St Francis Preparatory School - San Fran Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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we PAGE Zl THE FACULTY 1 The Truth will make you free. This means that real liberation comes from the knowledge of the purpose and destiny of man. As students of St. Francis Prep, your entire academic life has been woven around this fundamental prin- ciple. You have had the freedom to choose not blindly and without motives, but among mo- tives, the moral principles of your Christian life, the values in your secular studies, in your physical and social life. There has been a de- velopment of insight, of understanding, of the power of discrimination and of the ability to think and act in ways that distinguish man from all the lower forms of creation. You have been awakened spiritually, without which awaken- ing, no person can be said to be educated, however much he knows. To appreciate fully however, the academic freedom you have enjoyed, it is well to consider briefly those students, who enjoy the illusion of academic freedom. lt is their lot to follow a program of studies, which they elect in their immature fashion, for the shortest and easiest route to a diploma. Superficially, this election of a curriculum appears to be a sound demo- cratic and free process. Actually it represents an act of choice by an unprepared and purpose- less mentality. Again, the same students are subjected to a system of pedagogy in which methods and techniques of instruction are gods in themselves, Their instructors are so absorbed with statistics and measurements that they have little time for the basic values in their specific course of study. With the realization therefore that you have enjoyed an academic freedom under God, in which your dignity and purpose as men were respected, may we send you forth with the words of our Lord to initiates in the moral and mental Life: Friend, go up higher!

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QQQ l l L - 'W in i :V. , is , F ill H-if' --....,,,,- -1--.Q ---.i,,, Freedom and Franciscanism The life of Saint Francis was a life of Charity, Humility and Love. l-le was a simple man by his own choice. Born of wealthy parents, with riches and fame his birthright, Francis chose to live closer to his God by practicing self- denial and by dedicating himself to the task of aiding others. This example has been the guid- ing light of your training here at St. Francis Prep. Four years of Franciscanism have shown you your place in this world and particularly in this country. The years have shown you the spirit by which you are to live in society- ready to help those in need-willingly giving of your resources and time to others, to a right- eous cause, to the preservation of Freedom. lt is the last of which l would like to make par- ticular mention. Freedom has been defined by so many-evaluated by many more. But, would Freedom of any kind exist without the virtues of Charity and Love? ls it possible for man to respect man, defend his principles, or simply live as a free man without Charity in his heart? No, the very idea of harmony so necessary to freedom and so much in contrast to license , necessitates that peace, its goal, stem from men of good will. St, Francis was good will, as he was the personification of so very many virtues Who, or what better example might we seek? What set of norms would better satisfy the quest for harmony that freedom seeking people must make, than the life of Francis. His life is a rule in itself-his Rule the simplification table for us to adopt that we may live harmoni- ously. Love thy neighbor , ls this not neces- sary before we can respect our neighbor's rights and appreciate his freedom so that we might enjoy a freedom of our own? Selfless consider- ations, born of a real humility as Francis has taught us, are necessary should we ever expect to be free while on earth and exalted after death. l00H3S 3H1 ElElVd Ll

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lt is another inalienable right of all free men that they freely choose their profession, change it when they so desire and pursue another. Guided by the wisdom of his elders, his own experience and the experience of others, his education and informal training, his talents and his personal desires, the free man makes his own decision to enter the field of his choice. And that is where you stand today, son, on the brink of an important decision. But, take time to consider how fortunate you and all American youth are today, that such a decision is your own. Throughout most of the world, one of two fates befall the boy your age. One, if he has been fortunate to receive an education such as yours, he must realize it is to stop right there. No further institutions are open to him in many cases or his family's standard of living makes it prohibitive for him to even consider further education. You may say that many an American boy faces an economic problem that demands his going to work immediately after high school. This is true, but the difference lays in the fact that he may continue his studies. Evening and night college courses are offered to him by public institutions-Saturday courses and convenient hours during the week are only some of his advantages. Should he choose to go to work, must he traditionally follow his father's trade? Not in America, but the father and son rule is unfortunately true in so many other countries. But even more important, he is not regimented in a so-called Youth Organ- ization and forced to work in the field or in a munitions plant or a mine. Yes, this is true of those countries behind the iron curtain-either that or serve in the armed forces- not much choice there. All this is the result of philoso- phy that holds that the individual exists for the State. Of course this is not new to you-Mr. Reilly and Mr. Donovan have told you of it in their History and Economics courses and Father Redmond and Father Holzheimer have shown the fallacies and viciousness of Communism to you in the Religion classes. Now, on the positive side of the ledger, in this country am- bition and industry are rewarded in a much dif- ferent economic system. Man adopts his life work as I mentioned before. Happier in his job, he is more successful at it. lt's this very same freedom of choice that has gained so many varieties of work for man in America. The entrepreneur isn't stifled--he can build his mousetrap or his limousine and start his business and hire his men and a new industry is born. American ingenuity and business acu- men and the desire to better oneself are all the outgrowth of this freedom. Now, lt's your turn to make this choice. Thank God you can. Pray and work to preserve this freedom. SEl1Vlllllltlll ElH1 li! EIEIVQI