To my Class 8 Graduates this year:

Tomorrow is your day.  There will be much pomp and circumstance surrounding your achievements, and all ten of you certainly deserve this honor.  Soak it up and enjoy it.

But as you walk out the doors of our school for one last time tomorrow, remember that this celebration is not just a festive acknowledgement of the end of your time here in middle school, but also–much more so–an acknowledgement of the genesis of a very new stage of your life elsewhere.

Your impact for God’s kingdom has only just begun.

As one last challenge to you–if you happen to read this post–would you commit to saying the following prayer (attributed to St. Francis of Assisi) in the weeks leading up to the beginning of high school?  I think the words it contains will help remind you of the most important work that lies ahead.  (This is a truncated, slightly-modernized version–feel free to look up the original):

Lord, make me an instrument of peace.
Where there is hate, let me sow love.
Where there is hurt, let me bring your healing.
Where there is fear, let faith arise.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
And where there is darkness, let me be your light.
For it is in the giving that we receive.
It is in the loving that we find love.
It is in the dying that we are found.

I’m so proud of all of you.  See you tomorrow morning!