Fordham University School of Education - Grail Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Kr A cific Halter wig 4 ,Aging Q 'pug mei' I .ffml A i C-'Lui rx ,X v , - , 5 t 3 71' fix x Qg f'-ug ll r ul 1 ,LJ I -11,74 Q.-JZQ, v Q i gi J iff 1. n-:l'424t1f fff e . e if fi we ...Q ,, ' 13.1587 . ,G,,,c +gg.3!0 Cyg-,jrff V Q., I -4' K. ,.x- ,- if 7... I l am the vine: you are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and l in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. This simple declaration of the mutual indwelling of all good men and Christ contains in its mysic simplicity the ultimate essence of Christianity. At once a straight for- ward statement of fact and a startlingly beauti- ful description of reality, it presents a com- mandingly pertinent challenge to all humanity. By its terms, man the free agent, in a certain sense, loses his freedom and gains the ultimate liberty. Just as all living matter is incapable of remaining static, so also is the human being. Progression or decline, but never stagnation, is the essence of all living animate objects, so also with man. Christ's command to bear fruit leaves him with no choice. ln- capable of remaining spiritually in a state of suspended animation, man must grow, bear fruit and achieve his sublime end, or withering, degenerate into a state of less than nothing- ness. Christ, of Whom he is a part, is a living growing eternity, as a Christian and as a man, helmust grow in Christ. During the past four years, we have been engaged, willy-nilly, in a process of growth. There has been offered to us during this time a tremendous opportunity for growth in Christ. Those of us who have truly benefitted from this process are now ready to bear fruit, Sometime during the summer that inter- vened between our Sophomore and Junior years, Father Bona decided upon a theme that he hoped would serve as a point of reference for all the activities of the Sodality in the en- suing months. Happily, and almost prophetic- ally he selected The Christian in Action . A particularly fortuitous choice, it characterized our entire Junior yearg for action was the key- note, not only of the Sodality but of the entire School of Education during that time. ln its Sodality meetings as well as in its classes, studies and extracurricular endeavors, the student body expended more effort and accomplished more perhaps than at any com- parable period in the school history. Just as Christian Action is synonymous with growth, so in our Junior year, those of us who were the leaders and mainsprings in the great surge of activity that occurred in the school that year, experienced, perhaps, the greatest period of development in our progress through the School. lt would be foolish to pretend we were al- ways acutely aware of the indwelling of Christ in us during this time, or that all our actions were motivated by a desire to emulate Christ or that the activity we experienced in this period was peculiarly Christian. We are not yet the saints we seek to be. Unaware, at times, of our peculiar position as Christians in a Godless world, unconscious, perhaps, of the great spiritual challenge that was ours, some few of us, nevertheless, succeeded in accom- plishing as we had never done before, some small part of Christ's command to participate in Christian action. Returning to school that September, we noticed much that had changed and more that had remained constant. There were new faces in our midst, but most of the old ones were still with us. Registration was still a confused jumble, but by this time we were used to it. The school had received a new coat of paint, more fluorescent lighting and repairs: there

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were new chairs in the lounge and a television set was to come but the paintings were still musty, the piano still out of tune, the radio still cantankerous and the topics of conversation still the same. The Thalians were as usual promising a series of one-act plays, but this year they were to produce. The Curved Horn made its annual prediction of bigger, better, and more frequent issues, but this year they too were to succeed and make history, for a while. And then there were the Freshmen. This year we had become involved with the Freshmen earlier than usual. Those of us who had been elected club presidents land there were quite a few of us by thenl found our- selves drawn into the vortex of the first Stu- dent Council-inspired Freshmen Week in the School's history, Under the direction of John Belson, Chair- man of the Club President's Council, a com- mittee ofthe Student Council, all facets of the three-day welcoming period were planned and executed by members of the Junior Class. All, that is-, except the usual barrage of tests and the Nedick's Orange Drink. Traditions were upheld at all costs and-the class of '53 experi- enced a Freshmen Week that differed from those of the past only in the degree of student sponsored confusion. Frank Dance, President of the Thalians dramatized the activities of his group and promised a series of one-act plays. John Mc- Cullough impressed the Freshmen with the importance of the N. S. A. George Sanger chanted the praises of the Glee Club, and ran through a number, in four part harmony, to demonstrate what could be accomplished in that organization. Ray Connolly got a lot of laughs out of the Philosophy Club and John Belson succeeded in signing up the entire class of '53 as prospective Curved Horn members. Hank D'AngeIo spoke of the French Club, in French, and Tom Dowgin of the Literary So- ciety, in Literature. Tony Sanfillippo, complete with index cards, entranced the audience with a sixty minute oration on the medieval ante- cedants, history, purpose, functions and ma- chinations of the Student Council. l hope someone , reads it. Who's for bridge?