Mass of the Holy Spirit: Awakening Possibilities
A new academic year, regardless if it is the first or final one, serves as a springboard to awaken the possibilities within each student. The University of San Diego’s fall semester tradition, the Mass of the Holy Spirit, took place Thursday in The Immaculata Church. It, too, was an awakening.
“The Mass of the Holy Spirit gives me a sense of rejuvenation, being with everybody in that space and hearing all of the different prayers and song,” said TJ Hodges, who is USD’s 2016-17 Associated Students president. “We have a lot of events that bring people together, but this is a special one because once textbooks are purchased and classes have started, it’s still nice to remember that you’re not alone.”
Presiding over Mass was the Bishop of San Diego’s Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Robert W. McElroy. The Mass was a wonderful campus community welcome for the new year and provided a poignant chance to celebrate Mother Teresa, who on Sept. 4 became the newly canonized Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
He praised and recalled his personal observation upon meeting her several years ago. “There was such a powerful sense of God’s presence that just reached out and grabbed you. She had authenticity … a real sense of a human filled with the spirit of God, mercy and compassion.”
Bishop McElroy’s admiration for Saint Teresa’s commitment and action to her vocation to help the poor served as a transitional message for USD students to have in the moment and to go forward.
He spoke to university students, offering that the new year is an opportunity to ask themselves questions: “What is my mission in this world? In these years you have a wonderful opportunity to explore that, to try and discern that, to begin to come to an answer. What is my vocation? Why am I here at USD?”
It was a call to USD students — and collectively for administrators, faculty, staff and community members in attendance — to ponder ways to make a contribution, make good use of their gifts and talents and, most notably, those that are rooted in sacrificing for others.
“(Saint Teresa) felt compelled to dedicate her life to, in some way, lift up those who were suffering. She was a talented teacher. She felt powerfully drawn by God to this mission, this particular purpose in life,” McElroy said.
Hodges, who will tackle his final year at USD as a top student leader, an impending accountancy graduate and as captain for the men’s cross country team, appreciated the Bishop’s message.
“He talked about the questions that every college student has, which is ‘Why am I here? What am I going to do after I graduate?’ For me, I looked at it as right now I have a mission this year, but ultimately, I’m an accounting major and I’m going to work for an accounting firm. I don’t know if that’s where I’ll end up, but for me, what does that mean? What’s the long-term goal? What am I here on this Earth for? And, how can I serve others in whatever role I’m doing?”
— Ryan T. Blystone