On Friday, April 9th, 2021, a very special prayer service was held. Like in previous prayer services, there was a limited number of students present in the Terry Center. A majority of the students live-streamed the event from their homeroom classrooms. This week, the senior class was able to come together in a social-distanced environment and pray together.
The Service
As a senior walking into the Terry Center, I saw the chairs laid out with the gifts resting on them. What was waiting for us in our seats was a brand new The Word On Fire Bible. Bill and Sandy Drexel, parents of Jesuit graduates Jonathan Drexel ’03 and Nick Drexel ’05, generously donated the gifts. This edition of the Bible is a collection of the Gospels with beautiful artwork and helpful commentary from religious scholars. This will hopefully help people read the Bible seriously for the first time.
The service began as it always does: with a prayer to the Holy Spirit. During this prayer service following Easter Sunday, the books reminded us that Easter doesn’t end after Easter Sunday. The students gained a realization that Easter is an entire season, lasting fifty days in total. We are called to act like Christ during this time, asking ourselves, “What’s next?” just as the disciples did after Jesus’ resurrection.
As a community, we opened up our newly-gifted Bibles and we read along together to the Gospel passage John 20:1-10. This passage has Simon Peter and another disciple run to the tomb of Christ, finding it empty. Following the reading of this passage, we also read a reflection from St. John Chrysostom titled “Why the Disciples Believed.” Chrysostom goes into detail explaining how a thief would be unable to steal the body. The thief would not go through the trouble of unwrapping Jesus’ linen and then folding it.
Conclusion
This prayer service was truly a special one since the community received a beautiful gift that will be cherished forever. The service also gave students the opportunity to pray and reflect on the resurrection of Jesus, the most important event in Christianity, and what that means for us moving forward.
Thank you Bill and Sandy Drexel for the generous donation!
