Monday, May 29, 2017

The "SPIRIT" of St Pius X High School today


A year ago on Saturday, May 28th 2016 we, the Class of 1966, celebrated our 50th Anniversary of graduation from Saint Pius X High School. We continue to remember and to celebrate with gratitude all that we received during our years at "Pius", those who poured themselves out in loving service to us, and all that - by the grace of God - we have been able to experience and live, to endure and to overcome, and to accomplish and love in the course of all these years. We continue on our useful and meaningful course and renew our wills to build the future and to be of service today, carried as we are by the power of love which has its origin in the living God and which continues to find its home in "women and men of good will".

The Christian Brothers of Ireland and the Sisters of Saint Anne brought to St Piux X High School a spirit that was proactive, hopeful, eager to teach and learn, kind and understanding, and enthusiastic for life, and most of all, loving. They inspired the lay teachers and staff to join in that spirit, and all together, they not only equipped us for life, but they also propelled us on the positive course that helped us bridge the many chasms / challenges of life to the regions into which we ventured to make the lives that have been and continue to be ours.

Each of our four years the Falcon Yearbook Staffs sensed that spirit and dedicated their year's Falcon to bearers of that spirit.

1963 - to the Christian Brothers of Ireland, founders of St Pius X High School. "founded in Ireland in 1802 by Venerable Brother Edmund Ignatius Rice. Today, almost 4,000 Brothers conduct schools in fourteen countries on four continents. The Brothers came to North America eighty years ago. They now administer almost forty schools in the United States and Canada, and new ones are being established each year."

Perhaps in a previous year or a subsequent year there was a dedication to the Sisters of Saint Anne, partners with the Brothers in establishing and developing St Pius X High School.

1964 - to Father John Brayley, Chaplain and leader in the Christopher Movement - "Ever encouraging individuality as well as scholarship, he has shown us the right path to the discovery of our place in Christian society and has aided us in gaining a proper knowledge and realization of ourselves."

1965 - to Brother William E. Drayton, Principal - "When Brother Drayton arrived in the summer of 1959 to take charge of his new school, there was neither building for his pupils nor residence for the members of his Community. It was in March, 1960 that Brother Drayton saw his four hundred and seventy-one pupils settled in the present building. It was not until June of the same year that the Brothers were able to move into their monastery."

1966 - to Sister Mary Bernita, S.S.A., Principal - "Sister Bernita watched Saint Pius X High School grow from its very foundations to its present state. In September, 1959, her pupils were housed in five different buildings. In spirit of this disadvantage, her genial administration fostered a unifying spirit, an IGNIS ARDENS, which is still a characteristic of the school. Now, after seven years, more than nine hundred girl-graduates, imbued with the ardour of their school principal, have taken their place in the world as homemakers, nurses, educators, and business women."

Those Falcon staffs, like all of us at the time, were perhaps overly optimistic about the future, but so were those entire generations of the 1960's before the full brunt of secularization, globalization, and relativism subjected humanity to the manipulation of "vested interests" and deprived people of known and reliable anchors.

We have not been without faults or failures, but we were also equipped not to accept defeat, but to get up again and keep faith in the One from whom we come and to Whom we are returning. We may not all have been daily communicants, nor even Sunday practitioners; however, we have remained - I believe - children of God who believe in God and, to the extent of our ability or degree of our will to date, who have come to love God or at the very least hold God in deep respect and high regard, as well as his Church on Earth, of which we acknowledge ourselves to be its imperfect members.

Today Pope Francis exemplifies the best of the human spirit that, augmented by the power of love and hopefulness that come from God, realizes that we don't need to be perfect before we reach out in loving care to others, especially to those who have been pushed "to the peripheries of life and society". We who were launched into life by the Brothers of Ireland and Sisters of Saint Anne have grown in our ability and desire to love one another and care for others. We have not surrendered to the "prophets of doom" as Pope John XXIII called those who take a defeatist view of the world, but have remained hopeful and proactive in our outlook and in our personal and professional lives.

To catch a glimpse of the fire that enflamed St Pius X High School, which now motivates Pope Francis, and which he proposes to all of humanity, watch the first ever TED TALK given by a pope.


Tuesday, February 14, 2017

2006 to 2016 - 10 years of seeking out classmates


Hello dear former classmates of St Pius X High School - Girls & Boys - beneficiaries of the dedication of the Sisters of Saint Anne and Christian Brothers of Ireland.

Good memories that continue to give life

Undoubtedly we all have some not so positive or perhaps even quite negative memories from out four or less years at St. Pius X High School on Papineau Avenue in Montreal. After all, we were teenagers, although at the time I didn't feel like a teenager at all. As I recall it, that term was not so readily thrown about as it later came to be.

I remember the good brothers addressing us as "Gentlemen" and the good sisters addressing our schoolmates from the "Girls' side" as "Ladies". Our dress and behavior reflected those addresses and, I felt then and still feel today, so did our attitudes and feelings.

Perhaps it is not too late today for us of the "older generation" to pass on or "pay forward" those remarkably positive attitudes and strategies employed by the brothers and sisters and required of the lay teachers and staff at that time.

Respect for others, even for the young, can still be employed with good effect, and we can carry on the good that benefited us so many years ago and continue to enrich our lives today. Away with the negative and cynical attitudes and "in" with the positive, confident, and hopeful attitudes brought to Earth by the Child of Bethlehem, the man of Nazareth, the Crucified and Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

A period of fun meetings, organizing, and joyful reunions

Way back in 2002 some of us bumped into each other who hadn't seen the other or heard from each other since graduation in 1966; while others in clumps of two or three did maintain contact over the years. A "ball began to roll" as it were in 2006 and, by 2007 deliberate decisions were made to seek out more classmates and think eventually of having a reunion.

Planning began in earnest in April 2009 and our first reunion happened fairly quickly at St Luke Parish on the grounds of the church, rectory, and garden on a beautiful, sunny Saturday September 26, 2009. For this first reunion we were only guys but 37 of 40 came and it was simply wonderful. It was very timely because over the next few years we lost some of our classmates who moved on into the great adventure of eternity.

August 28, 2010 we had another reunion, much less formal, in Ricky Doyle's beautiful back yard, and this time, we enjoyed the company of some of the girls, classmates, and a few companions.

September 24, 2011 we had another, more formal, reunion at the banquet hall on Henri Bourassa in Ville St Laurent with more guys and gals classmates whom we had managed to find, and the atmosphere was so enthusiastic and positive that we already began to dream of a "50th Anniversary Reunion" and the planning continued in earnest.

The "reunion team" grew and increased in number and over the next five years had lots of fun meeting over meals in restaurants, occasionally in a home, and slowly worked towards our big goal of our 50th Anniversary reunion.

The happy day came and we were almost as excited as we were for our grad ball back in 1966!

Saturday, May 28th, 2016 we held our "St. Pius X High School 50th Anniversary Reunion" at Vino Rosso Banquet Hall on Henri Bourassa, where we had five years earlier had a smaller 45th Anniversary Reunion. Sidney Freund and his Band provided the entertainment and we had quite a night of it! Classmates came from in and out of the province, one from as far as Vancouver, and from south of the border. We enjoyed table fellowship, the meal, drinks and chatting in circles here and there, joining in the dancing, going out for some air and quiet chatting, and overall reminiscing, fun, and sharing. At various points we had some brief formal presentations to highlight the moment. Good memories to add to our memories from the past.

The end of a wondrous period of enthusiastic activity

We sense great satisfaction in having found one another, in having gathered, brainstormed, hatched projects, and in accomplishing our goals.

Now the time has come for us to "return to normal" as it were. We are all delighted to find that we still have the freedom to take initiatives, to get together, and to enjoy one another's company.

Feel free to peruse and enjoy previous posts and the photo albums.

Peace to one and all in this new year 2017 as we quickly approach "Mardi Gras" and another season of Lent and its twin the Easter Season.... Before you know it we'll be enjoying another Spring and Summer seasons.

May you and your loved ones ever know the love, mercy, and peace of God!

Some light at the end of the Pandemic Tunnel....

 It was wonderful to be able to enjoy one another's company again over a pleasant lunch.... .... until we meet again...!