Good morning.
Welcome to Divine Mercy University's graduation mass offered in honor of the graduates and degree candidates of the 2,026 commencement exercises.
We are honored to hold this special event at Saint John Newman's and ask that the atmosphere fitting of this sacred space be maintained throughout this event.
Please take this time to silence any cell phones or other electronic devices.
So that everyone is able to see the graduates entering, please remain seated during the academic procession.
Thank you.
Our opening hymn for the mass is All People That Unearth Do Dwell found in your program.
Please rise.
In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.
Amen.
Peace be with you.
And with your spirit.
Good morning.
My name is father Charles Sikorsky.
I'm the president of Divine Mercy University.
And on behalf of our board, our staff, our faculty, I'd like to welcome you all to our 2026 commencement mass and commencement exercises.
It's a great blessing.
It's actually the twenty fifth graduation we've had.
We're finishing our twenty seventh year as an institution.
This is the twenty fifth graduation.
And we're blessed to have with us bishop Keith Chielinski, who is the auxiliary bishop from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and he is a graduate of the master's in clinical psych program of, in 2014.
We're also blessed to have Bishop Laverde with us, the Bishop Emeritus of our Diocese of Arlington here, who's been a big supporter of DMU throughout the years, been a board member since day one, and who really is a just been a tremendous, inspiration and help to the development and growth of our mission.
Welcome also all the concelebrants who are with us, the families and friends of our graduates, and, of course, especially and most importantly, today's graduates.
It's a, big day for them, a celebration of their hard work, their sacrifice, really their love and commitment to serving others.
And so it's a real grace to be with you all this morning, and there's no better way to say thank you than to offer the celebration of the Eucharist.
So welcome, and God bless you all.
Thank you, father Charles.
It's a great joy to be with all of you today to celebrate this gift of God's love and mercy.
I'm so grateful to be with my brother, Bishop Liberti, and with my brother Prie, as we celebrate that mercy today, and how that mercy is shown in your lives, especially those who are preparing to graduate today.
I offer this mask for you and for your intentions.
I confess to all my May almighty God have mercy on us.
Forgive us our sins and bring us an everlasting life.
Christa.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, who through the regenerating power of baptism, have been pleased to confer Right.
We pray that those you render capable of immortality by justifying them, made by your guidance attain the fullness of glory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him, and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the gospel from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
So they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night, Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, come over to Macedonia and help us.
When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all your The Lord is good.
His kindness endures forever.
His faithfulness to Hallelujah.
If the new age with Christ, stick what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
The Lord be with you.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John.
Glory to your glory.
Jesus said to his disciples, if the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own.
But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you.
No slave is greater than his master.
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name because they do not know the one who sent me.
The gospel of the Lord.
Once again, good morning.
It's a great joy to be here and a great honor to celebrate this mass.
I'm gonna start with a little story.
Someone recounted this.
She said, my father abandoned his wife and four children when I was young.
I never saw him and never heard from him.
And until I was 18, I actually believed that he was dead.
When my aunt Emma, my father's sister, told me he was alive, I was astonished.
I gave her my graduation picture to give to him and hoped that he would contact me.
He never did.
Later, when I committed my life to Christ, I developed a relationship with him, and I knew his love.
But I was still afraid of God the father.
Knowing him as a tender and loving father seemed impossible to me.
One day, I learned that my earthly father had passed away, and my deepest prayer to meet him would not be fulfilled.
And I felt an enormous hurt.
And then I visited my aunt, Emma.
She told me about his life and his death, and she said that he decided not to see me because he was too ashamed of his behavior as a young father.
He must have known through her that for seventeen years, I had asked about him.
And I stood near his grave engulfed in anguish.
My search was over.
This was as close as I would ever be to get to my father.
And so I cried out to God, it's too late.
It's too late.
I have no father.
And at that point, I heard a voice say to me, I am your father.
And I turned around and no one was there.
But, again, I heard that voice.
And softer, he said to me, I am your father.
It was hard to believe at first, but the God that I feared actually spoke to me, and I felt his love surround me.
Because God revealed himself to me as a father, I no longer feel that hurt of an abandoned child nor the pain from my fruitless search.
I was healed so that only the memory and none of the pain remains.
That afternoon in the lonely cemetery changed my life where God was once only a remote figure of the trinity.
He's now the father that I talk with and walk with and praise each day.
And I realized this wonderful father loves all his children, all of us, so much that he impatiently awaits the day that he can draw us all close to himself forever.
This is the ultimate desire of our God to embrace us, to draw us close to him, and one day to share in his kingdom for all eternity.
But as you know, in our fallen world, sometimes it's hard to see that.
Sometimes it's hard to believe that.
Is it the fruit of original sin?
So many things are broken.
Fear, anger, division, often cloud the vision that God so wants so much wants us to see.
We all need healing in one way or the other.
And what we celebrate today, we celebrate this beautiful vocation to heal.
It's a vocation.
You know, when we think about evangelization, we usually think about catechesis or just going out and talking to people, reaching out to them.
As we heard, like, in the first reading, Paul and Timothy, when they were just getting started and they were entering all of these different communities who had never heard the name of Jesus.
In today's world, evangelization is a little bit different because I think most people in our society have heard of his name.
They might not know him, but they've heard of his name.
And so the new evangelization, it's a new landscape.
It's not necessarily going to new territories, but it's actually going into the landscape of one own's mind and heart.
So many people are confused or angry or resistant to God's grace because of because of so many reasons, so many ways that they've been hurt.
And so God needs us as human beings, he needs us to be part of his saving plan to heal, to allow them to experience the truth that they're loved, that they're worthy of belonging, that they have a purpose in this life, and that there is always hope.
God needs you.
All of you graduates, look at how many.
My gosh.
I graduated in 2014.
There were not as many people.
But just to think about how many people are God is God gonna touch through you?
It's a it's a beautiful view from here.
And to see the thousands and thousands of souls just offering a listening ear, an empathic word, offering love through your eyes, offering hope when there doesn't seem to be any.
The vocation to heal is so needed in our world today.
And God calls you.
He calls you to be a Catholic psychologist or counselor to help people to encounter truth, goodness, and beauty, who is God.
He is truth.
He is goodness itself.
He is beauty.
And in the human condition, there's so many resistances to that.
But as we encounter that resistance, we need never be afraid or discouraged.
Because as healers, we should be reminded of what our Lord said in the gospel.
You do not belong to the world.
I have chosen you out of the world.
We as Catholics, as Christians, we don't belong to this world.
We live in this world, but we belong to someone who also transcends it and who wishes us to be with him forever in heaven.
And so I thank you for saying yes to following the prompting of the spirit, to persevering through all your exam and practica.
I fully empathize with all the suffering that goes on in the process.
But thank you because God's gonna use you in very beautiful, powerful ways, oftentimes unseen ways when we're dealing with the human psyche and the soul.
And so I invite all of you and all of us and offer this encouragement to all those who you will see in the future.
These two quotes from one from Saint Francis de Sales famously said, be who you are and be that well, meaning as a child of God uniquely given to this world.
And then Saint Catherine of Siena who said, and especially if we experience that healing and that freedom to encounter God's grace, she said, if we are who we were meant to be, we will set the world on fire.
So go out and set the world on fire, not with swords and torches, but with love and mercy.
Filled with the joy of this Easter season and the Lord's continued presence with us, we bring to our heavenly father our prayers for the church, the world, Divine Mercy University, and those graduating today.
For the universal church, may the power of Christ's resurrection convert us into convinced and joyful disciples of the risen Lord, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For our holy father, Loyola the fourteenth, Michael Burbage, our bishop, bishop Cholinski, and all the clergy, may the Paschal Mystery continue to transform them into the image of Christ, empowering them to form the lay faithful into Christ's ardent disciples.
We pray to the lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who suffer mentally and spiritually, brought on by abuse, trauma, or mental illness, May they be supported by their family and friends and attain healing through compassionate professional care.
We pray to the Lord.
For the graduates of Divine Mercy University and their families, may the Lord accompany each one as we serve those in need of healing and hope.
Lord, hear our prayer.
For the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters of Divine Mercy University, may they be blessed in their mission to serve the dignity of each human person created in God's image through the science of psychology, the wisdom of theology, and the profession of counseling.
We pray to the lord.
Lord, hear our prayers.
Almighty father, your beloved son has risen from the dead as he promised us.
With confidence and joy, we present our prayers to you through the same risen lord who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Pray, my brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to god the almighty father.
Accept in compassion, Lord, we pray the offerings of your family, that under your protective care, they may never lose what they have received, but attain the gifts that are eternal through Christ our lord.
The Lord be with you.
Lift up your hearts.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
You are indeed holy, oh Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise.
For through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy.
And you never cease to gather a people to yourself.
So that from the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.
Therefore, oh Lord, we humbly implore you, by the same spirit, graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the body and blood of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.
For on the night he was betrayed, he himself took bread and giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying, take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you.
In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying, take this, all of you, and drink from it.
For this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in memory of me.
The mystery of faith.
Therefore, oh Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son, his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven.
And as we look forward to his second coming, we offer you in Thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.
Look, we pray upon the oblation of your church.
And recognizing the sacrificial victim, by whose death you willed to reconcile us to your self.
Grant, by whose death you willed to reconcile us to your self, granted we, who are nourished by the body and blood of your son, and filled with his holy spirit, may become one body, one spirit, and and and charity in your Pilgrim Church on Earth.
It's your servant Leo, Hope and Michael, our Bishop, it's your Keith, Bishop Paul.
You're our Bishop, all the clergy, the entire people you've gained for your Listen graciously to the prayers of his family, including your summons before you, and your compassion, or merciful power.
Gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world.
To our departed brothers and sisters, and to all who are pleasing to you as they're passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom.
There we go to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.
Through him and with him and in him, oh God, almighty father, in the unity of the holy spirit, all glory and honor is yours forever and ever.
At the savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, us, and lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us, Lord.
We pray from every evil.
Our days, that by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope, and the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you.
Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who will reign forever and ever.
Amen.
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
And with your spirit.
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
Peace be with you, Paul.
You too.
Thank you.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
Behold the lamb of God.
Behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb.
Let us pray.
Keep safe, oh lord, we pray those whom you have saved by your kindness, that redeemed by the passion of your son, they may rejoice in his resurrection who lives and reigns forever and ever.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
May almighty God bless you, the father and the son and the holy spirit.
Amen.
Go in peace.
Thanks be to God.
Saint Michael the Archangel.
Please be seated.
The commencement the commencement exercises will begin shortly.
Good afternoon.
The twenty twenty six commencement exercises of Divine Mercy University are now in order.
My name is Jessie Chapel, professor in the School of Counseling at Divine Mercy University.
To begin this momentous event, I have the great pleasure of introducing the third president of Divine Mercy University, father Charles Sikorsky.
Since 2007, father Charles has led Divine Mercy University through significant growth and important milestones of our institutional history.
We are grateful for you, father Charles, for your faithful service and dedication to this important and necessary mission these past twenty years.
Father Charles, I invite you to come forward for opening remarks.
Sounds like we're in a hurry.
Okay.
Bishop Chielinski, mister Anderson, our dear graduates, their families and friends, and all those present here, welcome to the twenty fifth commencement exercises for Divine Mercy University.
On behalf of the board of directors, the faculty, staff, our benefactors, and the many friends of Divine Mercy University, I welcome you to this joyous event, and I congratulate our graduates for their hard earned accomplishments.
Every commencement celebration is the high point of the year, the most joyous time for our university.
We look forward to this celebration with enthusiasm knowing that the mission of Divine Mercy University is carried by and through each and every one of our graduates.
Today, you are graduates joining a celebration that honors your hard work, your sacrifices, your grit, and your gifts, as well as the providential mission and the love of God that you've been called to.
Above all, it's a new beginning in God's loving plan for each one of you and a call to to a vital and urgent mission.
Saint Saint John Paul the second once said to the members of the American Psychiatric Association, quote, by its very nature, your work often brings you to the threshold of human mystery.
It involves sensitivity to the tangled workings of the human mind and heart and openness to the ultimate concerns that give meaning to people's lives.
These are areas of utmost importance to the church, end quote.
And I don't think anything has changed since the time that John Paul the second said those words.
The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.
And today, our university community provides a response to our Lord's call as we celebrate today a total of 156 graduates in our graduate programs.
This year's graduates come from 32 different states, eight different countries.
We have 17 priests and consecrated, persons, two permanent deacons who will be receiving degrees today.
An additional 60 students also received certificates in our spiritual direction program this year.
Back when we began in 1999, we started with a group of 12 and the first classes were held at the Key Bridge Marriott.
For some reason, God likes to start big things with 12.
And today's graduates, our alumni network is now close to 1,400.
Each one of you is an answer to many prayers.
The world has tremendous needs.
Pope Leo, in his first mass as pope, described the situation as follows.
There are many places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.
A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society.
I'm grateful for each one of you, and I'm confident that each one of you have been prepared to heal those wounds, to give meaning, mercy, and consolation to so many individuals, families, and our entire society.
And it was a real grace.
I wasn't able to speak with everyone last night, but to hear from so many of you about what your next steps are, what your plans are, where you're going to be working, what are you gonna be doing.
And it was just beautiful to hear that, and we're truly getting out all the different peripheries in our world.
One of the most gratifying things for me as president over the years, I've had several people come up to me out of the blue and tell me that, father, you need to hear this.
We tried to get help for a loved one, a a a daughter or a son or a loved one, and it wasn't until we came across one of your graduates that things really moved forward, that things really changed for them.
And, I have no doubt that each one of you will have many stories like that.
You may never hear them in this life like that, but that's what you're gonna be doing.
So you're truly an answer to many prayers, your hard work, sacrifice, and generosity that brought you and your families, and thank you to the families for supporting our students so much, have brought to this point.
It's it's worthy of great praise and gratitude.
So thank you all very much.
May our loving father who's begun this good work in you bring it to fulfillment.
May his kingdom come through you on earth as it is in heaven.
Next, I'd like to just recognize some of the accomplishments this year of our faculty.
Together, we celebrate the their academic achievements of our well, today's for the graduate students, but it's also a it's an occasion to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our esteemed faculty members.
Throughout the academic year, our faculty members have tirelessly dedicated themselves to the pursuit of knowledge, teaching excellence, and scholarly endeavors.
So today with great pride, we announce the promotion of the faculty the following faculty members in their programs.
Please stand as I call your names, If you're here, doctor doctor Phillips Scrofani, who's a professor emeritus of the PsyD program, was promoted to the rank of senior scholar.
Doctor William Nordling, a full professor in the PsyD program, has been promoted to the rank of senior scholar.
Doctor doctor Rebecca Morse has attained the rank of full professor in the PsyD program effective July 1.
From the School of Counseling, doctor Frederica Wieczka, getting used to these Polish names today, Was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor.
She not here with us today.
Also in the School of Counseling, doctor Mallory Wines was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor.
In our master's in science program, in psychology, doctor Robin Treptow, assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in January.
Thank you.
And finally, doctor Julia Klausley, assistant professor in the master's in psychology program, was promoted to the rank of associate professors in January.
So so please join me in congratulating the our faculty members for their well deserved accomplishments in the last of your honor.
And I now ask father John Hopkins to come to the podium.
He is the chair of our board of directors for the presentation of our honorary degree.
Carl Anderson is a lawyer and educator who served as Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from 2000 to 2021 after a distinguished career in government and academia, having served as a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and founding dean and vice president of the Pontifical John Paul the second Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in Washington, DC.
He is a trustee emeritus of the Catholic University of America and former board member of the National Catholic Education Association.
During the pontificate of Saint John Paul the second, Benedict the fort Benedict the sixteenth, and Pope Francis, he served as member of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and the Pontifical Council for the Family.
He is a best selling author whose books have been translated into eight languages and has an Emmy award winning executive producer of documentary films.
He holds degrees in philosophy and law.
We are very honored to award Carl Anderson an honoris causa degree and to invite him to say a few words as our main speaker today.
Well, thank you very much.
May it please your excellencies, bishop Shalinski, Bishop Keith, Bishop Laverde, Father Sikorsky, Reverend Fathers and Religious, members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished members of the faculty, alumni, family, and friends, and most importantly, our graduates.
I'm honored to be with you and now to be part of the DMU community.
I thank you very much, for the privilege of now joining the DMU community and the honor of joining with you in congratulating our graduates.
This is a great day, not only for our graduates, but also for our church and our country.
We have heard for many years that Catholics should have a missionary spirit and to go to the peripheries.
But what does it mean for a Catholic professional to go to the periphery?
What does it mean especially in the profession of psychology?
Where are the peripheries in psychology?
Until now, this question may have seemed to our graduates theoretical.
But now and in the days ahead, it is a challenge that you will face in the day to day reality of your professional practice.
During the next few minutes, I would like to suggest to you why it is that our graduates are uniquely qualified to make an historic contribution.
In the nineteenth century, America was missionary territory.
The history of Catholicism in The United States has been largely written by missionaries and those who had a missionary attitude.
Men and women who were willing to go to the peripheries.
And not just the geographical peripheries.
Catholics in America needed sacraments.
And they needed also those institutions that made possible a Catholic way of life.
Catholics came together to form courageous, creative minorities, communities that built great churches and cathedrals, great schools and colleges and universities, orphanages and hospitals, and even fraternal brotherhoods like the Knights of Columbus.
They built a network of institutions that Catholics needed to become who they were called to be.
Again today, Catholic families need new institutions.
Again today, Catholics need courageous missionaries.
And again today, Catholics need creative minorities.
Saint John Paul the second saw this very clearly, and that is why in 1981, he established the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
And several years later, he authorized its extension into The United States.
Again, today, another creative initiative is Divine Mercy University, unique in the way it brings together theology and psychology.
DMU is one of the most important initiatives in Catholic education in our time.
DMU can influence the lives of millions of families.
And as Bishop Burbage has suggested in his recent pastoral letter, by opening up the medical health mental health care profession to the healing presence of the divine physician.
Next year will mark the one hundredth anniversary of Sigmund Freud's The Future of an Illusion, possibly the most influential book on the subject of religion in the twentieth century.
In it, as many of you know, Freud described religion as, quote, the universal, obsessional neurosis of humanity that brings with it a quote disavowal of reality.
Similar, he said, to quote, a state of blissful, hallucinatory confusion.
Freud told the world that religion was an illusion.
And he lamented the plight of those who since childhood had been administered what he called this bitter sweet poison.
Freud did much to set the scientific foundation for modern atheism.
Modern psychological practice may not explicitly endorse Freud's idea, but it just frequently proceeds on the basis that true science acts as though God does not exist.
Or as Freud put it, quote, our science is no illusion, but an illusion it would be to suppose that what science cannot give us, we can get elsewhere.
This has been the paradigm for much of the last century.
But Christianity is not about projecting our ideas or creating an illusion to escape reality.
Christianity is the recognition that God has revealed reality to us.
First, by revealing to us who he is, and in so doing, revealing to us who we are.
As pope John Paul the second told us, do not be afraid.
Christ knows what is in man.
He alone knows it.
The decisive point here is that in Christianity, we find a vision of the human person illuminated by the love of Christ.
And because love is present, mercy must follow, because the God who loves us is rich in mercy.
Today, we need an approach to psychology that is free of illusion.
We need Catholic therapists who will bring the whole truth about the human person in diagnosing mental disorders, conducting research, and practicing therapy.
One extraordinary example of this is the work of Edith Stein.
Stein proposed an alternative to Freud's model of id, ego, and superego by suggesting a new therapeutic model of soul, mind, and body.
Her work in phenomenology, psychology, and spirituality is just one example, one example of the opportunities that exist today for Catholic mental health professionals.
Obviously, many nuances are required here.
Therapies and spiritual interventions must respect freedom, autonomy, and the religious and cultural diversity of patients.
Yet, it is precisely here why Catholic inspired approaches to therapy are so necessary.
Because they will enable a more culturally sensitive care for the millions of Christians who too often find their personal and their family culture disrespected by those who regard religious faith itself as some kind of mental illness.
John Paul the second found in the Christ centered anthropology of the second Vatican council the key to understanding the human person and human action.
According to him, the human person cannot live without love.
Life is incomprehensible and senseless if we do not experience love.
And so because of this, John Paul the second insisted that only a civilization of love is adequate to respect the dignity of each person.
And he contrasted the civilization of love with what he called the civilization of technology, in which a technocratic logic and utilitarianism defines how we relate to each other.
Now, you may have caught a glimpse of this logic in the unspoken assumptions of certain behaviorist and cognitive behavioral therapies.
The greatest threat to human dignity today may not be found in the overt denials of human freedom, but in the more gradual tyranny, which treats the human person as a sort of product that can be shaped and manipulated by a variety of technological and chemical based therapies.
Christian therapists, counselors, and clinical psychologists stand as sentinels today for a mental health care profession that is rapidly coming to a crossroads.
At stake is nothing less than the dignity and integrity of the human person.
And much will depend upon the witness of Catholic mental health care professionals.
As I was preparing what I would say today, I came across something that Freud had asked a colleague in 1918.
He questioned why it was that psychoanalysis had not been created by a religious believer, but instead had to be founded by an atheist.
For decades, scholars have pondered Freud's question, and I certainly would not presume to offer an answer today.
But I would suggest to you that we are now in the springtime of a Catholic moment in psychology.
The degree to which this moment will be realized will depend upon the courage of DMU, its graduates, colleagues, and friends to be fully, faithfully, and distinctively Catholic.
We are quite aware of what a psychotherapy looks like when God has been pushed out of the question.
What we don't know is what a Christ centered psychology would look like.
John Paul the second told us that suffering is present in the world in order to release love, works of love, to our neighbors.
What the world needs desperately needs is a new psychology infused with the love of Christ, and you can give that to the world.
So the question today is, will you do it?
Some of you may remember John Paul the second often used the phrase, duke in autumn, to encourage us to put out into the deep in the new millennium.
So what could be more deep than the mystery of the human psyche?
When Karol Wojtyla was elected pope, he was told, majister adest evo kat te.
The teacher is here and is calling you.
These words are the traditional formula by which a cardinal is asked whether he will accept his election as pope.
Today, you, our graduates, will say farewell to many of your teachers.
But there is another teacher present here today, one who is now calling you and who is waiting for your reply.
And much of the joy that we feel, your friends, family, and faculty, today arises from our shared confidence of how the class of 2026 will answer his call.
Thank you again very much.
We have reached the point in the ceremony at which degrees are to be conferred.
The university's degree granting authority is contained in the charter granted to Divine Mercy University by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I quote, as of 01/18/2000, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia grants approval to Divine Mercy University to confer academic and professional degrees.
We will now recognize the degree candidates for the Master of Science in Counseling program.
Will the following please come forward and take your place for the conferral of degrees?
Doctor.
Eric Perry and Father Charles Sikorsky.
Will the graduates please come forward?
The faculty certified that each candidate has completed all requirements.
The university is pleased to confer degrees to our graduates of the Master of Science in Counseling program.
As I call your name, please come forward.
Jacob Barajas, Jennifer Barber, Beatrice Barry.
Daniel Bayen.
Madeline Belden.
Sarah Benish.
Dawn Berger.
Virginia Bissonnette.
Nicole Bonnet.
Casey Bresnahan.
Rachel Bush.
Shannon Cawley, Mariana Cercina.
Maria Cunningham.
Abril Deshamps Weddington.
Abigail Drake.
Megan Federoff.
Catherine Guerin.
Casey Horner.
William Hunt.
Julie Joy.
Amy Costack.
Father Matthew Lowry, Christopher Majeski, Rebecca Morris.
Darlene Murphy.
Johanna O'Brien.
Sean O'Connor.
Father Ambrose Onweebuchilhem, Daniel Payne.
Ashley Perry.
Melissa Pilat.
Rose Pinchera.
Yaslyn Portillo.
Christopher Puzio.
Brandon Rakowski.
Zena Rivas, Elizabeth Rizzo.
Marie Royels Hoofnagle.
Luke Russell.
Petra Carmen Salcedo.
Elena Salgado Escoto.
Christopher Tibbets.
Nancy Vande Hei.
Robin Wasser.
Gregory Weber.
Deborah Zabrowski.
Sarah Zetz.
We also include those in absentia: Ellen Amarante, Sofia Bovee, Teresa Bozovee, Joseph Caruso, Cesna Clamaco, Mark Domagala, Marie Federo, Mark Gomez, Jacqueline Good, Katia Gutierrez Vargas, Monica Kaja, Sharon Kofi Bella, Michelle Kerr, Sonia Lane, Brady Lindewig, Cecil Laboux, Catherine Mancur, Sarah Marks, Belinda Mood, Alexander Munn, Blake Noonan, Eric Aaron Nugent, Lauren O'Gradnik, Rebecca Pine, Jacob Roach, Elizabeth Rubio, Sarah Schmidt, Ashley Schumacher, Anthony Sonnen, Kelly Steichen, Elizabeth Tecklenberg, Tebow Vincent, Gabriel Watkins, Rebecca Williams.
Will the graduates please stand?
Graduates, you may now move your tassel from the right to the left.
Let's congratulate our graduates.
We will now recognize the degree candidates for the Master of Science in Psychology program.
Will Doctor.
Julia Clousely, program director of the Master of Science in Psychology, please come forward and take your place?
Will the graduates please come forward?
The university is pleased to confer degrees to our graduates of the Master of Science in Psychology program.
As I call your name, please come forward.
Dylan Bautista, Leslie Boria Carter, Kristen Brotbarkle.
Maria Susanna Kua.
Father Henry Cuellar.
Jocelyn De Groot.
Amanda Doe.
Sister Angela Gertsema.
Eric Gabuski.
Elizabeth Hintz.
Melania Mancilla.
Father Juno Nelvi.
Father Martin Obang.
Lindsay Perez Perez.
Jenny Pulido, Maria Riley.
Carly Shover Gierman.
Father Edward Tembo.
We also include those in absentia Amiro Abuzad, Amawane Afalabi, Stacia Becker, Father Jorge Campos Corubias, Carolina Sikos, Deacon Martin Deenan, Sarah Eley, Father Joseph George, Sarah Graff, Katherine Hemmerle, Anna Hidalgo, Father Henry Hoffman, John Kim, Marie Maurier, Angela Parslow, Ellis Ramos, Father Joine Reuteman, Amy Schafer, Nadia Simmons, Deacon J.
Thomas, Father Jacob Cheeta, Father Sebastian Umoyo, Susan Veters, Maggie Walgren, Father Steven Walker, Ellen Warilla, Sean Wevington, Jamie Weichman.
Will all the graduates please stand?
You may now move your tassel from the right to the left.
Let's congratulate our graduates.
We will now recognize the degree candidates for the master of psychology program.
Will the following please come forward to take your place for the conferral of degrees?
Doctor Diane Graves, interim dean for the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, and doctor Ingrid Ferreras, interim program director of the PsyD program.
Will the graduates please come forward?
The university is pleased to confer degrees to our graduates of the master of psychology program.
As I call your name, please come to the middle.
Allison Beatty.
Rebecca Carpenter.
Spencer Gregoire.
Joseph Guiney.
Alexis Harbuck.
Grace Jones.
Kyle McEwen.
John Miguel Mendoza.
Olivia Perry.
Sharon Pratt.
Robert Ruark.
Marcevette Salas.
Abigail Townsend.
Quentin Herman.
We also include in absentia Abigail Kelly and Benjamin Whalen.
Graduates, you may now move your tassel from the right to the left.
Let us congratulate our graduates.
We will now recognize the degree candidates for the doctor of psychology in clinical psychology.
Will the graduates please come forward?
The university is pleased to confer degrees to our graduates of the doctor of psychology in clinical psychology degree.
The candidate's dissertation chair will preside at the conferral of their degree, and the title of their dissertation will be read.
As I call your name, please come forward.
Father Ryan Alemau.
Father Alemau will be hooded by doctor Diane Graves.
His dissertation, parallels between language and virtue acquisition in children.
Malcolm Anderson.
Malcolm will be hooded by doctor Rebecca Morse, his dissertation chair.
Dissertation title, assessing parental flourishing, the development of a self report measure of vocational fulfillment.
Ryan Fredericksen.
You will be hooded by dissertation chair, doctor William Nordling.
Dissertation title, Curative Factors of Group Filial Therapy in Light of a Catholic Christian Meta Model of the Person.
Nicholas George.
Nicholas will be hooded by doctor Diane Graves, his dissertation chair.
Dissertation title, helping parents flourish through family meals.
Donica Hillario.
She will be hooded by doctor Suzanne Holman, dissertation chair.
Her dissertation title is Adoption and God, a pilot study on the relationship between adoptees' attachment to others and to God.
Father Joelle Kwame.
Father Joelle is hooded by doctor William Nordling, his dissertation chair, And the title of his dissertation is the important of Enright's process model of forgiveness within marriage in light of the meta model framework.
Linnea Payne.
Linnea is being hooded by her dissertation chair, doctor Rebecca Morse, and her father, doctor Harvey Payne.
Linnea's dissertation title is Effects of Multisensory Pediatric Exam Rooms on Child Distress, Self Regulation, and Caregiver Child Relationship Quality, a Pilot Study.
Sister Maria Amata Rossi.
Sister Maria Amada is being hooded by doctor Helena Oriana.
Sister's dissertation title is Perfection Without Perfectionism: Anthropological and Psychological Considerations for conceptualization and treatment of perfectionism.
Angel Ashley.
Angel is being hooded by her dissertation chair, doctor Rebecca Morse.
Her dissertation title, The Impact of perceived relationship quality with shelter volunteers on individuals who are unhoused.
Tess Smith.
Tess is being hooded by her dissertation chair, Doctor.
Rebecca Morse.
Her dissertation title, An Integrative Approach to Assist Justice Involved African American Men Successfully Reentering Their Families and Communities.
We will also include in absentia, Ping Chung Wong, whose dissertation chair is doctor Sue Li Li, and his dissertation title is Becoming Yourself, Jungian individuation and interpersonal relationships.
Graduates, you may now move your tassels from the right to the left.
Let us congratulate our graduates.
Father Charles, DMU faculty, family, friends, and honored guests, it is my great joy and honor to present the class of 2026.
Since our foundation in 1999, Divine Mercy University has conferred eight ninety master's graduates and 121 doctoral graduates.
In the pursuit of their vocation to heal, our growing number of alumni are making an impact in the field of psychology and counseling in the culture, in the church, and in the world.
This ever expanding reach of the mission is truly inspiring.
To mark and recognize this history, the university presents the distinguished alumni award to a graduate who has made significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments, affiliations, and career have honored the legacy of excellence of their alma mater.
Recipients of this award are accomplished in the following areas professional achievement, leadership, service to the community, and faithful advancement of the mission and vision of the university.
It is with great pride and joy that we present the twenty twenty six distinguished alumni award to Bishop Cholinski, class of 2014.
Bishop Cholinski, a native of New York, who also moved throughout Connecticut and Pennsylvania, received his Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University.
He entered priestly formation at St.
Charles Borromeo Borromeo Seminary in 2001.
He earned a master of divinity degree in 2006 and a master of arts degree in theology in 2007.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2007.
And because his vocation as a student wasn't complete, after five years in ministry, he studied clinical psychology here at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and received his master's degree.
That same year, he was appointed to the faculty of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and in 2022, rector.
He was ordained an auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia in March 2024.
Among his responsibilities, he directly supports the Office for Catholic Education and the important work in the diocese.
He is a true representative of a distinguished alumni with significant contributions to the field and constant dedication, service, and care to the mission and vision of the university and of the human person.
We are honored to present Bishop Cholinski with this award.
Please come forward.
Thank you so much, Jesse, father Charles, and to the board of directors, to faculty, administration, staff, bishop Laverde, mister Anderson.
It's a great joy to be with all of you today.
I also send warm greetings and congratulations from Bishop Burbridge, who I was in touch with this morning, knowing of his prayers and support.
I wish to share just a brief little story When the Victorford clergy called me to his office saying that he wanted me to go and study psychology, he told me, I don't know where I'm gonna send you but we need someone to study psychology.
I said, okay.
So I went back to my office that afternoon and I said a prayer to the Holy Spirit and then I turned on Google.
Because even in my limited experience, I knew that there were all kinds of programs teaching all kinds of things.
And so I prayed to the Holy Spirit and I Googled and I just typed in Catholic graduate school psychology and a few different things came up.
But all of a sudden, I saw this thing called IPS and I saw a picture of Father Groeschel and I was like, what is this?
And then I started reading and all of a sudden as I was reading through this, it was it was done.
I knew it.
The Holy Spirit was telling me so clearly, this is where I'm supposed to go.
And so I presented it to my diocese and and thank God it was accepted.
Interestingly, right around the same time when, people were finding out I was going to study psychology and I they didn't know where I was studying yet, this one religious sister came up to me, a friend of mine, and she said, are you you're going to study psychology?
I said, yes.
She said, I'm gonna pray for you.
I said, well, thank you.
She said, well, no.
I'm gonna pray for you so that you don't lose your faith.
Reason being, there's been many in history, previous decades, previous programs, where people would study psychology, and psychology would present itself almost as if it was another religion.
But I'm happy to say that not only did I not lose my faith, but coming to Divine Mercy, then IPS, it actually increased my faith.
It increased my faith.
It increased my faith in just learning so much about the human person and God's design for what flourishing is really supposed to be.
Learned so much about who he is and who I am as a human being, as a son of God.
I learned so much through this beautiful metal meta model that was still being developed and nuanced and and refined when I was there.
And it creates this beautiful lens.
And that's what I would tell the seminarians.
They said, you know, one of the most important things a clinician, a counselor can learn is the lens through which he sees the person sitting in front of him or her because that lens is gonna guide everything.
It's gonna guide your counsel.
It's gonna guide the advice you give.
And so I learned so much, not only content wise, but my faith increased through the people that I met, through my peers, through their beautiful faith and dedication, through my cohort, and through the faculty.
The story of IPS and Divine Mercy is truly a miracle.
It's truly a work of God.
And the image that I see, it's like a mustard seed starting in that little room in the Marriott Hotel with a few faculty members who really walked out in trusting faith to follow the Lord in this noble adventure.
And so I among all of the faculty who I was so inspired by, I do wish to acknowledge several by name part of that early cohort who got things running such as doctor Sweeney, doctor Nordling, doctor Vitz, doctor Moncher, doctor Titus, doctor Scrofani, and so many others.
Thank you for all that you've done.
You've increased my faith.
I was blessed to work at the seminary for eleven years.
And for eight of those years, I oversaw the counseling services and the human formation.
And everything I learned at IPS just gave me that foundation.
And they always say at the heart of human formation, you go from self awareness to self acceptance to self gift all in the light of our relationship with the Lord.
And divine mercy teaches those things.
Divine mercy is a gift to the church and to the world.
And as an auxiliary bishop in the new roles I have, I hope to be an even better ambassador for the importance of of good mental health care within the context of our faith.
So I'm so thankful for this award.
I'm so thankful to be part of the IPS divine mercy legacy, And I leave you with this quote that sums it all up for me.
Faith in the resurrection of Jesus says that there's a future for every human being.
That's pope Benedict the sixteenth.
This place has increased my faith, and may those seeds continue to grow in all of you.
Thank you.
Okay.
So we're almost finished.
Okay.
We can go out.
I know everyone wants to celebrate with their graduate and their friends.
We have a few awards we wanna give out.
But before I do that, I just want to recognize doctor Lisa Kawicki, our dean of school psychology, Institute for Psychological Sciences, who's with us today, and she had a very, her life was set, rocked back last summer when unexpectedly she was diagnosed with a significant mental illness.
Medical illness.
She's laughing.
I think I'm gonna go sit down.
You know, he said this is a work of God.
I am proof that this is a work of God.
Unexpected medical illness, and she's been on a leave of absence all this year.
And it's great to have you with us, doctor Kwicki, and thank you for celebrating with us and introducing our graduates.
And the good news is her health seems to have recovered, and, she may not be able to do do the same kind of workload as she's had in the past, but, we're very grateful for that.
And thank you to all the community for your prayers and helping her throughout this time.
So now it's my pleasure to honor our next award, final award, which is the President's Service Award.
And so many dedicated faculty and staff members work above and beyond the call of duty to carry out our mission at DMU, and we like to recognize them.
It means a lot to us to be able to recognize them at graduation.
The president's, service award recipient is selected annually by the president to recognize a member of the community whom he believes consistently works to further the mission to a selfless service to the institution.
This year's president's service award is awarded to doctor Diane Graves.
Award award is given to doctor Graves in recognition of her exceptional service while serving as interim dean this year.
During this period of significant transitions, we also had our APA accreditation on-site visit.
We had to, fill in for Dean Kawicki and her her duties and responsibilities.
Doctor Grace gracefully doctor Graves gracefully and joyfully handled a wide variety of policy and planning decisions that demonstrated extraordinary leadership and a heartfelt commitment to the well-being and success of the students, the faculty, and the program at large.
In addition to stepping up on short notice to lead the program's academic operations, she took on additional work, on student dissertations and mentoring and still was able to present at several national conferences and led the program throughout the rigorous process for the renewal of APA accreditation.
She did so with tremendous grace, calmness, and joy.
So her service reflects an uncommon dedication, sound judgment, and a deep sense of responsibility to the students, to the faculty, and to the mission.
Her leadership has been strategic, compassionate, and impactful across all domains of this ID program.
Doctor Graves, please come forward.
And I'd also like to just recognize other members of the PsyD program leadership and administration for their significant and sacrificial support of the program this year.
And I would ask each of them to come forward for a token of appreciation.
Doctor Ingrid Ferreras, our interim program director, doctor Rebecca Morse, doctor Elena Orianna, our director of clinical training, and finally, miss Lisa Mills, who is our executive assistant.
So with that so as our commencement exercises come to a close, I'd like to ask father Walter Hsu to come forward for our final blessing.
In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.
Amen.
Father of all mercies, you are present in our midst today with your love and your power.
You look with joy on each person created out of love and called two love.
So we thank you for the gift of each and every one of our graduating students on this memorable day.
As they step forward to continue following the pathway of life, wherever it may lead.
Undertake the mission of healing with their gaze ever fixed on the merciful face of your wounded and risen son.
May they in turn glimpse the face of Jesus in the countenance of each person you bring them to encounter.
Draw all of our graduates to seek you, recognize you, and radiate your love to each of their brothers and sisters as they lead them to a place of healing and wholeness.
May they be instruments of your divine mercy, binding the wounds of a frail and fallen humanity.
We ask all of these blessings through the intercession of the blessed virgin Mary and the merits of your son, Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever.
Amen.
And may almighty God bless each and every one of you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.
Amen.