April 2003

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Lasallian Youth Link
Lasallian Youth Link
An Official OSA publication
Volume 1
Issue 9
APRIL 2003

THIS MONTH
FROM THE OSA AGM
A THOUGHT
SONG
FEATURED WEBSITE
PRAYER
FINAL WORD

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--- THIS MONTH
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April was a very important month for Malta as the country had to elect a ne w
government and at stake was Malta's entry to the European Union. Some of you may know the result....On 1st May 2004 Malta together with 9 other
countries will become members of the European union. We had a 5 week
election campaign just after a 5 week referendum campaign had just ended.
So finally life here is back to normal as a country we are quite keen on
local politics. Turnout in the election was of over 96%.

On an international scale it is good to see that the citizens of Iraq are
going back to their normal life after the war campaign. Another positive
event is the confirmation of a Palestinian Prime minister in the middle
east. This move should lead to the launching of a peace map which will
result in a Palestinian state in 2005.

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---OSA AGM
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As we informed you last month the Old Stelmarians Association just held its
56th annual general meeting. The following are excerpts from report given
by out going chairman David Musu`. Mark Grech has now been confirmed in
this position.

I will share with you some thoughts to help you understand better the
atmosphere the OSA has to operate in, and some problems we encounter :

In today's society an association like ours has to survive. To achieve this
we are constantly seeking new horizons to fulfil our Founders motto that of
being of service. Unfortunately we cannot attract young blood into the
Association. The reasons being various and which one cannot pin point
directly to a specific cause. Bottom line the fact remains that for the
last six years we have not managed to recruit young blood (school leavers)
to join. It is a pity that the young men leaving Stella Maris do not feel
part of their alma mater. Strangely enough a good number of them do come
back to the school but only to seek particular teachers to speak to them on
a personal level. A number of past students who turn up later on in life do
so on the premise that it could be advantageous for their children when they
are of age to enter the school. Once they see that this cannot be achieved
through the Association, they become invisible. Modern society offers more
than enough distractions for the young lads, so the OSA at a young age is
not that inviting. It is within the light of the above circumstances that
we appreciate even more the members we have, those who attend or support us
in any way possible. The few of us who form the association are here for no
other reason but for their love of the school. The problem of recruitment is
not only on a local level, but our overseas counterparts encounter these
problems also. The brothers encounter these problems with the decreasing
number of vocations. We have to start thinking of ways to encourage the
present students to participate in Lasallian activities from a young age.
This can only be achieved through close association with the school
administration.

We get full support both from the brothers and the school, however with more
co-ordination we could work closer together towards one goal which would be
of greater benefit to all parties.

The brothers here are Stella Maris are diminishing in number. In addition
the aging process does not help us much. The Brothers at Stella Maris are
either too busy to cope with the additional duty of the OSA, or way past
retiring that they are not in a position to fill in the post of Moderator
within the OSA. Without this vital link with the Brothers, co-ordination is
of more importance.

The committee has however throughout the past year kept up with the
Associations regular activities. The Lasallian Family Mass ably animated by
the choir, who are also regularly asked by the PTA to animate mass for their
activities. The carnival party for the junior school children which as form
this year was also opened to St. Benild children, Thank you Karen as you
co-ordinate this beautifully, and social activities for parents of the
children at school.

As announced last year, in July, three of our members participated in the
International Youth Symposium held in Quebec, Canada. During this four day
symposium Lasallian youths from all over the globe met, and it was agreed
to set up, each in his region a Youth Movement which will act independently
of the past pupils association. This in an effort to give youths more lee
way, and encourage their sense of commitment. Also as a result of this
gathering, what was previously known as the Worth Link, has now been changed
to the Lasallian Youth Link, which is the official publication of the
Lasallian Youth Movement to be set up. This electronic publication is mailed
to Lasallian youths all over the globe. My thanks to Ivan here for his
constant unfailing commitment.

The student Live-Ins we had proposed last year were undertaken successfully,
and we are presently planning a third live-in to take place in May.
Co-operation from a good number of teachers was very forthcoming and the
enthusiasm by the students was our gauge of success.

I conclude:

Why or what makes us go on. Our Love for the brothers and Stella Maris
College, where we still see the Brother as the focal point.

If I had to say that life is love and love is about living, I would have to
say that the OSA is living life to its full. One cannot but describe the OSA
as a loving mechanism. Love for St. John Baptist De La Salle, on whom we
yearn to learn more, love for the education of the children in the college,
and love for the development of our youths and past pupils.

What is all this Love about. Love is about dreaming. Dreaming of
accomplishing new goals, set new horizons, and new frontiers. But Love
alone is not enough. We need to dream within the capacity of our limits,
which brings us to using our wisdom. You could question my committee and
myself as to what are the dreams within our limits. My answer would be
putting back that same question to you. We do not fear new ideas, because
out of these ideas we create innovations which give rise to the birth of new
concepts and intellect. If we fear, we would not change. If we fear we
would not develop. It is my committee's and my prerogative to initiate
change and induce and develop a culture of change. Change, which should be
entrenched in creativity. Hence our constantly changing role within the
Lasallian Family This culture of change however has to be part of our
school system, which the OSA should be part and parcel of. Through
education we can seek to change attitudes and internal feelings.

This is not an easy task, but it is what the OSA could strive for, its
members should however be informed of Lasallian development and even of the
spiritual development within the Lasallian family.

Live Jesus in our hearts.

Forever.

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---THOUGHT
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The three trees.

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing
their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a
treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I
could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the
beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take
kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world.
Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and
straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and
look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to
them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will
always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group
of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said,
"This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood
to a carpenter,"and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because
he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I
should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy
because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened
because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.
One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree,I'll
take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed
box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was
not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a
small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings
had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone
in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they
placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first
tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this
manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event
and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second
tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the
water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough
to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said
"Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had
carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to
a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the
top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was
strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was
possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your
way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in
Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted,
just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's
plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways
are always best.

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--- THIS MONTHS' SONG
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Many of you remember singing this in Quebec last summer!

Heal The World
(Michael Jackson)
There's A Place In
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That
Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For
Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And
Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For
Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

You And For Me
You And For Me
(fade)

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--- FEATURED WEBSITE
______________________________________________________________

http://www.oakhill.nsw.edu.au/lasalle/prayers.html

A collection of lasallian prayers from the website of a lasallian college in
Australia. Links include a section about St. John Baptist De La Salle and a
number of educational resources.

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--- PRAYER
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A PRAYER FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

O Lord our God

When you wanted to tell us about your love and your truth you sent a special
teach to us: Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus as a student grew in wisdom.

As a teacher he was patient with slow learners; he taught by example, by
modeling; He used many diverse methods particularly parables.

But above all, His life and his teachings agreed with each other.

Help as as students and teachers to search passionately for truth; to study
for love of learning not simply to pass exams; to do our best not just to
please out teachers or superiors. But because we are serving you, Lord.

You have commissioned us to go into all the world and teach all you have
commanded us. So help us to know your commands well, to practise them, and
then to pass them on to others.

And so, when we meet you face to face, when we're given a grade for our
life, may we hear your voice saying to us: Well done, good and faithful
student/ good and faithful teacher, enter into the joy of your Lord.

And we pray as we dedicate ourselves afresh to you, through Christ Our Lord.

AMEN

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---FINAL WORD
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Hope all of you enjoyed this edition of the Lasallian Youth Link.
If you have any suggestions, comments or articles you would like to send
please feel free to do so at the above address.

Regards

Ivan , Mark and David.

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