Baccalaureate Homily

Luke 17:11–19 | “Gratitude Is a Return”

Seniors, tonight the Gospel gives us a simple story.

Ten men are sick.
Ten men are isolated and alone.
Ten men are on the outside looking in.
Ten men cry out to Jesus for help.

And Jesus heals all ten.

Not one.
Not a few.
Not the ones who had it all together.
Not the ones who had perfect faith.
All ten.

But then the Gospel takes a turn.

Only one comes back.

Only one returns to Jesus. Only one praises God. Only one falls at the feet of Jesus and says thank you.

And Jesus asks a question that should make all of us uncomfortable:

“Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”

That is the question tonight.

Not just for the ten lepers.
Not just for the disciples.
Not just for people long ago.

That is the question for the Class of 2026:

Where are the other nine?

Because this Gospel is not really about manners. It is not about writing a thank-you note. It is not about being polite. This Gospel is about what happens after you have been blessed.

All ten received the gift.

But only one understood what the gift required.

Only one realized that gratitude is not just something you feel. Gratitude is something you do.

Gratitude is a return.

The one leper who came back understood that when you have been given mercy, healing, opportunity, and a future, you cannot simply walk away as if nothing happened. You cannot receive the blessing and keep moving like you got there by yourself.

You have to return.

You have to remember.

You have to let the gift change how you live.

Seniors, you know something about being given a gift.

You have been given Verbum Dei.

And let us be clear: Verbum Dei has not just given you classes, grades, assignments, uniforms, work days, practices, and college applications.

Verbum Dei has given you formation.

This school has been trying to form something in you deeper than a résumé.

Yes, you have earned college acceptances.
Yes, you have had real work experience.
Yes, you have learned how to shake a hand, write an email, show up to a job site, and carry yourself in a professional setting.
Yes, you have learned how to sit in a classroom, compete on a field or court, work through a difficult assignment, and prepare for life beyond high school.

But Verbum Dei has been forming more than skills.

Verbum Dei has been forming your spirit.

Because there will come a moment in college and life when talent is not enough.

There will come a night when you are tired.
There will come a class that humbles you.
There will come a test that does not go your way.
There will come a season when you feel alone.
There will come a moment when you look around and think everyone else is more prepared, more confident, more connected, more wealthy, or more ready than you are.

And in that moment, what will carry you is not charm.

It will not be potential alone.
It will not be intelligence alone.
It will not be the fact that people always told you that you had promise.

What will carry you is spirit.

A spirit formed to persevere.
A spirit formed to get back up.
A spirit formed to ask for help instead of disappear.
A spirit formed to keep showing up when your body is tired, your motivation is low, and the easy thing would be to quit.

And that kind of spirit does not come from ego.

It does not come from trying to prove people wrong.
It does not come from pretending you made it here by yourself.
It does not come from acting like you owe nothing to anybody.

A strong spirit comes from a grateful heart.

Gratitude is what keeps you grounded. Gratitude reminds you who you are. Gratitude reminds you that your life has been touched by sacrifice.

Because seniors, you did not get here alone.

Somebody sacrificed for you.

Somebody woke up early.
Somebody worked long hours.
Somebody paid what they could.
Somebody filled out forms.
Somebody drove you across town.
Somebody sat in meetings.
Somebody prayed over you when you did not even know they were praying.
Somebody worried about you.
Somebody corrected you.
Somebody forgave you.
Somebody refused to give up on you.

Your parents and families sacrificed.

(Applause for parents and families.)

And let us be honest: sometimes you saw it, and sometimes you did not. Sometimes you appreciated it, and sometimes you acted like it was just expected. Sometimes you understood the cost, and sometimes you forgot that behind your opportunity was somebody else’s struggle.

Tonight, remember.

Remember your parents.
Remember your grandparents.
Remember your guardians.
Remember the people who made sure you had a chance.

And the way you say thank you is not just by saying, “Thank you.”

You say thank you by how you live.

You say thank you by going to class when you do not feel like it.
You say thank you by studying when nobody is checking your homework.
You say thank you by calling home or Verbum Dei, not just when you need money or help.
You say thank you by refusing to waste the sacrifices that made your future possible.

That is what gratitude means.

Gratitude is responsibility.

And it is not only your family.

Your teachers sacrificed for you. Your counselors sacrificed for you. Your coaches, staff, supervisors, and mentors invested in you. People corrected your papers, checked your grades, called your parents, wrote your recommendations, opened doors, gave second chances, and sometimes gave third and fourth chances too.

And then there are people you may never meet.

The donors. The benefactors. The Corporate Work Study partners. The people who believe in Verbum Dei because they believe in you.

They gave because they saw something in you.

Not because they felt sorry for you.
Not because they wanted you to barely make it.

They gave because they believed that a young man from Watts, Compton, South LA, or wherever you call home deserves every opportunity to become excellent.

They believed your zip code should not decide your future.

They believed your potential was worth investing in.

They believed that if you were given the opportunity, like true Eagles you would rise.

And now comes the challenge.

Do not make them wrong.

Do not receive the gift and disappear like the other nine.

Do not accept the blessing and then live as if it cost nothing.

Do not let apathy steal what sacrifice has made possible.

Because apathy is dangerous.

Apathy does not always look like rebellion. Sometimes apathy looks like doing just enough. Sometimes it looks like turning in something half done. Sometimes it looks like sleeping through responsibility. Sometimes it looks like making excuses so often that you start believing them. Sometimes it looks like acting as if your choices affect only you.

But your choices do not affect only you.

Your life is bigger than you.

That is one of the great lessons of Verbum Dei.

You are not just an individual trying to get ahead. You are part of a family, part of a brotherhood, part of a community, part of a mission.

When you succeed, you carry people with you.

You carry your parents’ sacrifice.
You carry your teachers’ hope.
You carry your brothers’ pride.
You carry your community’s dreams.
You carry the mission of this school.

That is not pressure meant to crush you.

That is love meant to call you higher.

Jesus says to the one who returned, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

Notice that Jesus does not tell him to stay there forever. He tells him to go.

Gratitude does not keep him at the feet of Jesus forever. Gratitude sends him forward changed.

That is what tonight is about.

You are not graduating so you can stay here forever.

You are being sent.

Sent to college.
Sent to work.
Sent to serve.
Sent to lead.
Sent to become men for others.

But before you go, come back.

Come back in your heart.
Come back to gratitude.
Come back to the people who got you here.
Come back to God, who has been walking with you even when you did not notice.

And then go.

Go with humility.
Go with discipline.
Go with courage.
Go with a spirit strong enough to keep moving when life gets hard.
Go with a grateful heart that refuses to waste the gift.

Seniors, all ten were healed.

Only one came back.

Be the one.

Be the one who remembers.
Be the one who returns.
Be the one who says thank you with your life.
Be the one who perseveres when others quit.
Be the one who works hard when no one is watching.
Be the one who carries Verbum Dei with honor.
Be the one who proves that the sacrifices made for you were not wasted.
Be the one who turns blessing into responsibility.

Because gratitude is not just what you say.

Gratitude is a privilege; it is how you live.

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Graduation Homily

John 15:12–17 | “Love Your Neighborhood”

Seniors, at Baccalaureate, we talked about gratitude.

We talked about the one leper who came back. The one who remembered. The one who said thank you with his life. And I challenged you to be the one, not the nine.

Because gratitude is not just something you say. Gratitude is something you live. And to live it, you will eventually have to leave the comfort of the group and stand out.

Today, Jesus tells us what that life looks like:

“Love one another as I love you.”

That is our faith.

Love God.
Love your neighbor.

Not easy. But simple.

And seniors, as you leave Verbum Dei, do not confuse doing big things with doing loving things.

Most graduation speakers will tell you that your job is to save the world.

I respectfully disagree.

I know that sounds inspiring. But it also sounds exhausting. And sometimes, if we are honest, it becomes an excuse to love people in theory while ignoring the people right in front of us.

So let me say it simply:

Please, whatever you do, do not save the world.

Love your neighborhood.

Love the people God actually gives you. Love your family. Love your roommates. Love your classmates. Love the person who gets overlooked. Love the person who annoys you. Love the person who needs someone to notice them.

Love your neighborhood.

And by neighborhood, I do not just mean Watts, or South LA, or Compton, or Inglewood, or wherever you call home.

Your neighborhood is wherever God sends you next.

Your dorm floor.
Your classroom.
Your workplace.
Your team.
Your family.
The person sitting alone.
The person everyone else overlooks.

Jesus does not say, “Love humanity.”

He says, “Love one another.”

That means love has a face. Love has a name. Love has an address.

And this is where gratitude comes in.

You are here today because people loved you in concrete ways.

Your parents sacrificed.
Your teachers pushed you.
Your counselors guided you.
Your coaches challenged you.
Our donors and Corporate Work Study partners believed in you.
Verbum Dei refused to lower the bar.

Now your thank you must become your life.

You say thank you by persevering and graduating college.
You say thank you by working hard.
You say thank you by not wasting the opportunity.
You say thank you by becoming a man for others.

That is what gratitude looks like.

In the Gospel, Jesus says something incredible:

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.”

Seniors, you have been chosen.

Not chosen to be better than others.
Chosen to love others.

Not chosen to escape your neighborhood.
Chosen to love it more deeply.

That is the Verbum Dei mission.

You have been formed to be men for others.

So as you graduate, do not measure your life only by your salary, your title, your degree, or how impressive your resume looks.

Measure your life by love.

Who is stronger because you showed up?
Who is less alone because you noticed them?
Who has hope because you refused to give up?
Who knows God’s love because they experienced yours?

That is success.

So go.

Go to college.
Go to work.
Go lead.
Go serve.
Go love.

But do not forget where you came from. Do not forget who sacrificed for you. Do not forget who believed in you.

And when the world feels too big, too broken, too divided, too much, do not be overwhelmed.

Start where Jesus starts.

With the person in front of you.

Love God.
Love your neighbor.
Love your neighborhood.

It is really that simple.