Ex-President Sergio Osmeña, Sr. on Catholic education

Title

Creator

Fabroz, S. B.

Language

English

Year

1956

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

^XfTER Ex-President Sergio Os mena was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the University of San Carlos during its Commencement Exercises last March 23, 1956, he made some vital pronouncements on the importance of Catholic Education which greatly preciation of the Fathers of the Society of the Divine Word in whose hands the administration of this venerable institution had been en trusted and which gave him true Catholic education as a guide to good life. Thus the "Grand Old Man;" with the great ideal of a truly Christian education. Since then, whatever accomplishments I was able to achieve in the service of our people have been largely due to the early teaching which the good "Padres" of San Carlos gave me. These teachings exerted a most proEx-President Sergio Osmena, Sr. . . . ON CATHOLIC Education by S. & Ff=\ZROZ Ex-President Sergio Osmena, Sr. The greatness of humility. helped him as a guide in public service and in living with his people. He also made the bold significant statement that the distinguished honor conferred upon him did not belong to him but to the institution that prepared him for service to God, to the country, and to the people. He declared that time shall decide whether or not he had been prepared well and had served the people well. Ex-President Osmena expressed his gratitude to. and heartfelt ap"I have accepted this distinguish ed honor conferred upon me this evening with the thought that such an honor does not belong to me but to this great institution that pre pared me for service to my God and to my country, and to the people in helping them to achieve their noble ambition for a better life consistent with the ideals of Christianity under the Divine guidance of God. "It is more than half a century, sixty-two years to be exact, since I left this great institution, imbued found influence in the formation of my character. There is no adequate word which can express my grati tude and my heartfelt appreciation for those things that these "Padres" have done for me, for they were my guide and are still my guide in serving and living with our people. "In a democracy such as ours. Education, as we understand it, is a necessity for all people. It is education that gives the people an insight of their ambitions suitable (Continued on page 11) SUMMER, 1956 Page 3 Ex-President Osmena On Catholic Education (Continued from page 3) to the progressive culture and to the developing concept of the bro therhood of man and the fatherhood of God amongst all people and all nations of this world to bring about prosperity and eternal peace. With this education, especially in our country where, since the beginning of the Spanish regime, there has been imbued in the great majority of our people that Christian spirit, that yearning for union with this Creator, there is an assurance that our people shall live in prosperity, contentment, and peace, always looking to our God for His Divine guidance. "It may be stated that we can develop in an individual all the possible things that will give him wealth in this material world, but it cannot be denied that without his I had more accounting subjects during the third year and this was the year I got introduced to a new joke: Auditing. This was it! My grades hit rock bottom. The prof was a mean one, to boot. He told the class to rub their noses on a certain part of the book because he said the exam would be taken from that territory. When he gave the exam, he culled the problem from out of this good, round earth so we just stared at the problem and made clucking noises, like that. And the prof felt pleased! He clear ed his throat and told us, smiling the while: "Duh, duh, class. Look here. Now, what's hard about this prob lem." He grabbed a piece of chalk and started his hieroglyphics on the blackboard. After that he drew himself up, straight and erect, say ing: "See, it was very easy! Just use your common sense. It helps to use the common sense. Yeah, common sense tells us that..." I did not hear the rest. But this summer I keep hearing the words again. "It helps to use common sense. Yeah, common sense tells us that..." I think my common sense keeps telling me I should have been a judge. # religion, without his belief in God, mission, but also an assurance that such virtues which are concomit ants of life especially in a democra tic country may be forgotten and may lead to the destruction of life itself. As a keen psychologist, New man, said: 'Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humi lity, nor is largeness and justness of view faith . .. Quarry the granite rock with razor, or moor the vessel with a thread of silk; then, you may hope with such keen and delicate instruments as human knowledge and human reason to contend with those giants — the passion and pride of man.' "These things have been ac complished by this great institution, our beloved Alma Mater. The Fa thers of the Divine Word in whose hands the administration of this venerable institution has been en trusted, saw to it and are still seeing to it that Catholic education shall give every individual who comes to this institution the good life and the belter life not only in this world but hereafter. The innumerable great men this great institution has molded from all walks of life are now, not only the proof of its true c&ruth. of the (flatter I Douglas once thought to score off Lincoln by relating how, when he ! first knew him, Lincoln was a “grocery-keeper,” selling among other | things whisky and cigars. “Mr. L.,” said Douglas, "was a very good bartender!” But the laugh was on the other side when Lincoln made the following reply: “What Mr. Douglas has said, gentlemen, is true enough; I did keep a grocery, and I did sell cotton, candles and cigars, and sometimes whisky; j but I remember in those days that Mr. Douglas was one of my best customers. Many a time have I stood on one side of the counter and I sold whisky to Mr. Douglas on the other side, but the difference between i us now is this: I have left my side of the counter, but Mr. Douglas . still sticks to his as tenaciously as ever.” this institution shall fulfill its mis sion to provide education of the youth consistent with our Christian ideals; to make our people ever conscious of their obligations and duties to themselves, to their country and to our God. Whenever I come back to these hallowed surround ings, memories of the glorious ac complishments of our beloved Alma Mater crowd into my mind and makes my heart beat with pride and exaltation, and it becomes my sincere wish that there be more institutions of this kind in our country. I wish to express here not only my admiration and respect for those whose leadership have made this institution serve our country and our people well but also my very best wishes that they continue with the noble work of inculcating in our people a truly Christian education. "Reverend Father Rector, through you, I wish to thank the Adminis tration, the Faculty and Alumni of this institution for this great dis tinction and honor which has been conferred upon me. To you, my friends, who have honored this oc casion, I also express my gratitude." Page 11 SUMMER, 1956

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