Page 339 - Carrollton 2017

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I In saying good-bye to you, the senior class, I find the following words of Janet Erskine Stuart, Religious of the Sacred Heart most
| appropriate to this moment: "We must remember that it is better to begin a great work than to finish a small one. In every order, great
| beginnings are better than little endings.”

I Seniors, you are at the beginning of building something great. Like any great edifice, there are many individual parts that come
| together to create a wonderful whole. I have always appreciated the beauty of houses made of stone. There is a certain beauty to
| strong buildings made up of stones that are not uniform, but instead are very individual and distinct. Yet together, bound by a strong
| mortar, they combine to build something beautiful. For me they are a wonderful symbol of community, Like those buildings, the
| strongest communities are made up of individuals, and like those buildings they are bound together by a strong mortar. I believe the
I mortar which holds our community together are the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools. These Goals and Criteria create a
I mortar that will bind you to the Sacred Heart community for the rest of your lives. I trust that you will continue to live by those Goals
I as you move into the future and continue to develop and nurture the relationships they call you to have. For, it is in relationships that
I you will define, develop, and influence yourself, others, and the future.

| What are those relationships? To paraphrase the Sacred Heart Goals:
| lake care o f and develop your relationship with God. In the rush of modern life, it can be easy to forget. Not on God’s part but on
| yours. He never forgets you, and will be there for you always.

| Take care of and develop your relationship with ideas. Be an idealist. Being only practical just maintains the status quo. Most
| advancement in the world comes from the spark of the ideal.

I lake care o f and develop your relationship to those in need. The world has an abundance of unsolved problems and unmet needs. The
| improvement o f the human condition and human security will be most difficult, if not impossible if social, economic, and environmental
I injustices are not addressed.
| lake care of and develop your relationship to those you are close to Continue to build your relationships with your family, friends,
I teammates, classmates, and colleagues. Stay close to those around you, while you continue to build new relationships.
8 Take care of and develop your relationship to yourself. I cannot resist yet one more opportunity to tell you to reflect regularly and
I intentionally on who you are, what you believe, and what you do. Without deliberate intent, reflection is often incomplete or
| dishonest. Without complete and honest reflection, it is impossible to grow in wisdom. Without exercising wisdom it is easy to become
x a person of bad habits, easily manipulated by others, rather than one of clear and purposeful direction.
I As Lloyd Shearer once wrote, "resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and
| tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in your life you will have been all of these.”

I In conclusion, I share again the words of Mother Aloysia Hardy, with which I began the school year, "Our loving-kindness with
3 ourselves is the source of our loving-kindness to others. When we develop this consciousness within our self and toward our self, then
I we can offer genuine, Christ-like love, tolerance and compassion to others." In other words, be kind to yourself and be kind to others,
| ... always.
I May God Bless You with many wonderful relationships on your journey through life.

I Sincerely,

I Olen Kalkus
I Head Master