Let us join in prayer.
Almighty God, we are gathered here today by Your grace to celebrate a transition in many young people’s lives, a transition that would not be possible without the support of loved ones, friends, faculty, and staff. To those who have aided us in times of despair and doubt, in times of confusion and hopelessness, we offer thanks. To those who have joined us in moments of triumph and excitement, in moments euphoria and clarity, we offer our gratitude. We are gathered here today by Your grace to come together as a unified yet distinctive whole. As we stand side by side, we are all equal before You. We are all human and made in Your image.
Please God, do not let us forget this crucial unifying premise. We must remain cognizant of it to eliminate the hate and suffering in the world. Today, we are fortunate to have among us those of many backgrounds which strengthen our unified whole.
Please God, do not let us forget to celebrate these differences which make us stronger. Do not let us forget how we have each individually become stronger by joining the Notre Dame family and how each of us have individually strengthened this family.
Regardless of our different faiths, we pray together. Whether we pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, Allah, Yahweh, the Heavenly Father, Brahman, another entity, all entities, or no entity, we are unified in our strivings and dreams, our hardships and failures to come together as one body with collective hearts to pray. We are gathered here today by Your grace to honor the gifts of faith, community, and education from our university. You have provided each and every one of us with the abilities, potentials, and resources to be able to gain acceptance and finish study at the University of Notre Dame du Lac. We have been blessed to carry out our Lady’s mission.
God, we are gathered here today by Your grace to prepare for our next step. We look forward to carrying out the mission of our Lady to utilize the skills we have gained to serve Your creation, however and wherever that service may take place. Please God, join us and direct us on this journey. Throughout this journey fill our collective hearts with gratitude, love, and curiosity to transcend what we thought was possible. We are gathered here today in Your grace.