Grad at Grad Talk – Becoming More Religious Elliot Scarangello
I’m pretty sure that as a freshman, being one of the only practicing Jews in a Catholic school, the last place I thought I would be is at this podium, giving the Grad at Grad speech about becoming more Religious. But then again I’m also pretty sure I didn’t expect to become Santa Claus, either, so I guess anything’s possible.
While Loyola is a Catholic school, from my first day in Fr. Sehler’s freshman theology class I noticed the many similarities between Catholicism and Judaism, and also most other major religious traditions, and so throughout my experiences in theology class as well as my service placements I have grown in my own faith. While it may be “Christian” Service I’ve learned that anyone can gain powerful insights into ourselves by thinking about God and reaching out to those who need help.
When Ms. Baber called me into her office before break, she asked me kind of a strange question. She asked, “How is your relationship with God?” I wasn’t really sure what to say. It’s not the kind of question I get asked very often, if ever. Very often, we take our relationship with God for granted, or we simply forget about it. So I thought for a second and replied, “Good”? But after a few weeks of thinking about it, I can confidently say the answer to that question, at least in my case, is wonderful, and much of it is thanks to all of you sitting and standing around me today. That’s because one thing that I have learned throughout my time here is that one of the many ways that we can find God is in the relationships and times that we share with each other. Whether it’s a passing smile in on the stairwell or a conversation in the library, it is in those moments that I have come to find God, because as I learned in my freshman year Christian service class: God is love. Everyday I’m able to find God in the friendships that I have made with all of you.
Now, I haven’t always been so firm in my faith; as I’m pretty sure many of us have experienced, in life there are many ups and downs, and the same thing goes for our relationship with God. Up until my sophomore year, I didn’t fully understand the idea of God being love. It was something I hadn’t really experienced before and couldn’t fully grasp the concept of. Then suddenly my dear friend and beloved classmate Michael Santangelo passed away over Christmas break. It hit everyone in the Loyola community extremely hard; the death of a friend, a friend so full of life, is not something any high schooler should have to experience. It was in the wake of his passing that I lost faith in God. How could it be that, God, who we are taught from childhood to believe is all powerful and can make all things happen,
would allow a travesty such as this to occur? I know my classmates shared this feeling of hopelessness and disbelief. And for many days after his passing, I was angry, confused, and frustrated that I had been believing in a lie for so many years.
But, once school began again, something amazing happened. Everyone in the Loyola community, but especially the class of 2015 came together in love and support of one another. And it was in this love and support that for the first time in my life I truly saw the face of God. I saw God in everyone, and for that, I would like to thank all of you. It was in the support of my friends and teachers that I was able to smile and laugh again. I finally understood what Ms. Baber said about God being love. I finally realized that maybe God isn’t some guy with a beard sitting in a cloud, but instead God is the love that we share with one another. And while I know we will never fully understand the passing of our friend, I am comforted in the fact that it is in my friends that I found my faith, and I found God.
Over the past three and a half years here, I have begun to experience God and find it in all things. Whether it was in supporting the basketball teams during spirit week, or being supported by my fellow AP English classmates when we had 30 minutes to write two essays I know God was there in those moments in the people around me. And I think that that’s the beauty of having such a close knit community as we have here, because we are all able to come together every day and in that find faith. Loyola has been an amazing place for me, and I know it always will be. It’s the place where I have grown into an adult; it’s the place where I have made friendships that will last the rest of my life; and it’s the place where I was able to find God. In my freshman year, a Catholic school really was the last place I thought I would find it.
If there’s one thought I would like to leave you with, it is that while the quadratics, chemical equations, history, and English are all extremely important, as are teams and clubs we make commitments to, the most important lesson that I have learned here at Loyola is how to find God in all things, and in all of my friendships. Thank you.