Seminarians, laity, priests and religious earn diplomas, degrees and certificates to help the world 'remember' again God's presence
DETROIT — Surrounded by friends, family and educators, 84 graduates received their diplomas and degrees May 3 during the 100th annual baccalaureate Mass and commencement exercises at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger presided over the Mass and delivered the homily in Sacred Heart's chapel, during which he sent forth the graduates with an important charge: to "remember."
Recalling his own theological education nearly 40 years ago, Archbishop Weisenburger reminisced about one of his beloved seminary professors at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, the renowned St. Augustine scholar, Fr. Tarcisius J. van Bavel, OSA.
“I’ve always said you will work much harder for a professor you love than a professor you fear, and we all loved him,” Archbishop Weisenburger recalled. “He was not only a genius in the strictest sense of the word, but he was a man of great holiness and personal faith. We studied like maniacs for him, but today, more than 40 years later, I probably remember more from his class than any other, and I remember the hours he spent with us on that word: 'remember.'”
Archbishop Weisenburger explained that his late professor taught that in Judaism, "to remember" is to make present again.
“When (the Jewish people) would celebrate Passover — when they enter into the ritual and remember — they are not remembering in the way we remember the American Revolution,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. Rather, he said, the "remembering" is a way to bridge past and present, to again bring the events of salvation history into their reality.
In an even more profound way, when Jesus celebrated Passover the night before his death, he charged his disciples to "remember" not as a gesture or symbolism, but in a way that would make his Eucharistic sacrifice sacramentally present forever, the archbishop added.
“Jesus said from now on, when you enter into this rite, remember, and I will be present to you until the end of time. To remember is to make present again,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Graduates, my message today, which is the message of the Scriptures, is that you are called to be women and men who remember and who teach others to remember — oftentimes to remember what they have never known, what they’ve never been taught.”
This year's graduates included 84 lay students, priests, deacons, religious and seminarians who received certificates, diplomas and degrees that will help them make disciples in their own ministries. Among them included 37 individuals earning certificates or basic diplomas, and 47 earning bachelor's, master's, baccalaureates or licentiate degrees.
Kim Kerwin, director of religious education and a middle school religion teacher at St. Fabian School in Farmington Hills, received her Master of Arts in Theology. Kerwin said her education has made her better equipped to teach her students about the mysteries of God's presence in the world.
“My students ask a lot of hard questions, they read Scripture intensely, and they know their catechism well," Kerwin said. "So when they ask the hard questions, I have so much more knowledge now, and I can actually answer them. It has really deepened their knowledge because I've deepened my knowledge.”
Kerwin said her time spent in class, often as the only woman among seminarians, has strengthened her faith as well.
“I've seen my personal faith deepen so much in this experience, not just from being here in this building, surrounded by people of prayer and faith, but because the more you know, the more you hunger to know and to grow," said Kerwin, who wrote her thesis on the Blessed Mother.
Graduating from the seminary with his Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology is the latest milestone in a long formation journey that began in 2016 for Deacon Timothy Silver, CC. A member of the Companions of the Cross, Deacon Silver has been serving as a transitional deacon at St. Anastasia Parish in Troy and is set to be ordained a priest in Ottawa, Ontario, on May 24.
More than 10 years ago, Deacon Silver began discerning the priesthood while serving as a missionary with NET Ministries.
“I was meeting all these wonderful priests, and for the first time, I asked God the question, 'Are you calling me to become a priest?’” Deacon Silver said. “When I asked that in prayer, I felt this sense of, ‘Yes, I am calling you to this.’”
While studying at Sacred Heart with his fellow seminarians, Deacon Silver cited his classes on Sacred Scripture as a particular high point.
“I learned more about who God is, and who I am in relation to God,” Deacon Silver said. “I never thought I saw myself as a teacher, but now as a deacon, I'm giving talks and I'm able to share all that I have learned.”
Another deacon, Deacon Arvin Stephenson, also recalled God's hand in his discernment journey, one that led not to priesthood, but to the permanent diaconate.
A convert to Catholicism who was ordained to the permanent diaconate last year, Deacon Stephenson now serves The Merciful Love of Jesus Family of Parishes, which includes Holy Family in Memphis, St. Augustine in Richmond, and St. Mary Mystical Rose in Armada.
“I’m a convert, and when I got into the formation for the diaconate, something was missing,” Deacon Stephenson explained, saying he had a desire to deepen his knowledge of his Catholic faith, an opportunity afforded by Sacred Heart's formation programs.
“This filled that hole in my heart that I still desired," said Deacon Stephenson, who was one of six graduates earning a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies. "The education, formation, and friendships come together to form who God wants me to be to the people here. With all of those parts and pieces, He made me who I am in order to serve who He wants me to serve."
