Spirit of Gratitude: Votive Mass of the Archangels

Tomorrow, September 29, marks the Feast of the Archangels and the one year anniversary of the dedication of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School. One year ago today, we celebrated morning mass for the very last time in a downstairs classroom and made final arrangements to celebrate mass in our chapel at the center and geographic heart of our community. It was such an exciting time; an aroma of newness and openness to the Holy Spirit was present with the promise of building beautiful traditions and creating a dynamic culture.

Forward to the one-year anniversary celebration; the Votive Mass celebrating the anniversary of the dedication of our chapel brought a familiar spirit of gratitude into my heart and an overwhelming sense of pride and unity in our established, yet evolving community. 

It was beautiful to see one of our very own students read from the Old Testament as her aunts, one a Franciscan sister, beamed with pride from the congregation. It was inspiring to see six trained servers, self-identified as the "Guardians of the Altar; the Society of Servers" working in unison to serve our Lord and alongside our clergy members on the altar from all around Southeastern Jackson County (including Lee's Summit, Raytown, South KC, and Belton). It was powerful to witness one of our servers participating in the liturgy with his father, who was the Deacon of the Mass.

I felt an immense sense of pride sitting in a congregation full of teachers dedicated to the formation of souls, staff members committed to fulfilling the mission of the school, students eager and willing to participate in authentic community, parents devout to the needs and sanctity of their children, and other supporters and members of our community who believe in our mission of inspiring brave and humble disciples. 

I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the mission that God has entrusted us and humbled by the opportunity to pass on the faith to another generation of Christians in our world. And we know our world needs Christians who have experienced relationship, connection, and community. Pope Francis reminds us Christians that, “our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity, its name is brotherhood, its name is communion, its name is family.” Today I felt the fruit of communion and family; I felt a fraternity of people gathering in the name of community in a Catholic High School. 

I met someone today who attended our celebration and was at our school for the first time. This person has been connected to our school since it was an idea, and was able to experience it for the first time. She brought her children so that they could see for themselves what they have been praying for every day for the past year. This family has been praying a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel for the success and protection of our school without ever stepping foot on campus! It is hard to express the amount of support that is felt from the members of our community who express their support and prayers; specifically from the 117 members of our Prayer Army.

Thank you to our students, parents, staff, faculty, supporters, and benefactors that make us who we are. St. Padre Pio reminds us to "Pray, hope, and don't worry." My the words of Padre Pio inspire us to become dependent on the generosity of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God!


With Gratitude,

Alan Burns