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Student Reflection: Votive Mass of the Most Holy Rosary
Sean Bell '26 provided the student reflection at Fenwick's all-school Mass on Friday, October 4, 2024.
Good morning and welcome to today’s Mass. My name is Sean Bell and I am a part of the class of 2026.
For today’s readings, you will hear about the story of the Annunciation, in which the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will be the mother of God. Mary was a virgin, so she was rightfully confused about Gabriel’s message. She wondered how it was possible. How can a virgin give birth to a child? It’s possible because Gabriel says, “For no word from God will ever fail”. Following this, Mary pledges herself to be the Lord’s servant and to trust in him, and the angel departs. Despite the circumstances, Mary puts her faith in the Lord, trusting that he will support and guide her.
Even though it sounded far-fetched, Mary decided to trust Gabriel’s message that she would be the mother of Jesus. She accepted this miraculous and life-changing event with complete trust in God, showing her unwavering faith and submission to God’s will, regardless of the situation. I believe that this is something that we can all reflect on. As Fenwick students, we have all experienced a collective struggle that seemed impossible for us to overcome. For me, it could be a physics test that I was certain would be impossible to pass. For you, it could be when you had to take final exams for the first time. Either way, we have all struggled time and time again. Now, as hard as some of the tests are, I know I cannot compare taking one of Mrs. Esposito’s physics exams to giving birth to the literal child of God, but I think that there is still a message that Mary is sending to us which we need to imitate. Mary showed an incredible amount of faith in God’s plan, and I think that we as Fenwick students should do likewise when we struggle.
Trusting in God’s plan, however, can be really, really challenging sometimes. I myself struggle all too often with having 100% faith in Christ. However, whenever I struggle, I tend to think about my grandmother on my mom’s side of the family. You see, when my mother was only 7 years old, her dad passed away due to brain cancer. Three weeks later, my grandmother’s mother (or my great grandmother) also died. I didn’t get the chance to learn about this struggle firsthand from my grandmother, but this is what my mother told me. My grandmother was so unbelievably stressed with the death of her husband and mother that she worried she would have a nervous breakdown that summer. When my mom gave the eulogy at my grandmother’s funeral, my mom talked about the journal my grandmother kept that same summer. In one passage my grandma wrote, “I am full of doubt that I can do all that should be done for you, but Daddy used to say to me, ‘Don’t be afraid, someone will be there to help you.’” I believe that this “someone” for my grandmother was God. God supports us directly by putting supportive people in our lives and protecting us from harm, and God did that for my grandmother. So, we should have faith in God’s plan, because he protects and aids us through all things. My grandma was a fighter. She was one of the toughest people that I have ever known. Learning she was so doubtful and scared of the future was shocking and seemed so out character for the grandma I knew. But her closing words in that entry demonstrated her faith. She wrote, “And on we go to tomorrow.”
For today’s readings, you will hear about the story of the Annunciation, in which the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will be the mother of God. Mary was a virgin, so she was rightfully confused about Gabriel’s message. She wondered how it was possible. How can a virgin give birth to a child? It’s possible because Gabriel says, “For no word from God will ever fail”. Following this, Mary pledges herself to be the Lord’s servant and to trust in him, and the angel departs. Despite the circumstances, Mary puts her faith in the Lord, trusting that he will support and guide her.
Even though it sounded far-fetched, Mary decided to trust Gabriel’s message that she would be the mother of Jesus. She accepted this miraculous and life-changing event with complete trust in God, showing her unwavering faith and submission to God’s will, regardless of the situation. I believe that this is something that we can all reflect on. As Fenwick students, we have all experienced a collective struggle that seemed impossible for us to overcome. For me, it could be a physics test that I was certain would be impossible to pass. For you, it could be when you had to take final exams for the first time. Either way, we have all struggled time and time again. Now, as hard as some of the tests are, I know I cannot compare taking one of Mrs. Esposito’s physics exams to giving birth to the literal child of God, but I think that there is still a message that Mary is sending to us which we need to imitate. Mary showed an incredible amount of faith in God’s plan, and I think that we as Fenwick students should do likewise when we struggle.
Trusting in God’s plan, however, can be really, really challenging sometimes. I myself struggle all too often with having 100% faith in Christ. However, whenever I struggle, I tend to think about my grandmother on my mom’s side of the family. You see, when my mother was only 7 years old, her dad passed away due to brain cancer. Three weeks later, my grandmother’s mother (or my great grandmother) also died. I didn’t get the chance to learn about this struggle firsthand from my grandmother, but this is what my mother told me. My grandmother was so unbelievably stressed with the death of her husband and mother that she worried she would have a nervous breakdown that summer. When my mom gave the eulogy at my grandmother’s funeral, my mom talked about the journal my grandmother kept that same summer. In one passage my grandma wrote, “I am full of doubt that I can do all that should be done for you, but Daddy used to say to me, ‘Don’t be afraid, someone will be there to help you.’” I believe that this “someone” for my grandmother was God. God supports us directly by putting supportive people in our lives and protecting us from harm, and God did that for my grandmother. So, we should have faith in God’s plan, because he protects and aids us through all things. My grandma was a fighter. She was one of the toughest people that I have ever known. Learning she was so doubtful and scared of the future was shocking and seemed so out character for the grandma I knew. But her closing words in that entry demonstrated her faith. She wrote, “And on we go to tomorrow.”
I have been lucky to not face such a difficult challenge like she did. But I will. As will all of us. And I think that it is important that we hold strong and true to ourselves through our faith in God. My grandmother did, even though it was really hard. She went on to raise the best mother, aunt, and uncle in the world.
As we go throughout our day today, or even this week or this year, I want you to know that God has a plan for you. Even in times when everything seems difficult, God is giving us the opportunity to grow and learn to create successes for ourselves and others in the future. Whether it is a school assignment, athletic struggle, or social challenge, know that God will always be there for you and will never abandon you. You will fail in life, and that is okay, because every time we fail, God teaches us, and we grow stronger. We are going to encounter all of these challenges in our lives, and we need to put 100% of our faith in God, because he wants the best for us and will be our protector for all of our lives. When you struggle, trust God and remember, as my grandmother said, that “on you will go to tomorrow.” Thank you.
Read more student reflections from the 2024-2025 school year here.
Read more student reflections from the 2024-2025 school year here.
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