Full Circle

I hesitate to admit that I had not read the readings for Sunday before arriving at Mass, and as a result, was caught by surprise when I heard the prophet Jeremiah announce, "You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped." In the Fall of 1999, fresh out of high school, newly away from family and friend, I walked through the doors of Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, and entered a whole new world that would prove to be the beginning of some of my happiest days. That very first Sunday, I heard Jeremiah announce these same words. "You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped." How fitting that they should greet me upon arrival for my last year of seminary formation.

We are told that to be duped is to be seduced. Slyly, imperceptibly, God seduced the prophet Jeremiah. Slowly but surely Jeremiah fell in love with his Lord, to the point that this love compelled him to speak, even the most unpleasant of truths to God's people. I too have been duped. I didn't know what I was getting into when I first came to the seminary. Perhaps I'm still not sure. And yet, slowly but surely, I have fallen in love. Day by day, year by year, God has transformed me, speaking to my heart, loving me into loving him. I look back on all these years now, and I see how I have changed, how I have grown, where I have been led, where God is still leading me, and I am overwhelmed by God's great mercy for me, for his profound patience with me, his unmerited fidelity towards me. The beginnings of this last year of formation are therefore characterized by gratitude. How lucky I am to speaks Jeremiah's words as my own. You duped me, O Lord, but I let myself be duped.