Assumption Preparatory School - Memini Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: ‘Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” “You, however, are a chosen race, a royal priest¬ hood, a holy nation, a purchased people, ... a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices accepta¬ ble to God through Christ.” “We, your ministers, as also your holy people, offer to your supreme Majesty . . .” “Because the bread is one, we though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread.” 7

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to our spiritual Htfe To the class of 1966: A key is by its very nature and purpose an instru¬ ment for opening up and permitting us to enter through a door or gate. Most often and in the literal sense, it permits us simply to enter a building, a room or some kind of enclosure. When we speak of spiritual keys, however, we immediately think in much broader terms — of keys which not only open the way into a previously locked area, but usher us into a completely new way of life. We think of keys which are not mere¬ ly instruments to be used once or even only occasion¬ ally, but constantly. Actually, you have known and used these “keys” since childhood. You have perhaps learned to call them by other terms, such as means of grace. They are the Sacraments, the liturgical worship of the Church, especially the Mass, prayer and works of penance. Through the first of them, Baptism, you were ushered into a way of fife which is a sharing in God’s own life, a vital, intimate and mysterious, though very real, un¬ ion with Christ. In the intervening years, your continu¬ ing use of the other “keys” has nourished, fostered and, if it were lost, restored this precious life. As you now prepare to enter the years of young adulthood, it seems important to emphasize that this fife as well as the “keys” which usher us into it are not intended for our selfish or even our exclusive use. Our Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate — to be witness to Christ, to the way of life which He taught and lived, and to which He has called us, in such manner as to make its truth, good¬ ness and beauty manifest to those around us. Constant and continuing union with Christ is necessary in order to fulfill this demand of our vocation, for as Christ Himself has told us: “Without me, you can do nothing.” In like manner, equally constant and fervent use of the “keys” which nourish and sustain that un¬ ion, especially the Eucharist, is essential to a fruitful apostolate. In recent months, the decrees of the Second Vatican Council have given us a new perspective of the scope, meaning and dignity of our Christian vocation. The docu¬ ments on The Church, the Sacred Liturgy, Ecumen¬ ism and the Apostolate of the Laity are especially per¬ tinent to the needs and demands of our times. They, too, may be regarded as “keys,” instruments for open¬ ing up a new era of Christian witness and Christian engagement in the mission of the Church to men. They deserve careful study and serious attention by all our people, but especially by those, who like you, have the advantage of a Catholic education. The Council’s aim of Christian renewal in the world of our day will depend in great measure on how well the people of God understand and make use of the “keys” or di¬ rectives which it has set forth for the more effective en¬ gagement of all of us in the work of witnessing Christ to the world. Sincerely yours, Bishop of Worcester 6

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to education The Graduates of 1966 have chosen a timely theme for their Yearbook: the Key. The world has been offered a new key at the end of Vatican II. It is made up of the different Constitutions issued by the Council Fathers. They are meant to open the door to a full life in the modern world. The Christian has a vocation. He has been called to Christ who incorporates him into the People of God. He is our God and we are His People. We live from His life and we share His mission of bringing peace and unity to the world. This has been true since the first Coming of Christ. However, Christianity is vital and even in the process of development and clarification. In our day, good Pope John called this “Aggiornamento.” Vatican II was to prepare the way for the fulfillment of the Church’s mission in the modern world. In our day, it would be the Key to true peace and unity in Christ. The Graduates of 1966 hold this Key in hand.