Each December, St. Mary’s High School honors grandparents when they are invited to join the student body in celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This year the multi-generational group gathered in the school gym on Friday, Dec. 8, for Mass, which was followed by a reception for the grandparents.
At the reception after Mass, board member Tom Resman said that this year’s Grandparents Mass drew the largest group of grandparents yet. Ben and Arlene Wassinger made the trip from Nebraska to be at the Mass with their grandson Sean. It was the first Grandparents Mass for the family; Sean, a junior, transferred to St. Mary’s this year after the family moved to Colorado Springs.
Ben and Arlene Wassinger with their grandson Sean at the the reception after Grandparents Mass
“It was a beautiful Mass,” Ben Wassinger said. “We felt it was important to come. We got to spend time with our grandson and celebrate Mass so we saw it as a win-win.”
Sean said he appreciates his grandparents’ support. He said they attended his soccer games during the fall season so it was special to have them at the Mass with him too.
Arlene Wassinger said that the family is thankful that St. Mary’s is now a part of their family.
“We’re thrilled with St. Mary’s,” she said. “Everyone has been so welcoming to Sean; we’re so grateful for the school.”
Father Brian Roeseler said in his homily that it is a time to celebrate family and honor the impact that past generations have had, while celebrating the role that Mary played in Jesus’s life. Roeseler said that while there are many ways in which we are filled with grace, it is important to recognize the importance of being obedient to God in living a grace-filled life. Jesus provided the ultimate example of obedience when he went to the cross. But that obedience came with the help of Mary, who brought him into the world.
“We celebrate the Immaculate Conception as a reminder that we should be obedient,” Roeseler said. “I remember that the idea of obedience was difficult during my teen years. It was difficult for Jesus to say yes to obedience too. We have to imagine that it was hard for Mary, a girl of 12 or 13, to say yes to what God was asking. But her answer was ‘let it be done according to thy word.’”
Roeseler said all of us are called to life with God and that we live that life through obedience to him.
One expression of that obedience is giving to others. With the Christmas season upon us, giving is at the forefront of our minds, but students at St. Mary’s High School have been giving generously all semester. From annual giving events like Penny Wars to responding to needs such as helping hurricane victims, the St. Mary’s student body is continuously finding ways to give back.
This fall the St. Mary’s student body has raised more than $4,000 for those in need through various campaigns. With hurricanes ravaging the Gulf Coast in the late summer, the St. Mary’s family joined together to contribute more than $2,300 through the efforts of Student Senate, Youth Philanthropy Club (YPC), and Campus Ministry. The funds were given to the National Catholic Education Association’s Student to Student campaign to assist Catholic school families affected by the hurricanes.
Earlier in the semester Students for Life hosted a bake sale and donated the proceeds to the Life Network. Each October YPC hosts its Penny Wars competition between the classes. This year’s Penny Wars brought in more than $2,100 with the freshman class contributing the most to win the class competition. In early December, YPC presented a check to Catholic Charities.
St. Mary’s students give in other ways too. The National Art Honor Society again hosted its Giving Tree this holiday season with gifts being purchased for residents at the Sunny Vista Living Center. Then Senate’s annual food drive competition against also wrapped up this month with more than 5,300 pounds of food being donated between the two schools. This is the fifth year for the food drive competition, and the fifth win for St. Mary’s with a total of 3,320 pounds of food collected from our Pirate family.
“The big winners, of course, are the westside food banks and people,” said Rick Champion, St. Mary’s theology department chair and faculty adviser for Senate. “I’m really proud of my Senate kids for their work this year and for the student’s efforts–and for Manitou, as well. They quad-tripled their total from last year, so good effort and good competition.”
Inspired by their faith and in an effort to live in obedience to God, the St. Mary’s family will undoubtedly find more opportunities to give back to their community in the spring semester.
By Amy G. Partain, Director of Communications
St. Mary’s High School
Click here to see more photos from the Grandparents Mass in an album on our Facebook page.
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