The president of the NHS Chapter shares some encouraging words with his fellow students for finishing this school year...                  

                                                              +JMJ+

My dear fellow high school students of Mother of Divine Grace School, I have been asked by our esteemed Director of Advancement, Mr. Chris Sebastian, to offer some words of encouragement to you as we continue through this school year. It is the common experience of many upperclassmen to develop a certain sense of discouragement in the waning of their high school career; and for the others, the pressure of a multitude of decisions in the near future often yields a tepidity in faithfully executing their daily duties. Therefore, it has been deemed fit for me to bolster our spirits as we enter upon this final stretch.

In this last tract of the academic calendar, I cannot help but be reminded of St. Paul’s words in 1^st Corinthians: to run the race so that we may obtain the prize. The prize is heaven; it is the ultimate longing of every human being, and the summit of bliss for all eternity. It is the sight of God, face to face. However, we all often become inundated with a multitude of temporal and worldly objects which assault our senses and attempt to distract us from this race which we run. How are we to ever win, let alone run, the race while we are tied to the many obligations which so seemingly prevent us from focusing on God?

The answer, I believe, can be found in the words of Our Lord: “well done, my good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter now into the joy of your master”. We are called to follow the “little way” of being “faithful over a little” which St. Therese of the Child Jesus so illustriously taught. Our way to heaven and God lies not in mighty deeds of virtue and splendor, but instead in ordinary day-to-day duties which, if completed faithfully and offered with devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady, will blossom into beautiful flowers of grace which will adorn our souls forever and ever.

And so, in this final stretch of the school year, I exhort you to glorify God in your daily duties, no matter how ordinary, mundane, and perhaps even aggravating they may be. Let us work and pray, offering all our deeds to God, so that one day we may hear the words: “well done, my good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master”.

May God be praised in time and in eternity! Amen.

William Young

President

Pope Leo XIII Chapter

National Honor Society