Dear Exam Students of 2025,
I hope that you are well as you enter into this final time of preparation for
your upcoming exams.
No exam, no matter how important, can ever define you. You are much
more than any exam and much more important in God’s eyes than any
grade you might receive.
I know that exam time can be a stressful time. This is all the more so when
the exams we are sitting might influence our future path in life. I just
wanted to let all the young people involved in this year’s state
examination processes know that you are very much in my thoughts and
prayers at this significant time in your lives. I am also thinking of the
parents, guardians, families, teachers and friends of those sitting
examinations. It can also be an anxious time for you.
One of the great things about living in the age in which we live is that
your future does not have to be defined by these exams. Although they
are an important step in gaining access to the course or career you have
dreamed of, don’t forget that there are many other ways and a variety of
other paths that can lead you to where you should be in life. It is not
“what you are in life” or “what degree you have” but rather the “kind of
person you are” that makes all the difference.
Try to get rest, eat well, take time off, relax as best you can. Find a
reasonable study schedule. Do your best and then let God do the rest. He
will be there with you to calm those nerves, to help you in ways you might
not expect and most of all to give you the gift of perspective. No exam,
no matter how important, can ever define you. You are much more than
any exam and much more important in God’s eyes than any grade you
might receive.
Remembering you all in my prayers at this time and indeed throughout the
summer and always.
Bishop of Clonfert
Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh
Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora
