AMDG: For the Greater Glory of God

When I attended St. Paul’s there was one reality that was present in everyone’s life inclass felt like a brotherhood. They knew each other’s names and could talk with each other easily. It was this moment that I realized the same thing was happening with my classmates. We were forging bonds, like a brothercluding my own, that being religious life. Being a hood. Up until that moment brotherhood had devout Catholic and attending St Paul’s allowed been mentioned to me by my teachers, but it me to go to daily mass, confession, to pray daily, was in that discussion that brotherhood felt and learn about my faith in religion class which real, that it was actually happening. But as has helped me enormously determine my re- we all know the 2019-2020 school year had lationship with God and has helped me on the another event the COVID-19 pandemic. As path in discerning my vocation. I still remember we all know the pandemic hit hard shutting how in my Grade 9 year, former President Fr. Len down the school, but even when I was online Altilia S.J. came to all the Grade 9 class- the school maintained its spirituality and its es to give a crash course on who the teachings of brotherhood and community, Jesuits were, and basically explained albeit through a screen. It was out of the Jesuit spirituality and the school’s history. It was COVID-19 pandemic that I saw the school’s that moment that I learned, “maybe this school religious spirit that had defined my early years, takes religion a bit differently.” As the months in action. In the darkest moments of isolation, moved on, the school’s spirituality showed it was St. Paul’s lesson that we are never alone when it came to school masses and the when we do things for God, that really stuck content I was learning in my classes. But a les- with me as I struggled finding a routine in a son that always repeated itself was that on ev- pandemic classroom. ery test, quiz, project, assignment, or quite During my last year frankly any piece of high school, I was of paper that came from my teachers " But a lesson that blessed by being elected as President of the Macame with the letters AMDG, which stands for Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam. always repeated itself was that on every test, quiz, roon and White Society; I was in charge of leading my brothers to fulfilling our mission, to serve God through serving His No matter what I did, no matter who I project, assignment, people. In every challenge that we faced, in talked to, it must be done for the Great Glory of God. A glory that strengthens, that comforts and or quite frankly any piece of paper that came from my every shutdown or fear thereof, I knew we would get through it because I saw the strength of not only the Maroon and a glory that is everlasting. This does teachers came with White but the strength of those peoples we would not mean that the St. Paul’s spirit of religious education the letters AMDG. No matter what I help and the love of Christ in each of them. ends when the school year did, on the con- did, no matter who I In closing, the one teaching that encompasses trary; in the summer between Grade 10 and 11 - I went on a trip with a few students to Quebec. talked to, it must be done for the Great Glory of God. " all of what I learned through the religious life of St. Paul’s High School was to see God in all things, in every acThere we met with tion, every brother, every other Jesuit schools teacher, every test, every from around Que- retreat, and every misbec and Boston, sion; to open my eyes, MA. In this retreat I bonded with my fellow to see with the eyes of Christ. I am eternally Crusaders and learned about brotherhood. As thankful to St. Paul’s for teaching me my faith the retreat was ending, the group sat down and and that the faith I hold so dear must not be discussed our experiences. In our discussion, dormant but lived through every day and every the other students discussed how their entire action, for the Greater Glory of God.

By: Myles cesario '21 M

Crusader Spirit is the Common Journey

y introduction to thinking about faith, philosophy, religious traditions, and rituals M came from the likes of Tom Ivory, Paul Crouch, and Denis Vouriot when I was a young student in the 1980s at St Paul’s. Beyond the schooling given to me by my parents, it was at St Paul’s that I was challenged to become intellectually curious, non-dogmatic, and open to the power of wonder. I am thankful that those who tried to shape my mind were themselves personally humble and relentlessly searching. I saw them as eager to engage with others. Though my own memories of high school are, admittedly, selective and fragmentary, I do not recall my teachers being angry, judgmental, or quick to condemn. They did demand that we learn to think for ourselves, and part of that was understanding the different experiences, histories, and faiths of others. They taught me that any person’s spiritual life will be nurtured through relationships rooted in mutual respect, gratitude, and appreciation. In 2014, the school’s Principal at the time, Tom Lussier, tasked me with managing the Kairos retreat program after the retirement of Larry Franz, who (along with Father Crouch) deserves the credit for shepherding the retreat into the school’s culture. My one prayer at the time was that I didn’t screw up what had been built over years of careful stewardship. The gift of these new responsibilities for me was the opportunity to witness the strength of sharing stories: sometimes funny, often intimate, occasionally tragic. When we listen to one another with an open heart, the seemingly high walls between us can start to dissolve. That is the best of Kairos, and by extension, of St Paul’s, be it on retreat, in the classroom, or on the stage, field, court, or rink. I hesitate, however, to make this sound too good to be true. Kairos and its ‘Spirit’ are not some magical cure-all for any person’s failings or inadequacies; far from it. I am not cheerleading (rah, rah) for some intangible, unconquerable school Spirit that dwells only at St Paul’s. Sometimes we find that tension exists in our community. Individuals have been wronged by one another. Sometimes, in our honest conversations, we see attitudes of racism, sexism, or other forms of bigotry and exclusion. These we must not accept quietly. But when we listen with sincerity and compassion, there is the possibility that we start to understand the hurdles overcome by our friends and peers. It is here, I believe, that the roots of a healthy community, and a genuine, happy “spirit” begin to grow. Our school is grounded in the Jesuit and Catholic traditions, and it is from those sources we are nurtured. That need not mean, however, that we ignore or undervalue the experiences of people from different faith traditions. If, as the Jesuits are keen to remind us, God can be found in all things, then we have an obligation to find God in one another, within our varieties of religious experience. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, Christian – believers of all sorts, as well as skeptic, agnostic, and atheist – all should, I hope, find a home at St Paul’s. The “Crusader Spirit” is best shared in our dialogue and common journey, animated by the faith and teachings of Saint Ignatius.

By: Rob puchniak '89