April 2, 2021 Preparing for Easter Sunday GOOD FRIDAY
This week's Lenten Reflection is by St. Mary's senior Faith Wardwell '21.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3)
When I was younger, Easter was my favorite holiday—but for all of the wrong reasons. I loved the decorations that my mom hung around the house and the basket filled with presents that waited for me on Easter morning. I loved the plastic chick that released a jelly bean into my hand each time I pushed its beak and the Easter eggs I would scavenge the house for (although I always ended up in tears when my older brother had found more eggs than I had). Easter was the time of year when I ate Peep marshmallows and dyed eggs in pastel hues, the meaning of the Lenten season lost on my immature mind.
It wasn't until I was about 13 that I finally was able to love and appreciate the holiday for the correct reasons. As I stood in my local church for the Easter Vigil Mass, I watched a single flame be passed from candle to candle through the darkness, spreading like a wildfire. Each parishioner accepted the flame from a neighbor's candle and passed it on to the person sitting beside them, whispering wishes of a happy Easter as if they had been friends for years. The congregation grew brighter and brighter, soon illuminated by each individual flame. I held my own candle between my fingers, and as the wax melted away, so did the egg hunt and Easter basket waiting for me at home.
For the past few days, we have been in the dark, waiting for the flame to be passed to us to signify the resurrection of Jesus and his gift of eternal life. We have celebrated Holy Thursday and solemnly recognized Good Friday and Holy Saturday, waiting for the joy of Easter Sunday when Jesus rose again. And it has arrived—our moment of celebration, feeling relief from our previous days of sorrow. In a sense, we are still in the dark now, experiencing the global pandemic and searching for our flame of hope. Some of us may be separated from celebrating this holiday with family or we may be unable to attend mass in person for safety concerns. However difficult it may be to find our flame, it is alive and present in Jesus and his sacrifices.
Easter is bigger and brighter than the Easter bunny or jellybeans. In fact, it is bigger than one day of celebration. The values of Easter Sunday are our core values as Catholics, and the celebration that God deserves for this gift cannot be packed into a single day of festivities. We must take the momentum from our gratitude during Easter and carry that with us throughout the year, remembering the tribulations of our Lenten sacrifices and bettering ourselves as Catholics.
We have been kept in the darkness for long enough, searching for our flame of hope and light. This Lenten season has been a trying one, but with the spark of eternal life ignited by Jesus on this holy day, our candles will burn forever.
SPARTAN NEWS JOIN US FOR STATIONS OF THE CROSS TODAY This afternoon, St. Mary's Campus Ministry is having a Good Friday Stations of the Cross beginning at 12:00 p.m.
This event is available both in-person and virtual. The Stations of the Cross will be held outside at the Molloy Twomey Green. If weather does not cooperate, the event will take place inside the Tony Conigliaro Gym.
If you do not plan to attend in person you are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Today, Apr 2, 2021 12:00 PM
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT This week's College Spotlight feature is Thiago Pereira '21 who will be attending Stonehill College this fall.
For the past seven consecutive summers, Thiago had committed five of his weeks to attending the Ron Burton Training Village. The influence of Ron Burton Camp, on top of his journey at St. Mary's had prepared him in many ways which led to great accomplishments when applying to colleges.
Thiago was awarded the Ronald E. Burton Scholarship, a prestigious and private scholarship that amounts to almost a full ride to Stonehill College. In addition, he received the highly selective Yawkey Scholarship. Well deserved! Congratulations Thiago!
PASSOVER SEDER AT ST. MARY'S St. Mary's and the St. Mary's Diversity Club held the first annual Passover Seder. Here they enjoyed learning about the culture and traditions of Passover Seder. The Jewish holiday is centered around the retelling of the Biblical story of the Jewish people being freed from slavery in Egypt.
The Hebrew word "seder" translates to "order," and blending religious rituals, food, song and storytelling. This is the seder plate, and each food is symbolic for an aspect of Passover: A roasted shank bone represents the Pescah sacrifice, an egg represents the circle of life, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, haroset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt, karpas (or greens, often parsley) to represent spring.
SPARTAN PRIDE SENIOR DAY AT MANNING FIELD St. Mary's will be celebrating their seniors on the Track & Field team, Cheerleading team, and Football team at Manning Field tomorrow, Saturday, April 3.
The Track & Field team will begin their senior ceremony at 10:00 a.m. before their meet.
Cheerleading and Football will begin their senior ceremony at 1:30 p.m. before their game against Cathedral that starts at 2:00 p.m.
Family and classmates are invited to Manning to cheer on the seniors in a safely distanced manner. Go Spartans!
GIVING OUT EASTER EGGS National Junior Honor Society members put together Easter treat bags filled with candy and personalized thank you notes. Then, they delivered them to all faculty and staff at St. Mary's. Thank you NJHS!
CHEERLEADERS PREPARE FOR SENIOR GAME The cheerleaders made posters for the senior football players in preparation for Saturday's Senior Day Game at Manning Field.
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