St Francis Xavier Academy - Gateway Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 18 text:

We Wald in the light of Cgdaitlz Our high school career has come to an end and we face the world-a world filled with crime and deceit. But the Catholic graduate has learned to walk courageously by the light of faith. Faith is not feeling. It is a greatness of mind which accepts blindly revelations of God. How happy this wonderful gift makes us. How fortunate we are to know God! This gift in itself makes life so much easier and understandable. At times the road of life will be bumpy, but what laudable goal is obtained without some degree of hardship? The Faith with which we have been blessed shines on those spots that demand wary walking. There will be moments of distress and uncertainty but Faith innately will help us to triumph. Faith gives more security, more courage, more peace of mind and heart, more consideration for our fellow man. Our days have passed in seeking God's help and approbation. We are anxious to pass on this great gift to others. Not only our words, but our deeds, should be invitations to taste and see that the Lord is sweet. The culmination of a life lived according to these precepts of Faith is peace and contentment. Life with its difficulties and hardships will be a thing of the past. We will be happy when we come to the end of the long hard road, for we shall have reached our goal. JOAN O'MALLEY 5 -X-'fb 4 g 14 Cum

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love oaglzts tlze Wag .K Truly, love is the beacon light . - guiding man to his divine des- . tiny. God has created us out of , s love and He has sustained us through love. Real charity is as i the sun, radiant centre which streams forth on all sides the bright rays of divine truth which reveal God to man. Life is a Divine Romance with an eternity of love as its reward. Love is an endless creative process, it is also an endless voy- age of discovery. It is the spirit which delies the world with its maze of hypocrisies and vast expanse of unhappiness. The path of life is a labor of love, the conception of man and his yearning for a home whose doors are always open with welcome, these all preach charity. The foundation of Chris- tianity is based on love of God and of neighbor. If, during life, we turn to love we shall forget to be grasping because we shall desire to serve the world, rather than ourselves. But love is not entirely receiving, to be complete it must be infused with the thought of ever giving and sharing. Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not covet. These vices are not mere deprivations to help build character. Rather, they are forbidden because they are wrong, they hurt those with whom we should be living in harmony and love. They merely are small aids in keeping the greater affirmative law-That shalt love. Yes, we shall love through the care of the sick, the instruction of the ignorant and the burial of our dead. Outwardly these things are simple but to the true Christian they are the fulfillment of the law of love. Charity alone shall light the way to the solution of all the problems confronting us today. Intolerance, international discord and domestic trials, in all their con- fusion and perplexity, shall give way to a happy world if the correct path is chosen. Turn to God, directed by the beacon light of love, for In Him there is life, and the life is the light of men. ELLEN CASEY 16