All language subtitles for Harrison Butker - Commencement Address 2024 - Benedictine College.EN

ladies and gentlemen of the class of

2024 I would like to start off by

congratulating all of you for

successfully making it to this

achievement today I'm sure your high

school graduation was not what you had

imagined and most likely neither was

your first couple years of college by

making it to this moment through all the

adversity thrown your way from covid I

hope you learned the important lessons

that suffering in this life is only

temporary as a group you witnessed

firsthand how bad leaders who don't stay

in their Lane can have a negative impact

on society it is through this lens that

I want to take stock of how we got to

where we are and where we want to go as

Citizens and yes as Catholics One Last

Thing Before I begin I want to be sure

to thank president Mis and the board for

their invitation to speak when President

Min first reached out a couple of months
ago I had originally said no you see

last year I gave the commencement

address at my Alma moer Georgia Tech and

I felt that one graduation speech was

more than enough especially for someone

who isn't a professional speaker but of

course president Min used his gift of

persuasion and spoke to the many

challenges you all faced throughout the

co Fiasco and how you missed out on so

many Milestones the rest of us older

people have taken for granted while Co

might have played a large role

throughout your formative years it is

not unique bad policies and poor

leadership have negatively impacted

major life issues things like abortion

IVF surrogacy euthanasia as well as a

growing support for degenerate cultural

values in media all stem from the

pervasiveness of disorder our own nation

is led by a man who publicly and proudly

proclaims his Catholic faith but at the
same time is delusional enough to make

the sign of the cross during a

pro-abortion rally he has been so vocal

in his support for the murder of

innocent babies that I'm sure to many

people it appears that you can be both

Catholic and pro-choice he is not alone

from The Man Behind the co lockdowns to

the people pushing dangerous gender

ideologies onto the Youth of America

they all have a glaring thing in common

they are Catholic this is an important

reminder that being Catholic alone

doesn't cut it these are the sorts of

things we are told in polite Society to

not bring up you know the difficult and

unpleasant things but if we are going to

be men and women women for this time in

history we need to stop pretending that

the Church of nice is a winning

proposition we must always speak in act

in charity but never mistake charity for

cowardice it is safe to say that over

the past few years I've gained quite the

reputation for speaking my mind I never

envisioned myself nor wanted to have

this sort of a platform but God has

given it to me so I have no other choice

but to embrace it and preach more hard
truths about accepting your lane and

staying in it as members
of the church founded by

Jesus Christ it is our duty and

ultimately privilege to be authentically

and unapologetically Catholic don't be

mistaken even with even within the
church people in polite Catholic circles

will try to persuade you to remain

silent there even was an award-winning

film called silence made by a fellow

Catholic wherein one of the main

characters a Jesuit priest abandoned the

church and as an apostate when he died

is seen grasping a crucifix quiet and

unknown to anyone but God as a friend of

Benedict in college his Excellency

Bishop Robert Baron said in his review

of the film it was exactly what the

cultural Elite want to see in

Christianity private hidden away and

harmless our Catholic faith has always

been countercultural our Lord along with

countless followers were all put to

death for their adherence to her

teachings the world around us says that

we should keep our beliefs to ourselves

whenever they go against the tyranny of

diversity equity and inclusion We Fear

speaking truth because now unfortunately

truth is in the minority Congress just

passed a bill we're stating something as

basic as the Biblical teaching of who

killed Jesus could land you in jail but

make no mistake before we even attempt

to fix any of the issues plaguing

Society we must first get our own house

in order and it starts with our leaders

the Bishops and Priests appointed by God

as our spiritual fathers must be rightly

ordered there is not enough today time
today for me to list all the stories of

priests and Bishops misleading their

flocks but none of us can blame

ignorance anymore and just blindly

Proclaim that that's what father said

because sadly many priests we are

looking to for leadership are the same

ones who prioritize their Hobbies or

even photos with their dogs and matching

outfits for the parish directory it's

easy for us laymen and women to think

that in order for us to be holy that we

must be active in our parish and try to

fix it yes we absolutely should be

involved in supporting our parishes but

we cannot be the source for our Parish

priests to lean on to help with their

problems just as we look at the

relationship between a father and his

son so too should we look at the

relationship between a priest and his

people it would not be appropriate for

me to always be looking to my son for

help when it is my job as his father to

lead him St Jose Maria screa states that

priests are ordained to serve and should

not yield to temptation to imitate lay

people but to be priests through and

through tragically so many priests

revolve much of their happiness from the

agulation they receive from their

parishioners and in searching for this

they let their guard down and become

overly familiar this undue familiarity

will prove to be problematic every time

because as my teammates girlfriend says

familiarity breeds

contempt St Jose Maria continues that

some want to see the priest as just

another man that is not so they want to

find in the priests those virtues proper

to every Christian and indeed every

honorable man understanding Justice a

life of work Priestly work in this

instance and good manners it is not

prudent as the lady for us to consume

ourselves in becoming amateur

theologians so that we can decipher this

or that theological teaching unless of

course you are a theology major

we must be intentional with our focus on

our estate and life and our own vocation

and for most of us that's as married men

and women still we have so many great

resources at our fingertips that it

doesn't take long to find traditional

and Timeless teachings that haven't been
Ambiguously rewarded for our times plus

there are still many good and holy

priests and it's up to us to seek them

out the chaos of the world is

unfortunately reflected in the chaos in

our parishes and sadly in our cathed AAL

our Cathedrals too as we saw during the

pandemic too many Bishops were not

leaders at all they were motivated by

fear fear of being sued fear of being

removed fear of being disliked they

showed by their actions intentional or

unintentional that the sacraments don't

actually matter because of this

countless people died alone without

access to the sacraments and it's a
tragedy we must never forget as

Catholics we can look to so many

examples of heroic Shepherds who gave

their lives for their people and

ultimately the church we cannot buy into

the lie that the things we experienced

during covid were appropriate over the

centuries there have been great Wars

great famines and yes even great

diseases all that came with a level of

lethality and danger but in each of

those examples church leaders leaned

into their vocations and ensured that

their people received the sacraments

great Saints like St Damian of Malachi

who knew the dangers of his ministry

stay for 11 years as a spiritual leader

to the leper colonies of Hawaii his

heroism is looked at today as something

set apart and unique when ideally it

should not be unique at all for as a

father loves his child so a Shepherd

should love his spiritual children too

that goes even more so for our Bishops

these men who are present day Apostles

our Bishops once had adoring crowds of

people kissing their rings and taking in

their every word but now relegate

themselves to a position
of in consequential

existence now when a bishop of a dicese

or The Bishop's conference as a whole

puts out an important document on this

matter or that nobody even takes a
moment to read it let alone follow it no

today our shepherds are far more

concerned with keeping the doors open to

the Chancery than they are with saying

the difficult stuff out loud it seems

that the only time you hear from your

Bishops is when it's time for the annual

appeal whereas we need our Bishops to be

vocal about the teachings of the church

setting aside their own personal comfort

and embracing their cross our Bishops

are not politicians but Shepherds so

instead of fitting in the world by going

along to get along they too need to stay

in their Lane and lead I say all of this

not from a place of anger as we get the

leaders we deserve but this does make me

reflect on staying in my lane and

focusing on my own vocation and how I

can be a better father and husband and

live in the world but not be of it

focusing on my vocation while praying in

fasting for these men will do more for

the church than me complaining about her

leaders because there seems to be so

much confusion coming from our leaders

there needs to be concrete examples for

people to look to in places like

Benedictine a little Kansas College

built high on a bluff above the Missouri

River are showing the world how an

ordered Christ centered existence is the

recipe for Success you need to look no

further than the examples all around

this campus where over the past 20 years

en moment has doubled construction and

revitalization are a constant part of

life and people the students the faculty

and staff are thriving this didn't

happen by chance in a deliberate

movement to embrace traditional catholic

values Benedictine has gone from just

another liberal arts school with nothing

to set it apart to a thriving Beacon of

light and a reminder to us all that when

you Embrace tradition success worldly

and spiritual will follow I am certain

the reporters at the AP could not have

imagined that their attempt to rebuke

and embarrass places and people like

those here at Benedictine wouldn't be

met with anger but instead met with

excitement and pride not the deadly sin

sort of Pride that has an entire month

dedicated to it but the true God

centered Pride that is cooperating with

the Holy Ghost to glorify him reading

that article now shared all over the

world we see that in the complete

surrender of self and a turning towards

Christ you will find happiness right

here in a little town in Kansas we find

many inspiring lay people using their

talents president Min Dr Swafford and Dr

zimmerer are a few great examples right

here on this very campus that will keep

the Light of Christ burning bright for

generations to come being locked in with

your vocation and staying in your lane

is going to be the shest way for you to

find true happiness and peace in this

life it is essential that we focus on

our own state in life whether that be as

a lay person a priest or religion

ladies and gentlemen of the class of

2024 you are sitting at the edge of the

rest of your lives each of you has the

potential to leave a legacy that

transcends yourselves and this era of

human existence in the small Ways by

living out your vocation you will ensure

that God's Church continues and the

world is enlightened by your example for

the ladies present today congratulations
on an amazing accomplishment you should

be proud of all that you have achieved

to this point in your young lives I want

want to speak directly to you briefly

because I think it is you the women who

have had the most diabolical lies told

to you how many of you are sitting here

now about to cross this stage and are

thinking about all the promotions and

titles you are going to get in your

career some of you may go on to lead

successful careers in the world but I

would venture to Guess that the majority

of you are most excited about your

marriage and the children you will bring

into this world I can tell you that my

beautiful wife Isabelle would be the

first to say that her life truly started

when she began living her vocation as a

wife and as a mother I'm on this stage

today and able to be the man I am

because I have a wife who leans into her

vocation I'm beyond blessed with the

many talents God has
given me but it cannot be

overstated that all of My Success is

made possible because a girl I met in B

Class back in middle

school would convert to
the faith become my wife

and embrace one of the most important

titles of all

[Applause]

Homemaker she's a primary educator to

our children she's the one who ensures I

never let football or my business become

a distraction from that of a husband and

father she is the person that knows me

best at my court and it is through our

marriage that Lord
willing we will both attain

salvation I say all of this to you

because I have seen it firsthand how

much happier someone can be when they

disregard the outside noise and move

closer and closer to God's will in their

life Isabelle's dream of having a career

might not have come true but if you ask

her today if she has any regrets on her

decision she would laugh out loud

without hesitation and say heck
no as a man who gets a lot of praise and

has been given a platform to speak to

audience like audiences like this one

today I pray that I always use my voice

for God and not for myself everything I

am saying to you is not from a place of
wisdom but rather a place of experience

I am hopeful that these words will be

seen as those from a man not much older

than you who feels it is imperative that

this class this generation in this time

in our society must stop pretending that

the things we see around us are normal

heterodox ideas abound even within

Catholic circles for let's be honest

there is nothing good about playing God

with having children whether that be

your ideal number or the perfect time to

conceive no matter how you spin it there

is nothing natural about Catholic birth
control it is only in the past few years

that I have grown en courage to speak

more boldly and directly because as I

mentioned earlier I have leaned into my

vocation as a husband and father and as

a man to the gentleman here today part

of what plagues our society is this lie

that has been told to you that men are

not necessary in the home or in our

communities as men we set the tone of

the culture and when that is absent

disorder dysfunction and Chaos set in

this absence of men in the home is what

plays a large role in the violence we

see all around the nation other

countries do not have nearly the same

absentee father rates as we find here in

the US and a correlation could be made

in their drastically lower violence

rates as well be Unapologetic in your

masculinity fighting against the

cultural emasculation of men do hard
things never settle for what is easy you

might have a talent that you don't

necessarily enjoy but if it glorifies

God maybe you should lean into that over

something that you might think suits you

better I speak from experience as an

introvert who now finds myself as an

amateur public speaker and an

entrepreneur something I never thought

I'd be when I received my industrial

engineering degree

the road ahead is bright things are

changing Society is Shifting and people

young and old are embracing tradition

not only has it been my vocation that

has helped me and those closest to me

but not surprising to many of you should

be my outspoken Embrace of the

traditional Latin Mass I've been very

vocal in my love and Devotion to the tlm

and its necessity for our lives but what

I think gets misunderstood is that

people who attend the tlm do so out of

Pride or preference I can speak to my
own experience but for most people I

have come across Within These

communities this simply is not true I do

not attend the tlm because I think I am

better than others or for the smells and

bells or even for the love of Latin I

tend the tlm because I believe just as

the god of the Old Testament was pretty

particular and how he wanted to be

worshiped the same holds true for us

today it is through the tlm that I

encountered order and began to pursue it

in my own life aside from the tlm itself

too many of our sacred Traditions have

been relegated to things of the past

when in my Parish things such as Ember

days days when we fast and pray for

vocations and for our priests are still
adhere to the tlm is so essential that I

would challenge each of you to pick a

place to move where it is readily

available a lot of people have

complaints about the parish or the

community but we should not sacrifice

the mass for Community I prioritize the

tlm even if the parish isn't beautiful

the priest isn't great or the community

isn't amazing I still go to the tlm

because I believe the sacrifice of the

mass is more important than anything
else I say this knowing full well that

when each of you rekindle your knowledge

and adherence to many of the church's

greatest Traditions you will see how

much more colorful and Alive your life

can and should be as you move on from

this place and enter into the world know
that you will face many challenges sadly

I'm sure many of you know of the

countless stories of good and active
members of this community who after

graduation and moving away from the

Benedictine bubble have ended up moving

in with their boyfriend or girlfriend

prior to marriage some even leave the

church and abandon God it is always

heartbreaking to hear these stories and

there's a desire to know what happened

and what went wrong what you must

remember is that life is about doing the

small things well sett setting yourself

up for success and surrounding yourself

with people who continually push you to

be the be best version of you I say this

all the time that iron sharpens iron

it's a great reminder that those closest
to us should be making us better

if you are dating someone who doesn't

even share your faith how do you expect

that person to help you become a saint

if your friend group is filled with

people who only think about what you're

doing next weekend and are not willing

to have those difficult conversations

how can they help sharpen you as you

prepare to enter into the workforce it

is extremely important that you actually

think about the places you are moving to

who is the bishop what kind of parishes

are there do they offer the tlm and have

priests who Embrace their Priestly

vocation cost of living must not be the

only Orbiter of your choices for a life

without God is not a life at all and the

cost of Salvation is worth more than any
career I'm excited for the future and I

pray that something I have said will

resonate As you move on to the next

chapter of your life never be afraid to

profess the one Holy Catholic and

Apostolic church for this is the church

that Jesus Christ established through

which we receive sanctifying Grace I

know that my message today had a little

less fluff than is expected for these

speeches but I believe that this

audience and this venue is the best

place to speak openly and honestly about

who we are and where we all want to go

which is heaven I thank God for

Benedictine College and for the example

it provides to the world I thank God for

men like President Min who are doing

their part for the kingdom come to find

out you can have an authentically

Catholic college and a
thriving football program

[Applause]

make no mistake you are entering into

Mission territory in a post god world

but you were made for this and with God

by your side and a constant striving for

virtue within your vocation you too can

be a saint Christ is King to the heights