On December 8, 2015, every available Jesuit student strolled into the Terry Center to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, one of the ten Holy Days of Obligation.
Father Ron Boudreaux began the Mass by addressing one of the biggest misconceptions that most Catholics still believe: the Immaculate Conception does not celebrate the conception of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, but it actually celebrates the conception of Mary, the Mother of God. Christ was prophesied to be born of a virgin, but Mary was born conventionally with a normal mother and father; however, she was born without any original sin, making the conception immaculate. We are obliged to celebrate this day because Mary was the first person to escape the original sin of Adam and Eve, which the first reading reminded us of (Genesis 3:9-15, 20).
“Many devout Catholics believe this to be true…and therefore most Catholics are wrong,” Fr. Boudreaux stated. This opening startled many audience members, including Evan Bausbacher ‘17, who described the scene as such: “I could hear audible gasps from the people around me.” Bobby Turner ‘17, who usually dozes off during Mass, noted that “It startled me and grabbed my attention, for sure.”
Following this bold beginning, Boudreaux continued his homily by noting how “merciful” our God is because even after the original sin Adam and Eve committed, he still shows us mercy through his Son, Jesus. This got junior Bryce Ozier thinking about how he “messes up a lot in life, especially in respect to God. The fact that even after all the times I’ve screwed up in my 18 years, he still forgives me and other people, is outstanding.”
Continuing with the theme of God’s mercy, Bausbacher told The Roundup that he was reminded of “how we had just gone to confession two weeks ago,” and how many Jesuit students went in to confess their sins. He also thought of how “wonderful it is that the sins of all those who went to confession were forgiven, no matter what.”
Boudreaux then continued by telling the crowd of students and faculty that, like God, “We, too, must be merciful towards one another, no matter what.” After hearing this call to action, Ozier was reminded that “We always have to be nice to people, even the really really bad ones. I think we all know that, but sometimes we choose to purposefully forget, which makes us no better than them.”
This was the last Jesuit school Mass of the year 2015 but stay tuned to The Roundup for more great Mass coverage in the new year, 2016!
