New bishop brings message of faith to Wheeling University
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WHEELING -- The Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar, bishop of the Wheeling-Charleston Catholic Diocese, encouraged Wheeling University students to “let their light shine” during a Mass of the Holy Spirit Friday at Troy Theater.
It was Menjivar’s first Mass on campus since becoming bishop of the diocese. Since he is new to Wheeling and the university, Menjivar quipped that he, too, was a freshman on campus like some in the crowd.
He said the education the students were getting in the classroom was important, but they would also receive a broader education about life and interacting with people in between classes.
“You are here to receive the extraordinary gift of an education. Here you gain knowledge, develop skills, prepared for professions, careers and for whatever God and life has for your future,” he said. “Education is a tremendous gift, but every gift brings with it a responsibility.
What will you do with those gifts? How will you use the gift of education to make our world a better place?”
Menjivar told the students not to take their education for granted.
“There are millions of young people throughout the world who would give almost anything for the opportunity to receive the education that you are receiving. I was one of them,” he said.
He noted that some of the most important lessons they will receive won’t be on an exam.
“They are the lessons about becoming better human beings — people of character, integrity, faith and service,” he said. “And those things are not so easily measured by a grade; they do not appear in the report card. But they are the very essence of what we do here.
“So, as we begin this new academic year, let us ask the Holy Spirit not only to help us learn more and get good grades — I hope you do so, but also to help us become more. More compassionate, more generous, more courageous, more attentive to others and more like Christ.
“May the Lord send us forth, anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit; to become the presence of Christ to others and to use whatever gifts we receive here to make a difference in our communities and in the world. Let your light shine.”