Employment Opportunity at Xavier High School
June 6, 2011
Xavier High School is currently looking for qualified teachers for next school year (2012-2013).
If you are interested in applying for the position, please contact Fr. Rich McAuliff, SJ, as soon as possible, at the following email address: batarichsj@gmail.com
Fr. Arthur Leger’s Commencement Speech
June 2, 2011
Keynote speaker Fr. Arthur Leger, S.J. sharing a moment of laughter with the Class of 2011. Photo by Eric Cano.
Fr. Arthur Leger, S.J., Ph.D., former director and principal of Xavier High School and current Director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) at the Ateneo de Manila University was the keynote speaker at the 2011 Commencement. A longtime educator in the Pacific islands, the “cool” priest had been the director who accepted the Class of 2011 (Argonauts) to Xavier before going on a well deserved sabbatical and was subsequently assigned by Father General of the Society of Jesus to head up the EAPI. His entire speech is found below. For graduation photos please visit the Xavierites Media:
Introduction
It is good to be back at Xavier High School, without any responsibilities except to join parents and friends in the commencement celebrations. It is a privilege and honor to share a few moments of this day with you, the Class of 2011, the Argonauts; to say congratulations for completing one very important part of life’s journey. It is a pleasure to stand before you, with all who have served you faithfully and so well these past years: your families both biological and sponsor, your director, Fr. Dave, the Principal, Martin, the faculty and staff persons and workers, your underclassmen.
What I want to share with you today is first, what I feel underpins the Jesuit tradition on Mabuchi, and, secondly, ponder what it means for us. And thirdly, I’d like to place before you this day a call and a challenge
The Search
Like the Argonauts in the Greek story, you came from different family backgrounds, but were put on the Argo in order to search for the “Golden Fleece” or a holistic education in the Jesuit tradition. In order to do this much was been asked of you since your first day at the Xavier. The Orianzs were your models. When we began the journey four years ago, you were asked to be guided by particular values and attitudes as stated in the Xavier’s vision and mission. While we worked very hard to provide you the opportunity for an education at Xavier, it was each of you who seized that opportunity, not without rough periods.
The Value of Self Sacrifice
Embedded in the 3Cs is the value of self-sacrifice.
Self-sacrifice where I turn from preoccupation with my own thoughts and desires and direct them toward someone else.” Self-sacrifice is about discipline, postponed gratification, even risk,” Dare to Commit: Say Yes in a World of Maybe by James S. Torrens, SJ.
Dare to live until the very last. Dare to live forget about the past
Dare to live giving something of yourself to others
Even when it seems there’s nothing more left to give
Your families and sponsors have been your primary models, and for this we say thank you. We hope this value of self-sacrifice will continue to guide you as you commence another journey into a world that forces you to be individualistic, thinking only thinking about your own self interest.
The Story
Today allow me to reflect on the your stories of self-sacrifice in the context of the narrative of St. Francis Xavier and Jason and Argonauts. When Ignatius of Loyola in 1543 asked Xavier and his classmates to form a religious order, they too embraced the principle of self-sacrifice in order to be able to service the Church. He confronted Xavier with words from Gospel of Mark 8:36 “What does it profit to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” With this challenge Xavier turned from this own desires and dreams to those of Ignatius and the Holy Catholic Church. Thus started the search for God and journey to places that were unknown. The parallels of this story with Jason and Argonauts are very similar to the Class of 2011: self-sacrifice, search, survival and then success.
The former Father General of the Jesuits Peter-Hans Kolvenbach said in 1986 that in Jesuit education, the criterion of success is applied to all areas of school life: the aim is the fullest possible development of every dimension of the person, and wiliness to sacrifice self-interest.
In other words, excellence on this Hill begins with self-sacrifice. This implies rigorous work and academic excellence that challenged you that graduates to develop all your talents to the fullest. For the years you were here it was always call to critical thinking and disciplined studies, a call to develop the whole person, head and heart, intellect and feelings.
You well know that self-sacrifice is not always easy, but today as a graduate of XHS, I hope that you feel deeply the rewards and joy because in different ways you gave yourself in the service of our classmates/freshman, our Sapuk neighbors all “for the greater honor and glory of God, Your sacrificed your time, talents, food, music, feelings and even sometimes your underwear.
The Argonaut story showed how they too willed for self–sacrifice for the common good and justice. They consistently struggled to move from self-fulfillment to self-sacrifice. Jason carried Hera across the stream, he sacrificed his life for this withered woman.
I hope that self-sacrifice has become a habit that you will take with your diploma. And like your brothers and sisters before you listed in the hall of fame, you did learn self-sacrifice. First from the early navigators, your families and staff.
Allow me to enumerate a few
1. Leaving the comforts of homes
2. For the girls, getting up every morning to make it to school, on the road in a bus that could blow up anytime.
3. Eating the same spam and mackerel with rice, washing it down with refreshing H2O
4. Finishing your assignments on time, with consistent threats from the faculty and sometime with little light.
5. Attending Mass
6. Training for track and field and other sports, cutting time on the socializing
7. Adapting to the different styles of three directors, two principals and different teachers.
8. Swallowing your pride and cultural pattern of behaving.
You have your own list. And for these accomplishments, graduates, you are to be congratulated!
The last self-sacrifice is yet to happen in the next several hours: saying good bye.
A Call
But before you say good bye I want to reinforce what Kimo told us yesterday. Say THANK YOU. A result of self-sacrifice is gratitude. Therefore my call is to continue to sat Deo Gratias [thank God] and other people who have made self -sacrifices for you. Sometimes I know you wanted to punch some of us or even burn and destroy Xavier. But say thank God, it was my self=interest that wanted to control me.
All too often graduates from our Jesuit schools feel they have done this self-sacrifice and now they are entitled to get what they want. Beware Self interest comes back with force as soon as you go home. I would argue that this entitlement attitude is the downfall of my Xavierites in personal relationships, in family decisions and even classes. So begin saying thank you today and never stop. As Ignatius said that the great sins is one of ingratitude. So to the class of 2011, thank you for the invitation, thank you for keeping me part of your lives and thank for reminding me that my face look too serious and gangster looking.
The Challenge
The Argonauts and first Jesuits were given challenges. They both had to make voyages into the unknown depending on their skills and knowledge. Today you also are given a challenge to maneuver between the clashing rocks of self-interest and self-sacrifice.
In the Argonauts’ story Pelias says to Jason, You say you’ve got what it takes to rule a kingdom,” “May I take it that you’re fit to deal with the thorny problems that arise? Jason considered for a moment, saying. “Send him after the Golden Fleece?” “Not a bad idea,” responded Pelias. “It’s just the sort of quest that any hero worth his salt would leap at. Why, if he succeeded he’d be remembered down through the ages. Tell you what, why don’t you go?”
And so like Jason and Xavier, the challenge is posed again:
Class of 2011:Take risks in your search for quality education,
Class 2011: postpone gratification in your search for tertiary education,
Argonauts : continue to follow the discipline you learnt here on the Hill to find that Golden Fleece, that next diploma.
In other words, foster the habit of self sacrifice for God, your country, your state, your village, your family, your friends and your freshman and DARE TO LIVE!
I leave you will the lyrics of Dare to Live by the blind Italian singer Andrea Bocelli…..
Try looking at tomorrow not yesterday
And all the things you left behind
All those tender words you did not say
The gentle touch you couldn’t find
In these days of nameless faces
There is no one truth but only pieces
My life is all i have to give
Dare to live until the very last
Dare to live forget about the past
Dare to live giving something of yourself to others
Even when it seems there’s nothing more left to give
Donate Now
FEATURED EVENT
