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

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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

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HELL. BY HER PRAYERS OUR LADY PERFECTLY EXPRESSED BOTH HER MASTERY OF OTHER CREATURES AND HER SUBJECTION TO THE MASTER OF ALL CREATION UNLESS SHE WERE MASTER NOT ONLY OF PHYSICAL THINGS BUT OF HER VERY SELF, SHE COULD NOT BOW HER HEAD OR BEND HER KNEESS TO DO THIS IS TO ISSUE ORDERS AND HAVE THEM OBEYED, FOR THE PERFECTION OF OBEDI- ENCE CONTAINED IN THOSE SUBLIME WORDS 'BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD,' MARY HAD FIRST TO BE IN COMMAND OF HERSELF, TO BE MASTER, INDEED, TO PRAY AT ALL IS T0 TAKE ON OUR PROPER WORK OF HELPING OURSELVES IN THE MORAL ORDERS IT DEMANDS A MASTERY IMPERVI- OUS TO COWARDICE WITH ITS SLINKING EVASION OF LIFE. DN THE OTHER HAND, A PRAYER, ANY PRAYER, IS AT ONCE A FULL GESTURE OF THE CREA- TUREIS SUBJECTION TO THE CREATORo SINCE THE APPARITIONS AT FATIMA IN I9I7, THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST SIX THOROUGHLY AUTHENTICATED AND ECCLESIASTICALLY APPROVED SERIES OF APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY. IN ALL OF THEM THE URGENT MES- SAGE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD HAS BEEN! nPRAY, PRAY MUCH, PRAY THE ROSARY.' SINCE IQI7 THE DEFIANCE OF MEN HAS MOUNTED T0 SUCH A TERRIFYING CRESCENDO THAT NOW IT IS ALMOST AN INSULT TO MANIS DIG- NITY TO SUGGEST THAT HE PRAY. THESE ARE NOT UNCONNECTED. IT IS BY TRUTH THAT MEN LIVE, BY DENIAL OF TRUTH THAT MEN DIE. IT IS BY TRUTH THAT WE, THE SENIOR CLASS OF I950, CAN GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND BRING THE MESSAGE OF LIFE, THE TRUE LIFE OF PRAYER BY OUR SIN- CERE EXAMPLE. LET US NEVER BY DENIAL OF THIS TRUTH FAIL OUR ALMA MATER. --JOANN BAROUSSE ? 5