U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy encouraged graduating midshipmen to put their faith in God during a commencement speech at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
“There are two kinds of people, those who believe in God and those who think they’re God,” Duffy said. “There’s something beautiful, humbling, and properly ordered about a man and woman who understand that there is a power greater than themselves. That everything is not in their control. And that they are the beloved child of a merciful God who hears their prayers.”
“No one knows the unpredictability and storms of nature and life like sailors,” he added. “A good sailor knows that in the end, only God can calm the seas and bring them to safety. Look to that North Star. Stay faithful and never underestimate the power of prayer.”
Duffy recently reinstated a painting of Jesus at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy after it was placed in a basement by the Biden administration. The painting, called “Christ on the Water,” depicts Jesus aiding sailors during World War II and was removed following a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
“We are moving Jesus out of the basement,” he said in May. “To all the great midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy, you let me know how important this painting was to all of you. Now we all know it was taken out of a place of prominence and put in down in the basement.”
“I worked with the Academy and because this is such a historic painting, I’m announcing that through that work with the Academy, this painting is going to go from the basement back to its place of prominence,” Duffy declared, adding that the picture’s reinstatement would be a “moment to celebrate.”
