Yet now Pomp and Circumstance must become the very music which heralds the end of one more successful sprint from the Mass of the Holy Spirit to the Commencement field. Instead of sitting here in ceremony, Michael McFarland, I suspect, would rather have lingered at last night s barbecue among the students he so loves. Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball. Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave. It is, however, precisely because the Rev. Michael McFarland now takes upon himself the threat of sleepless nights with the weight of leading this fine College that he deserves and we need a solemn ceremony of installation.
Ceremonies blend the ingredients which make up the world of after ceremony.
Today we sit together as an emblematic unity far greater than any of its parts. We breathe in strength from the ceremony of it all. Our guests from other Jesuit institutions remind us that we are not alone as we explore that tension between commitment and inquiry which Father McFarland yesterday identified as the tightrope on which we must keep our delicate balance. Nor will the battle always be fought on high ground. When the guests go home and we settle down to the particular work of this particular place, this College of the Holy Cross, Michael McFarland must become a part of us, a part of our struggle to enhance faculty resources, improve student life, assess the role of technology, strive towards excellence, keep our soul and increase parking.