London Normal School - Spectrum Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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Clergymen ' s Message HEN a carpenter begins to make a chair, he has in mind a certain pattern to which he tries to adhere as closely as possible. The more skilled the carpenter, the more closely the finished product resembles the original pattern. Yet to produce a truly fine piece of work the carpenter requires more than just skill of hand : there must be some motive behind his work. That motive is generally love, from the highest — love of God, to the lowest — love of self. One might be tempted to say that love could make up for a lack of skill but since the carpenter is working in wood, an inanimate object which cannot assist him in any way, the skill must always be present if he is to produce good work. However, in a career in which the material used is human, the motive behind our work can make up, to a certain extent, for lack of skill. Many a teacher short on pedagogy but long on love and understanding for her pupils has had great success in developing good human beings. And after all, is that not your task? You must not be satisfied with being a mere purveyor of information; the school bulletin board does as much. No, to be a teacher, you must take into consideration not only the mind of the student but also his will : you must form as well as inform. Of course, when you assume such a responsibility, you must have some standard or pattern in mind, just as the carpenter has his chair pattern in mind. And you must determine now to turn out the best possible product; we are living in an age when no one dare be mediocre. Since you seek to educate not just part of a man but the whole man, body and soul, then religion must enter the picture. In other words, the education you impart must be a Christian education, that process of growth and development whereby the natural man assimilates a body of knowledge derived from human effort and divine revelation, makes his life ideal the person of Jesus Christ and develops the ability, with the help of Almighty God, to use that knowledge in pursuit of this ideal. You can see in this definition the dual purpose of education, Christian perfection here below and eternal happiness with God hereafter. I know I speak for all the clergymen when I say that if you strive to fulfill your teaching vocation in this way, there is no doubt but that one day you will hear the words of our Blessed Lord: Well done good and faithful servant, . . . enter into the joy of thy Master. FATHER O ' FLAHERTY The following clergymen kindly instructed us in Religious Education: Rev. Ralph Barker Rev. Tom Harris Rev. Angus MacQueen Rev. F. T. Darnell Rev. Derwyn Jones Father J. O ' Flaherty Rev. John Fleck Rev. J. A. 0. Mc Kennitt Rev. R. C. Plant Rev. A. P. Gillies Dr. George W. Moore Rev. J. R. Waldie Page 7

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VoU remember St. Luke ' s story of the man sick of the palsy. The multitude had followed Jesus to Capernaum, where the crowd was so great that in the house where He was staying there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door. But there came four bearing one sick of the palsy, And when they could not come nigh unto Him because of the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. You know the rest of the tale: there was the one needing the Light, and there was the Light, and when the two were brought together, there was the transformation. What is strangely touching about the story is the anonymity of the four who brought their burden to the Master. How inventive and determined they must have been, how loyal to the one in their charge, to find a way through difficulties which would have daunted lesser men. Without them, the man who needed the Light so desperately would never have received it. And yet the chronicler did not see fit to record their names; the mists of history have closed over everything about them but their number. I am indebted to Dean M. Woodside for an application of this tale to your task and mine. It struck me so forcibly when I heard him give it to an audience of teachers that I have asked his permission to pass it on to you. Mr. Healy and I can think of no better parting words. We teachers play somewhat the same part as did those four nameless ones. We are simply the means of bringing together the Light and those who need the Light; only the intermediaries. Our task will take as much initiative, will often be just as discouraging, and will be guided by the same loyalty as was their task two thousand years ago. All the outward glory that most of us will earn will be a similar anonymity. Inwardly, we, like the four of Capernaum, will earn a glowing treasure. We shall know that without us the miracle would not have taken place. F. C. BIEHL J. B. HEALY Page 6

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Mrs. F. E. Cummings, B.A. Miss B. G. Bergey, B.A. F. G. Walker, B.A., B.Ed. Secretaries Mrs. J. Andrew Miss Thomlinson R. S. Devereux, M.A. Miss W. R. Prendergast G. H. Dobrindt, B.A., B.Paed. Page 8