Special 50th Reunion items and photos!!

Dear Classmates of '57 - as several of you requested, below is the complete homily that Dick Brobst delivered during our memorial Mass on Saturday of the reunion weekend. Thank you Dick for this inspiring message.

But first, a special note regarding classmate George Waddleton, who could not attend the reunion due to health reasons. His younger brother Dan sends this information via Dick Lutz: George has been in an assisted living facility in Jersey city since the beginning of the year. Although he is having considerable difficulty speaking and is dependent on a wheel-chair, he is able to walk short distances with the aid of a cane, and over the past few months has made considerable progress.

Dan advises that the best method of communicating with George is US mail. His address is: Hamilton Park Atrium, 330 9th Street (Room 308), Jersey City, New Jersey 07302 He does not have an e-mail address. Please include George in your prayers, as shall we all.

Here is Dick Brobst's homily:

BODY and BLOOD  (Corpus Christi)   June 9, 2007

Holy Cross Chapel, Worcester, Mass.

While preparing this homily for our reunion weekend mass, the words of a contemporary hymn by Marty Haugen kept running through my mind. Bear with me as I attempt to sing the refrain of that hymn:

"We remember how you loved us to your death and still we celebrate, for you are with us here; and we believe that we will see you when you come in your glory, Lord. We remember, we celebrate, we believe."

The concluding words of the refrain, "we remember, we celebrate, we believe," briefly sum up why we gather here this afternoon.

What is it that we recently-dubbed Purple Knights remember? An excellent summary of the highlights of our four undergraduate years can be found in our yearbook, the 1957 "Purple Patcher." I recommend it to your re-reading. While details may vary from person to person all of us remember that September day in 1953 when we climbed Pakachoag Hill to begin our Freshman year. We may wince at the memory of the struggle we had making the transition from high school studies to the more challenging college courses. But surely our hearts are warmed by the memories of making many new acquaintances and a few close friends, some of whom have remained life-long friends. How quickly those early days became months ? years! Gradually the steady routine of life on the Hill of Pleasant Springs molded and shaped us for making our mark in whatever world we would eventually choose to enter. We are here to celebrate the cherished memories of those halcyon years. We are here because we believe that, having been grounded in the spirit of Alma Mater and armed with our Jesuit-guided education, we were enabled to make a significant contribution to the enrichment of life ? our own life and the life of those with whom we shared it over the last fifty years.

On this reunion weekend the universal church celebrates the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, a feast formerly known as Corpus Christi. We assemble here in Marian chapel, a chapel initially adorned and dedicated during our undergraduate years, and more recently renovated in 2003. Our gathering is so much more than a revisiting of a familiar campus site; it is more than a prelude to a gala cocktail party and sumptuous (we hope!) banquet. It is even more than a time of prayer for our 100 classmates who have died. While our presence may reflect all of the above, more fundamentally we are here as members of an unbroken tradition of believers who have answered the command of our Lord given at the Last Supper: "Do this in remembrance of Me!" For some 20 centuries people like you and me have gathered to remember the Lord, at first in their homes, and then eventually in grand cathedrals and humble chapels; they gathered in places made sacred by their communal witness of faith. And now, as in ages past, we gather around the table of the Lord to be fed on His word, on His Body and Blood. At this table we remember God?s great saving acts and we celebrate God?s love for all people, a love poured out on us all when Christ shed his blood on the cross. That cross, that holy cross from which Alma Mater takes its hallowed name, is a symbol, not of defeat, but of victory, ultimate victory over suffering and death. We believe that Jesus who died and who rose is present ? really, sacramentally present ? in our midst. "Wherever two or more gather in my name there I am in their midst." We believe that to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Jesus is to share in the dedication and destiny symbolized by His Holy Cross.

Our second reading this afternoon is a brief portion of a letter Saint Paul sent to the Christian community living in first century Corinth. He wrote to an assembly of neophyte believers who were in painful conflict over the manner in which Eucharist was being celebrated. (Some things never change!) Reacting to that real life situation Paul admonished them, in essence reminding them that there can be no Eucharist in a community whose members do not love one another. Paul teaches both them and us that, even though the ritual words are spoken, the lack of love means that in reality there can be no Eucharist as Christ intends it to be. To celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Jesus is to share, not only in his mission, but also in his dedication and destiny, that destiny that led Him to Calvary. Authentic remembering of Jesus is witnessed by living in imitation of Him, whereby God?s love is made present effectively in the world ? not the world out there but the world, our world, right here and now.

And therein lies the challenge for us all who wish to be true sons and daughters of the Holy Cross. Notice the actions of Jesus in our gospel account: He took the meager portions of bread and fish; he blessed them and he broke them. He then gave them back to his disciples and directed them to distribute the blessed food to the crowd. Jesus thereby gave to us, the church, a model for ministry, a ministry to alleviate the hunger and suffering in those around us. The Church can never separate its commitment to the Eucharist from its commitment to lessen human suffering. The Eucharist without social involvement makes worship ring hollow.

So, fellow Crusaders, remembering, celebrating, believing, come to the table where the Body and Blood of the Lord is blessed, broken and given for you. And then scatter from here and be the broken and blessed presence of Christ wherever you go. Having received the miracle of Christ?s presence in the Eucharist, having been grounded and renewed in the spirit of the Holy Cross, recommit yourself to continue to be the miracle of His presence for others. You may think yourself to be inadequate for the task. So did the disciples in today?s gospel. But trust the multiplying power of Christ. His power and your willing faith are enough to lessen the countless hungers of our world.

Here are some candid photos taken during our social events. Remember, we are AMATEUR photographers - except for the first picture !

Many thanks to those who sent in photos of the events.

GREEN SLIPS

Add anything going on in your life you want to say, and mail it into Holy Cross. Something very good may come from this!

September 2008 Letter

December 2007 Letter

October 2007 Letter

August 2007 Class Letter