H's friend gave the graduation speech for the Miami Sacred Heart, and I thought you'd appreciate it, since it mentions a lot about the schools' founder:
I. Madeleine Sophie
Usually for graduations, I end up quoting Socrates or Mark Twain or Winston Churchill. Today, as you young women of the Sacred Heart leave Carrollton for colleges and universities all over the country, I would like to quote our spiritual mother, St Madeleine Sophie-Barat.
II. All those letters
As you make this important step in your lives and look to your futures, I would like to pause and reflect back on what Madeline Sophie might have to say to you today. After all, without her, we would not be here. Without her, there would be no Society of the Sacred Heart. Without the Society of the Sacred Heart, this campus would very like be a another Vizcaya on the Bay. Madeline Sophie wrote over 14, 000 letters. And that was before computers, e-mail or internet. Those letters expose the mind and heart of Madeline Sophie. She was not a 21st century woman, she was not even a 20th century woman. She was a 19th century woman and it shows in those letters. She was an elegant, refined, intelligent and deeply sensitive lady. If you can read French, I strongly encourage to pick up those letters. Let us look at what advice and inspiration Madeline Sophie might have for you as you go off into the world.
III. “In our struggle ...”
Madeleine Sophie wrote, “In our struggle concerning education, the heart of Jesus asks from us not our blood but our minds. We must strengthen our studies by intellectual work. There is no question of flight from this task. The directors of institutions — Roman, Catholic and apostolic — tell us, poor women who are authorized by the Church to teach, that we must hold our own, and then measure ourselves against the University.” God, I respect this woman! Two of the main problems which are plaguing our society and our Church are laziness and stupidity. Madeline Sophie would have none of it, none of it for herself and none of it for you, her daughters. Jesus came to take away your sins, not your brains. No matter how beautiful you may be on the outside – and you are all quite lovely today in your elegant dresses tonight – the greatest gift God gave you is not soft skin, a pretty smile or a nice figure. The greatest gift God gave you is a beautiful mind. Never allow yourselves to be treated as pretty dolls. You are infinitely more and better than that. As St Thomas More said: “God made plants for their simplicity and animals for their innocence, But God made human beings to serve God wittily, in the tangle of our minds.”
IV. Remain children of the Sacred Heart
Madeline Sophie was deeply committed to the notion that if the Society turned out brilliant women with cold hearts, the Society would be a failure. Education does not only, or even essentially, take place at the intellectual level. To “educate” comes from two Latin words: e and ducare which means to lead out of. To lead out of what? To lead out of fear, darkness and ignorance. We serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, not the scared heart of those who rule their lives by fear and the power that keeps fear at bay. I did mass yesterday with the second grade, who received their first communion this year. I wish I could have photographed their faces as they received communion – they are so full of faith, hope and love. Our prayer for each of you is: no matter what life might throw at you, may your hearts remain child-like. No matter how old or smart or great you become, may you always remain children of the Sacred Heart ... You have the minds and bodies of women; always keep the hearts of little girls, hearts full of wonder, joy and gratitude! St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, pray for us!