“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” -Pope Saint John Paul II.
On October 22nd the school celebrated the feast of its co-patron Pope St. John Paul II with a sung Mass in the evening. After Mass, students and faculty enjoyed a delicious Polish dinner. Finally, there was a sung Divine Mercy Chaplet in the evening. Students used the same arrangement as the school choir used at the Divine Mercy Shrine for Divine Mercy Sunday. The liturgical celebrations were followed by a film on the life of St. John Paul II. In addition, a group of students, who had been preparing for Marian consecration using Fr. Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory, made or renewed their consecration on that day.
Commenting on the school’s celebration of the day, Thomas Hogan ’22 explained that even the classes were a celebration of the day: “John Paul II was very much a philosopher,” and the school had “classes on this day as a way of remembering that part of him, the intellectual part.”
Why is St. Pope John Paul II so important to the college? As Mr. Hogan phrased it “John Paul II is the ultimate patron of the formation of the body and the mind,” he teaches “a full formation of the whole person.” For this reason, we celebrate him with joy.
-Contributed by Adriana Smith ‘22