Today, on Sept. 26, the first mass of the school year took place—the Mass of the Holy Spirit. All students grades from third to twelfth grade wore their dress uniforms and gathered in the Herbert Center in the morning to partake in the mass together.

The purpose of the Mass of the Holy Spirit is to celebrate the start of the academic year and to ask the Holy Spirit to guide the community. For many newcomers students, this was their first mass experience in a school setting, according to freshman Jessica Long.

“I thought this mass was a nice way to gather the whole K-12 community,” Long said. “To me, it was a mix of new and old because I go to mass with my family, but I have never done it with my school,” 

During the Mass, students have the opportunity to partake in communion if it is their practice. At every Mass of the Holy Spirit, the same standard liturgy is read, but that does not mean that the mass has not changed and adapted over the years. The high school has been sharing more of the responsibility of running the Mass with the middle school, and all around there has been more and more student involvement as the years progress. The way the music has been sung and performed during the Mass has also changed, according to Community Life Chair Paul Pryor Lorentz. 

“One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is how now, everyone sings together—- which has not always been the case— so it feels very special,” said Pryor Lorentz. “My favorite part of the Mass is having most of the school present and feeling like a K-12 community.”

The entire school is welcome and encouraged to sing along to the many songs sung during Mass, including “Lamb of God,” “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and “Blessed Be Your Name.” Having everyone join together to sing brings the music to life and connects the entire student body and faculty, according to sophomore Olivia Kantor.

“It’s nice how everyone knows the lyrics to the songs and can sing along,”Kantor said. “It really feels like the entire community is contributing to the Mass,”

This year, a guest speaker shared the homily for the Mass. A homily is a personal commentary shared after a scripture that relates to the message in the scripture. Sister Lydia Collado, an RCSJ sister from the Sacred Heart in Northern Samar, Philippines, shared her story about being an RSCJ sister and committing her life to service by managing Sophie’s Farm. 

“I thought that it was nice that the guest speaker was in person,” said Long. “I also thought that her speech was really powerful.”