PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The optimism that pervades all high school graduations took on a theological dimension at Sunday's St. Joseph Central School commencement.

 

The Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski had his homily teed up by a Gospel reading that focused on the healing power of God.

 

"Today's readings are filled with hope," Rozanski told the graduates and communicants at Sunday's baccalaureate Mass and commencement. "Today's graduation is a sign of hope.

 

Rozanski told the 34 graduates that they need to be people of hope as they leave the confines of high school and head into the world.

 

"As we gather here this afternoon, we do so with that great sense of hope in our hearts for the graduates of the class of 2016," Rozanski said.

 

"What does it mean to live as a person of hope? … A person of hope takes in the wider perspective. When you hear accounts of survivors of the Nazi death camps in World War II, it seems as though they had the optimism to know that they would live beyond the horrible situations they were in. They took in a larger picture, and through their optimism, they brought forth to others the gift of hope."

 

Rozanski encouraged the graduates to learn from that extreme example of hope.

 

"People of hope bring a presence that uplifts other people in the room," he said. "As graduates of St. Joseph, you are called to be those people of hope."

 

Valedictorian Edouard Tremblay provided a hopeful message for his classmates, telling them how special each of them is.

 

Tremblay used the metaphor of an orange to describe the class of 2016, saying they may look like a bunch of rowdy teenagers on the outside, but peel back the layer, and you find something special, "a multipurpose entity with unlimited potential."

 

Tremblay said that, like the orange, St. Joe's graduating class is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

"If you remove a section, it no longer looks whole," he said, demonstrating on the orange he held aloft at the pulpit of St. Joseph's Church. "Every single person has been an integral part of the class of 2016."

 

St. Joe's principal and salutatorian emphasized the the role that each of the graduates have and will play in the lives of the others.

 

"Every colleague is a companion on life's pilgrimage," Principal Amy Gelinas said. "They will be with you however far you travel — in both joy and hardship."

 

Salutatorian Elizabeth Bean told her classmates that everyone they meet in life will leave footprints. Some won't make much of an impression at all, and the footprints will wash away quickly. Others will be as if they were made in concrete.

 

Bean left little doubt that her classmates, teachers and family fall into the latter category.

 

"Your footprints will leave enduring memories," Bean said.

 

She expanded the metaphor to remind her classmates of the "Footprints in the Sand" poem that reminds people of faith that Jesus is there to carry them through their most trying times.

 

And, as Bishop Rozanski would do a little later in the Mass, Bean challenged her classmates to do good.

 

"You will all make many more impressions wherever you go," she said. "The most important thing to keep in mind is what kind of footprint you want to leave on the world."

 

St. Joseph Central High School's class of 2016:

 

Colleen Marie Baker

Caitlin Broderick Bean

Elizabeth Broderick Bean

Chloe Alizabeth Boehm

Andrew Steven Cella

Wanquin 'Rachel' Chen

Ilyssa Paige Creamer

Anita Catherine Curtin

Ruinan 'Katherine' Feng

Christopher Robert Garrity

Camila Andrea Gomez

Leanne Kathryn Hamilton

Jinhui 'Ann' Hu

Taylor Nichole Jordao

Antonio Malik Lewis

Zhiling 'Will' Liang

Jiabin 'Carl' Liu

Joey Tyler Maynard

Olivia Grace Mazzeo

Canh Thien Nguyen

Michael Steven Peplowski

Casidy Nicole Starbird-Healy

Nicholas James Terpak

Edouard Tze-Heng Tremblay

Cody Robert Tynan

Papachaya 'Pookie' Vongprommool

Yinghao 'Andrew' Wang

Cole Theodore Werhan

Kaitlyn Luminita Wiles

Peiyuan 'Penny' Wu

Xu 'Mao Mao' Wu

Dianqi 'Eric' Zhang

Jun 'Jason' Zhang

Zixu 'Benny' Zhao