Archbishop Hughes Memorial High School - Spires Yearbook (New York, NY)

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7 4 'f!'1'f i ELIZABETH BAYLEY SETON 17744821 A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands-CApocalyppse VIII 91. The Litany of the Saints is not a sealed book of the dead pastg it is a never' ending scroll to be written on until the day of judgment. But lately have we added to those illustrious names an inscription that attests the faith of North Amer' ica's early missionary heroes, an inscription engraved in the blood of martyred Jesuit priests. Proudly do we claim them, our first Saints, eight in all, joques, Lalement Brebeuf among them and fervently do we hope that they shall head a mighty host whose name will be legion. A Today, with confidence and persistence, we Catholics of America are fostering another canonizationg we would see Elizabeth Bayley Seton, triumphant with the halo of a saintg we desire to witness her formal installation as a member of God's blessed, and know her to be acknowledged and invoked by the Christian world. Well may we urge the cause of beatirication of the foundress of our Order of the Sisters of Charity in the United States, endeavoring to secure some little token for her, in loving memory of our weighty indebtedness. It was she who opened a new avenue to education, to purity of life, and who blazed the way for countless others who would renounce the world, seeking perfection in silent sacrifice and conf stant labor beneath the standard of our beloved Nazarene. Mother Seton proved to be the spiritual inspiration and consolation of many while on earth. This may be shown very strikingly even in our own time. At the recent unveiling of a tablet in memory of this holy woman in Saint Peter's, Barclay Street, on the ninth of May, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the following message: In my childhood days, my father often told me of Mother Seton, for she was a very close connection of the Roosevelt family, and her sisterfinflaw was, I think, my greatfaunt. Her distinguished nephew, Archbishop Bayley was a first cousin of my father, James Roosevelt, and they were very close friends. In our family we have traditions of the saintly character of Mother Seton. We too would honor her under the title of glorious patroness and in the future recognize her as our first native North American Saint. MARY E. Woottrzy One Hundred Thirtyfonc is 'l .gift-'fm in .mg , f gif ,Ig 'Q if BI .i 'tl .i Ll il fir, if ii v. AQ, , . M

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Kings, rulers, scientists and many of the world's great personalities have been heard in many lands through the instrumentality of the microphone, but never has the cohesiveness of mankind had so striking a manifestation, giving an incalculable impetus to those cementing processes which shall yet bind all nations together in a covenant of peace and holy fellowship, proclaiming one God, one law, one element, and one farfoff divine event to which the whole creation moves. Over a thousand years ago, Christ said to His Apostles, Go teach ye all nations. His followers were simple, unassuming men and to many this command seemed preposterous. Education, intelligence and a deep understanding of human nature were necessary if the light of God's truth were to be carried to regions where ignorance and iniquity prevailed. But God was not unmindful of His creatures, and through His Providence the miracle of tongues has been accomplished. As time progressed and the mode of living changed, the Church remained steadfast to the fundamental teachings of her Founder, but some of the ecclesiastical laws have been modified in order to adjust themselves to modern conditions. Conf trary to the general belief of nonfCatholics, the Church does not fear progress, rather, she has done all in her power to promote advancement in science and the arts. Many critics say that the Church is antiquated, that she fears science because it will event' ually cause her downfall. It must have been a sad blow to these critics when the Catholic clergy not only recognized the radio by introducing it into many of the churches in order to broadcast Christian belief to all the world, but also laid plans for the installation of an official station in the Vatican itself. To Catholics everywhere, the day on which HfVfJ, constructed under the direction of Senator Guglielmo Marconi, was inf augurated was one of the most glorious in the history of the Church. Of the many beautiful passages in Holy Scripture relating to the reception of the word of God, one seems to have a special bearing on this event. On one occasion referring to Himself as the Good Shepherd, Christ said Other sheep I have that are not of this fold-they shall hear My voice. Truly they have heard His voice! Again, our shepherd, Pius XI, the spiritual descendant of the selffnamed Good Shepherd, has called to his flock, and they have heard him. He did not speak at ran' dom, every word he uttered had a deep significance. He addressed himself not only to those who have never forsaken God, but also to all heretics and unbelievers. He reminded them that it is the earnest wish of all Catholics that all outside the true Church may one day recognize the fallacy of their beliefs and that, in reality, there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Years from now the radio may suffer oblivion, yet the memory of that day on which the sovereign Pontiff addressed mankind will live forever. One of the contemporaneous newspapers has defined it Httingly as, Something to stir the imagination, to give one a sense of the continuity and the variety of the human story, to endow the inventiveness of our time with a new beauty, and to clothe one's faith with an expanding power, is to be found in the great event, when from the Vatican, the Pope spoke over the radio to his people and to the world. CATHERINE E. CURRAN One Hundred 'Thirty

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MoDERN LITERATI In recent years, a certain faction of pessimists has arisen, asserting that the standard of literature maintained throughout the world is being gradually, but perf ceptibly lowered. They have attempted to prove this allegation by pointing, among other things, to the wide use of free verse in poetry and to the growth of belief in imagery, that is, the conviction that poetry should primarily present an image or picture. However, many of our presentfday writers, poets and dramatists have refuted such a sweeping statement by their ingenious productions. In English literature, Alice Meynell and Francis Thompson are prominent figures. Above all, they were Roman Catholic poets, and, though of different temperament and expression, in inf tensity of religious experience, their compositions might be considered of parallel value. Alice Meynell had a peaceful career, devoid of many hindrances which confronted other struggling poets. This tranquillity is reflected strikingly in her poetry. In one of her best works, The Shepherdessf' the delicacy of her art is easily discerned: She walks-the lady of my delight- A shepherdess of sheep Her flocks are thoughts. She keeps them white, She guards them from the steepg She feeds them on the fragrant height, And folds them in for sleep. Francis Thompson, a contemporary and lifelong friend of Alice Meynell, was at first inclined toward great complexity in his poetical strivings. Later, he composed songs concerning love and nature but his prominent manuscripts were elaborate or highly embellished odes. The most sublime and hauntingly beautiful of these is the wellfknown Hound of Heaven in which he relates his mystical experience with the Divine Being, whom he pictures as pursuing him until he yielded and became one with Him. Of all the lines in English poetry, these are perhaps the most forceful and awefinspiring: Up vistaed hopes I sped, And shot, precipitated, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, From those strong Feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, And unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, They beat-and a Voice beat More instant than the Feet- 'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me. ' One Hundred Thirty-two