Hundreds of students proudly adorning bright red ties fidget in their seats, waiting in angst for the mass to begin. Suddenly, the students quiet down at once, a phenomenon in and of itself, as the procession begins, marking the commencement of the extremely important mass.
This was the scene on Friday, September 2nd, as the school year, like many preceding it, was kicked off with the Mass of the Holy Spirit. This mass is very special to the student body not only because of its deep-seated traditions among Jesuits, who have been celebrating it since 1548, but also because it offers the whole Jesuit community a time to specifically recognize Holy Spirit’s gifts before embarking on the school year.
Although the mass began in the usual form, it was anything but ordinary. This mass included special events such as the blessing of Eucharistic ministers and the recognition of new faculty members at Jesuit. The mass was highlighted by an elegant and beautiful homily given by Fr. Sidney, teaching us to be aware of the people around us and to stop being as self-centered. Fr. Jay Hooks, explaining the homily, said, “Fr. Sidney was talking about what excellence means: more than just being accomplished, but having a depth of humanity, a depth of being. Fr. Sidney was talking about breaking out of our own self-centeredness… It’s about more than intellectual accomplishment.”
Always well received by the students, this year’s mass of the Holy Spirit was no different as Marc Veloz ‘18 noted, “I thought it was a very meaningful mass as participating in the blessing of the Eucharistic ministers was very spiritual.” Extremely high opinions of the mass were echoed throughout the student body as Nic Colombo ‘17 told The Roundup, “It was really cool to be able to see the incense and just the gravity of the mass in general. It is something I will not forget for a long time.”
The Mass of the Holy Spirit was not only loved by the students but was also highly touted by the Jesuit faculty. Faculty member Chris Knight commented on his enjoyment of the mass and the importance of it: “The first mass of the year brings the whole community together to celebrate the beginning of a new school year…and to invoke the Holy Spirit to come down upon our school and bless us.”
This year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit was definitely a huge success in kicking the school year off on a good note! Make sure to tune into The Roundup for future coverage of Jesuit events.
