Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Brandon Vot, the senior publishing director

at Word on Fire. Today we share with you Bishop Aaron's 2022 commencement address, which

he delivered at Benedictine College in Achonson, Kansas on May 14th earlier this year. This

address was directed to students preparing to graduate, but its principles are relevant

I think to any young person today. Bishop noted that he was standing on Benedictine

ground as he delivered his commencement address, a place that's filled with the mind and

the spirit of St. Benedict. And so because of that, he wanted to share with his fellow

graduates some simple rules of life that flow from the heart of that great saint, rules

concerning humility, stability, work, and prayer. So sit back and enjoy Bishop Aaron's

2022 commencement address at Benedictine College.

What a delight to be with you. My first time to campus was yesterday and just had a whirlwind

day, loved every bit of it. And the best part, meeting the staff, the faculty, especially

the students. What an uplifting community. I mean, you know that. I'm seeing it for

the first time close up. And I tell you, I was deeply edified by the experience. So

thank you everybody for that. Can I before I begin the formal talk, let me tell you one

quick little story and you'll like the moral of the story. The very first commencement address

I ever heard was in 1980. And it was my brother's graduation from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

We were in a arena that was bigger than this one. I mean, probably about 10,000 people. Huge

crowd. Everyone came in, the ceremony began. And then up to the podium came the commencement

speaker. And he was a bishop who'd flown all the way in from the Philippines. Marvelous

man, by the way, of doing great work there. Well, he began his speech. And I'm not joking.

At about the 45 minute mark, he said, I could go on and on. At which point, the entire

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