St Henry High School - Trojan Yearbook (Charleston, MO)

Page 9 text:

Dear Students, We were happy to hear' the announcement that a new parish was to be established by Father Rau at East Prairie. With equal joy we re- ceived the information that the new parish would be named for St. Mary Goretti, the Virgin lhriqrr. In St. Mary Goretti children and youth the world over, but par- ticularly in the New and Mother Parishes, have an extraordinary pa- troness and model. She is the modern Martyr of Purity, the one who has brought back into our century the moral integrity and purity, the piety and love of God, the obedience to authority, the patience and fortitude in suffering which adorned the lives of the youthful mrtyrs of ancient Rome -- Agnes, Agatha, Cecilia, Pancratius, and Tarcisius. St. lhry Goretti did not have the advantages of modern educa- tion. Her parents were extremly poor. Living in a poverty-strick- en area of Italy the family could scarcely provide the 'bare neces- sities of life. There was no opportunity for schooling. Neverthe- less, this child grew in wisdom and grace before God and nan. Un- der the guidance of holy parents she daily drank deep of the knowl- edge of religion. From day to day she grew in the lcncwrledge of God, of Our Lord Jesus, of wry, Virgin Mother of God, of Holy Mother Church. She learned and loved the highest wisdom, the art of living as alchild of God. So well did she learn that the lack of fornnl schooling was no hindrance to her receiving her First Holy Communion with other children of her age. From the human point of view she had no advantages. Yet she achieved the greatest possible success. She became a Saint. Living today dennnds heroism. Our American youth is proving itself equal to the task of the field of battle, on the high seas, in the air. But youth must prove its metal also in the battle for Christian Morality. The Mystery of Iniquity' is using every means to undermine the chastity of Youth. In this battle Catholic Youth has a new leader in St. lhry Goretti who feared not the murderous lmife of her lustful admirer but courageously defended her virgini- ty, preferring death rather than the loss' of the beautiful jewel of purity. ' my all our students lift up their minds and hearts to study and emulate the life of lhry Goretti. Her life is a thrilling sto- ry. It is a story which God Himself has fashioned to thrill and to challenge the Youth of today. ' Jai. 95

Page 11 text:

EXCELSIOR! In these days of higher prices, higher taxes, higher explosives, the word Nhigher' seems to take on an unpleasant connotation because it is so often used in connection with things that cost us something in money, effort, or even in lives. And yet the word has always de- manded its toll because it is naturally harder to go up than down. But the degree of unpleasantness in paying the cost depends largely on the worth, or our appreciation of the worth, of that higher some- thing for which we are striving. You, the Graduates of St. Henry's High School, have completed a phase of your higher education, and for you too this has meant a cost, both to your parents and to yourselves, in sacrifice and ef- fort. Both you and they deserve congratulations on the day of Grad- uation for your attainment of a higher place in the realms of knowl- edge. You new know more about the laws of physics, formulas of chemistry, equations of mathematics, than you did four years ago. But your knowledge of these and other allied subjects alone has not given you a higher education in the true sense of the word. Along with them you were taught the knowledge of laws and given ideals far beyond the natural. You were given the opportunity to learn with more mature minds to know, love, and serve God in this life, in or- der to enjoy eternal happiness in the next. And this part of your education, truly the higher part, you will cherish more and more as you venture forth into a world that is dividing itself more definite- ly than ever before into two groups between which there can be cer- tainly no compromise, the Godly and the Godless. You have no reason to fear the future provided you guard and nurture your priceless her- itage of Faith. To do this you must never compromise with the Godless, lose hope with the hopeless, nor surrender with the cowardly. Your goal is up- ward, not downward. Therefore, whatever your aspirations or ambitions in life may be, your motto should always be: Excelsior! Higher in in- tention, higher in motive, higher in unselfishness, than the Godless who have no God to draw them upward, the hopeless whose trust lies shattered among the broken promises of meng the cowardly, unwilling to pay the price of courage. Your happiness in life will depend en- tirely upon the direction in which you seek your goal, up or down, an idea rather well expressed by a modern poet: Two men looked through their prison bars The one saw mud, the other stars.