Annual Eighth Grade Mass, a beautiful occassion

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester (far right) and Deacon Silvio Mayo receive baskets of food for the Good Samaritan program as offerings from eighth grade students from around the diocese during their diocesan Mass, Sept. 23. IC photo by Priscilla Cabral

SALT LAKE CITY — "Life is difficult," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, to eighth graders from around the diocese during the third "Diocesan Mass for Eighth Grade Students" at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City Sept. 23. The bishop concelebrated the Mass with Msgr. Joseph Mayo, pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and Msgr. Colin Bircumshaw, pastor of St. Ann Parish; and was quoting the first line of M. Scott Peck’s book "The Road Less Traveled."

"The rest of the book is about how we, human beings, get in all kinds of problems and neuroses trying to avoid the fact that life is difficult."

He said Saint Peter experienced this fact and that his life made a turn at the pivotal moment when Jesus asked him, "Do you love me?"

St. Peter, just like in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, had to choose between two different roads. He chose the road less traveled, "And that has made all the difference," said the poem.

"I encourage you to follow the example of Peter and to take him as a guide during your school year. He made some good choices; others not so good. He decided to follow the Lord, and then to deny him." But he ultimately decided to love the Lord with a passion that made him a martyr, said Bishop Wester.

"All of our choices have effects and consequences, and determine the dividends we receive," said the bishop using the financial analogy to explain that, "what you get back depends on how much you put in."

The students count with their parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, pastors, teachers, and aides to help them make good decisions.

"They are living embodiments of God’s grace in work in your lives," said the bishop.

He then invited the over 400 students to consider taking the road less traveled to produce "rich dividends to you and those around you" and to attend to God’s call to the priesthood if that is the option He has installed.

"I pray you make good choices, praised choices and that you will realize Christ makes all the difference."

The eighth graders not only learned life is difficult. They also learned they can make it easier for others and themselves through service and prayer. There was no collection during Mass, instead the students offered, as a symbol of stewardship, food and funds they collected for the Good Samaritan program.

"The program feeds between 200 and 300 people a day. It is a program for the homeless," said Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamphaus, superintendent of Catholic Schools from the diocese.

The students also prayed for different causes during the general intercessions. They prayed for the Church and Pope Benedict XVI; for an end to all violence, terror, and bloodshed; for the homeless, the unemployed, and the poor; for the respect of human life and dignity; for refugees, immigrants, and undocumented workers who live in a strange land; for the sick; and for those who have died, especially Bishop Lawrence Scanlan, missionary builder of the cathedral, and all bishops, priests, religious sisters, and deacons.

Some of these intentional prayers were proclaimed in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Nuer, a tribal language from Sudan, for the first time by the students.

"We try to be in tune with the fact that we are not just an English-speaking community, that there are other cultures," said Holy Cross Sister Genevra Rolf, associate superintendent.

Another first for the Mass was the extra effort in making the students active participants in music.

"Gregory Glenn, director of the Madeleine Choir Choristers, sent recordings to the schools, so the students had a chance to practice," said Sr. Genevra.

The difference was obvious to the ear. The students sang harmoniously with the choristers, who did not wear their choir robes as a symbol that they were part of the eighth grade group.

"They have beautiful voices. It is amazing what Glenn can do with them," said Sr. Genevra.

Some of the schools arrived early before Mass or stayed afterward to take a tour of the cathedral in which Deacon Lynn Johnson taught them about the cathedral’s history and artwork.

"For some of them it was the first time they visited the cathedral. They learn about Church history in eighth grade, and study about the cathedral, and the Church’s ministries," so it was appropriate to offer the students the tour, said Sr. Catherine.

"We are pleased with how the students participated, listened to the bishop, and sang. It was a beautiful occasion," said Sr. Genevra.