St Ignatius High School - Ignatian Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

Page 8 text:

Although this test must be accomplished by every student, he is given more than enough help. Everyone at Ignatius is given the opportunity to experience Ignatius life. More importantly students are listened to after the experience. Take a look around you. If you miss the Ignatius experience, you have no one to blame but yourself. It is here. It is now, It surrounds you. There is no way of escaping it. If you fight it, you are lost. Move with it, not against it. Experience the world around you. Become a part of it. Work with it, not against. And then become a part of it. For in reality it is you. Don't doubt your part, be ready to become an Ignatian. It is not an easy process, but look to those who care, and see that it is worth the sacrifice. For with the completion of the Ignatian growth process one truth stands above all others: “I am necessary! It is this emphasis on the necessity of the individual that makes the Ignatius experience unique. When we feel good about ourselves, we are able to care for others, and in caring for others we can't help but grow. Through the experience of caring we are commited to grow. Conversely, if we are unwilling to grow, then the experience of the moment, as well as the experience of life itself, becomes meaningless. We must strive for meaning in all we do. If we cannot find meaning in our experience at Ignatius it is only because we do not feel we are a part of the community. Only through acceptance of the opportunity for growth in the Ignatius experience can we fully become members of this Christian community. This citizenship in the community of Ignatius proclaims to those in the school, as well as to those outside Ignatius, that we are a part of a continual search for meaning, love, and life. We are thus tied with the past and the future, as well as with the present.

Page 10 text:

We are links in a distinct chain of history which grows just as we do. We become a microcosm of the macrocosm. We are the men of Ignatius. We are a distinct unit in the family of man. Our community is unique. There never was, is not, nor ever will be another Saint Ignatius High School. Although the solid tradition of Ignatius is ever present, the community is always looking to grow, to become new. External as well as internal growth is necessary if the Ignatius experience is to survive. Projects recently undertaken by the community in both the areas reflect a deep commitment to insure that the Ignatius experience, above all others, will survive. Survival is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The Ignatius spirit must reflect an awareness and commitment: We must all be a part of the total growing experience. It is up to us as students to do our part to see that stagnation does not occur. We owe at least this much to the community that has shown life to us. Because of this school all of us have grown in a way that we never would have imagined had we never entered this world set apart from the world through Christian love. We have been shown the value of self-denial and have been urged to act accordingly. We have been encouraged to find ourselves, but not by just sitting back and asking Who am I? We have been challenged to find ourselves by not looking for ourselves. We have found ourselves by looking for others. Through our dying we have seen the life inside of ourselves. Our desire for life never ends, just as the process of becoming an Ignatian is open-ended. It parallels the development of a mature Christian. We grow through experience.