St Marys Academy - Chimes Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Info lbe Heaifenf Our Lady did rixe, From tbir our earlb up info .fbe Jkiex, Sbe amended to beaoen, body and foul, To Ibal abode wbicb if ezferyone'1 goal. Tbrougb all lbe reniufief, in every land, To all Jbe bas given a belping band, ln .rorroug in pain, in woe and in rare, We bumbly Jeek ber, our Motber mov fair. Merrifzzlly kind Jbe ever will be, Obtaining fazforf for you and for me Oh Heazfenir Brigbl Sfar, Our Queen of Peace. By ufboxe inlerreuion, we pray, wan will ceaie. And ye! onto more to !bi,r earth .rbe will mme, Holding lbe band of ber beloved Son, Calling uf all lo voine to ber Jide, To rife with ber and in Heaven abide. Mary A. Kenny, '53 ' welwsfwk Q L A., . ,af S Q. v. .f -W 3: ,MA41 1 ' . ,M .v,,, -'-,L H., f ' 4' 19 l tex in by fl --lif ki -'X .2-am., , ,. Mae fda ,mf

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y Way of I TRODUCTIO 4' AM THE GHOST of the school year past. A rather literate ghost at that, for you see I, too, was once a writer. Short stories, poems, essays and dramas flowed off my pen in the twinkling of an eye. I don't do much writing nowadays, it is too hard to obtain the necessary material where I am stationed. Nevertheless, I take a great interest in everyone else's work. Take these following pages, for instance. My fellow cadavers and I perused them carefully those long winter months and now pronounce them thor- oughly delightful. We are most interested in the Seniors' contributions, for after four years of drill on literary forms, they are sure to respond with several masterpieces. What caught my eye first was that clever story by Virginia Gilligan. Perhaps you didn't know, but I am on a speaking acquaintance with Angel 5x40cl, a very good fellow. I can predict a great future for that voluminous writer, Marie Louise Ritchotte. Being a tramp myself, at heart, you can guess which of her pieces I enjoyed most. Mary Lou Brann's story made me realize the heartaches that the lighting men must endure. What a versa- tile girl that joan Greipp is! Writing both prose and poetry doesn't' phase her. After reading Nancy O'Connor's article on cheerleading. I can't refrain from giving a few Hurrahs in praise of the editor's contributions. I hope you will all heed the points which Patricia Hartsough and jane Rafferty brought out in their editorial. Since many of my own literary attempts appeared in the Ghost's Gazette, I was overjoyed with the report of their interview with Mr. Slocum. Pat I-Iartsough's story was splendidly done and I hope you didn't miss the moral. Jane would have us believe that she can't draw, judging from her I heard lhe trailing garmenli of the nighz, Ar I .mt in my quiet naohf I .raw her taurh with while moonlight, The freer heride the bf00k. humourous essay. Well take it from me-she can't! Don't miss the quartet of essays on the Seasons written by the hard working senior members of the literary staff. I know Margaret Rohach's favorite time of the year. Perhaps it is the absence of school worries that she enjoys most during that season. The senior poems were excellent, Marie Louise Ritchotte, Kathleen Masse, joan Smith and joan Greipp would have given Keats and Shelley quite a scare if those famous 19th century masters were still living. In the junior class, that peerless peregrinator, Jeanine Pasquariello enthralled me with the accounts of her interesting trip abroad. That Our Lady should never be by-passed is clearly illu- strated by Catherine Miralles. The humourous essays by Phyllis Beggin and Kathleen Branco lightened many a blue Monday for me. The sole junior poet, Patricia McKenna, inspired me with her tribute to the Blessed Mother. The sophomores are not to be outdone either. Joan Donnelly and Claire Knapp are both poets and story tellers. Mary Alice Kenny's poem on the Assumption is particularly timely for this is the year of the proclamation of the dogma. I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw how well the freshmen were represented. Doris Cooke, that experienced equestrienne, gave me quite a treat with her beautifully descriptive essay. I hope that Betty Peileke keeps her sense of humour despite any injuries sustained on the hockey fieldl Also, may Theresa Smith soon reconcileherself to the new T.V. set. Well, it's getting dark now, and you all know that we spirits are busiest during the evening hours. Until next year- Adieu! I .ww the deer come down to drink, On the hunk of the liztle Jtream: The owl in the tree Jeemed deeply In think, For he hooted :wire in my dream. Marie Louise Ritrhatle, '51

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Progress and World Peace WEBSTER DEFINES progress simply as a step forward, a brief definition but a mean- ingful one. Modern man, with all his marvelous inventions, feels certain that he has indeed made progress. With the advent of the Atomic Age have come amazing discoveries in medicine and other allied fields. New wonder drugs such as penicillin, streptomycin, and aureomycin have relieved some of the formerly incurable ailments of mankind. The door to atomic power, hailed by some as a Saviour of mankind and by- others as a diabolical machination, has been unlocked. The assembly line, as originated by Henry Ford, has greatly accelerated the output of manufactured goods. These and other examples are cited as proof that our age is indeed an age of progress. Yet, if one takes a closer look at the facts, it seems that for every step forward that man takes materially, he takes two steps backwards spiritually. Never before in history has the whole world been so morally decadent. Countries once Christian- France, for example-have crumbled because moral values have been discarded. In place of them man has adopted a code of mores or cus- toms that he has changed to suit his own individual needs. Divorce, an almost unheard of thing a century ago, is now tolerated and even advised on the flimsiest of grounds. So-called mercy killings are now considered humane practices. Slowly but surely, man is attempting to usurp rights which belong to God This he labels Progress. In trying to adjust himself to this changing world, man has formulated and furthered the growth of certain political and religious idealogies. The most powerful ones are the three isms -- Fascism, Nazism, and Communism. The first two have been conquered by democratic nations but the third has continued to grow and to grasp more and more nations in its deadly grip. Begun as a small movement, it has taken hold of the masses with a speed comparable only to the beginnings of the Christian religion. But where Christianity has raised the dignity of man to a level never previously reached, Communism has crushed it to a point where it is barely recognizable. Com- JANE RAFFERTY, '51 Par Hanrsoucx-r, '51 munism is a doctrine which is basically opposed to every thing that Americans believe in. Only now are the people of democratic countries beginning to combat it. How? Invariably, the method proposed is war. Nations seem to regard war as a universal panacea for the illnesses of the world. Yet, it appears that all the wars of history have not succeeded in bringing about that much desired elusive end-peace. In 1914, we entered a war which the President promised would safe- guard the world against all further attacks. What did it accomplish? Nothing. Did it bring about peace and security? No, for approximately twenty- five years later, the same country that we had conquered waged another war. Again we were victorious. As the popular saying goes, We won the war, but we lost the peace. Again today, the whole world is in the same muddled condition. On June 25, 1950, the United Nations made a decision to defend Korea. This move will have very serious repercussions. We offer as a perfect solution the greatest ism' of all-Catholicism. The cry for Catholic action is loud. More Christophers are needed to bear Christ's name to the waiting world. The fields of television, radio, journalism, politics and various others are wide open for new ideas, ideas that will raise man again to the dignity he first possessed. Who can do this better than those who know and abide by the moral law? Because of the great influence television bears on fascinated men, women, and children, what better opportunity is there to present Christian ideals than through this medium? But as we click that little knob what appears? Cowboys, murder stories, and variety shows. Nowadays, children, instead of playing house, imitate murderers. Is it any wonder so many people are mentally deranged and war- loving? Yes, this mechanism has its many dis- advantages but at a closer view it is not wholly bad. Perhaps by showing good example and knit- ting the family closer together it may aid in solv- ing some of the many world problems. Another field that has taken as many steps backward as forward is that of literature. The Church has led the way to culture and has num-