By Sean Fitzpatrick, Crisis Magazine, May 19, 2020
Sean Fitzpatrick is a senior contributor to . He’s graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and the Headmaster of Gregory the Great Academy. He lives in Scranton, Penn. with his wife and family of four.
There is an old Chinese curse that goes, “May you live in interesting times.” Well, we are cursed indeed. Though many have suffered grievously from this virus, you, graduating seniors, whether from high school or college, make up your own category of sufferers. Who could have imagined it would end this way? Some of you are perhaps nineteen years old, the age St. Joan of Arc was when she “graduated” from prison in the month of May. After fighting hard for the glory of God and country, she probably didn’t expect her adventure to end the way it did either—as the victim of a world gone mad. “Interesting” is probably not the word that comes to mind.
You have my sincere sympathy. I know how important and profound a graduation can be. I graduated from small, Catholic schools with vibrant communities. I remember graduating from high school, feeling as though the world was over, as I gripped the shoulders of my classmates—some of my best friends to this day—and sang “The Parting Glass.” It was a moment that had a deep impact on me. ….
Read more here: crisismagazine.com/2020/may-you-live-in-interesting-times