Rev. Francis Joseph Hoffman, “Fr. Rocky”, head of Relevant Radio, delivered the Commencement Address at the University of Mary on Saturday, April 26, after receiving an Honorary Doctorate. Accepting the award on behalf of all the listeners, donors, board members and Associates of Relevant Radio, Fr. Rocky praised the great work of Msgr. Shea and the University of Mary and thanked them for their support. Here is what he said:
Thank you very much Msgr. Shea and everyone who is part of the University of Mary for this great honor! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here, and just how much this means to me and everyone at Relevant Radio!! Along with the “Christ Brings Hope Award” that Msgr. Shea will receive on December 12 from Relevant Radio in Chicago, I regard this Honorary Doctorate from the University of Mary as the Most Prestigious Award for an American Catholic because of who you are and what you stand for! Thank you. I am truly honored to be here and I accept this Honorary Doctorate on behalf of everyone at Relevant Radio: our listeners, our supporters, our Board of Directors – five of whom are here today – and all of our Associates who work at Relevant Radio.
When Msgr. Shea invited me to give the Commencement Address and receive an Honorary Doctorate, at first I was reluctant to accept it and I thought I found a way out of my predicament by telling him, “I will only accept it if Mary Jo Feltl also accepts an Honorary Doctorate.” And she did! And that’s why I am here with you today. Congratulations Mary Jo! I think you are personally responsible for bringing more than a thousand high school students from the Twin Cities over the past number of years to visit this campus. And many have enrolled, and already graduated, because you sure know a good thing when you see it!
Folks, “there is good news all over the place!” I am very happy and proud to receive this honorary doctorate because of what The University of Mary is, where it has come from, and where it is headed under the very capable leadership of Msgr. Shea and his Team! Years ago, when I was living and studying in Rome, I wrote my doctoral thesis in Canon Law on Catholic Universities in America. St. John Paul the Great had just issued an Apostolic Constitution in 1990 on Catholic Universities, called Ex Corde Ecclesiae, to help Catholic Universities recover their sense of purpose and identity. Of all of the Catholic Universities in the United States of America today, the University of Mary is right there at the top in terms of a confident sense of purpose, and a clear sense of Catholic identity and direction. Already twelve years ago, Cardinal Dolan from New York City, and bishops from around the country have been watching you and they like what they see! When Cardinal Dolan received an Honorary Doctorate here in 2013 he said: “WE – the rest of the country, the rest of the world – are watching you, because you represent something fresh and daring. You represent something exciting and promising, and we are watching. And we like what we see. Terrific things are happening at Mary!”
When I started working full time at Relevant Radio back in 2009 I had never heard of the University of Mary. (I had heard of North Dakota because that’s where Lawrence Welk came from!) But soon I started hearing ads on the Relevant Radio Network for “The University of Mary” and I thought, “Oh, wow, someone started a new Catholic College in Bismark. That’s amazing.” And then I heard on the radio that if you had attended a Catholic High School, you’re room and board would be FREE at the University of Mary! And I thought, “Wow, if I had children, I’d send them to the University of Mary!” And many people around the country, listening to Relevant Radio, clearly thought the same thing. What a GREAT idea!
And then I heard on Relevant Radio that “The University is the Most Affordable Catholic University in the Country.” And who in their right mind does not like “affordable.” And then I heard on Relevant Radio that if you went to college year round and did not take summer vacation you could finish in 2.6 years. And I thought, “Another great idea, AND you can save a whole year of tuition.” And then heard them say, “Well since you’re already here, if you stay another year, you can get your Master’s Degree.” Msgr. Shea – You are a brilliant marketer!! You are the modern equivalent of the “Music Man”, by making a dream come true by never giving up.
And along the way, over these fifteen years, I heard other good news: University of Mary is the number one Nursing School in America. Number 1, as in THE TOP out of 2145 Nursing Schools.
But what really enthused me about the University of Mary is your annual three thousand mile round trip road trip in several buses to Washington, DC for the March for Life, including being stranded one year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for twenty hours on January 22, 2016 during a Blizzard, yet figuring out how to celebrate Mass outdoors next to the bus on a snow bank! I remember reading that story in the New York Times and seeing that picture of smiling young faces and snowball fights and Mass on a snowbank!! I am so proud of you University of Mary!! You have that True Grit in your blood and in your bones that will allow you to carry your faith in Christ into the future and pass it on to your friends and family and children!
Our Blessed Mother Mary has clearly taken an interest in this University bearing her name. Founded by the Good Benedictine Sisters of the Annunciation Monastery in 1959, the same year that Alaska and Hawaii became states in our union and the same year I became a citizen of these United States, Our Blessed Mother has helped you stay true to your Mission, whether under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes at the Grotto, or under Our Lady of Champion who puts out raging fires, like the one that threatened your campus on April 14, 2015. What makes you great University of Mary is your Mission and your dedication to “prepare leaders with moral courage, global understanding, and commitment to the common good.” Precisely because you are Catholic founded by Benedictines, your university is open to people of all faiths or none at all. After all, Jesus did not come to just save Catholics, he came to save everyone.
As I said, “There is good news all over the place.” And just as the University of Mary, under Msgr. Shea’s leadership, has experienced explosive growth from 1500 students in 2009 to 4000 students today, Relevant Radio has also experienced extraordinary growth, through the hard work and generosity of many good people, plus the mighty intercession of Our Blessed Mother, Queen of Relevant Radio, and St. Joseph. Starting in Green Bay, Wisconsin in the year 2000, on just one station, WJOK 1050 AM, reaching 750,000 people, today – now in our 25th year – Relevant Radio broadcasts on 223 AM and FM stations, including all top 20 Markets — reaching 282MM people in their cars, and simultaneously around the world through the internet on the #1FREE Catholic App – the Relevant Radio app -our website, and multiple social media platforms. Last year, 12MM people tuned into Relevant Radio programs, and when Msgr. Shea is a guest on our shows, he reaches 30,000 people “Coast to Coast” from “Maui to Maine” in just six minutes, and if he is on air for thirty minutes, he will connect with 150,000 people. And if they like what they hear, and they usually do, they will want to attend the University of Mary. As Relevant Radio grows, so does the University of Mary. It has been a magnificent partnership and I think it is only going to get better!
Our Mission at Relevant Radio is to “Bring Christ to the World through the media.” It is concise, compelling, and clear. Everyone at Relevant Radio knows it. It is broad enough to allow us to use AM and FM and Satellite Radio, or the Internet, Apps, and Social Media, and Billboards, and print magazines, but narrow enough to keep us from building a University. But somebody has build a university, just not Relevant Radio. It’s our job at Relevant Radio to spread the good news about the University of Mary, or other fine Catholic colleges, or the Knights of Columbus, or Nicolet Bank, or Catholic Relief Services, or Charity Mobile, or the Catholic Order of Foresters, or the Fellowship of Catholic Students and their annual jamboree the SEEK Conference, or the National Eucharistic Congress, or NET Ministries.
Besides our Mission Statement, Relevant Radio has Three Guiding Principles, which are the fruit of my studies and work years ago in Canon Law on Catholic Identity at Catholic Universities. To me these three Guiding Principles define what it means to be a truly Catholic institution, no matter what your name is. Our first Guiding Principle is: We are Faithful to the Magisterium and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Second, we are United to the Bishops. And third, we are under the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That’s what it means to be truly and authentically Catholic.
Our listeners tell us that because of our programs they go to Mass and Confession more often, they pray more, and they are happier. So we know that it works. Just like the University of Mary is open to people of all faiths, AM and FM radio and internet are also open to people of all faiths or none at all. Folks, we live in the information age. When Jesus evangelized he did it in one of three ways: one on one conversations like the woman at the well; small group discussions like when Jesus walked from village to village with his Apostles and explained things; and then when the occasion presented itself he spoke to the Masses like the Sermon on the Mount. I like to say at Relevant Radio, “We are using the Mass Media to move the Masses to the Mass.”
Well, enough about Relevant Radio and the University of Mary. Now let’s talk about you! The Graduates of 2025!! What can I tell you? First I would like to repeat what Pope Francis encourages us to ask young people and that is: “What’s your dream?” You have to have a dream and I encourage you to dream big. I remember that last time I was here in 2015 and we had a live broadcast of “Go Ask Your Father” with hundreds of students and a young lady in blue-jeans and a sweat shirt and big brown eyes came up to the microphone to ask a question and I surprised her by asking my question first, and I said: “What’s your dream?” I think she was caught off guard, but then she recovered, and said “My dream? My Dream? My dream is to get to heaven.” I was stunned. What a great answer. I hope that’s your dream too, and along the way dream of having a family; dream of putting others first; dream of using your talents and creativity to make things better within ten feet of you; dream of loving God; and dream of being courageous and speaking the truth and sticking up for the truth, no matter the cost.
People have asked me what I’ve learned about turning schools and radio networks around when they were about to go out of business. First, you have to believe the Mission is worthwhile. And then, you have to believe in miracles. And finally, you have to do three things: 1) pray like crazy; 2) work like a maniac; and 3) never, ever give up. And that one is THE most important one. Never give up! So have a dream and go for it!
What other advice can I offer? I once asked a very, very successful business-man, Mike Birck, Founder of Tellabs, a multi-billion dollar private company that pioneered the use of fiber optics in telecommunications,– I asked him what he had learned in life and what advice he gives to young people just starting out in life. How can they be successful? His answer surprised me and delighted me. It surprised me because his advice was very short and simple. It delighted me because anyone can do it. Any of you can follow this advice. What did he say, if you want to be successful in life? First: Try your best. Second: Do the right thing. Third: Tell the Truth.
And that’s it. I said, ‘Mike – which one of those is the hardest?” “Tell the Truth.” “Which one is the most important?” “Tell the truth.” Because FOLKS if you tell the truth, people will trust you. If they trust you, they will cooperate with you. If they cooperate with you, there will be enthusiasm. And if there is enthusiasm, there will be growth in the enterprise. Like U Mary. Like Relevant Radio!
Finally, as a Catholic priest, I need to say something to all of you here today. I know not everyone here is Catholic – and that’s fine with me – I went to a public high school and most of my friends back then were not Catholic nor were my girlfriends — , but most of you profess faith in Jesus Christ, and I really think that is the fundamental question TODAY for all of us: “Why do YOU believe Jesus Christ is God?”
There are four Gospels in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And all of them tell about miracles that Jesus worked and that’s why the Apostles believed Jesus Christ is God. They were eye-witnesses of those miracles. But you and I did not see those miracles. We did not witness those miracles.
But have you ever received a miracle? An answered prayer? And you knew it was not just your imagination, but God heard you and answered you. I have. And some years ago I started writing them down in a journal, and little by little it became the “Gospel according to me.” And you – each of you, all of you – have your own Gospel to write: it’s called the “Gospel according to you.” And it answers the question “Why do you believe Jesus Christ is God.”
There is a woman in St. Louis who will tell you why she believes Jesus Christ is God. And she’s not even Catholic. She wrote a book about it. They made a movie. It’s about her fifteen year old son who went walking with his friends on a frozen pond in the wintertime, but the ice broke, and he fell through. By the time they recovered his body and brought him to the emergency room, he was purple, had no pulse for 45 minutes, and wasn’t breathing. His mother arrived to the emergency room only to hear the words no parent ever wants to hear. And I’ve been there – a number of unforgettable times in emergency rooms or at the side of the road after a car accident — when the doctor says in a quiet and respectful voice – “I am so sorry. There is nothing more we can do.” . . . And the mother said, “Jesus! I want my son to live!!”
Everyone heard it. No one said anything. Her heart was broken. Their hearts were broken. And Jesus’ heart was broken. And it’s the prayer of broken hearts that reach the merciful and broken heart of Jesus. And moments later . . . the heart monitor started to beep. And that young man came back to life.
So, if you ask that mother why she believes that Jesus Christ is God, she will tell you. “It’s the Gospel according to her. It’s the Gospel according to me. And it’s the Gospel according to you.” And that’s ALL good news. “There is Good News all over the place!!”
And as the Cardinals gather in Rome this week to elect a new Pope, let us pray that they elect a man who has the faith of that mother in St. Louis, who has the faith of St. Peter, who declared, “YOU are the Christ! The Son of the Living God!”
Congratulations, Class of 2025!! And May God Bless you!
