CHAMINADE NEWS - Chaminade High School

Principal’s Graduation Address
Graduates of the Class of 2006,
“What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you make of yourself is your gift
to God.”
That quote is on a plaque in my
room and serves as a constant reminder
for me. I offer you those words as the
basis of my reflections today.
St. Paul says, “We hold a treasure in
earthen vessels.” God has given each of
us gifts and talents – we call that grace.
For the past four years, you have been
discovering the treasure of God’s grace
Bro. Joseph Bellizzi, S.M. ’78
within you: your intellectual, physical,
athletic and spiritual gifts. And in so
many ways you have also shared these gifts for the welfare of others.
Whether in the classroom or on the field, in the newspaper or yearbook office
or on a visit to the elderly, in the chapel or on the court, in a C.C.D. class or a
prayer service, as a senior leader or as an Apostle, at an Emmaus project or at a
concert, you have shared these gifts and talents. All of these talents are God’s
gifts to us. What we make of them, how we use them — what we make of
ourselves — is our gift to God.
This world desperately needs the witness of your lives. This world
needs you to share your talents and gifts to transform this world into the
Kingdom of God. What are the treasures that you have to offer this world?
What are the talents and gifts that God has given you to use for the good of
this world? You have been given much, and now much is required of you.
Jesus says, “To whom more has been given, more will be required.” Your
class has an incredible gift of life, an incredible joie de vivre, an incredible
sense of love and affection. Never lose that gift, always give that gift.
St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “God will always make you rich
enough to be generous at all times, so that many will thank God for your
gifts….For this service you perform not only meets the needs of God’s
people, but also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God. Let us thank
God for his priceless gift!” Be generous, for God has indeed given each of
you so much. When you share your gift, it is an expression of gratitude to
God and an expression of who you are – your gift to God.
And so, my dear young men, Chaminade men, my thoughts and
prayers for you are simple. What you are is God’s gift to you. What you
make of yourself is your gift to God. As sons of Mary, look to her for
example and for hope. She, who so graciously gave of Herself, who so
willingly surrendered Herself for the salvation of mankind, stands before you
today and always as the perfect gift to God. Through her intercession, “Let
us thank God for his priceless gift.”
Good luck and God bless.
Bro. Joseph D. Bellizzi, S.M. ’78
Principal
Above, Chaminade chaplain Fr. Garrett Long ’62 leads the
student body at the annual Marian Prayer Service in Our
Lady’s Courtyard on May 22, 2006. Members of the Sodality
were assembled there while the service was broadcast to the
homerooms via closed circuit television.
At right, Bro. Joseph ’78
presents the Fr. Philip K.
Eichner, S.M. Award to
Robert Frawley. This
award is given each year
to the second most
outstanding senior.
Below are Jim Petrich
and Maickel Peck just
prior to graduation
exercises. At right
below, Peter Dagher
serves as lector during
the Baccalaureate Mass.
A Southern Thank-you
In early April, Bro. Martin High
School in New Orleans sent a
delegation to say “thank-y’all” for
providing 650 backpacks and school
supplies in September, and new
cafeteria tables and chairs during the
winter. Principal Gene Tullier and
his wife Adrienne, along with four
students, expressed the gratitude of
their school community at a student
body assembly on April 5, 2006.
They are pictured at right with Sean
Paulsen ’06 (third from l.) and
Above, congratulations are offered
to Matt Sharp by his parents, James
and Rosemary Sharp. At left Tim
DiPrisco (l.) and Nick DiStefano
proudly display their hard-earned
Chaminade diplomas.
Corey Sheeron ’06 (r.); from l.-r. are
Mark Messina, Ray Yakelis, Sean,
Dan Surita, Adrienne and Gene
Tullier, Charles Jost, and Corey. On
June 12, 2006, a group of 50 Bro.
Martin sophomores and juniors paid
a visit to Chaminade during a college
visitation trip to the northeast. They
were at CHS for a barbecue lunch
and a tour of the school. At left,
Bro. Thomas Cleary ’81 meets
several of the visitors during their
lunch in the CHS courtyard.
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