By Karol Jones, 11th Grade

From the 8:20 a.m. inspection, to the 6:15 p.m. Rosary, to the 8:30 p.m. night prayers, the Latin phrase Praesto Sum is used by the students of the St. Louis De Montfort Academy. The Bible origins of Praesto Sum is the prophet Samuel, who answered the call of God with that phrase. The words literally mean “I am ready.” This phrase is used by the students to respond to a command given or a question asked by a superior. Now, the Spirit of Praesto Sum is much more profound than the simple words of the phrase. The first part of this spirit is to be willing to do whatever needs to be done without questioning orders. The essence however, is that one does these things with the idea in mind that the actions being performed will hasten the coming of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. A Praesto Sum student is a pleasure to be around, a great friend of God, and a virtuous person. The good produced by this spirit at the Academy is edifying for anyone who sees it at work. This spirit is highly important, not only to Academy students, but to everyone else in the world as well.

How often do people say, “I’m sick of everyone telling me what to do, just leave me alone.” Poor, poor misguided souls who say this, people who consistently fail to realize how bad this desire to have “freedom” really is. To clarify, there is a difference between Catholic and Satanic freedom. Catholic freedom is to be free to do the will of God, Satanic “freedom” is the ability of doing whatever one desires. The desire to have the ability to do whatever one wants turns a person into a slave of the devil. The person is impulsive, foul mouthed, impure, filthy, and all-around disgusting. The Satanic “freedom” of today is directly opposed to the Spirit of Praesto Sum, these are two completely different world views. The man who has the Spirit of Praesto Sum looks at the world as a place to give glory to God, the other man sees the world as a place to have fun. The Catholic man builds civilization, and the other man tears it down. The St. Louis De Montfort Academy tries to build Catholic men who build civilization, not destroy it. That is the goal, not only of the staff, but of the students as well. So, at the Academy, it is important for the students to practice this way of being, not only for their own good, but for the good of the world as well.