St Joseph Commercial High School - Parmentier Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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Greetings IGHT Reverend Monsignori, Reverend Fathers, beloved members of the Faculty, dear parents, relatives, and friends: We have met here this evening to participate in one of the greatest moments of high school life, the culmination of our intellectual endeavors to attain success. In behalf of the Class of 1940, it is my pleasure and privilege to greet you on this auspicious occasion. Your presence has added much to our joy and taken away a little of the sorrow which is always present at the parting of the ways . . . The time has come when we must leave the sheltering walls of school and home and take upon ourselves the obligation of responsibility. Now we must consider the world in its length and breadth, the many races of men, their random achievements and accomplishments, the disappointments of life, the dreary, hopeless lack of religion, the condition of all humanity-all this is a vision which is too appalling. We need not fear these things, however, for we have been well-prepared to meet and overcome every obstacle in all phases of life. Though we are all anxious to draw aside the curtain of the future and to soar to great heights of fame, fortune and success, we realize, through the medium of our education and our ventures into the field of literature, that life is not a mere battle for success, but a struggle of ideas, of culture against ignorance, of civilization against barbarism. It is a contest between two orders, between the material organization of the world and the Christian ideal based on spiritual faith and animated by Charity. The triumph of such an ideal in a world that seems governed only by material forces and distracted by hatred and greed may seem a fantastic dream. But in history, .it is often the incredible that happens. We offer our deepest and most grateful appreciation to our beloved parents who have made heroic sacrihces, not asking the cost, to see us protected during our forma- tive years. At the present time, the world is impatiently waiting to test our ability, our courage and our Faith-and you, dear parents, have helped to prepare us for this test in more ways than you can imagine. You have contributed to our strength and fortitude, patience and understanding-the weapons with which we are armed for the battle of life and for which we shall be everlastingly thankful. To the revered members of the Faculty, we are not going to bid farewell, nor use mere words to offer our thanks, but we shall pray that all their efforts to make us model 'Catholic women will be engraved in gold in the great Book of Life. Our one great ambition is to prove ourselves worthy of all the priceless gifts that have been showered upon us by our loved ones. We shall strive to achieve our goal in order to show our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have extended a helping hand along our road to success. Through the years we shall often call to mind these words of the poet Wordsworth: To humhler functions, awful Power! I call thee: I, myself, commend Unto Thy guidance from this hour, O let my weakness have an end. Give unto me, made lowly-wise The spirit of self-sacrifice, The Confidence of reason, give, And in the light of Truth, Thy hondman let me live . . . In conclusion, let me express the hope that 'all who are present with us this evening will cherish the memory of this momentous occasion, as we who are graduating will always carry it in our hearts as a symbol of friendship and love to inspire us. MILDRED HIGGINS '40. 1 Olga.-

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Pprecicljcion It is with deep appreciation that tbe Class of Nineteen-forty gratefully ac- knowledge tlae kindly interest and generous co-operation of our patrons, subscribers, students, members of tloe Faculty and all who in any way con- tributed to the successful edition of our initial Year Book. THE PARMENTIER OF 1940 ....gf121g....-