Mount St Mary Academy - Mercian Yearbook (Little Rock, AR)

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Very Hovorood Monsignor Thomas L. Hoaoy, Phd Chzfofain, .jzacAer, am! 6oucA,

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UEDIU-XTIU HIS EXEELLENEY we f RUel el'lJ.f4!Lel f ol? jkffhef, 3- 3. Bishop nf Little Huck A great soul, a fine character, a rare intellect, command respect and admiration in every walk of life. The world points with pride to a Columbus, a Washington, a Lincoln as benefactors of humanity, revealing new worlds, winning the freedom of a downtrodden nation, preserving the unity and integrity of a country. Their names are household words, their fame spreads far and wide, their deeds inspire young and old. In life they were feted and applauded, in death they are honored and revered. But more than three decades in the priesthood of Jesus Christ and, of these, more than a decade as a shepherd of souls outweigh and outshine all the achievements of the world however great and glorious they may be. This is the record of our shepherd of souls, the Most Rev. Albert Lewis Fletcher, Bishop of Little Rock. Historians may not chronicle his career, tradition may neglect his triumphs, but on that day of days when time is merged into eternity, all mankind will learn of his heroic life, and the Just Judge will render him the crown of justice. To him, as our Spiritual Leader, a humble and saintly man of God, a patron of learning, an apostle of progress, zealously interested in the advance of Catholic education in his Diocese, and because he has lent Wholehearted encouragement and support to Mt. St. Mary's plans for expansion, we, the class of 1953, gratefully and lovingly dedicate our yearbook, The MERCIAN. li Feed the Flock of God, which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint but willingly, according to God. And when the Prince of Pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never failing crown of glory. QI Peter, V. 2-4.3 l!

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Our Chapfaing eadage fo fke gracluafw Dear Graduates of the Class of 1953: We have come to the parting of the ways and, as Tennyson once said, Tears from the depth of some divine despair rise in the heart and gather in the eyes, in thinking of the days that are no more. The carefree happy school days are over for you. The time has come for you to take your places in that long line of graduates of Mt. St. Mary's Academy that extends down through more than a century of years and into the great beyond, where, we hope, many who have preceded you are enjoying the eternal bliss that comes to all who have served God faithfully. I have been told that the theme which runs through your MERCIAN this year is concerned with education. This is such an important subject that Aristotle once said of it, All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends upon the education of the youth. It has been your good fortune to have received your education under the most aus- picious circumstances. Alexander the Great is best known for his military achieve- ments, but what interests us about him is what he said about his teacher, I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. My dear graduates, you are indeed indebted to your teachers, because they have taught you well. The Sisters, who have directed your education during your school days at Mt. St. Mary's, have been well qualified to teach according to every good standard. They have been trained scholastically so that they could qualify to teach in any approved educational institution, but that is only a minor part of the prepara- tion that is required of those who are to teach in a Catholic school. The Sister gives herself to God first of all. Her labor is one of love. Your teachers live lives of prayer and sacrifice. They teach you in the classrooms and they pray for you during their religious exercises, but they teach you best of all by their example, when they seem not to teach. I hope that you are mindful of these facts. I would not write a message to this or to any other class unless I thought that its members were honest and sincere in their desire to receive a message of truth and to ponder it well. You are about to break the tie that has bound you to your Foster Mother. You are going down the road that leads to many new and strange experiences. You may look back at the anxious faces of your teachers as they follow your progress. Whether you meet with success or failure, they will always be interested in you. They ask only that you live according to the principles that they have taught you. You may make occasional visits to your Alma Mater to refresh yourselves and to re- ceive advice and encouragement from your former teachers, but the old tie of teacher and pupil will not be there. We may all meet again but only in relays. A chord is snapped in every parting and time's busy fingers are not practiced in splicing broken parts. Meet again you may. Will it be in the same way? With the same sympathies? With the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying in diverse paths, unite once more as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely. Your Alma Mater is attempting an expansion program. More classroom space is needed to accommodate an ever-increasing number of potential students. When you are called upon for a donation, give generously knowing full well that, were you as rich as Croesus, you could never pay for the value you have received. Such a benefaction can never be measured in money, but only by making it possible for others to drink from the same fountain which nourished you. And now let us lift a stirrup cup and pledge to each other a frequent memento in our prayers: And though our paths be separate A d th ' t ' n y way is no mme, Yet coming to the Mercy seat My soul will meet with thine. And, 'God keep watch 'tween thee and me.' I'll whisper there. He blesseth thee, He blesseth me And we are near. --Thomas L. Keany.