The Student Council Prayer Service is an annual tradition at Jesuit that allows representatives on Student Council to lead the school in prayer. Led by the reflections of Reid Hatzmann ‘18 and Steven Mancillas ‘17, this prayer service focused on how to be a more virtuous Jesuit student.
The first reflection was given by Reid Hatzmann ‘18, who spoke on his personal efforts on becoming a more humble person, in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with God. Reid used the example of one of his peers questioning him about asking other classmates about their test grades. Reid said that after class his friend confronted him about asking others about their test grades, saying that it was just a way for Reid to brag about his own grade. Reid went on to say that this experience was eye-opening for him and that it truly made him reflect on how to be a more humble person. Mason McCord ‘19 spoke on the reflection and said that “it made me question my personal actions. I had to think about if they were for the glory of God or if they were for my personal gain.”
Steven Mancillas ‘17 gave the second reflection, speaking on how we need to be more like brothers to each other. Steven compared powerlifting to everyday activities at Jesuit, explaining that how for each step that goes into powerlifting there is a corresponding action in the Jesuit community. For the majority of his reflection, he focused on spotting, the act of helping the lifter complete a lift if he can’t finish it under his own power. Steven said that “we all need to be each other’s spotters at Jesuit.” He continued on to say that it can be as easy as high-fiving someone in the hallway or helping a classmate finish his homework. Steven elaborated on this point, saying that spotting is not just completing the lift for the lifter, but assisting the lifter in finishing it himself. He related this to Jesuit by saying that if we complete everything for our brothers, they will not learn how finish it themselves. However, if we assist them in finishing the task, it will help them learn how to do it themselves.
Overall, the students who participated gave reflections on their personal efforts to better themselves as Jesuit students. Michael Cooper ‘19, reflecting on the prayer service as a whole said, “Steven’s reflection really connected with me. Being on a sports team means I especially always have to be watching out for my brothers… Reid’s reminded me that I am a part of a team, and that all glory doesn’t belong to me when I perform well.”
The Student Council Prayer Service was a huge success. Stay tuned to The Roundup for more news!
