WELCOME TO THE CARDINAL GIBBONS SCHOOL

Senior Award Ceremony Address

The program says at this point that I am supposed to make some remarks. So, some remarks it is…
 
This is not an end, it’s a beginning…
 
Stop and smell the roses…
 
There are no free lunches in life…
 
The world is your oyster… this one assumes, I suppose, that you like oysters… otherwise your world is something that tastes like chicken…
 
Savor every moment…
 
Spread your wings and look for new horizons… good luck getting the chicken to take that advice.
 
These clichés along with a few quotes from Green Day would constitute a graduation speech and we could call it a day. But I will not let you off that easy. Neither will I give you a lecture as I have done that many times over the past four years.
 
Cliché’s are not worthy of you. In matters Gibbons and all things to do with Gibbons men, you know I speak only in grandiose style. Today I plan only to laud you and give you your marching orders.
 
In our alma mater we sing of a “school that shall endure”. This may seem ironic at this point but it remains as true today as the day it was written. For long after the old gray hair of this faculty member and, perhaps, the old gray stones of this building have fallen, The Cardinal Gibbons School will endure in you and by you. For you will remember and will continue to tell the stories of what happened here.
 
You will tell that each day the lights went on at a special place at the corner of Caton and Wilkens Avenues and became a beacon shining out through the neighborhoods showing the way to young men, diverse in so many ways… economically, racially, geographically and even religiously. It became a lamp unto their feet, glimmering and calling them all from the urban areas of Baltimore; the suburbs of Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties and the rural towns of Carroll to come together as Brothers in Christ at Cardinal Gibbons.
 
It is here that class acquaintances grew into friendships and friendships morphed into brotherhood.
 
Many of your sports teams this year accounted themselves well and enjoyed laudable success.  The many athletes among you will tell for many years of the coup you counted against your adversaries on these fields, diamond and court and of the great victories you shared. You will recall of your days when you stood tall with your fellow David’s against your many Goliath’s.
 
The members of the High Adventure Club will tell of how they faced steep climbs and mighty rapids not because they were fearless but because this was the time in their life when they first learned to face fear head on and became men who make life happen for them and not to them.

You will recall your teachers, coaches, faculty and staff that guided you here. A person, if they are lucky, has a teacher only once in a lifetime who touches their life, who goes the extra mile to make them grow, who raises the bar of expectations for them and then urges them to jump over it. You have been blessed because God sent so many teachers like that to Cardinal Gibbons. You will remember them as the giants upon whose shoulders you stand.

You will tell the stories of a place of learning where ethics were taught in math class, where grammar was discussed in history, where self-discipline belonged in the sciences and religion was not restricted to a single class each year but was a part of every classroom you entered.  You can share with those that note your well roundedness that it began here at Gibbons with the seeds of forthrightness and sense of purpose that were planted there and have never stopped flourishing. So you have ever said through you actions, in the words of this old math teacher, “I am the product of my Catholic education and I am the sum of my Christian beliefs.”

Those of you who participated in It’s Academic, Battlefield Recon and other activities will tell of how it began here at Gibbons that you first started your journey to discern the difference between facts and knowledge and knowledge and wisdom and that your sense of scholarship has never waned and you have forever been filled with a wonder for understanding, a desire for wisdom and a zest for life.

As you grow into a leader of the community you will be able to share how it started here where through Student Government, SALT, Rosary-Pro Life, Faith and Service and on sports teams you were given opportunities to be involved in ways that fostered spiritual growth and here began the journey to discover the joy of true servant leadership.
 
Those of you who participated in the fine arts will always remember and share, with those who will listen, tales of the accolades you received on stage, the awards your performances won and the music you played to lift the hearts of man and to honor God. Continue always to share your joyful noise.
 
Sometime today, kiss your mother on the cheek, shake your dad’s hand and look him in the eyes or to whoever has made your life here possible and say, “thank you for everything”, for it is they who have provided, many times with great sacrifice, so you could be built upon this strong foundation.
 
Thank you, mothers. Thank you, fathers. Thank you, grandparents and, thank you, aunt who is sometimes mother and brother who sometimes acts as father.
 
Armed with this strong foundation, each of you as noble crusader is charged as was the knight-errant of long ago to go out and do good deeds in the world. As you wander through the years try always to see Jesus in the face of others; let you heart be filled with the love of your fellow man just as Our Father loves them, toil to make life better for others; provide hope to those who lack it and always aspire to reach beyond your grasp. But surely I will fail at such a daunting order you say. You may fail, but never let that fear stop you in your tracks for there can be only glory and satisfaction in attempting great things.
 
Through your journey, you will remain always in my prayers.
 

I pray that your hands will always be busy in the service of the Lord
And that your mind will always ponder on the beauty of the Word
That your heart will always stay true to the values that you hold
And your feet always stand firmly when there’s need that you be bold.
 
I pray that all of God’s great wonders give you reason to rejoice,
And thanksgiving for these gifts are echoed in your voice
That the sight of Mother Nature never fails to fill your spirit
And your courage in your faith is great and you always proudly wear it.  
 
I pray whenever the storms of life toss you on your way
You keep your true compass pointed north to the promised better day
 That fear never holds you back or gives your journey pause
And selfish thoughts never stand in your way of serving the greater cause.
 
I pray you on your way for you have somewhere to go
And remember what it is that all men of honor know
The straight and narrow path remains the shortest distance any place
And no matter whether you’re near or far you stand in God’s good grace.

 
Someday many years from now, when you grow closer to laying down your trophies for a crown, you will sit with a loved one or good friend, once again, sharing all the old stories of what happened here and you will recall your Brothers in Christ who have walked the walk with you and realize that you have been a Crusader all of your life, God’s paladin, with truth as your sword and faith as your shield, a soldier in the army of the Lord, always fighting the good fight, for in this the honor has always been yours but the Glory has always been to your Lord.
 
And you will realize that your time here were days well spent for they were spent with the sons of Cardinal Gibbons and together we spent them in the holy presence of God.
 
Thank you, class of 2010 my friends.

Listen to the Cardinal Gibbons Radio Spot Currently Running on WBAL

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS

For Additional Information on all these events contact Bruz Klima '73 at 410-644-1770 ext. 154 or 443-336-2911 or E-mail at bruzklima@aol.com

WEEKLY MASS

Mass takes place every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 7:30 am, in The Cardinal Gibbons Chapel. All are welcome.

Cardinal Gibbons School is grateful for the generous support of the following corporate partners

Special thanks to the the Class of 1969

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