By Viktoriia Havaleshko | Photo by: Karina Gandour
Remembering the gifts received on our Baptism, on May 27, The Lay Centre community gathered for a solemn Eucharistic celebration to mark the conclusion of the academic year. The evening offered an opportunity to reflect on a year dedicated to study, service, and shared life, while simultaneously reaffirming their collective call to be witnesses of Christ’s peace in the contemporary world.
The Mass was presided over by Rev. John Dardis, SJ, General Counselor for Discernment and Apostolic Planning at the Society of Jesus. Joining the community was a group of graduate students from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago, led by their professor and Lay Centre alumnus, Dr. Michael Canaris.
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
The celebration was a moment dedicated to remembering the gifts received from the Holy Spirit in our Baptism. With the renewal of baptismal promises, participants renounced sin and evil and professed their faith in the Triune God.
In his homily, Fr. Dardis reflected on how the Christian vision of beauty and fulfillment diverges fundamentally from secular understandings of happiness. Drawing upon the Beatitudes, he emphasized that Christ invites his disciples to live by a different logic – one rooted in love and trust in God.
Fr. Dardis noted that peace rests at the heart of the Gospel, challenging Christians to offer society an alternative paradigm for human relationships. He suggested that if the global Christian community found the collective courage to speak out decisively for peace and justice, it could transform the world, noting that fear often paralyzes such witness.
He said that because God views each person in the fullness of their divine vocation, one of the most profound spiritual challenges of the Christian life is learning to see ourselves through the merciful eyes of the Creator.
As the academic year draws to a close, The Lay Centre community members look back with profound gratitude for all of the gifts received and look forward with hope, entrusting their future calling to God’s providence.
