The Woodrose community kicked off School Year 2017-18 with the annual tradition of celebrating the Mass of the Holy Spirit on July 13, 2017 at the school gymnasium. The entire student body, faculty and staff, and parents gathered together to begin the year by invoking the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom throughout the year.
“Fr. Roque Reyes, School Chaplain, presided over the mass. We share with you his homily:”
“Jesus said to his Apostles, ‘As you go, make this proclamation: the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt 10:7-15)
We read in the Gospel today how Jesus commanded the apostles to proclaim to the people that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He shared with them the power to cure the sick, to raise the dead back to life, to cleanse the lepers.
Going forth, the apostles did as Jesus commanded them to do. They cured the sick, they raised the dead back to life and they cleansed the lepers. The work of the apostles continues today in the world through the Church, tasked with preparing the people for the Lord through the proclamation of the Good News of salvation and the administration of the sacraments.
We are here this morning to celebrate the customary Mass of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the school year. Through this Eucharistic celebration, we want to give thanks to God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, for the new school year, the 40th school year as we are celebrating this year the 40th year anniversary of our school. We want to give thanks to God for all the graces and blessings He showered upon us through all these years, for the guidance and the protection received from Him in the past 40 years.
We also want to give thanks to God for the new Senior High School building: another facility in our school in the service of our students.
At the same time, we would like to ask the Holy Spirit to continue blessing and guiding all of us during the school year that has just started. As the Holy Spirit is the Love of God dwelling within us, we would like to ask the Holy Spirit to fill our heart with love so that we will love God above all things and spread that love to all those around us, at home and in school.
We would also like to ask the Holy Spirit for his sevenfold gifts of grace.
For the gift of wisdom, so that we would know and do what really matters in this life: to love and serve the Lord and our neighbour, and be eternally happy with Him in heaven.
For the gift of understanding, so that we would learn the ways of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit and then be obedient and docile to his inspirations.
For the gift of knowledge so that with the love for truth, we would value and treasure all that will be taught to us during this new academic year.
For the gift of fortitude so that we will be strong to do what is right and persevere in fulfilling our duties.
For the gift of counsel so that we will value and put into practice the advice given to us by our parents, teachers, mentors and the priest who hears our confessions.
For the gift of piety so that we will grow in our filial love for God our loving Father, for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, for the Holy Spirit who dwells in our soul in grace, for the Blessed Virgin Mary our mother, for St. Joseph and for our guardian angel.
For the gift of fear of the Lord so that we will love God truly and be afraid to displease Him, offend Him by sinning, and so that we will go regularly to Confession to experience the loving forgiveness of God who welcomes us, forgives us, embraces us and makes us holy in the sacrament of Confession.
Lastly, we pray to the Holy Spirit so that during this year, the 40th year anniversary of Woodrose, will bring many more graces and blessing for all of us in school: the parents, the teachers, the students, and all those who are, so to speak, behind the scene: the personnel, those in the Administration of the school: the MANCOM, the school board, those in the different departments: the ones in the accounting and finance, those in health services, the staff and all those who make the school premises safe, clean and pleasant- the security, the cleaning staff, those in the canteen, the handymen, the ones in utilities and repair. Without them, it would not be possible to carry out what we do here: the education and the formation of the students. All of us form part of the Woodrose family, under the motherly guidance and protection of Our Blessed Mother whom we love to call as Our Lady of the Rose. Amen.