Ursuline Academy - Traces Yearbook (San Antonio, TX)

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A CHRISTMAS PRESENT I LL ALWAYS REMEMBER Rama Kay Urbanek Class of 60 My father has been statroned overseas for three years We knew he wouldn t be back for Chrrstmas this year but we strll hoped and prayed It was the nrght before Chrrstmas and there were tears rn everyone s eyes We had prayed and prayed that our father would be here for Chrrstmas because rt Just drdn t seem lrke Chrrstmas wrthout hrm I re member the phone rrngmg At frrst no one seemed to hear rt then my mother got up and answered rt It was a call from my father' l-low long we had sat there wartrng to hear hrs vorce' We all got to talk to hrm and he sard he wrshed he were here He was glad to be able to talk to us but he wanted to see us and be near us Oh how that hurt because we wanted to see and be near hrm too Then he explarned rn hrs lovrng way that wherever we are he rs strll near us Hrs thoughts always have us m them Then he told us about a man who had a wrfe and srx chrldren krlled Thrs poor man drdn t have anyone to cele brate Chrrstmas wrth hrm he had no famrly no rela trves no one How lonely thrs man must have felt we told our father Father then sard that thrs man wasn t lonely for he knew that hrs chrldren and wrfe were always near hrm and that someday he would Jorn them Thrs story made us feel much better even rf fath er wasn t wrth us in person he would be there rn sprrrt We all went to bed feelrng that a huge brrck had been lrfted off us That mornrng when we awakened we all ran to the Lhrrstmas tree There standrng by the Chrrstmas tree was our father' He sard that the Arr Force had grven hrm a special leave When we asked about the phone call he sard that he thought rt would be a nrcer present to surprrse us today rnstead of yesterday How rrght he was' Thrs rs one Chrrstmas present l ll always remember AN OUTDOOR CONCERT Rosarro E Navarro Class of 59 It was a lovely mrdsummer nrght Elrzabeth felt wonderful and full of vrbrant nature She drd look beautrful rn her whrte organdy dress 'I'he rmmacu late materral was flowmg and full length Yes Elrzabeth was beautrful as was the srlvery twrlrght around her serene celestral and fresh Berng rn the mood to be wrth the beautrful nature about her she walked toward a bench not far away She purposely dragged her feet for a whrle then lrfted them lettrng the trp of her feet touch the ground first Her skirt whrch was flowrng about her could be heard swrshrng now and then among the trps of the grass Once rn a whrle the heel of her shoes would srnk deep rnto the soft soft grass grvrng her an un frxed balance When she reached the bench she drd not srt on She sat on the cool grass She then warted for the concert It began one two the crrckets were masters of ceremonres The grasshoppers fol as sopranos The gentle cypresses were the seconds The robrn the barnswallow and the lrttle chrck a dee were the accompanrsts The scratching and chrrprng of the squrrrel and the flappmg of the bats flyrng past the trees were cymbals Louder and louder the chestra played faster and faster rn a crescendo of sound Then all was srlenced quret quret Cro ak' Who' Who' Cro ak' Who! Who' The artists the masters were now to solo The ro rn the pond sang frrst rn a hoarse and deep vorce Then followed the owl yes even the owl wrth hrs deep hootrng vorce Who' Whoooo' Then the two barrtones combrned tnto duet and sang wrth the maddenrng srlence They gave Elrza beth an outdoor concert They sang to her The sweetest song of summer . 1 1 Q it. ' ' . During the War the m3D'S wife and children were lowed with the soft run of the wind among the willows , . . . - , or- , . . . . . . ' U . f g

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HEALTHIER, HOLIER, HAPPIER THE THREE H PLAN Margaret Gonzalez Class of 60 Nancy Ann pl-Sane Class of 61 The Youth of today often puzzle the adults for the Youth are a group of enthusrasts full of energy and good wxll Although there are some of who have strayed from the rules of natural behavtor there are others who are stnvtng for a healthy holy and happy 1 e Then health rs m God s grace They regard themselves as the most prrvrleged of persons because they realrze that they are temples of the Holy Spnrt The practrce of the vntues IS common to them They ftght agaxnst the strong temptations of pride and pray for the vntue of humrlrty They sacrifrce then de sires and refuse to be covetous They obey the com mands of chasttty and struggle against the abommable vrce of lust Often they ftnd themselves on the verge of anger but check themselves Just rn ttme Envy also tempts them unbearably but rt is defeated by love They shun sloth and gluttony as a person would shun a deadly poison They have a fnm beltef that all the vtces are poisonous and to gtve ln to them would mean death of the soul Without overdonlg rt they care for the physrcal as well as spnitual body God has given them Truly these youths are healthy After they have overcome then strongest temp tattons they begin to understand a lrttle of God s unknown ways The reason for then exrstence has only now does tts rmprint become felt The mark of mfant prety slowly steeps into then mlnds Uncon sclously their thoughts words and deeds are per formed rn a htgher manner for Chrtst The desne of darly unton wtth God tn Holy Communron be comes stronger The smallest e1aculation means more to them now than it ever did before Slowly the ve1l begtns to be ltfted from then mrnds and they know God as fully and clearly as He permlts Htmself to be known Almost always these youths have both peace of mtnd and of body Hardly ever do they worry or become nervous They love God and rn re turn they are given holmess As a result of betng healthy l.l'l body and rn soul these youths are haPPY All men desne perfect hap pnless and only God can quench that desne He w1ll satisfy only these who have known loved and served Him to the hrghest degree they could Thus the youths who have fulfrlled these qualittes wtll be hap py and they wxll one day reach then goal of health holmess and happmess fTh1s essay won fnst place tn the Ursultne s Catholic Youth Week contest J The Three H Plan IS a method of havmg a better tomorrow through the youth of the world because the future hes rn then hands A youngster who IS brought up under the Three H Plan rs a chrld who rs ready to meet the trials of ltfe wrth courage The three H s stand for Happrness Healthmess and Holmess In the envnonment of a happy Clnxsttan home a young person can develop tnto a healthy Chrrst like adult The parents mfluence the chrldren nr every path of ltfe The relatronshrp of the parents to each other and then nerghbors effects the youth because tn the mother and father he sees someone on whom he can pattern hrs l1fe If the atmosphere of the home ts pessxmlsttc the youth wrll know nothtng else but to be the same Not only rn Reltgron does an un happy home err but also rn matters of matertal good Instead of havmg a love for God the youth ts taught by the parents the lust for the thtngs of thrs world As we know complete happrness hes in God and by havmg a pleasmg realrstrc and moral character we can obtarn a contented outlook on ltfe God mfused tn otn souls a natural means to happxness known as the Ten Commandments By these rules we acknowl edge God and live accordingly so we are asstned a place tn heaven It IS a pleasmg and gratrfymg thought to know that the Supreme Berng God cares t1ons By all these reasons the youth can apprectate ,od and be grateful to Him for Hrs goodness These xotnts help the youth of a natton to be happy wrth a ove for God and a Chrtstran home lrfe The younger generatron can become healthrer rn thought word and actton tf the parents and school unrte nr a common frght for decency As we know the Catholrc Church has done much to prevent tn decent literature movres and books from spreadrng The Legron of Decency had done much m thrs cause The Church realtzes the strong need of healthrer mrnds rn the youth The youth who has a spnrtually healthy mind has a love for God because no one can thrnk bad thoughts and be a frtend of God To be a happy healthy youngster LS puttmg your self on the path to holmess for you are tn God s graces rf you obey Hrs laws St Teresa of Ltseux lrved her entne l1fe performtng lrttle thmgs for God we can follow her lrttle way of holmess To reach heaven we must be a satnt so there s no trme lrke the present for the youth of the entne world to begm then ltfe of happiness healthlness and holiness the Three H s QSecond place wmner j I , . ' . . , . . . . . I . ' I . ' 1-f . . ' . . c ' ' ' ' 0 . ' . . I : I I I . . . ' ' . ' - 1 ' . - . I ' ' , 4 1 . - 0 1 ' , - ' ' I . - . . t Y o ' I . I I I been known to them srnce they fnst began school but for us and we can realize His greatness in His Crea- v 1 r - . , I . ' 1 , ' 4 . . ' . . . i I . I , ' . , . . . ' . . . . . i ' u 1 . 1 I . . ' ' . . . ' . . . K v . , . . '. . . . , . . N 1 O I

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INSIDE OF A CHURCH Mary Ann Perez Class of 59 As one steps tnto a qutet solemn church 1m medrately there ts a feeling of both Joy and sorrow You are probably say1ng how can one feel Joy and sorrow at the same time One feels Joy when he enters the church and be holds all the beauty of heaven expressed on the faces of the satnts For example St Joseph although he rs dressed in peasant clothes on hrs face he wears a welcoming expression of Joy One can almost hear him sayrng Come all who labor for one s daily bread and offer all of today s sacrtfrces for the greatest Laborer of all Chrrst As one s eyes are distracted they gaze upon the most beautiful flower of all the Blessed Vugm Here rndeed ts a face no arttst can ever pamt so that we can ever truthfully say Here 15 the Blessed Vlrgm Her eyes are ltke crystal blue water her face lxke a pmk glowing wax rose and her smtle one of a moth er s fnlled wrth Joy Her sad and ioyful eyes pene trate one to the very depth because tmmedlately one feels the gulf of all sin and the death of her beloved As one walks farther on one comes to the ltghted candles 'l'he1r glowxng yellow and orange flames re mtnds one of the Holy Spxrit that dwells tn the soul How often one forgets that God is withm us we forget this and act as we please we live accordrng to our feelings or we do things Just to go along with the crowd After one has visited the whole church and rs about to leave one sees the very expressive Gothlc architecture Wxth its peaks pomttng upward tt re mtnds one of where he is going to the place where the Kmg of the Jews dwells to Heaven POVERTY VERSUS CONTRIBUTION Elva E Cardenas Class of 58 Often one hears the defense that contributrng to mankmd rs dtfftcult Lt' not lmpossrble for one ham pered by the lack of fmanctal resources We must first of all realtze that God has gtven every one of us certam gifts or talents some have more some have less In His Dtvlne Providence an arrangement has already been made as to the how of therr use and ll s up to us to ftnd rt Money tttle nches and the like aren t really necessary For rn reality the most tmportant necessmes are a desrre to contrrbute a love of mankmd and a wtllmgness for self sacrtftce These alone are the requirements and Ln thts theme l shall glve an example of a person who was born rn poverty and yet contrxbuted very much to mankmd For example tn a small town named Ltchtenthal near Vtenna on January 31 1797 a boy was born tn to the famrly of a school teacher named Schubert and a cook Eltzabeth Vrtz Never dxd they realtze that one of then chtldren Franz Peter would become one of the greatest composers that the world would ever know Many would be surpnsed to learn that at the age of slxteen Schubert had completed hrs frrst symphony but even more surprlsmg IS the fact that at seventeen hts frrst Mass reached comp1et1on In hts poverty Schubert was a Mtdas A Mrdas of mustc Everythrng he heard everythtng he saw everything he read every emotton he ever felt was turned into the golden stratns of musrc whrch ts our herrtage Yes Schubert was a man of the greatest poverty and yet hrs works have been many and great Hrs works complete over forty volumes mcluding ten symphomes twenty stnng quartets one octet twen ty ptanoforte sonatas and short pieces stx Masses and over stx hundred compositions As a song composer of hrs day he never reached fame and fortune No Schubert was born in poverty the world wrll never forget the man who contributed so much havmg had so very l1ttle AUTUMN Laura Rodrlguez Class of 60 I met a lady named Autumn one day She stopped and she whispered I ve come to stay In one hand a palette III the other a brush She had plenty of time there was no rush She parnted the leaves all brown gold and red To match the glrtterrng crown on her head A necklace of dewdrops she wore wrth a flarr Her presence made musxc I knew she was there She colored the mountams a vrolet pale The mottonless wmds she turned to a gale She had much to say to the folk of the wood And I d pass rt on to you rf only I could But I am not one of them I cannot say Whatever she sard to them on that day And now she rs fmtshed her masterptece stands From seacoast to seacoast throughout all the land Farewell Lady Autumn so lovely do dear Please do not forget us and come back next year ' N . . r ' ' ' I ' g ' Son, Jesus Christ. he lived in poverty, and he died in poverty. Truly,