St Francis Minor Seminary - Via Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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f A x azoEo-Eo-Ep-zo-zb-s-zo-sa-sgigl EEC E ?:QE-GE-GE-E'GE'C-I-GGE-G'G'3-C iaalma HE practice of blessing palms recalls to our minds the triumphant march of our Savior into Jerusalem. We remember how the people spread their garments before Him, and, waving palms, cried: ttHosanna in Exeelsis! These palms were taken from the date trees. It must have been a very inspiring sight to see the crowd waving them around our Lord. The palm is a symbol of victory and of joy. In christian art the painter, when creating pic- tures of martyr-saints, represents them with palms, to show the victory which they have at- tained in the fight against the devil. Palm trees grow around oases in the desert. They are shade trees, and represent the protection of God, and the giving of His grace. Since we cannot use date palms, as there are not enough for every Catholic 'in the world, we are allowed the use of other kinds, such as the palmetto and the branches of the olive trees. These palms are blessed on Palm Sunday, which, of course, changes every year according to Easter Sunday. The practice of blessing palms is said to have originated about the fifth cen- tury, although we have no record until the time of Saint Bede, who lived from 673 to 735. It is thought that palms came into use in reproductions of the Passion Play. When blessing the palms, the priest wears a purple cope. He reads from the Old Testament an account of the journey of the Israelites through the desert to Mount Sinai, where they found twelve springs of water, and seventy palm trees. He then reads from the Gospel of Saint Matthew; telling of the triumphant march of our Lord into Jerusalem. A preface is sung, asking a blessing for the palms, and for the people who respect them. In the olden times the procession would start at one church, and go to another one. Now we have the procession within the church. In- cluded in the blessing are the Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gospel, Prefaee, and Sanctus. Yet it is no Mass. After the Mass the palms are given out. It is proper to give them at the communion rail, but, in case it is in a large parish, they may be distributed at the seats. If there are any extra palms, they are saved, and burned for the next Ash Wednesday, when the ashes are rubbed 0n the foreheads of the people to remind them that they are dust, and must re- turn to dust. -HAROLD GIBBONS. 112121 in $7115prn52 SHALL never forget my first night at Saint Francis Seminary. I slept in a large dormia tory. My bed was about the fifteenth one in the long row. After I had donned my Hsleeping gown, I crawled into bed, to think of those who were thinking of me. After the prefect had switched off the lights, I was nearly asleep when I heard a loud crash, followed by someone tumbling out of bed onto the floor. This was followed by loud laughter. I did not pay much attention to this mirth because I was very tired. This noise happened a few more times, so I thought I would sit up and see what was going on. I saw, much to my dis- like, that the older boys were initiating the new- comers by tipping their beds. I also perceived that they had started at the end of the lon'g'line with their punishment and were moving slowly toward my bed. I lay there, perspiration breaking out on me. I knew that my turn would come sooner or later. Every few minutes I heard that dooming crash, and I knew how it would sound and feel when I hit the floor. Again I raised my head. Only four more beds remained. As I gazed the fourth one went over, and there were only three left. I lay there quiet. Soon I knew, by the commo- tion, that there were only two, and then one left. The last followed the others soon. I trembled all over as I pulled the covers tight to me and braced myself with my hands on the sides of the bed. Just as I thought my turn had come, the lights were switched on and the stern master of discipline came in. He said, darting cold looks at the initia- tors, that there would be no more scenes tonight. Breathing a deep sigh of relief I fell back on my pillowesaved. --ANTHONY BAIER. Gag .5. ..;..E.GEE..5.5 a-ga-s-aarmwg 27 jogg-e-ee-ee-ee rGiG 3-3-9533 3'59? Page Forty-three

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f w x. yga-za-sp-s-a-s-s-zozosgijl EQCEEje-a-ch-cz-e-Ge-e-a-ca-c Smnmflakw SNOWFLAKE is a transparent crystal or a flake of ice. The question how snowflakes are formed is often asked by many people. A snowflake is made thus: When the temperature is below the freezing point, when the condensation of the moisture in the air takes place, the moisture will form in a great and wonderful variety of snowflakes. These crystals then float downward through the air very slowly and finally reach the ground. All snowflakes are shaped in a hexagonal de- sign. Some of these icy crystals are small, others are large. Perhaps a person may not think much of the beauty of a snowflake when he sees 'it lying on the ground or floating about in the air. If he closely observes these tiny flakes of ice when they are placed beneath a magnifying glass, he will see the immense beauty of them. There are at least a thousand different de- signs of snow crystals. Some have the shape of stars, some have the form of flowers, and others have the appearance of geometric designs. The whiteness of these hexagonal crystals is due to the reflection of light from their many facets. When the beams of the morning sun shine on them, they have the appearance of precious diamonds. Although there are millions and millions of these tiny crystals, we should fully appreciate their infinite beauty. -PAUL DOCKENDORFF. Emily 1hr Evatrnger HE heat on a Sunday afternoon in midsummer C'7compelled three friends and myself to take refuge in the cool waters of Lake Michigan. After swimming and diving for about an hour we left the water and lay down on the warm sand of the beach. Now we enjoyed the heat of the sun, for our bodies had become chilled by the cool water. As we lay there 011 the sand I noticed a dark ob- ject floating on the water about half a block from the shore. We thought it was a log and planned on having some fun with it. We had plenty of time, and felt rather lazy, so we de- cided to allow the log to float in to the shore in stead of swimming out after it. We commenced to talk of other things more interesting to us, and soon forgot about the log. After about twenty minutes of such talk I happened to glance toward the water and saw the waves rolling on the shore what we had thought was a log. I gave a yell and pointed at it; my companions rose to their feet with looks of hor- ror on their faces, for there, at our feet, lay the ghastly form of a dead man. He was an exeservice man, as the button on his dress suit implied, and was about thirty years old. A more sickening sight I hope I shall never see. He must have been in the water for about five days, for the parts of the body not con- cealed by the clothes were covered with a thick gray film. As he lay there on the shore, his open eyes stared coldly at the sky, and the water ran through his brown hair and into his nose and open mouth, and would slowly run out again as if the lake were coaxing him to embark again upon her broad expanse. We could easily discern that the man had not drowned, for his body was not bloated as is us ually the case, and the hole in his forehead, along with the black and blue marks around it, led us to draw the conclusion that he had been either shot or slugged. A crowd soon gathered, and one of their num- ber immediately left to summon a coroner. We, saddened by the ghastly sight we had beheld, turned from it and moved slowly away. -JOHN ASPEL, y27. 9 45.5.5. HGGE . . . '53-93-3-3QZ 1927 Emics-e-ee-e-ae-a-G-s Page Forty-two

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K $ N y33-3-3-3-3-3-3.3H33g61 ERCE :X Qe-a-e-e-cz-cz-aoz-cz-G-e-c minh, anlh mEmka s THERE. anything that can compare with the Q51 pleasures of hunting? No matter which phase of the sport you especially love, each has that indefinable and irresistible lure which leads men out of their cozy homes. It calls them either to the great duck marshes, when the huge rafts of ducks are trading from point to point in the teeth of a northwester, t0 the open fields on a hazy October day with gun and dog, or to the forest with its many-colored hardwoods and somber aisles of evergreens. If it is the duck marshes to which the lure is especially strong, it will be during that dense darkness which comes just before dawn, that you will crawl from between your warm blankets into a room crackling with frost. By the time you have wood cut for the fire, for the wood pile is usually small in the morning, your partner will have a steaming breakfast of bacon, eggs, bread, and hot coffee prepared. This being quickly dis- posed of, you don warm sweaters, hip boots and heavy, waterproof canvas coats. When the capa- cious yockets are filled with shells of various loads,- you pass out into the blustery night. The bottom of the hunting skiff is covered with wooden decoys, leaving just enough room for yourself and your partner. Within a half hourls hard rowing, you skid under the lee of a marshy point. When the wooden decoys have been anchored outethe mallards in one group, the canvas-bncks, bluebills and redheads in another- you pull your boat into the rushes and camou- flage it to harmonize with its surroundings. The sky is mottled with dark clouds skidding before the wind, and the horizon is swiftly brightening. The ducks are already trading, for you are startled by the sudden whistle of wings as ten teal-tiny cannon ballsepass over your head, flying with the wind. It is too late to shoot now, so you settle down again, and keep a sharp look- out. Your partner soon whispers, ttLook! right. You see a flock of canvasvbaeks quarter'ing against the wind, their wings and breasts flashing silver in the early morning light. A moment more and you both spring to your feet, the re- ports of the guns sounding simultaneously. Three lifeless bodies fall like plummets and float abreast 11p upon the heaving water. They, the vanguard of the southward flight, will lie there until there is a pause in the chain of birds. Then they will be gathered up as quickly as possible. In front, another flock is seen approaching. Again the guns roar, and two more join those Which lie upon the water. The flight goes on for several hours, and at the close ten birds complete your bag. You gather up the dead birds and decoys and then push the skiff out from its screen of rushes. You pick up the oars and have soon reached the cottage. After you have indulged in another hearty meal, stored the duffel, and locked the cottage, you start for the railroad. You will soon partake of another joy of hunt- ing, for when you beard the train and walk down the aisle, looking for a seat, you know that you are followed by many pairs of eyes, green with envy. You seem to have grown an inch taller, and your chest swells so that it threatens to burst your vest. -AMBR0SE MACKOWSKI. To the 6.3g- -ca---cz-e-cseg-G-a . ag-g-zo-s-zn'n-Ea-Ea-EbQZ 1927 ZWG-Ec-I-j;gg:a Page Forty-four