Invocation for President L. Rafael Reif
September 21, 2012
We give thanks for this day and
the ever moving currents of life
that have brought us to this time.
In the wider world we are mindful of the
challenges presented by a struggling
economy, the pain of war and the struggles
that promote peace.
Our spirits are pulled by political talk
that values victory more than truth,
words that tell us what we wish to hear
rather than what we need to do.
In this cacophony, may we remember
that we offer our best service by doing well
what lies in front of us.
MIT serves the nation and the world best
when we take care of the business at hand.
We have been blessed by the service and vision
of Presidents Gray,
Vest and Hockfield, and now
we begin the era of President L. Rafael Reif.
Our challenge is to advance knowledge
and educate students in science, technology
and the areas of scholarship that will best serve
the nation and the world in the 21st century.
What lies in front of us are the problems of modern time;
may President Reif’s leadership be wise and may
he be surrounded by learned counsel;
may our community hold up his arms when the going is tough,
and encourage his
spirit when the days are dark for we stand or fall together
and do our work best when our collective minds inform the
hands
that touch the keys that play the music, write the words
that sway hearts,
sketch the lines that define buildings, seek out genes that
open pathways to curing illness, build the systems that create the renewable
energy to sustain life.
That we may do these things is our prayer,
Amen.
