John Carroll University - Carillon Yearbook (University Heights, OH)

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Each of you is a tangible love story writ- en by God, your parents, yourself. When ou recall your days at John Carroll, when ailure comes to challenge or friends come .o soothe, remember: You are needed. There are men and women, some of them et unborn, whose lives will be brighter ecause of what you have to give them. here are souls, dwelling now only in God's ind, who will never know the beauty of ife unless you bring it to them. There is a erson, divine or human, who is waiting for our love. You may have achieved an enviable aca- emic record during these past years--con- ratulations! You may have come close to ailure--it,s important for you to know that ailure is a hazard in every life. Whether ou have outstanding grades, average rades, or just barely passing grades--you re needed. There are persons in this world who can espond to just what you have to offer. here are places which will be brighter for our having lived there. There are ears aiting for the sound of your voice, eyes hich will brighten when you come closer, earts warming at the mention of your ame. You may have plans that stretch from ere to eternity. You may not know what ou will be doing next September. You ay be secure or insecure, brave or hesi- ant. Of this you can be sure: You are eeded. And who needs you? The failures--who ear that no one cares for them. The sick-- ho dread the hours of loneliness. The ungry who turn to you for food. The tired, he poor, the people who are God's stand- ns. Your classmates need you--for the joy ou bring into their lives. Your family eeds you, and--believe me when I tell you his--God needs you. Listen to the one who knows God--His on. He tells you that God is our Father. e believe that He is our Father because e gave us life, natural and supernatural, he life that came to you through your arents, and that life of grace which His on came to give that we might have it and ave it more abundantly. This is the fullest fe, the divine life, a share in God's own fe, with the power to do many things-- elieving, hoping, loving--that people who ck this life simply cannot do. God has a father's love, and He loves ach of you personally, no matter how any other children He has. God knows ou personally. He knows your strong oints and your weak points better than ou know yourself And if you heed Him, e won,t let you run headlong into danger. od wants you to grow up, to mature upernaturally. There is nothing quite as istressing as a child's mind in the body of n adult. And so God wants each one of ou to cast off the things of a child and to evelop the manners of an adult. The best ay, the way His own Son did it, is the way f the cross. When a person suffers for what he believes, he grows. Like every other father, God is proud of you and enjoys seeing the family likeness reproduced in you. He wants you to be- come more like Him--to grow into the stat- ure of His Son. And, finally, God has a way with His children. He often invites us to something that He does not fully disclose, a vocation, a career, a way of life. If He showed you the big picture at the beginning, you prob- ably wouldnit have the courage to take the first step. So He reveals it gradually, ex- tending His hand through the mist of the future, inviting you to follow Him, to trust Him. And when you make a mistake, as we all do, God is the Father Who forgives. This is the picture we have of Him, written by His Son, Who knew Him best. God needs you. How can you reach Him? In and through the ways He reaches out to us, through His Word spoken in the book which we call the Bible, in the Old Testament, the account of His covenant, His agreement with His people, and in the New Testament, the new covenant sealed in the blood of His Son. You can reach God in and through the Church. You are going to hear numerous complaints about the Church before you have lived many years. These complaints will point out the human weaknesses, the failures, and I will not take your time to examine and rebut every com- plaint. I will say that the Church has satis- fied the brightest minds of history and has given the deepest peace to those who really listen to her. As one man who thought and prayed his way into the Church put it, It's not that Christianity was tried and found wanting. Christianity was found difficult and not tried. You will find God in people, exactly where He said you would. Whatever you do to the least of My brothers, you do to Me. You will find God in your parents. You wouldn't be here today if it weren't for an act of love between them. You will find Him in their care for you. They haven't spun you from their hands and let you go, any more than God spun the universe from His hands. You will find God, as you have found Him, in the thoughtfulness, the chari- ty, the humor, the problems of those with whom you work and study. It won't always be easy to see God in these persons, but it will be worth your while. When you recall your days at John Car- roll, remember that you are needed by God, and by every person whom He sends into your lives. Give them all a chance to know you. Don't be afraid. God is with you and believes in you, hopes in you, loves you. Won't you do as much for Him? Henry Birkenhauer, President John Carroll University 17