The Spirit of a University by Trevor McCormick

the spirit a university

Pray e r s f o r a n A ca d emic Year

The Spirit of a University Prayers for an Academic Year The spirit and character of a university is reflected in the events and celebrations that mark an academic year. Gathering prayers and invocations, offered at these significant occasions, serve as communal affirmations of shared gratitude, hopes and aspirations. The prayers on the following pages embody the collective spirit, mission and identity of Xavier University, a Jesuit, Catholic university in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881

Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Luncheon Welcoming New Hires God of the universe, God of our wounded planet and people, God of our people at Xavier, Hear our prayer: We pray for our students; Our colleagues on the faculty, staff and administration; Our neighbors in North Avondale, Norwood and Evanston; And we pray for ourselves in all our needs as good, but imperfect human beings. We thank you for this good meal with our new colleagues. May we begin to grow together into a true community of love, justice and peace. Amen George Traub, S.J. Mission & Identity August 2006

President’s Luncheon Welcoming New Hires Thank you, O Holy One, for all that has lead to this wonderful day on our campus. It is with great anticipation, hope and joy that we greet our new companions. With them we enter into a most historic period in the life of Xavier University. Bless the wisdom, talents, diversity and novelty they bring and share. For those of us who have called Xavier our professional home for years or decades, Help us to bring out the best in those that we welcome today, as they will bring out the best in us. Help us to foster their career endeavors and to be receptive to their fresh ideas. Help us to be gracious and supportive guides to those whom we now call “our new colleagues” but whom we will soon call “our friends.” Together, help us to do your work by doing our work with excellence and reverence. God bless our shared mission and future at Xavier. Amen

Debra Mooney Mission & Identity August 2002

AFMIX* Commences Gracious God, With joy, we now join here together to celebrate, as some look back on times past and as others look forward to times yet to come. We rejoice in the opportunity to become better acquainted with our fellow employees while finding You in them. We are grateful for the encouragement we receive to seek to know You as the source and substance of the mission and identity of our place of employment. We are humbled to be entrusted with the service and promotion of social justice in our local and global communities. We ask that You guide us in this service. We thank You for this time in the middle of our workday to refresh our souls. We praise You for Your generous gift of life and love and ask for Your help in sharing that love with everyone we meet. Amen Sheila Doran Mathematics/Computer Science September 2007 * AFMIX (Assuring the Future Mission and Identity at Xavier) is a twoyear education program for faculty and staff. In the first meeting of the program, past participants welcome and recognize new participants; the fifth cohort began in 2007.

Orientation Luncheon The Life of Ignatius Oh God of wisdom, we ask that you fill us with the spirit of learning and discerning as we contemplate today the life of Ignatius Loyola. Oh God of peace, we ask that the solidarity of Ignatius and his companions may be a model for us as we grow in solidarity with each other, and especially with the poor and the marginalized of our fractured world. Oh God of love, we ask that your love, which showed forth in Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier and so many others across the world and across the centuries, may be reflected also in us and in all that we do as we live the Xavier mission. Giver of all gifts, fill us finally with that generosity that has led those who have gone before us, and those who labor still among us, to do great wonders. This is our prayer. Amen Joe Wessling English Department (Emeritus) October 2006

Orientation Luncheon The History of Jesuit Education God of all blessings, open our hearts that we may recognize the gifts you have given us. God of all wonders, open our eyes that we may see you in all things. God of justice, open our ears that we may hear the cry of the poor and disenfranchised. God of all time, open our minds to the joys of reflective moments with you. We stand, in gratitude for your gifts. We stand, in awe of your wonders. We stand; ready to do your good work. We stand, in this moment; ready to learn and open to growth. Amen Donna Geraci Admissions Department October 2007

Silver Service Society Luncheon (honoring employees who have served more than 25 years at the University) Father, We ask your blessing upon the new members of this Society who have given 25 years of service to the University. We ask your blessing upon the current members who have given 25 or more years of service to the University. We ask your blessing upon the Jesuits who walk with us in our mission of service. We ask your blessing upon all who are alone, suffering and feel a sense of hopelessness. We ask your blessing upon those who live in poverty that we shall be able to make poverty history in our lifetime. We ask your blessing upon the farm workers who have harvested our food. We ask your blessing upon those who prepared our food We ask your blessing upon those who serve the food. We ask your blessing upon this food that we are about to receive. Amen Patricia Waldbillig Psychological Services October 2005

Support Staff Appreciation Luncheon God of all gifts, we thank you for the many ways you have blessed us this year. We are grateful for all those who are gathered in this room. We ask you to bless us and our food and to bless those who could not be with us today. In our gratitude and love, we remember your humble birth and pray for those who are without enough to eat. We remember the stable in which you were born and pray for those who have no place to live. We remember your gentle, healing ways and pray for those who are sick and suffering. We remember your challenging message of caring and giving, and we pray for peace in families and nations throughout the world. We bless you and give you thanks. Amen Diane Alexander Special Events and Protocol December 2005

Support Staff Appreciation Luncheon Dear God; We thank you for the opportunity to celebrate this special season together. As we greet our colleagues and look forward to the wonderful meal prepared for us today, we are grateful to be part of this community—to work with SO MANY GOOD people who support the University with their time and talent. Help us to recognize and appreciate our uniquely human gifts: Minds that can organize information and make decisions; Hearts that enable us to understand with compassion; Hands that perform the work we need to do. Remind us how our actions and attitudes can enlighten the burdens of others…and that WORK can be love made visible. Lord, We pray for those who are ill, or afraid, or lonely… And for those who need courage or lack hope. May they feel your presence and be reassured. Please be especially close to those in harm’s way. We thank you for the comfort of family and friends—and the many blessings we enjoy. Above ALL, we thank you the promise of your love. Amen Carol Kelley Mission & Ministry December 2004

Meeting of the University Board of Trustees READER 1

As we assess the present state of our university and plan for the future, let’s listen to an account of our roots from the middle of the nineteenth century. READER 2

In March 1840, the Jesuit Mission Superior in St. Louis, Father Verhaegen, an ardent advocate of expansion, expressed his willingness to open colleges in Detroit and in Cincinnati, the largest city of the Middle West—at the request of the respective bishops. If only the Jesuit Superior General, John Roothaan, would send a few professors from Europe. In his willingness to open new colleges, Verhaegen reflected once again the spirit of the American frontier…. If colleges could not be undertaken in both Cincinnati and Detroit, Verhaegen wanted to accept at least one. Bishop Edward Fenwick had opened a college in Cincinnati known as the Athenaeum in conjunction with the seminary of St. Francis Xavier begun in October 1831. His successor in 1833, Bishop John Baptist Purcell, tried repeatedly to get Jesuits to man this college in Cincinnati. In December 1839, Father Roothaan wrote to Father Verhaegen about Purcell’s petition as well as another from the Bishop of Detroit. Roothaan wondered which one Verhaegen thought a better prospect. Verhaegen countered with the response that both places were fine. If the General would send four competent priests, the Missouri Jesuits could expand. The General wisely chose one location, Cincinnati, because it was accessible to St. Louis by steamboat. On Sept. 6, 1840, Bishop Purcell announced that he would transfer the Athenaeum to the Society of Jesus.

â&#x20AC;ŚShortly afterward, Father Roothaan authorized the Cincinnati operation. Father Verhaegen sent seven Jesuits from St. Louis: two of them priests, John Elet as Superior, and Jean Gleizal; two scholastics, John Baptist Duerinck and Maurice Vanden Eycken; and three Jesuit Brothers, Peter de Meyer, Sebastian Schlienger and John Dugan. READER 1

Let us pray. Our provident God: bless us with wisdom as we remember our past. Teach us the fine balance between caution and courage as we move to the future with trust in you. May all we do reflect your glory. Amen J. Leo Klein, S.J. Mission & Ministry February 2004

Honoring Mission and Identity Participation Almost 16 years ago, two career paths lie before me, like Ignatius on his trip to Montserrat when he could not decide what was the good thing to do, either follow the Moor and strike him down with his dagger for dishonoring the Virgin Mary or let the Moor go. I could continue my work at a Cincinnati law firm where I greatly enjoyed working with an attorney who appreciated me and challenged me to grow professionally, or I could accept the offer of becoming a hall director at Xavier’s Husman Hall. We all know Ignatius gave his mule free rein so the Lord could guide him. If one believes that God intimately knows each of us, He knew that I wasn’t at a point in my life to put my choice completely in His hands, so He dangled tuition remission, room and board at the beginning of the Xavier path that I followed. For many years I worked here with a sufficient, but minimal understanding of the Jesuit mission and identity of the University. Then two years ago I decided, like many of you here today, that the time was right (even thought Banner implementation would be looming) for me to learn more about the Jesuit part of this Catholic, Jesuit University, and we began our AFMIX journey. The two years passed very quickly, and a couple of months ago I found myself at a meeting with a small group of AFMIX participants who were meeting to plan today’s prayer service. Our initial discussions centered on how fortunate we were to work someplace that encourages employees to spend time in religious dialogue—on a journey of understanding the University’s Jesuit history, mission and identity, and then determining how to embrace those values and incorporate them into the work we do here at Xavier. Sentiments I heard echoed at the final AFMIX meeting last week. * AFMIX (Assuring the Future Mission and Identity at Xavier) is a two year mission education program for faculty and staff.

We also appreciated that this group experience was unlike so many experiences on campus where faculty, administrators and support staff come to work in committees, because it gave its participants the chance to see each individual in a new and different light, in a setting outside of our standard roles that we all so often fall into in our daily work day. This feeling was also mentioned repeatedly last week as the AFMIX group reflected on its experiences from the last two years. When a colleague shared with the planning group her feeling that AFMIX participants have such a strong bond that when you catch the eye of those in your group in another setting there is a connection there that needs no words, but there is sight with the eye of love that grew from the trust resulting from the time spent sharing our unique selves through stories and dialogue for the past two years. The challenge to the planning group was to find a quote, a song or a scripture piece that could communicate how our AFMIX experiences shed new light on our view of life and each other. Last year my family was fortunate to travel to New York during my children’s spring break, and we went to see a new musical Wicked. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Wicked, it is the story of Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, when they were young women. The musical is absolutely wonderful, and it challenges the audience to see the characters in a new light and to question what or who is really good and what is wicked. My children loved the musical so much, we did something we rarely do: We purchased the soundtrack after the show. So in early February, with my AFMIX planning meeting in mind and the Wicked soundtrack playing in the car, I heard the following words from the song “For Good,” which is the last time Glenda and Elphaba see each other. I would like to share them with you now, because I feel they do an excellent job of describing the feelings many of us have expressed as we reflected on the time we spent together these past two years as we’ve learned and grown together.

I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason Bringing something we must learn And we are lead To those who help us most to grow If we let them And we help them in return Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true But I know I’m who I am today Because I knew you… It well may be That we may never meet again In this lifetime So let me say before we part So much of me Is made from what I learned from you You’ll be with me Is made from what I learned from you You’ll be with me Like a handprint on my heart And whatever way our stories end I know you have rewritten mine By being my friend…

Thank you to each of the AFMIX participants for the little piece of themselves that they gave to me, which makes me who I am today and who I will become in the future. Amen Connie Perme Human Resources April 2005

Honoring Mission and Identity Participation We thank you God that the Ignatian spirituality focuses on “Finding God in all Things.” As we come together this day as a community for other, we have so much to be thankful for. We thank you God for the Gloria of this season—the flowers blooming, the birds singing, the trees showing new life. We thank you God for Xavier and the wealth of opportunities we have to serve others. We thank you for the glorious life of Pope John Paul II and his influence toward justice and peace in our world. As we pause from our busy schedules, we thank you for this special event that allows us to acknowledge all of those responsible for and completing the AFMIX program and this year’s Ignatian Mentoring Program. May all these experiences and new insights help us to discern how to be faithful servants for others. Thank you for the food we are about to receive, and bless the hands that prepared it and served it. In Jesus name we pray, Amen Ginger McKenzie Education April 2005

Academic Honors Celebration On this beautiful spring morning we come together to celebrate academic achievement . . . a celebration well deserved. We realize, of course, that most other universities in our land are holding similar ceremonies at this time of year. But we celebrate honors and achievements in a Jesuit university where everything we do is meant to be seen in a much, much wider context. Ignatius Loyola saw everything we are and all that we have as gifts from God . . . to be used in service to one another AND one day to be returned to God in thanksgiving. We begin this morning by repeating the prayer of Ignatius, which we hope you will say many times over in the years ahead and . . . each time you weave this prayer into your life experience you will come to mean it more and more from your heart. Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will . . . all that I have and call my own. You have given it all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.

Amen J. Leo Klein, S.J. Mission & Ministry April 2007

Honoring Years of Service and Retirements Dear God, Today we reflect and recognize the labors of those who work at this university. We give thanks for the individual talents given to each of us. We are grateful for this work, which provides us the means to meet our humanly needs, and, yet, we know it provides us with more. May we always be filled with the satisfaction that our toil is worthy and good. If there are times when satisfaction is absent, do not let us despair, but give us the strength, hope and courage to persevere. Together with those who came before us, as well as those that will follow, we form an unbroken line of service. With our fellow workers, may we share a companionship in our common vocation. Collectively, we educate and are rewarded with the fruit of our labor, our students, Your men and women for others. We know that with Your blessing, our students, will go forth and do wondrous things. Be with us as we continue our journey. For this is our prayer. Amen Rebecca Schroer Mission & Identity May 2007

Meeting of the University Board of Trustees The contemporary Jesuit emphasis on social justice as a constitutive element in the life of faith is not innovation. This emphasis on social justice and solidarity is in continuity with the foundation and original mission of the Society of Jesus. More important, this commitment is an expression of its apostolic integrity. By apostolic integrity I mean that the work of the contemporary Jesuits find its deepest religious instincts in the prophetic teaching of Jesus about the dignity of the poor, the widow, the orphanâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the social and religious outcasts of his day. To preach and to teach the gospel of Christ, to translate its significance to our postmodern world, to confront some of the economic and social fallout from globalizationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that has to be part of the professional awareness within every Jesuit work, but especially in higher education. Let us pray. Our loving God, bless all of us gathered here this morning, dedicated to the well-being of Xavier University. Guide us in assuring the future of the Jesuit mission in all our plans and dreams. May all we do reflect your glory. Amen J. Leo Klein, S.J. Mission & Ministry May 2004

Graduation Invocation God, our loving Mother and Father, we thank you for the women and men, our former students and our friends who receive their degrees today. We thank you for their presence in our classrooms, for their questions, for what we have learned from them. Be with them and strengthen them as they leave Xavier and the friends they have made over the past four years. Give them courage as they begin graduate or professional school, and as they begin their working careers. Help them in their successes and in their failures. Be with them when they are downsized and when they are made redundant. Help them to find a job where their work is their play and their play is their work. Be with them as they enter and leave relationships until they find a partner who will be with them for life. May their lives not be dominated by the idols of money, fame and power. May they realize that the gifts you have given them are signs of your love for them, and that those gifts are to be used for the good of the human family and for the building up of your kingdom: a kingdom of truth and justice, a kingdom of peace and love. We pray also for all of those who died or were killed at Virginia Tech. May those who died rest in your peace. Comfort the entire Tech community in their sorrow and give them the gift of your peace. We also pray for the women and men, our friends, who were commissioned in the United States Army yesterday afternoon. Be with them in their work and help them to serve the United States and the world with honor and dignity. May their work bring your gift of your peace to our world. Bring them back to us safely so that they may live the lives you have given them and that they may experience the joy, the sorrow and the exquisite beauty of human existence. Amen John LaRocca, S.J. History Department May 2007

Graduate School Graduation Invocation Dear God, We pause for a moment to remember and thank you for blessing each of us with: • so many wonderful people who have made this day possible, • those who have encouraged us, • those who have supported us, • those who love us -our family, our friends, -our faculty and mentors. God, you are both the beginning and the completion of our lives. Help us to realize the personal loving and eternal care that you have for each of us. Please walk with us into the future…. and bless us with a deep desire to share your gifts with those who are most in need. For all that has been, for all that will be…we say Amen. Gene Carmichael, S.J. Mission & Identity May 2007

ROTC Commissioning Ceremony Invocation Gracious God, We asked your blessing upon these young men and women who are being commissioned officers this afternoon in the United States Army. Grant them courage to live their lives with dignity and honor. May they be faithful to the highest ideals of their profession and serve themselves and their nation well. We hold these young people and their families in our hearts and ask you to watch over them an protect them. Finally, we thank you for our lives and the world you have given us...both to care for and share with all people. Amen Albert Bischoff, S.J. Campus Ministry May 2007

Opening a Departmental/ Staff Meeting -For Times of Transition God of Love, You are with us in every transition and change. As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety, we recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love. We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us. We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment. We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our own work. Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another. We ask this in your Holy Name. Amen Joe Shadle Campus Ministry July 2007

Special University Events

Inauguration of 175th Anniversary of Xavier University In the beginning, in 1831, you, God, inspired Bishop Edward Fenwick to found a small college of fewer than 200 students. And you saw that it was good. You blessed the endeavor that was to grow into a university of more than 6,600 students, students who continue to be grounded in the liberal arts and to be challenged intellectually, morally and spiritually. On the second day, in 1881, two dozen alumni formed the first alumni association. And you, God, saw that it was good as it is today an organization that includes thousands of men and women called to lead lives of service and compassion. On the third day, in 1911, Xavier College moved to the fertile fields of Avondale and became Xavier University. And you, God, saw that it was good. Your hand guided your co-creators in building a beautiful new home for the children of your covenant, a home replete with refurbished structures and open spaces where respectful dialogue and the search for truth could be undertaken in dignity and freedom. On the fourth day, at the end of World War II, Xavier University embraced returning veterans and established a graduate school and you saw, oh God, that it was good. Extended facilities and expanded options, such as an Honors Bachelor of Arts, helped to enhance the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. Countless lives have been affected by the addition of advanced programs in education, health, business and the behavioral sciences. On the fifth day, in 1969, women were admitted thus making Xavier fully coeducational and, God, you saw that this was very good. The completed reflection of your divine self was again mirrored in Xavierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acquisition of Edgecliff College wherein your injunction to be fruitful and multiply enriched Xavier with new images of your beauty in the fine arts.

On the sixth day, in the late 1980s, the University initiated a creative collaborative endeavor between the founding order, the Society of Jesus, and its lay coworkers. You saw, God, that the fostering of Xavier’s Jesuit Identity through the establishment of Ignatian Programs was good, indeed, and has provided many at Xavier with the will and spirit to assure the future of Xavier’s mission and identity. Now on our seventh day, a celebratory Sabbath honoring the creation of Xavier University 175 years ago, we thank you and we ask you, God of All Creation, to continue to bless us and our University with your goodness. May we not rest in the labors and laurels of past accomplishments. Rather, imbue us with a renewed commitment to our mission to develop our students’ intellectual skills for a full life in and of service to the human community. Deepen our own resolve to live lives of solidarity with the least of our brothers and sisters. May we honor our foremothers and forefathers best by our own desire to be co-creators with you and to make a difference. And may you see, oh God, that this, too, is good. Amen Jo Ann M. Recker, SND de N. Modern Languages January 2006

Blessing of Monument Honoring the Original Site of Xavier University and St. Xavier High School FR. DEYE:

We begin In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. We gather here to bless this monument, which marks the birthplace of Jesuit education in Cincinnati. Over the past one hundred seventy-five years, members of the Society of Jesus, with the support of the Archdiocese, united with generous lay men and women, have labored together, guided by the vision of St. Ignatius Loyola, to challenge minds and hearts. FR. GRAHAM:

This monument is here erected to the greater honor and glory of God to mark the place where, under divine inspiration, Xavier University and St. Xavier High School took root and began to flourish. It is through these institutions today that the dreams of yesterday live on as a vision of hope for tomorrow. FR. DEYE:

All praise and glory are yours, Almighty and Eternal God. You created this earth and all it contains and placed creation within our care so that by the work of our hands, the development of our minds, the conversion of our hearts, we might share in your creative power and build your kingdom in this world.

FR. GRAHAM:

Look with kindness upon this monument and upon the accomplishments it symbolizes. Continue to bless these centers of learning, we pray. May their single purpose always be to serve you, the Eternal King, by imparting a desire for love that is shown in deeds rather than in words. FR. DEYE:

We bless this monument in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. May this monument be a sign of gratitude for blessings for the past and a sign of hope and challenge for the future. FR. GRAHAM:

The inscription on the plaque reads:

On this property in 1831 Bishop Edward Fenwick established a college known as the Athenaeum and placed it under the patronage of St. Francis Xavier. In 1840 his successor, Bishop John Baptist Purcell, gave the college to members of the Society of Jesus who renamed it St. Xavier College. This institution evolved into today’s Xavier University, which moved to its EvanstonAvondale campus in 1919, and into St. Xavier High School that transferred to Finneytown in 1960. AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM

FR. DEYE:

May God who is the source and summit of truth and knowledge enlighten your minds so you may learn what is right and good and in your actions carry out what you have learned. FR. GRAHAM:

And may the blessing of Almighty God, The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you forever. Amen Darrell Burns, S.J. Campus Ministry March 2007 • Fr. Graham—President of Xavier University • Fr. Deye—President of St. Xavier High School

Presidential Inauguration Dinner for Michael J. Graham, S.J. May the blessing of our Gracious God rest upon us and upon all our work done in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name. We are grateful for this time of new beginnings, new challenges. May God give us light to guide us, courage to support us and love to unite us. Creator of the Universe, you have given us this gift of food both to nourish and to sustain us. Bless this food that human hands have prepared. May it satisfy our hunger, and may our sharing in this celebrations draw us closer to one another and to you. Glory and praise be yours now and forever.

Amen Pam Goetz Campus Ministry September 2001

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