Brother Martin is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural “Joy of the Resurrection” essay contest. This year, Brother Martin was excited to partake in the Easter season inviting boys and girls in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades to participate in the essay contest. Pope John Paul II said, “We are the Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” Brother Martin is grateful for the opportunity to partner with Catholic families of schools and church parishes to showcase our young adults and their understanding of Easter.
2021 Essay Winners:
5th Grade:
1. Elizabeth Chalmers, St. Dominic School
2. George Geise, St. Catherine of Siena School
6th Grade:
1. Ava Stack, St. Catherine of Siena School
2. Reagan Macicek, St. Catherine of Siena School
7th Grade:
1. Zoey Liaci, St. Louis King of France School
2. Camryn Ellerbusch, St. Christopher School
This year’s essay contest judges were members of Brother Martin’s Religion, English, and Guidance Departments. Prizes for the winners included a gift card to Barnes and Noble for first place winners and a PJ’s gift card for second place winners. We received over 150 entries in this inaugural year of our contest. Thanks to all of the students, teachers, and schools who participated.
Congratulations and thank you to all the participants and their respective schools for their participation and their support!
Christian Brothers School
Our Lady of Lourdes School
St. Andrew the Apostle Roman Catholic School
St. Angela Merici School
St. Ann School
St. Catherine of Siena School
St. Christopher the Martyr School
St. Clement of Rome School
St. Dominic School
St. Edward the Confessor School
St. Louis King of France School
St. Rita School- Harahan
Visitation of Our Lady School
For further information, please contact Mrs. Megan Whalen or Mr. Thomas Mavor at mwhalen@brothermartin.com or tmavor@brothermartin.com.
Brother Martin High School
“Joy of the Resurrection” 2021 Winners
5th Grade Category
FIRST PLACE Elizabeth Chalmers, St. Dominic School
When I think about Easter, I think of the Resurrection of Christ. It means a lot to me! What do you think about when it comes to Easter? Do you think more about the eggs and the gifts or Christ’s Paschal Mystery? When I think about the Resurrection of Christ, it reminds me of how fortunate we are for God to send His only Son to Earth so we could be forgiven of Original Sin and eventually live in heaven with Him. Do you think you could suffer like Jesus did and die on the cross to save the world from sin? Jesus went through so much pain and suffering for you and me. The eggs and baskets full to the rim with candy are nice, but the real meaning of Easter is the most beautiful story of all. Jesus Christ died and resurrected for us. That is how we know God truly loves us. He became one of us and suffered great pain just so we could all be together in Heaven with Him. At school we go to reconciliation, fast on Friday, and have a silent Wednesday to reflect on the wonderful Easter season. School has taught me a lot about the Resurrection of the Lord. My teachers have really helped me grow in my faith as well as my parents. We always go to the Easter Mass in the morning. The Mass is a really good time to reflect and think about how our Lord died for us. That is how much He loves us. So this Easter instead of thinking about eggs and baskets, think about the real meaning, the Resurrection.
SECOND PLACE George Geise, St. Catherine of Siena School
The Resurrection is when Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross. Jesus gave His own human life on this Earth so that when we die, we can be in heaven for all eternity with God. The point of the Resurrection was not only to show that He defeated sin and death, but it was also to show that His Father is present in heaven waiting for us to be united with Him and live with Him forever. While Jesus was crucified on the cross, there were people that were enjoying the pain that was present in Jesus, and, believe it or not, some of those were waving palm branches saying hosanna and praising Him on Palm Sunday. Do you know what Jesus said to the Lord? He said, “Forgive them, Father.” That might not sound important, but He just told His Father to forgive the people who are killing and mocking Him as He is dying on the cross. If Jesus is willing to forgive the people who are killing Him, that means we should forgive others that are doing bad. Jesus once said you shall not forgive somebody seven times but forgive them seventy times. The Resurrection shows us to forgive and that Jesus has saved us from sin and death.
6th Grade Category
FIRST PLACE Ava Stack, St. Catherine of Siena School
The Resurrection of Jesus was an amazing victory in so many ways. Easter Sunday marks the day of our greatest joy. However, this is not the only day that this affects us.
Easter is so special! Without the Resurrection, our faith is meaningless. Without this, life is meaningless because the Resurrection secures us life after death. Heaven is our goal in life, and life is all about making goals and achieving them. Without heaven, we could not reach our goal, and that makes our life and our faith pointless. Easter is so special because it gives us a reason for living. It validates us putting aside those many days and hours for Jesus. It gives everyone hope that we will be saved and united, body and soul. Humans naturally fear death. The Resurrection soothes that fear and gives us a hope of rescue and joy for eternity with God.
Easter affects us every day. First, it gives us the hope of eternal victory. When you aren’t feeling motivated to go to school because of cruel people, or maybe you lost that very important sports game and it feels like there is no good in life, imagine Jesus right in front of you saying, “You are not alone. There is hope for you. I will see you eventually. I’ll be waiting for you with open arms.” That is the most comforting thing you can imagine, I promise. Second, the Resurrection shows that we should trust God’s plan. It gives us the security that God is always there to turn to if we get off the path of light and goodness. We can always trust God because of the Resurrection. Everything else is irrelevant if God gives us the trust and security that we have a chance at getting into heaven, the final goal in life. Last, every day Easter gives us joy. It gives us a reason to live life to the fullest and not wallow in mystery. Jesus is risen! He has overcome the devil and given us the best gift: eternal life.
SECOND PLACE Reagan Macicek, St. Catherine of Siena School
The Resurrection is truly the piece that finishes the puzzle. It shows us not only God’s love for us, but that we can truly trust him as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God floods our hearts with his unimaginable love and mercy. Jesus gives us hope for eternal life with him in Heaven. Heaven is like our ice cream after we get our flu shot. Jesus saved our souls by giving up His one and only life so that we may join Him in eternal life forever.
To many people, Jesus’ death was sad and miserable, but to others, it was funny and they got a sense of revenge. The ones who thought it was funny were jealous and didn’t have the slightest bit of faith. Their eyes weren’t open to the truths and love that Jesus shows us and gave us. Think about a close relative or friend that has died. Knowing or being close to someone that has died makes us sad and miserable. Even though knowing or being close to someone who has died is very sad, Jesus died and he suffered before death. He died just to save us; he got nothing out of it, no reward or prize, he just died for us so that we have the reward of Heaven.
Those few days between Jesus’ death and Resurrection, people were sad, scared, and didn’t know what to do. Jesus’ death happened out of the blue; His people were confused. Then on Easter Sunday, He rose from the dead. Now, we can think of it like this: if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, there would be nothing to look forward to. Some people look forward to Easter Sunday for candy and gifts from the Easter bunny, but without Jesus rising from the dead, there would be no Easter Sunday and there would be absolutely no point to our faith. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have hope for eternal life in Heaven. We have gotten the little nudge to trust in God completely. We know there is something more to life than dying; we go to Heaven to live with God forever.
As you can see, the joy of the Resurrection is the piece that makes the puzzle whole. Jesus is the piece and our life is the puzzle.
7th Grade Category
FIRST PLACE Zoey Liaci, St. Louis King of France School
The Resurrection (Easter) is so important because it proved that Jesus was not an ordinary person and that there was indeed life after death. We can live in hope because we know that Jesus is waiting for us in the afterlife. Easter strengthens our faith in the Lord. It is important to have hope nowadays because of everything that is happening in the world.
In December 2019 the world changed when Covid 19 began to get more serious. By March 2020 almost everything was on lockdown. During this time many people were questioning their faith in Jesus. Many wondered if this trying time would ever come to an end. I believe that if we keep praying, this pandemic will end and everything will go back to normal. It’s important to continue having hope for people who are in need.
Remembering the Resurrection can help you restore your faith in Jesus. Hope can get you through tough times and make you stronger. You can practice being hopeful by committing to praying everyday, sharing hope with others, and going to Mass. As you celebrate Easter, it’s very important to remember what it is about.
SECOND PLACE Camryn Ellerbusch, St. Christopher School
Easter Sunday is so special to the Church because it is the day where Jesus resurrected from the dead. Jesus resurrecting is important because it is humanly possible for someone to die and then come back to life. That truly means that He is the Son of God. Easter means a lot to me. By that I mean that it shows that God is truly real and He wanted to save mankind from sin. A thing that is truly special to me during Easter is that Jesus’ disciples kept going on to spread the message of God to the people who didn’t believe in Him. Easter means to us everyday, not on this particular Sunday, that Jesus truly was real and He could do anything even if no one believed in Him. His journey to His own death is truly moving to me because He willingly went to the place with no fight and no hate for the people who had done this to Him. When the women were crying for Him, He told them not to cry for Him but for themselves and for the future ahead of them. The only time when He had thought His Father had forgotten about Him was when He was hanging there on the cross. Jesus had thought that His Father had forgotten Him, but in reality His Dad was there with Him the whole time and He was sad His Son had to leave Him. Just like real parents, the parents of Jesus were truly upset about Him dying, though they didn’t do anything to help Him throughout His journey. Jesus’ own disciple had betrayed Him, and even then He did not hate him. I wish all of the people could be like Jesus. He was pure of heart and free from all sin; the rest of us humans are not, unfortunately. Easter Sunday is a day for rejoicing and prayer and hope for no sin the entire day. We have celebrations with our family; even though we can’t really have them this year, we still pray for all of our relatives so that they can have a Happy Easter. We must enjoy these prayerful days and keep them well while they last. We should all use this Easter Sunday to rejoice and enjoy those days that we still have left. I feel like yesterday I was seven years old. Life goes by way too quickly to ever slow down and take our time. I wish these days of my childhood could stay here forever, but they can’t. On Easter Sunday I choose to forget all of the negativity in my life and just relax and share special moments with God. It won’t be like that forever, but just as my mom says, “Your life is like rain. You cannot have a rainbow without a little bit of rain.” I make sure to remember that everyday so I can keep going and not get my feelings down by the littlest things. In conclusion, enjoy Easter Sunday and keep those days for forgetting all of the negative energy in your life and have special conversations with God that you can’t have with anyone else because no one would be able to understand.