News Post

SJA Hosts Prayer Service

St. Joseph’s Academy celebrated a schoolwide prayer service on October 20 with a virtual ceremony originating from the Chapel at SJA. SJA students, faculty/staff and those watching the live stream from home prayed for wisdom as citizens cast their votes and for understanding as we move forward in faith following the election. 

Junior Alyssa LeBlanc welcomed viewers and Father Jamin David, pastor of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland. She lit a candle in the Chapel as students in classrooms and watching from home, as well as those joining the service online, lit candles as symbols of unity. 

Joining LeBlanc as readers was freshman Carleigh Helouin.

In his homily, Father Jamin spoke about the difficulty dealing with “the hot button issues of our day,” including politics and race.
 
He recommended a document entitled Faithful Citizenship published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He said it points out that there are intrinsically evil things that exist in our world that should always be rejected. They include the intentional taking of human life (euthanasia, targeting civilians in times of war and abortion), human trafficking, racism, poverty and hunger, among others. “As Catholics, we have to remember the two greatest commandments, and thus it is our responsibility to uphold the common good and particularly family life, economic justice for all, a preferential option for the poor and solidarity with those who suffer,” Fr. Jamin said. 
 
When deciding between candidates, Fr. Jamin said it is important to make this decision in the right way. “We must form our own conscience,” he said. “Conscience … is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth and calling us do what is good. In short, to deliberately choose intrinsic evil would be a grave sin. To deliberately choose something good, aware that evil will still inevitably accompany this goodness, may not be sinful at all. The question is when choosing, are we living according to the standards of the greatest commandment?” 
 
Fr. Jamin said that racial prejudice exists in our community, and the sins of racism are real. “Even if no external word or action ever arises from it, Christ made it clear that we sin when we hate and when we prompt ridicule or falsehoods,” he said. “There are some things which are always so disordered, lacking any redeeming qualities, that could never be done without grave wrong. We call these mortal sins. These human choices separate us from God and His will, and racism is one of them.”
 
Saying that God wants us to be perfect disciples, Fr. Jamin also said that no one is perfect. The challenge, he said, is to be the best we can be. “Do the initial hard work of discerning whether we live the greatest two commandments first before we even begin to question our fidelity to the rest,” he said. “Do we put other things ahead of God? Technology, relationships with our significant others, hobbies, all of these sometimes remove us from unconditional love of the Lord.”

Lending their musical talents to the service were sophomore Isabelle Gruner, keyboard and vocals, and junior Alana Buckley, vocals. Senior Caroline Causey closed the service with the singing of the alma mater.

Theology faculty member and Liturgy Coordinator Hugo Andricain wrote the prayer service. The livestream was presented via Microsoft Teams and was produced by faculty members Meghan McGinty and Sara Rounds. Production assistants were members of the SJABR TV student organization: seniors Avery Boudreaux and Caroline Davis and junior Carly McConnell.

 

Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director

 

Photos by Erin Albarado