Editorial May 30, 1931 Issue

Commencement

Clifford P. Smith

As connected with education, commencement is the occasion when degrees or diplomas are conferred at colleges or schools; it is the commencement of graduate life. In a larger sense, commencement is the beginning of adult life; it is the beginning of a boy or girl to be a man or woman. In an even larger sense, commencement can be considered as any occasion when a person begins more definitely or completely to be an instance of the real man. In this view, therefore, commencement can be regarded as any distinct step or stage in one's ascension from what is called human life to the divine Life.

"The infinite has no beginning," Mrs. Eddy has written on page 502 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." In contrast with this reality, what is called human life not only seems to begin at one time for each person, but also seems, at its best, to be a continual commencement of better efforts and better results. This continual commencement approaches and to a degree represents a fact of real being, an actual truth. Any person's continual and successful beginning of better things constitutes an approach to genuine manhood; which "compounded spiritual individuality" or "divinely united spiritual consciousness," to quote words used by Mrs. Eddy on page 577 of Science and Health, "reflects God as Father-Mother."

As one person can begin and again begin to express more and more of the qualities which belong to the real man, so a group of persons or many persons, acting together for any good purpose, can begin and begin further to do this collectively. Thus, every branch church can have its commencements, and so can The Mother Church. The Annual Meeting of The Mother Church is a favorable time for a commencement of better achievements by all of its members, and particularly by those who have the additional opportunity and responsibility incident to being employed or occupied in its service. In her Message to The Mother Church for 1902 (p. 4) Mrs. Eddy said, "Let us all pray at this Communion season for more grace, a more fulfilled life and spiritual understanding, bringing music to the ear, rapture to the heart—a fathomless peace between Soul and sense—and that our works be as worthy as our words."

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