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Bennett Schmitt: 2025 Invocation

Author: Notre Dame News

(Remarks as prepared)

As is our tradition at the University of Notre Dame, let us begin with prayer:

Almighty God, full of truth, mercy and unbounded love, at all times — and especially today — we root ourselves in gratitude for all You have given us. We thank You for our families who guided us to this moment — who, just a few short years ago, took a leap of faith, trusting that we would be in good and steady hands under the watchful gaze of Our Lady; for friends and dorm communities who cheered us on in times when we soared and lifted us up in those when we faltered. We thank you for faculty and staff who cultivated our minds and spirits; for classmates who challenged us to deepen our view of the world, of ourselves, and of where the two meet; for a Notre Dame who welcomed us with open arms and gave us a home.

Lord, help us now to find our place in what comes next and answer Your call to be forces for good as we step forward equipped with the training provided by Our Lady’s University. In a world facing threats to peace, justice and the very Earth that sustains us, Lord, help us to feel this heaviness not as a burden, but as a call to serve and to love radically. Give us the courage to fight for change, while always keeping our hearts open to reasons for hope — thousands of which fill this stadium today. Walk with us as we accompany the world’s most vulnerable. Guide us not to speak for them, but to listen and to learn — to lift them up so that their own voices may be heard. Let our actions reflect Your compassion and the strength of those you have inspired before us, as we care for those we share today with and for those who will inherit the tomorrow we create. Lord, may You help us to keep a piece of our hearts rooted in the spirit of Notre Dame while we move forward in service to something bigger than ourselves. Fill our steps with purpose and our hearts with a fire for good. We make our prayers as always, confident in Your love and in Your Holy Name, amen.

Please be seated.