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A Baccalaureate is a ceremony held in conjunction with graduation that provides the graduates with an opportunity to reflect upon their achievements and to look forward to their future endeavors. A Baccalaureate usually has a spiritual or religious theme to it.
My daughter’s high school held a Baccalaureate for the graduating seniors. To me, the Baccalaureate was memorable for the expressions of faith shared by these seniors and for the fact that it was held in a public high school.
My daughter was one of the Baccalaureate speakers. First, she read this verse from Proverbs 3:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely;
In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD and turn away from evil;
This will mean health for your flesh and vigor for your bones.”
Then my daughter offered her own personal reflection upon those words and expounded upon trusting in the Lord. “Class of 2025, as you embark on the next momentous step on your life’s journey, one of the most important things to remember is to be true to your faith and to trust in the Lord,” she said. As an example, she drew upon Saint Peter walking on water with Jesus and how he began to falter when he stopped trusting in Jesus. (see Matthew 14:22-33). “Trusting in God isn’t always easy,” she said. “He just asks that we try.”
When she had finished, I was both proud and humbled. Proud because of the incredible young woman that my daughter is becoming. Humbled because none of this would have been possible without God.
After she came off the stage, I thought of the George Strait song “I Saw God Today.” This song is about a new father and his newborn daughter. This song includes this verse:
She's got my nose
She's got her mama's eyes
My brand new baby girl
She's a miracle
I saw God today
This Baccalaureate Night, I heard God today…speaking through my daughter.
Thank you Lord for everything.
Bryan J. Dickerson is an author and historian specializing in military and naval history, and Catholicism. He earned his BA in History from Rowan University (NJ), MA in American History from Monmouth University (NJ) and a graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from Louisiana State University. His writings have appeared online and in print in such publications as Columbia (the magazine of the Knights of Columbus) and Celebrate Life (the magazine of the American Life League). He is a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and a Past Grand Knight of a council in New Jersey. His book The Liberators of Pilsen: the U.S. 16th Armored Division in World War II Czechoslovakia was published by McFarland Books in 2018 and his book Dive Bomber Down: James A. Nist Naval Aviator in the Pacific War is now available from McFarland Books. He has also self-published sixeen books, including In the Name of COVID: The Assault on Religious Freedom in 2020. A former U.S. Navy Reserve Religious Program Specialist 1st Class (Fleet Marine Force), he mobilized and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom twice. He and his wife Lisa have four children and live in southern New Jersey.
