Baccalaureate Mass

Last evening we celebrated our annual Baccalaureate Mass over at Saint Anselm Abbey Church.  Bishop Libasci was our celebrant and was assisted by Deacon Paul Leonarczyk P'14.  Our chaplain Father Richard Dion con-celebrated along with Father Richard Kelley of St. Christopher Parish in Nashua.

We are always so fortunate to have the Mass at Saint Anselm Abbey Church which is one of my favorite churches in the state.  The seniors and faculty processed in prior to the start of the Mass followed later by the servers and the priests, deacon, and bishop.  The church does not have air conditioning so it was quite hot.  Many people were fanning themselves with the programs and Bishop Libasci asked them to continue so the air would reach him on the altar!  He also joked in his homily that people never remember what you tell them and he said they won't remember his homily.  However, he did a masterful job and did not use any notes.  He also spoke of the Pioneers (our team name) and how many of the students will be Pioneers in many fields when they go into the world.

Following Mass we had two students offer reflections - Kasie Bourque '14 and Brad Rhoades '14.  They both did a masterful job, both talking about their transformations during high school.  Brad talked about his transfer to Trinity High School from Pembroke Academy after his sophomore year and the death of his mother.  He said that he was immediately embraced by the school community and felt at home right away.  He said he wanted to be a sports agent but after working with a 5-year old girl with the Make a Wish program, he now wants to be an elementary school teacher!  Kasie spoke of how she used her camera as a crutch for not taking part in school events.  She would take pictures at every school event and never had to sit with her class and take part.  However, as a senior she finally put down her camera and became fully involved.  She also talked about her work in campus ministry and how it transformed her and, like Brad, now wants to be a teacher.

After the reflections, we distributed candles to the seniors and lighted them and the choir then sang a song of blessing.  The senior members of the choir then left their place in the choir and joined their classmates.  The seniors then processed out with their candles, going out to be the light to the world.