May 30, 2026
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily for the Eighth Grade Graduation Mass at Old St. Mary’s School on May 28, 2026 at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; 1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12; and Mark 10:46-52.
Welcome once again! Graduations ceremonies are odd experiences: they feel like endings, as we say goodbye to teachers and long-time classmates. But the ceremonies are called “Commencements,” because they’re actually the celebration of beginnings. Some of you have been going to Old St. Mary’s School for eleven years, and in that time you have grown and matured and learned many things that make you ready for what’s next.
And then we have the extra layer of strangeness that while the 40 of you are experiencing endings and beginnings tonight, they’re all different. About 40% of you belong to Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church, so we’re going to see you again in another 3 days. Some of you have younger siblings who will be going to Old St. Mary’s School again tomorrow. For the rest of you, we want you to keep in touch and visit often!
Tonight’s gospel passage is about the healing of a blind man named Bartimaeus. But what does it mean, to see? Surely, Bartimaeus wanted to regain the use of his eyes. But it means something more, too. In the Bible, the request “to see” is the request to come to deeper faith, to truly understand what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Bartimaeus receives all three of these gifts: to see, to believe, and to take action. Immediately after receiving these gifts, he follows Jesus.
As we pray that each of you graduating tonight will continue to see, to learn, and to follow for the rest of your lives, we celebrate that our God is always ready to help us to find our way if we get lost.
Lord Jesus, you preached the good news to the poor. Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you taught us to love one another as you loved us. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, your love continues to bind us closer to one another. Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
The proper prayers of our Mass tonight were inspired in part by a speech given by Mehetabel at yesterday’s brunch. She likened your class to bamboo that takes 5 years to sprout to a height of 90 feet. As you prepare to spread out across the Chicagoland area and northern Indiana for high school, I think about how you will share the love and knowledge that you received at Old St. Mary’s School with the people you meet. Therefore, the prayers of our Mass come from the prayers when seeds are planted in the ground.
The central portion of the Gospel of Mark is a narrative masterpiece, culminating with the healing of Bartimaeus. At this point, Jesus has predicted his passion, death, and resurrection three times as he travels the 100 miles from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem. After each prediction, the apostles fail to comprehend what it means to be Jesus’ disciple. Only 20 miles from Jerusalem, Jesus asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you?” They ask him to promise them thrones of honor in heaven.
Immediately after that exchange, we come to tonight’s passage with Bartimaeus. Here’s someone who’s had every disadvantage in life, and yet he is the one who understands. He is the first to call Jesus the “Son of David.” He won’t be quiet even when everyone else tells him to shut up. He has faith in Jesus. So when Jesus asks him the exact same thing as he asked James and John – “What do you want me to do for you?” – Bartimaeus does not hesitate to ask for the impossible: to see. After his healing, Bartimaeus immediately follows Jesus.
We might not appreciate how amazing this is, because we don’t usually hear the following verses in Mark in the same season of the year that we hear about Bartimaeus. Here’s what happens: when Jesus, Bartimaeus, and the other disciples ascend from the oasis of Jericho up through the desert into Jerusalem the next day, they find a lot of people there doing something similar – and yet very different – from what Bartimaeus did in Jericho. They have laid their cloaks on the road and are shouting for Jesus, calling him the Son of David. However, these people are also waving palm branches, because they expect that Jesus will lead a military revolution to overthrow the Roman government. Bartimaeus – when he was still blind – saw who Jesus was more clearly than these multitudes do.
Graduates: maybe you feel as if you’re still blind to what God is calling you to do with your one, wild beautiful life. Maybe you don’t feel as if you know how to follow Jesus. Even if you feel ready to follow, you probably don’t feel ready to follow Jesus from the triumph on Palm Sunday to the crucifixion on Good Friday.
And that’s OK. You are in a time of transition.
There’s a great book about transitions written by a guy appropriately named William Bridges. And he points out that a transition begins with an ending and it ends with a beginning. And, as we’ve already pointed out, graduation is a confusing mix of beginnings and endings all at once.
In a time of transition, Dr. Bridges says, there is always uncertainty. How could it be any other way? Of course there’s darkness and blindness about what comes next for each of you. But in time, things will become clear. About 6 hours after you had brunch yesterday, the gym was filled with parents whose children will start at Old St. Mary’s School this fall. The parents were filled with a million questions about what will happen when their children enter PreK this fall. If you heard their concerns, you’d probably laugh, because some of you have known the answers for 11 years. You see clearly now.
But for these new parents starting out, it feels scary to be at that point of uncertainty. So Ms. April, Ms. Laird, Fr. Dan, a whole host of seasoned parents — including some parents who are in this room tonight — and I assured these new parents that all their questions would be answered this fall.
Even before Bartimaeus could see Jesus, he could hear. And he heard the disciples telling him, “Jesus is calling you.”
Graduates, no matter how worried you are about what comes next, I’m not worried. Jesus is calling you.
If Bartimaeus could find his way to follow Jesus, so can you. And so can all the rest of us!