creed is now our creed, and the God that you loved before us has now become the God which we long to serve.

In my own case, I thank my father, Tom Brittain (’96), a shining example of consistent Catholic manliness and the best man I have ever known. And with enduring awe, I thank my beautiful mother, Melissa Brittain, the rock of our family. Thank you for your “yes” to life, and thank you for giving this lousy son his 10 siblings, the 10 greatest gifts any young man could ever ask for.

Parents: Our thanks pales in comparison to what you have done for us, but know that we love you and that our thanks comes from the deepest part of our hearts.

My fellow graduates, we have officially completed a demanding course of study that will stand us in good stead as long as we live. In our time as students we have been graced with the opportunity to join the conversation regarding a set of perennial questions that naturally arise in the heart of all men, for God has given them a desire to understand. Standing on the shoulders of intellectual giants, we have, Lord willing, allowed our intellect to shine ever brighter with every passing day.

More importantly, in our efforts to better understand revealed theology, we have been gifted the rare privilege of being led by a saint whose writings recommend themselves to us not only for their scope and their clarity, but most importantly, by the seal of approval they have received from the Magisterium. By studying at the feet of our patron, St. Thomas, the path to knowledge has become a little brighter, for in a small way, we have put on the mind of Christ: truth and illumination itself.

We may have put on the mind of Christ, but have we grown closer to His Sacred Heart? Have we grown in charity? I humbly believe that our theological studies have deepened our love for God. For we can only love that which we know. So every new truth that we come to understand about our heavenly Father gives us another reason to love Him.

Sadly, however, our time studying theology at Thomas Aquinas College has ended. So, as the door to a new chapter of our lives opens, how are we to face what lies waiting for us on the other side? Our patron asserts that “the perfection of the Christian life consists simply in charity,” reminding us that above all, we are to live our lives with a soul that strives to love. Nevertheless, a longing to do what we ought to do is not enough; we must succeed in our efforts. We must love. How are we to do so? I surely do not have a sufficient answer to this question, but if I may, I would like to offer a place where we can start.

If we are to love God as much as we can while on this earth, it is essential that we love Him in the mode in which He is to be loved, as a common good. It is essential that our love help build Christ's Church on earth.

In doing so, the theological truths, which we have come to better understand at the College, will serve us well. But the greatest teachers in the world, even the great teachers of Thomas Aquinas College, whom we have grown to love and admire, and whom we hope to emulate, are not great simply because of what they know, but because their goodness of soul far exceeds the good of knowledge. For true teaching and true evangelization begin with contact with the heart.

To love rightly, we need both knowledge of the truth and the goodness of soul, which makes us an effective instrument to build Christ’s Church. When the building of Christ’s church on earth is complete, it will possess all the fitting perfections. No one Christian man can provide these perfections. The Church needs all to do their part, for every Christian provides a different gift of soul.

So, Andre Shepherd and Heather Waldorf, the kindest people I have ever known, continue to love by being the kind and gentle souls that make all who know you want to call you friend. Martin Beers, intellectually you are the most prepared to teach the Faith, but your greatest gift to the world may lie in your humility. Continue to love by being that humble servant who longs to help anyone in need. Luke Burnham and Rocky Brittain, my dear brother, men with more confidence and more conviction than any men I have ever met: You two are leaders because these two gifts of soul make men want to follow you. With love in your heart, use these gifts for the betterment of the Church, and you will surely change the world.

To all my other classmates whose gifts of soul are just as strong, just as alive, and just as important, know this: The greatest warrior is the one who loves that which he defends. So, while the threats against our faith may in fact be legion, love will conquer all. Strive to be who you were made to be and strive to love how you were made to love, by getting the most out of your unique gifts of soul. And remember the words of St. Catherine of Siena, “be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire,” a fire that is ignited and a fire that is fueled by love.

Now it is time for me to say farewell. Though I am no valedictorian, this is our valedictory address. I take my leave by telling the Class of 2015 this: My heart is filled with love. I love my classmates, I love my teachers, and I love Thomas Aquinas College, my Alma Mater. I am filled with love because God loved me first and He loves me today. So, I exhort the Class of 2015, when it leaves these hallowed halls for the last time, leave with hearts full of love. Then, whatever road Our Lord asks you to walk, walk with courage; walk with a humble heart that longs to serve God and His church; and know that you walk with the illuminating power of love in your heart. For it is love that you have fostered and it is love that stands as a lighthouse for your soul.

Love. For the greatest crime against the grace we have been given will not be tragedy or grave sin, but the cancer of gradual indifference which makes one’s love grow cold.

Love. So that at the end of time, on judgment day, we all may receive the ever-merciful greeting that Our Lord longs to give all those who love Him: Well done, my good and faithful servant.

God bless you.