2024 Lenten Reflections

Sacred Reflections Lent into Easter

February 14 - April 9, 2024

Welcome and Prayer BC High shows itself best as a community of faith with a rich tradition of praying for our shared life in God’s kingdom. We invite you to pray with us through this booklet that leads us through the sacred seasons of Lent, Holy Week, and the first moments of the Easter season.

This booklet contains reflections from each of our twelve houses as we journey through the year’s holiest moments. As a synodal church, we join our voices together to pray through our distinctive experiences of faith. Each week, a member from each House relates the significance of Gospel passage for the community. A list of each house and its patron is at the back of this booklet.

We invite you to pray along with us during these sacred times, and, as always, we ask God to bless you, your loved ones, and all who need our prayerful support.

God bless you, Fr. John Predmore, SJ

Prayer during our sacred seasons Loving God, you gave Ignatius a vision, a mission, and a prayer for the world. Help us to advance his dream for the world’s healing and grace. Increase our desire and ability to become people “with” and “for” others so that we may celebrate what is right with the world and to live in gratitude. Inspire us to live boldly with hearts and minds attuned to your compassion and mercy. Give us the discernment to make the right choices that bring about your greater glory. Help us make the prayer of Ignatius of Loyola our own: Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

The Spirit and teachings of Saint Ignatius of Loyola continue to permeate the halls and classrooms of BC High. Our extensive community of faith continues to be formed and informed by the Spiritual Exercises, a program of prayer practices written by Ignatius as he spent time with God on retreat on the banks overlooking the Cardoner River.

Our holistic approach to teaching and learning at BC High honors Saint Ignatius’ call for cura personalis or care of the whole person. With the incorporation of the House System last year, our students experience another layer of care. Each house represents its own community within our larger community and ensures that our students are seen, known, and loved. The House System plays a critical role in weaving care and learning together in the spiritual, academic, and character formation of each student.

BC High honors our Ignatian tradition during Lent and Easter with an offering of Jesuit-inspired ministries activities. We feel blessed in many ways with so many dedicated students who develop their gifts and talents through the guidance of a highly committed faculty and staff. We express our faith through many charisms and experiences, and we want to express our thanks to you through this booklet of prayer for the Church’s most sacred seasons. Please join us in prayer each week and know that we will keep you in prayer as a gift to one another. We are filled with gratitude for your prayerful support.

- Grace Cotter Regan P'12, President

Lent is a season of preparation and reflection for the Easter mysteries. It is a most significant period in the church year. Therefore, as a Catholic school centered on Christ, Lent is a particularly important time at BC High. I am thankful to Fr. Predmore for providing the opportunity for members of our BC High community to share their experience. I also want to thank those who shared their reflections. The sharing of experience is central to Ignatian spirituality and our formation in a Jesuit school. I am certain that the reflections shared here will help guide our own prayer and contemplation during this Lenten season and bring us closer to Christ.

- Adam Lewis P'28, Principal

February 14 - Ash Wednesday Reflection by Patrick Kelly ’25, Xavier House Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Gospel Passage: Jesus said to his disciples: When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you to win the praise of others.

When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them.

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Reflection: In this passage, Jesus is urging others to be humble and true in their prayer and devotion to God. We see Jesus advising against the public display of piety where one seeks the approval of others. He instead emphasizes self-righteousness. With this, I was challenged to think about the motives of my own spiritual practices. I found that Jesus wants us to be authentic and true in our worship instead of seeking external validation. The practices described in this passage–fasting, prayer, and giving–-can all be done alone, allowing for a more personal connection with God. Jesus reminds us that true devotion is seen by God and not others. I feel that this passage reflects greatly on the community of generous and loving people at BC High, filled with those who are genuine people who do good without seeking reward.

February 18, First Sunday of Lent Reflection by Lucas Docanto ’25, Pro House Matthew 4:1-11

Gospel Passage: At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan!

It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."

Reflection: In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is tempted by the devil while fasting for forty days and forty nights in the desert. Despite these trying circumstances, Jesus avoids these temptations because he is fully committed and dedicated to God, His Father, and his greater purpose - our salvation.

While we may not be enduring forty days and forty nights in the desert, our world today is also full of many temptations and evil. There are so many distractions that try to pull us way from our purpose. God created all of us in his image and also gave us all a purpose. Lent is a great time of year for us to be reminded of that. It is also a good time to reset and reflect on our world and how we have been living our life. Are we getting distracted? What temptations keep pulling us way? What is my purpose?

How am I working towards that every day? How is God trying to lead me to my purpose? What will happen if I listen to God and follow my purpose?

February 25 - Second Sunday of Lent Reflection by Johnny Spinale ’24, Gonzaga House Mt 17:1-9

Gospel Passage: Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

Reflection: In this passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus’ heavenly glory was displayed before the eyes of his most faithful disciples, Peter, James, and John. Within this appearance comes the voice of the almighty Father, who reveals the identity of his Son and tells the disciples to listen well to Jesus’ teachings, for it is He who provides wisdom and guidance.

The moment upon the mountain marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry as he would soon descend from the mountain, suffer death on the cross, and rise from the dead to save humans from sin. As Jesus was sacrificed for the sake of humanity, during Lent, we must make a self-sacrifice to honor the Son of God. In recognition of the Lenten season, Christians are called to return to God and strengthen their relationship with Him, thus reminding us to rediscover the importance of mercy toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.

March 3 - Third Sunday of Lent Reflection by Timmy Sterling ’24, Miki House Jn 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

Gospel Passage: Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty."

Reflection: This gospel reading is a true testament to the power that God has in our lives. When the Samaritan woman was asked by him for a drink, she responded with a question noting on how Jesus was a Jew, implying that she could not give him one. However, Jesus responds and tells her that whoever drinks the water he gives will never be thirsty again. I believe that this is a testament of the love that God has for us, and no matter the circumstances, being thirsty in this case, that God’s love will always be there for us.

March 10 - Fourth Sunday of Lent Reflection by Alden Kuo ’27, Day House JN 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

Gospel Passage: As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" — which means Sent —. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see." So some of the Pharisees said, "You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?"

Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered and said, "Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" "I do believe, Lord," and he worshiped him.

Reflection: This passage is a beautiful reminder of what Jesus can do if only we were to let him into our lives. We see this blind man, who is stuck in eternal darkness from birth, and we see Jesus step into his life to give him the light. This is a story of redemption and belief, as this story is analogous to how, through the accepting of Jesus Christ, can we be given Eternal Happiness despite a life of sin. This is also a story about how Jesus breaking the status quo is eye opening. We see the Pharisees, stuck in their way of belief, refusing to accept the love and teachings of Jesus Christ, and we see the blind man, who, through the worship of Jesus, finally opened their eyes to the world. We all have that blindness in us that clouds our vision of the light, but through Jesus Christ are we able to see.

March 15 - Saint Patrick‘s Day, Patron of Boston Archdiocese Reflection by Ms. Killorin P’25, English, Fine and Performing Arts When St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday, the Archdiocese transfers the feast to the preceding Friday.

Reading: Lorica of St. Patrick Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the Threeness, Through a confession of the Oneness Of the Creator of creation.

Reflection: This prayer, dated a few centuries after his death, was most likely not written by St. Patrick. So then why do we still attribute these words to him? It is because the words we do have that were undeniably written by Patricus in the 5th century speak to the same spirituality of this prayer. It is a Celtic Christian spirituality to which thousands of later “saints and scholars” would dedicate their lives. One aspect of Celtic Christian spirituality, like Ignatian spirituality, sees God in all things—quite literally. Christ is everywhere-- in myself, in others, in how I think, and how others think of me. This prayer invokes the holy vision required to see that Christ is relationship. Christ is three and, in that Threeness, Oneness. The longer version of this prayer sees the speaker connecting themselves to the natural world as well: the rocks, the sea, “the dazzle of fire. This is profoundly Celtic. We are reminded that creation is God’s first testament, and that our relationship to creation is a relationship to Christ, a sentiment echoed in the prayer’s final words. I love that this prayer is called a “lorica,” a breastplate. While elsewhere in the prayer, the speaker calls for more physical protection— one the real Patrick certainly would have needed as he embarked on his dangerous journey of conversion— here in the beautiful conclusion, this prayer calls for the protection of one’s heart from the belief of separateness. The danger of separation is for so many of us a real struggle. It is why we think ourselves better than others, why hurt each other and defend those actions. It is what keeps us from living as God intends. This prayer guards us from that darkness by holding central the model of our connectedness who is all, and in all, and in whom all has its being. Patrick too would have known the temptation this darkness as he sat in the freezing cold of his enslavement on Slemish mountain. Instead, he chose forgiveness; he chose oneness.

March 17 – Fifth Sunday of Lent Reflections by Ben Campolongo ’26 and Cristian Velez '25, Teresa House Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

Gospel Passage: The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.”

When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”

Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Reflections: This passage of the Bible is especially touching to me, because it demonstrates the strength of unfailing faith in even the most desperate situations. Here, Martha is grieved after her brother died, seemingly because Jesus failed to answer her initial call for help. Despite this, Martha remained faithful in Him. In the face of despair, she said Yes to God, and her brother was resurrected. This passage sends the message that trust in God’s plan will allow one to relent through the most difficult circumstances, even in moments of complete desolation. The Word teaches us that despair is the worst outcome, and because of God’s grace, even the worst situations can be overcome. Jesus wants us to know that He is the hope we all need. If our hope and faith persevere through trialing times, they can strengthen us to grow resilient in the face of future adversity. - Ben Campolongo ’26

March 17 – Fifth Sunday of Lent -- continued Reflections by Ben Campolongo ’26 and Cristian Velez '25, Teresa House Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45 This passage of the Bible is especially touching to me because it demonstrates the strength of unfailing faith in even the most desperate situations. Here, Martha is grieved after her brother dies, seemingly because Jesus failed to answer her initial call for help. Despite this, Martha remained faithful in Him. In the face of despair, she said Yes to God, and her brother was resurrected. This passage sends the message that trust in God’s plan will allow one to relent through the most difficult circumstances, even in moments of complete desolation. The Word teaches us that despair is the worst outcome, and because of God’s grace, even the worst situations can be overcome. Jesus wants us to know that He is the hope we all need. If our hope and faith persevere through trialing times, they can strengthen us to grow resilient in the face of future adversity. - Cristian Velez '25

March 19 – Saint Joseph‘s Solemnity Reflection by Ethan Holson ’24, Faber House Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a

Gospel Passage: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Reflection: Reflecting on this passage, although Joseph may feel uncertainty and even fear initially, it is through his trust in God and the Holy Spirit that he gets past this fear and finds grace and salvation on the other side of it. It is through his faith in God’s plan despite his doubt and uncertainty that this grace is realized. One of the lessons I take away from this reading is to embrace those things in our lives that we fear or that are unexpected, and through embracing and saying yes to these things, we can perhaps find the grace and salvation that Joseph eventually finds.

March 24, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion Reflection by David Fluerme ’26, King House Mt 27:11-54

Gospel Passage: Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius Pilate, who questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?" But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. Look to it yourselves."

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.

Reflection: The passage recounts the persecution and death of Jesus Christ. This passage is very descriptive in Jesus’ suffering, showing the humanity of Christ. Though this passage details the death of the Son of God, this passage illustrates hope. Though Jesus is ridiculed and abused, He continues to call out to God, as I do in my times of need. We see Jesus’ prayers be answered, as God raises the dead prophets and the people who originally mocked Jesus now fear him, as they realize that He is the true Son of God. This passage, while dark and morbid, shows us that God will always come to save us in our time of need, as He did to Jesus on the cross.

March 28, Holy Thursday - Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Reflection by Ms. Wilson, Judge Head of House, Social Studies Jn 13:1-15

Gospel Passage: Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

So, during supper, he rose and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Reflection: The image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples reminds me so much of Father Mychal Judge who dedicated his life to washing the feet of others.

It is an act of servant leadership, humility, and compassion. Jesus refers to himself as a teacher and master, titles that people would hold in high regard. And yet he demonstrates that true leadership is putting others first before oneself and serving the needs of others. And this great act of humility, of getting on the dusty ground and engaging in dirty work that others would disdain, illustrates the human connection we all crave. Mychal Judge understood this and lived his life with great compassion. He understood the power of touch whether he was placing his hands on someone’s head to offer a blessing, giving a handshake or a hug to the homeless men and women he worked with daily, or holding an AIDS patient who was approaching death. Judge performed acts that so many people would recoil at the very thought of touching someone who was unclean or diseased. But by touching people, especially those on the margins, he made strangers into friends. One of the remarkable things about Jesus is that he is God who came to earth to live as a human and to connect with us, getting on the ground and offering a healing touch. How can I better serve others and create human connection showing God’s love to others through my actions?

March 29, Good Friday Reflection by Jack Ferris ’25, Romero House Jn 18:1—19:42

Gospel Passage: So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

Reflection: In this passage, Jesus takes on the burden of humanity, and sacrifices his life at the hope of humanity’s redemption. On his long journey to Golgotha, he carries the wooden cross, the representation of the heavy sins of humanity. His love for us surpasses all else. Even when death was imminent because of the betrayal of humanity, he shared his love with us.

Let us not take his sacrifice for granted, and move ourselves to be loving and forgiving as Christ did. Perfection does not exist, but this is what God intended. Through reflection, all of us may draw closer to the profound love embodied by Jesus’s sacrifice.

March 30, Holy Saturday Reflection by Mr. Hauser, Social Studies, Arrupe Division Jn 18:1—19:42

Gospel Passage: They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.

So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

Reflection: As I reflect on this passage on Holy Saturday, I immerse myself in imaginative prayer. I gaze upon the lifeless body of Jesus. I stand among those in mourning; family and friends, overwhelmed by the emotions of their love and sorrow. The poignant reality of Jesus’ humanity is striking as I witness his burial. Yet, within this tomb lies the full divinity of Jesus and the promise of our redemption.

I linger in the shadows of the tomb, and I encounter the inevitability of my own mortality. Jesus’ death represents the most profound surrender, and the greatest act of love a human being can perform for another. I recognize the transformative power of surrender and the grace that flows out of me when I seek to do God’s will above my own desires. I pray that the graces I have received during my Lenten journey have led me to a strengthened faith, a purified heart, and a renewed commitment to a life of love and service.

Hope is an essential Christian conviction, and amidst the sadness and stillness of the tomb, my heart is filled with the promise of the resurrection. Even in my darkest moments here on Earth, I have hope. For the coming glory of Easter is the ultimate triumph of life over death.

March 31, The Resurrection of the Lord Reflection by Drew MacDonald ’26, Ciszek House Jn 20:1-9

Gospel Passage: On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

When Simon Peter arrived, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Reflection: I remember the first time I heard this passage, in church as a kid in elementary school. I remember concluding that the first disciple should have known to go into the tomb first, but never reflected any deeper than that, as I was confused about what it meant. As someone who does not find himself reading scripture often, I have grown immensely since the last time I had heard this passage. After rereading it, I immediately understood much more than before, namely, in the importance of faith, even when things are not understood. Faith is extremely important in humanity, and a driver of connection with others. Without having faith in those close to you, you can never truly develop the important human connections we all seek. As shown by the disciple during Jesus' resurrection, faith is truly real when acted on when things are not fully understood and you are confused, just as I was when I first heard this passage. Especially today in a world where confusion and misinformation is increasingly common, having faith in important people in your life will allow you to truly resonate with others in the kingdom of God.

April 7 - Second Sunday of Easter Reflection by Thomas Feeney ’25, Bowman House Jn 20:19-31

Gospel Passage: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Reflection: This Gospel reading describes when Jesus appeared to his disciples and passed on the Holy Spirit to them. This is also when the sacrament of confession was given to us. However, one of the disciples, Thomas, didn’t believe the others, and saw the holes in Jesus’s hands from the nails. Being the first time they are seeing Jesus since he was crucified on the cross, I’m sure they were confused and even afraid, but the way Jesus greeted them —“Peace be with you”—shows how much of an impact his words and actions have. When he showed his hands, they immediately knew it was him and had zero doubt about it except, of course, the disciple known as Doubting Thomas. To me, we all have doubt. Whether that be in an everyday interaction with our friends, or a meaningful conversation at dinner time. One example is a few years ago at my public school. I was going through a very hard time. I stuck close to God, which is the most important relationship I can have, and I worked through it. Since I came to BC High, I have significantly improved and am much happier all together.

April 9 - Annunciation of the Lord Reflection by Ms. Manning, Vice Principal, Student Life When the Annunciation occurs during Holy Week, it is transferred to the first day following the Easter Octave.

Lk 1:26-38

Gospel Passage: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.

Reflection: Every time I reflect on Mary’s “yes” to God, I am moved by something new. I have an image of this Gospel in my office; Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The Annunciation is the literal and spiritual backdrop to my daily work in Student Life. I view every interaction that I have each day – whether it is with a student, a colleague, or a parent – as an opportunity to say “yes” to God and to God’s will for my life. It is scary to say “yes” to God, particularly when I am unsure or uncomfortable. Fr. Predmore wrote about this Gospel in a homily a few years ago, and one line from his homily remains with me still – “I say ‘yes’ and then I figure out how to make it happen.” My yes, in the midst of my uncertainty, reminds me that I am not in control, and that all I need to do is to be open to how God wants to use me.

Litany of House Patrons Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, model of empathy, tolerance, and tenacity. Pray for us.

Servant of God, Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ, resolute teacher, evangelist, and grounded in faith. Pray for us.

Servant of God, Dorothy Day, discipline of humility, commitment, and charity.

Pray for us.

Saint Peter Faber, SJ, standard of loyalty, sincerity, and contemplation. Pray for us.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ, model of humility, virtue, and selflessness. Pray for us.

Father Mychal Judge, OFM, paradigm of humility, loving obedience, and empathy. Pray for us.

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., teacher of fortitude, perseverance, and committed to justice. Pray for us.

Saint Paul Miki, SJ, standard of valor, resilience, and compassionate. Pray for us.

Blessed Miquel Pro, SJ, example of fortitude, vigor, and charity. Pray for us.

Saint Oscar Romero, peacemaker, courageous, and champion of the poor.

Pray for us.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, exhibitor of selflessness, compassionate, and devotion. Pray for us.

Saint Francis Xavier, SJ, displayer of patience, perseverance, and adventure.

Pray for us.

Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Patron of grades 7 and 8, model of love, spiritual depth, and faith and justice. Pray for us.

Ignatius of Loyola, SJ, founder, mystic, and lover of souls. Pray for us.