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

Page 9 text:

Rev. Lawrence Braceland S.J. TO OUR CENTENNIAL ALUMNI ALUMNAE Last year ' s survey of Paulinians indicates that there is a bond of interest here despite a variety of social, ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds. Consider for a moment the much greater variety of background discoverable in the estimated 2, 000, 000 alumni of Jesuit Colleges throughout the world. The mother tongue of a Jesuit alumnus may be any one of fifty: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Danish, English, French, German... and so on, through almost every letter of the alphabet. His social back¬ ground reflects the diversity of the class structures that are part of our human condition. Although most find their religious inspiration and belief in the teachings of Christ, many are Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, or Shinto in their beliefs. Some will say they no longer accept the religious teachings of their childhood, that they are secular humanists, or that they are still searching. What bond of interest exists in such a disparate group beyond the fact that they have attended a Jesuit or Jesuit college or university? Is there more than some external institutional stamp? There may have been some very close, or some very casual acquaintance with a Jesuit, or there may have been not even a passing word. Is the Jesuit alumnus alumna in search of an identity? Is the Paulinian no less in search of a goal? Jesuits, themselves, as all religious today, and their institutions, are making studies in depth of their own identity and image. Not to be out¬ dated, this updating is part of the AGGIORNAMENTO of the whole church in the turbulent crises of our times. But the Jesuit ideal, however imperfectly realized, draws its deepest motivation from the teaching of Cfirist and the guidance of the Catholic Church; its joy is to look on life as the quest for truth, goodness, and beauty; its goal is nothing less than the discovery of God in his world. Only in personal freedom, only with respect for the views and ideals of others, however divergent, can men carry on this quest. The Jesuit thing is no private possession of one particular order in the Church. Despite all our diversities, the quest for God in this world continues after one leaves these portals, long after the parchment fades. Your attempt to achieve intellectual honesty and personal commitment to the needs of our time, to the needs of others under God, indeed your pilgrimage along with so many diverse fellow-pilgrims, the people of God, is of the essence of your identity. It justifies the sacrifices made by yourself, your family and friends, the public and St. Paul ' s. Your brothers throughout the world await you, and one of them is Christ your Brother. L. Braceland Dean 5

Page 8 text:

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

Page 10 text:

It has been a rewarding experience being Lady Stick for St. Paul ' s College... 1969- ' 70. School years are the best years of our lives. We look back at our University career and see that university is an experience shared with many others. Both academics and students have helped make our years at uni¬ versity an intimate and meaningful experience. Because of our interaction with others we have become in part a product of these others, their ideas, and personalities. No man is an island-our individual growth and development is related to and shaped by our contacts with people. I shall recall a story I once heard to show how important and influential our relations with others are. An artist painted a picture of heaven and hell. Hell was shown as a large table covered with every kind of food and drink. Seated around the table were gaunt and miserable looking people. The people ' s arms were in splints and they could not bend down to reach the food. Now heaven was also shown as a table covered wi th food, but those seated around were happy and well fed. Why is this?-Because the people in hell tried but were unable to feed themselves, while those in heaven fed each other. But to us university not only means people, but also knowledge. If the knowledge and experience gained by our University career has been synthesized properly we shall be ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We are the future! It is up to us to endeavor to make the world a better place in which to live. Our lives and the challenges we face are not at an end, but, they are just commencing. We should remember the words of the late Sir Winston Churchill: This is not the end - this is not even the beginning of the end. But, it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. LINDA L. GERELUS 6