St Michaels High School - Crusader Yearbook (Crowley, LA)

Page 39 text:

PRAYER 'S REASONS THE PRAYERFUL VIRGIN OF OBSCURE NAZARETH ACKNOWLEDGED HERSELF THE HANDMAID, THE SLAVE, OF THE LORD AND BECAME GOD'S MOTHER AND THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN. THE DEFIANT LUCIFER, HIGHEST OF ALL THE ANGELS, SET HIMSELF UP AS THE ADVERSARY OF GOD AND MEN AND IS THE MOST PUNISHED OF ALL THE MISERABLE IN HELL. OUR LADY ROSE FROM THE LOWLINESS OF WHICH THE WMAGNIFICATN SINGS TO THE HEIGHTS OF HEAVEN, LUCIFER CRASHED FROM THE HEIGHTS OF CREATED PERFECTION TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL. AT STAKE IN BOTH CASES WAS THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH THAT THE CREATURES TO WHOM GOD GAVE INTELLIGENCE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. WE, WHO ARE LEAVING STo MICHAEL'S TONIGHT, ALSO HAVE OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. OUR PLACE IS IN THE UNIVERSE, NOT BEYOND OR ABOVE IT AS LUCIFER WOULD HAVE IT, MAKING HIMSELF LIKE UNTO GOD. LET US NOTICE THAT IT IS A PLACE. THERE IS, THEN, SOME- THING BENEATH US AND SOMETHING ABOVE USS WE ARE A PART OF THE UNIVERSE WHICH HAS GOD FOR ITS MAKER. IF THAT IS TRUE, WE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT UNTO OURSELVESS WE DO NOT STAND OUT IN SPLENDID ISOLA- TION SEASTING THE ABSOLUTE INDEPENDENCE THAT CAN BE TRUE ONLY TO GOD. WE NEED HELP ON THE DOUBLE COUNT OF BEING UNDER GOD AND EVER THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE3 THERE ARE THINGS TO DO, GOALS TO REACH FOR, ENEMIES TO CONQUER ON A SCALE FAR BEYOND OUR SOLITARY EFFORTS. YET OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE IS OUTSTANDING. ALONE OF ALL GOD'S CREATURES WE WALK WITH STEPS THAT ARE OUR OWN, RESPONSIBILITY COLORS EVERY WAKING MOMENTS WE HAVE THE GLORIOUS PRIVILEGE OF SUB- JECTION, YET CAN, IF WE WILL DESTROY OURSELVES, HURL OUR DEFIANCE EVEN INTO THE FACE OF GOD. WE ARE MASTERS, MASTERS NOT ONLY IN THE PHYSICAL ORDER BUT IN THE MORAL ORDER, JUST AS WE MUST USE OUR HANDS AND FEET, OUR EYES AND EARS T0 HELP OURSELVES OR SUFFER PHYSICAL EXTINCTION, SO WE MUST USE OUR INTELLECT AND WILL IN THE MORAL ORDER OR GO DOWN TO MISERABLE DEFEAT FROM SHEER REFUSAL TO HELP 0URSELVESn IN BOTH ORDERS WE MUST USE THE INSTRUMENTS GIVEN T0 US AS GOD'S OUTSTANDING CREATURES, IN THE PHYSICAL ORDER, THE INSTRUMENTS ARE PLAINS IN THE MORAL ORDER, OUR CHIEF INSTRUMENT IS PRAYER. - BY PRAYER WE ARE NOT ATTEMPTING T0 CHANGE THE WILL OF GOD BUT TO FULFILL IT. WE ARE NOT MERELY ASKING FAVORSQ WE ARE HELPING OURSELVES, FOR PRAYER IS NO LESS TRULY A CAUSE OF THE THINGS WE HOPE EOR FROM IT THAN FEEDING OURSELVES IS A CAUSE OF NOURISHMENTU IN OTHER WORDS, THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH OF OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE FINDS OUTWARD EXPRESSION, OR OUTWARD DENIAL, IN THE GES- TURES OF PRAYER OR IN THEIR ABSENCEQ THE PRAYER OF THE LADY MARY AND THE DEFIANCE OF THE BEARERDOF LIGHT HAVE MUCH MORE THAN AN INCIDENTAL CONNECTION WITH THE HEIGHTS OF HEAVEN AND THE DEPTHS OF