By Paul Dobbyn
“TODAY we celebrate the formal start of the academic year by the investment of our student leaders with a great sense of optimism.”
Australian Catholic University Brisbane associate vice-chancellor Professor Jim Nyland with these words opened the Commencement Mass held in the university’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit on March 4.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge was principal celebrant at the Mass.
Concelebrants were Holy Spirit Provincial Seminary rector Monsignor Tony Randazzo, archdiocesan chancellor Fr Adrian Farrelly and Fathers Jose Thekkemuriyil and Bavin Clarke.
Prof Nyland and ACU Student Association president Natalie Vickers inducted the 2014 student association representatives after Mass.
Matthew Bibo was inducted as vice-president with Grace Dewsnap, Patrick Griffin and Ben Turner accepting induction of the 13-member association on behalf of other members unable to attend.
He welcomed those gathered, “in particular our student leadership team which embodies enthusiastic leadership like nobody else I’ve seen”.
Prof Nyland gave reasons for the campus’ spirit of optimism “as the local university with the strongest growth rate of all universities in Queensland”.
“Our student population increased by 14 per cent with 50 per cent listing ACU as their first preference,” Prof Nyland said.
Archbishop Coleridge in his homily said although universities were in a time of flux, “some things never change – a university which is not a place of search, indeed research, is surely not worth the name”.
He posed the question: “What are you looking for at ACU Banyo? What are you searching so hard for?
“The answer which comes to us from the word in scripture is in fact we are looking for salvation.
“It comes to us from what Peter calls grace – a free perfect love … that sets us free.”
Archbishop Coleridge said in order to reach this freedom “we need to free our minds of encumbrances”.
“The encumbered world against which this university stands to protest is a world that says if you are first you will always be first; if you’re last just get used to it,” he said.
“Jesus turns that world on its head: the first will be last and the last will be first and there is a liberation … to see it differently is to live an encumbered life.
“Well, ACU is all about the unencumbered life … Here’s a call to each of you and this whole university: Free your minds.
“The call is to leave everything behind – it sounds easy but it’s not.
“So leave everything and follow him who is the truth, and according to Jesus in whose promise we trust, we will be repaid one hundred times over in ways which we never dreamt.”
