OCT 1st FEAST DAY OF ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX, THE “LUZ” RED ROSE FROM THE LITTLE FLOWER OF JESUS WITH NOSTALGIC POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE
As alumna and guests entered the Gala Ballroom, they were greeted with Luz’s long-stemmed red roses for all ladies in commemoration of the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus. Prayer answered with the surprise red rose!
With “Pomp and Circumstance” playing in the background, this video shows graduate headshots of different high school and college batches, most of which were submitted by attendees of the CHSNAF Grand Reunion Gala held in Toronto on October 1, 2022.
It also includes group shots of the different batches. This video surprised and welcomed guests as they entered the Imperial Ballroom of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
In our grad year, listening to “Pomp and Circumstance” is like entering a soothing sanctuary. Within a single musical line, Edward Elgar, the composer, seems to “blend emotions of triumph with feelings of melancholy, capturing the bittersweet sense of excitement for the future “fused with sorrow of leaving the present and the past to venture to the future, which is now our yesterday and today."
“We were deliberate then in our steps by stepping forward with the right foot and bringing the left foot to the side of the right foot, then stepping forward with the left foot and bringing the right foot to the side of the left foot. We continued in perfect precision as we found our way to our seats, eager and ready for the future. For the moment, however, it seemed an effort to contain our overwhelming enthusiasm.”
We tried to recreate that grad feeling the night of Oct 1st, 2022. We thank all alumna who attended our event. As a token of our appreciation, we created a surprise presentation made with soaring Spirits and boundless love - with many, many hours and weeks of toil, sweat, edits, research and repeat. — Beng Espinosa Lorayes HS69 and Marilou Capistrano Parcero HS73, Toronto, Canada
Credits: Marvin Gobuyan - Video Editor, Paul Espinosa - Graphics
"The Spirit Lives On!“ video debuted at the CHSNAF Grand Reunion on October 1, 2022 in Toronto.
We thank Sisters Yeye, Eden, Mel and Pat for their messages to us to encourage that the Spirit must live on in each of us by our supporting the CHS School System’s campus and mission schools.
This video drew inspiration in stages: It began with regret, followed by gratitude, and then culminated in hope.
Regret became the first reaction to the news that our beloved Alma Mater was closing. Soon, our second home, the physical testament of fond memories of our youth, where we nurtured friendships, with some enduring for more than half a century, will be gone.
The gloomy clouds of regret soon parted to give way to gratitude. "Thank you’s” went to our life coaches, the SSpS sisters and teachers who inspired, nurtured, and molded our ways.
Then, hope came. SSpS schools will continue to pursue the same teaching stirred by Truth and Love through the next generations. Through their Missions, that same spirit that inspired us will continue.
We are now happy to share that Hope with you through this video.
Dear fellow CHSians, what will you and your batch do to promote scholarships and to help our Sisters with our missions with the Invisible People - the Aetas of Tarlac and Mangyans of Mindoro?
That is the challenge of the Spirit! Do you accept the challenge?
When ready to accept the challenge, contact any of us in US, Canada and in the Philippines.
— Beng Espinosa Lorayes HS69 and Marilou Capistrano Parcero HS73, Toronto, Canada
Full video of the gala will be available soon!
The photos are free to download. Click the Download icon to save to your own devices.
Gina Gueco, Lina Umali, Lisa Suarez, Melissa Unidad, Vica Mangalindan, Yam Esmele, Yoly Lim
CHS North America Foundation, Inc.