“This past Friday, we, the freshmen class, embarked on our prayer journey to St. Stanislaus College. As eight o’clock came around, we left our home in New Orleans to travel to our brother’s school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The hour’s journey consisted of one phrase floating about my head: “You take away from it what you put in.” For some of us, that might be confusing, as we generally do not consider the actual seriousness of prayer. I could only assume that by strengthening our prayer habits we would draw closer to God.
Upon our arrival, we were separated into four groups for our participation in different “activities” centered around prayer. The first rotation consisted of testimonies from two student ministers, Da’Klan Randolph and JuanCarlos Torres, and two faculty members, Ms. Thomeczek and Mr. Ursin. Each had their own individual accounts that emphasized not only the act of prayer, but also the reasons why and how exactly we should approach prayer. In particular, Ms. Thomeczek’s testimony stood out to me, as she pointed that we should not only “pray always,” but we should also “pray all ways,” in that we should pray both consistently and in any manner that we can. The second of these rotations involved our assembly into smaller groups led by student ministers as we walked out onto St. Stanislaus’ pier overlooking the water. There, we were asked questions by our student ministers regarding our own prayer lives and were given ways to improve them and, in turn, our relationship with God, all the while accompanied by the cool breeze out on the pier. The third rotation consisted of a discussion, led by Mr. Supak and Ms. Sanderson, involving issues of the world around us, followed by the writing of several petitions regarding bringing such issues to God, briefly separating us from ourselves so that we may take a look at what must be dealt with that is larger than ourselves and our immediate surroundings, and ask God for his helping hand in our efforts to remediate these issues.
I would venture to say that I’m quite fortunate to have experienced the final rotation when I did, as to conclude our pilgrimage of sorts, we visited the cemetery where many of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have been laid to rest, including Brother Martin Hernandez himself. Alongside with Brother Martin’s grave, we visited several others of brothers who have had an impact on Brother Martin High School. These graves were truly powerful sights to see, considering that, if not for these men and surely several others, I literally would not be in the position I am today, attending such a great school that provides the opportunity to bring myself closer to God. Then we ate lunch and concluded our day at St. Stanislaus with Mass, consolidating the day’s theme regarding prayer.
While each student has taken out what they have each put in, I believe that the majority of us have been impacted in a positive way by our day of reflection. For those of us who will take into consideration what has been shown to us, our relationships with God will only be strengthened, as we have learned not only more effective methods of prayer through the various testimonies and suggestions, but also through the glimpses of its true effectiveness through our petitions and in the lives of the brothers who have influenced us so.”
Submitted by Hunter Dunn ’19
