St Pauls College - Paulinian Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Father Burke-Gaffney once made a speech in which he said: The Rector is a friend to everyone. A few days later in class he announced that his family name came about only because the Sheep Stealing Championship of Ireland in 1703 ended in a tie and a Burke married a Gaffney to keep the trophy in one piece. A glance at the annals of his distinguished family shows that Father was only joking about his illustrious light-fingered ancestors, but he was certainly not joking about being a friend to everyone. In his days at St. Paul’s Father Burke-Gaffney was a friend to the faculty, the student council, and to all the students. For those lucky enough to have had him as a professor, he was a constant source of encouragement and inspiration. The difference between Father Burke-Gaffney and most other professors was that with him it was never if you do your PhD but When... Today, a very common expression in the graduate trailors is: Ifit weren ' t for Father Burke-Gaffney, I wouldn ' t be here now. Father Burke-Gaffney joined the Society of Jesus in 1939 and With Lynn Cook and her date at Grad. 1968 since that time he has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments ... but then he is an impressive man. While in Winnipeg, he received a government appointment to the Council of Higher Learning in Manitoba, was a member of the university senate and was an active member of both the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission and the Priest ' s Council of Winnipeg. But above all... he was a friend to everyone at the college. The members of the Paulinian staff wish to dedicate this yearbook to Father Burke- Gaffney as a small expression of gratitude for everything he has done for the students of St. Paul ' s. Presenting Theology Award to L. Paterson 1968 Receiving Chapel Communion Service from Mr. and Mrs. Clemens Briskie. At Awards Day presentations with Bob Dunn 3

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Very Rev. Desmond P. Burke-Gaffney S.J. Rector Saint Paul ' s College 1964 to 1969 2

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IRectin ' t Tfteuaye Rev. John E. Page S. J. It ' s three years since you began your university studies at St. Paul’s. The world looks different to you now after the exposure you have had to many enriching experiences, many days of joy and disappointment, many uncertainties and doubts. Along with the learning you gained from lectures and books there have doubtless been moments of exhilaration. But now you move another important step forward--in years gone by it was conventional to suggest that the years of College HAD PREPARED you for life. I don ' t think we would be wise so to speak today. Life is always a beginning again. Each day marks a new challenge to which we bring the gains of the past. It is good now to go into what we call the work-a-day world with the information and knowledge gained these few years at St. Paul ' s. The goal is to grow in wisdom, which means to acquire an increasing measure of knowledge AND experience, the melding of which is attained through a process of reflection and prayer, a blending of the output of mind and heart in the milieu of God ' s grace. Our world needs men and women of wisdom and a great, generous spirit of sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the coinage we must pay for growth in wisdom, for self-fulfillment, even. It must not be confused with grimness because self- sacrifice is also the stuff of play, of loving. Your brief acquaintance with some of the knowledge of our civilization ho pefully sees you now in a more enlightened awareness of how little you really know, of how little all of us collectively know. We grasp a ltttle more realistically the vast mystery of human life and of the great universe we live in. In the words of Psalm 8, we are in awe of our God who made us, so little and yet withal so precious to him. Above all then, as you go forth, be filled with gratitude for what you have received at University. Life is only beginning. Let us trust in life because we do not have to live through it alone. God is with us. John E. Page S. J. 4