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Campus Ministry Events & Pictures Season Reflection Is there ever a time or season or place not in need of the Spirit's healing and blessing? |
So much hope ... and so much need, all in the same breath: the breath of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit Who gives Life. The breath of the "Father of the poor," the breath of "sweet refreshment sweet repose" the breath of the "wisest and best Consoler, most blessed Light" "virtue's sure reward" [from the Pentecost Sequence].
There is an event that occurs every May at the University of San Diego which is not to be missed!!! The May event is called the Founders Chapel Choir “Sing For Your Supper” and is a favorite among the students in the choir. The students gather, have a potluck dinner and perform for each other as a way of celebrating the year. Since the dinner is potluck there are some strange and indescribable offerings that only students on a budget and in the dorms can make. Some years the students have brought “main dishes” such as skittles, bags of burgers, chips and salsa. One can never really count on dinner! Luckily, the food is not the draw nor has anyone ever starved on that night. The elements that draw the students are choir awards, entertainment and their love for one another. The awards are very touching as the students vote for each other. The write in category is usually very funny. The entertainment is provided by the students themselves and some will devise their “acts” in secret and rehearse for weeks. The entertainment always consists of singing routines, performances of songs with new and interesting lyrics, Broadway hits, dance routines, jokes, monologues, costumes, props and oh of course the traditional roast the director skit!! Truly May is a month of great joy on many college campuses. It is one of my very favorite months of the Academic year because of all of the wonderful celebrations. This May has been a whirlwind of activity at USD and the pace will only quicken as we make our way to graduation. So many exciting, wonderful, meaningful, and momentous occasions! And while many of my colleagues on campus are finishing up, packing up, and making plans for the summer, the Liturgy team at USD is sprinting to the finish!! The students likewise are sprinting to the finish. On Friday of this week I met with four cantors who were coming for their individual rehearsals to prepare solos for the weekend Liturgies. One of them came rushing in looking a little disheveled. She also stumbled a bit over the music which was unlike her. She turned to me and apologized. She told me that she had stayed up all night finishing a paper and studying for two tests and that she was working on one hour of sleep. I looked at her with amazement. I really could not believe that she was standing there rehearsing with me after all of that. Her commitment to her responsibility as student was clear and her commitment to her responsibility as cantor was astounding!! I find that there are very good reasons for the dark circles under the singers’ eyes at this time of year. I remember very clearly a few years ago, I was headed to the snack machine for another “nutritious” lunch because I had no time for the Faculty Staff Lunchroom or to pack a lunch apparently. When I arrived at the snack machine I saw the choir flute player around the corner weeping in the arms of her boyfriend. This very student was scheduled to play for a Mass that afternoon. I went to her to ask what had occurred. She then proceeded to tell me all of the things that she had to accomplish in the next 24 hours. It seemed like a pretty impossible list to me. I told her to please not come to the Liturgy and to just finish her work and get some sleep. I will never forget the relief apparent on her face. Another time I arrived in my office before Liturgy to find a choir darling asleep on my couch. She was to cantor for a Mass but had stayed up all night studying and writing a paper. Tis the season! I often joke with the students before finals about “this terrible time of the year!” At the same time I know that it is a right of passage. They will find out what they are made of and this training will help them to accomplish many things in the future. I also make sure to pray for all of them and to tell them of my prayers. As they make their way through their finals I try to remind them to work hard, to do their best, to try to keep eating and get some rest. The most important thing I tell them, though, is to keep in mind that though they should try their best, they must remember that they are not their grades. They are blessed, gifted, and created by God. May is a busy time for many. I am in the midst of preparing for Pentecost Sunday, Candlelight Concert, Candlelight Mass, Law School Graduation Liturgy, the ROTC Commissioning Liturgy, the Graduate Schools Commencement Liturgy, the Nurses Pinning Ceremony and finally the Baccalaureate Mass. It is a wonderful thing that all of these groups of people want to mark their graduation celebrations with prayer. As I work on sculpting the music, lining up the musicians, rehearsing the small and large groups of singers, ordering the sounds system and equipment, preparing the worship aids and attending to the hundreds of other details that go along with preparing for these very important Liturgies across the campus, I try not to stress. In the end these are the moments that bring a sense of purpose, clarity, inspiration, hope and vision and for the students, their families and friends. The graduation Liturgies will be moments that they will always remember and treasure. I have received many notes and cards over the years from former students. They all want to tell me how much it meant to be a part of the Founder’s Chapel Faith Community at USD. Many of them because of their experiences in the Chapel return to be married there. I received a card in December from a recent graduate of our USD Engineering program. In it he remarks,
The weekend before finals there is a beautiful Liturgy that has become a tradition at USD. The Candlelight Mass mentioned by the USD graduate is a favorite event of many students past and present in which the Chapel sanctuary is lit only by the candles. Each student who attends is given a candle which is lit during the opening procession. Even though the Mass takes place on the Sunday in the middle of finals the Chapel is packed. Before the Liturgy comes to an end the seniors are asked to stand while an Irish blessing is sung for them. The readings on Pentecost Sunday take on a new and poignant meaning. “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” John 20:21 And so we send them forth. In this way the Founders Chapel Faith Community says goodbye to all of the seniors. Each year I say goodbye in a special way to the senior choir students. It is hard to believe but these are the very same students who arrived at USD with their parents four short years ago, nervous, unsure, shy young darlings. These students have become poised, polished, trained, knowledgeable, mature, confident singers and musicians It is with a tear in my eye that I say goodbye to these lovely individuals with whom I have been privileged to walk through four, important and amazing years of their lives. It is their time now to fly, to take on the world and to realize their dreams. They have grown as individuals through their classes, their experiences, and through their relationships. The Founders Chapel Choir seniors have in turn been changed by their experiences in and out of the Chapel, in and out of rehearsals and Liturgies, in and out of social activities such as the choir retreat, ice skating, the bonfires, and around the city at the various outreach opportunities. In saying goodbye to these wonderful students I know that just as they have been changed by these experiences so too have I been changed by knowing each of them. Please send pictures showing your choirs, worship space, and campus environments to steinbeiser@duq.edu
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