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As with any Catholic School, our Faith Life centers around the Liturgy of the Eucharist – the Mass. It is the “source and summit” of our Catholic faith. From there, it spreads to all corners of our life, illuminating our studies, our extra-curricular activities, and all other gatherings of the faculty, staff and students.
At John Paul II we celebrate the Eucharist as a community once each month. We gather in the large competition gym for Mass, frequently on the First Friday of the month. We invite our students to participate as “full, active and conscious” members of the Church, and a number of them are members of our “Ministry Team". They assist as lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Communion, hospitality ministers, and altar servers. Since the word “liturgy” means “the work of the people” we invite all students who so desire to minister at the celebration. Those who are not members of the Catholic faith are invited to assist as hospitality ministers. All are welcome!
We also have a second liturgy each month. Each grade level has its own, simultaneous gathering for prayer and worship. Ordinarily the students and their teachers gather for a Mass with one of our local parish priests. However, we also have Communion Services occasionally, reminding our students of the important role played by the laity as leaders of prayer services. All three of our non-presbyteral Theology teachers have presided at Communion Services – including a female lay minister (Michelle Killian), a nun (Sr. Peggy Szeljack), and our Campus Minister. Our fourth Theology teacher, Fr. Timothy Heines, has presided at All School Monthly Mass.
A recent addition to our life of prayer is the Lenten Rosary, sponsored by the PTSO and Campus Ministry. Each Tuesday morning in Lent, we will pray the rosary in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel. It will begin at 8:10 AM, and all parents, students, faculty and staff are welcome to join us. Some of our parents will lead the rosary, and it will be prayed for the special intentions of our John Paul community. Depending on the response, we may well continue this special prayer service throughout the school year.
St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel – Just as the Eucharist is the center of our lives as Catholics, the campus Chapel is at the center of the school. We are so very blessed to have this beautiful place of quiet and solitude where students can come before and after school to spend a few moments with the Lord. The Chapel seats about 80 people and welcomes all who would like to spend a few minutes in prayer.
The tabernacle is located at the far end of the Chapel, opening into the Meditation Garden. The three walls surrounding Christ in His tabernacle are made of glass sections. The brick wall directly outside these glass walls, and weaving through the Meditation Garden, will contain the Stations of the Cross.
It is in the setting of this beautiful place of prayer and worship, the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, that we will have a monthly day of Eucharistic Adoration where pairs of parents will spend an hour each in the presence of God. Although the schedule is not yet finalized, preparations are well underway.
Beside the Chapel is the Office of Campus Ministry. This is the place where students can come, by appointment, to speak with the Campus Minister on a confidential basis. As we all know, being a teenager in high school is one of the more difficult times in life, with its soaring highs and bottomless lows. They are faced with many moral choices and many challenges to their faith and spirituality. And sometimes it helps to have someone to talk with about these challenges - someone of faith who is not their parent and who is not going to grade them. It is a ministry similar to spiritual direction. This ministry of listening and directing is one facet of the ministry of the Campus Minister at John Paul II. And all students of all faiths are welcome, for this need is one that transcends all denominations.
At John Paul II High School, we certainly maintain a strong Catholic identity. After all, we are a school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas. However, our Chapel and Campus Minister are here to serve the needs of our entire JP2 community. All are welcome to come and to pray in our Chapel – for we all share the same Creator who has loved us into being. Thus we welcome all students, parents, faculty and staff to come in reverence and respect and enjoy God’s peace in the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel.
Fostering vocations is also important to all Catholics. For students who might be hearing the gentle rustling of a call from God to the priesthood or religious life, the Campus Minister is well qualified to join them in their journey of discernment. He would be more then happy to meet with any young men or women who feel the urging towards a life dedicated to the service of God as a priest or sister.
And speaking of service, all students are required to give of their time and talent to others. We call this Christian Service, and John Paul II has a full time Coordinator of Christian Service to assist our students in completing their Christian Service requirements. As it says in the Letter of St. James, “Faith without works is dead". In an effort to assist our students in living a life of faith, all of our students serve God by serving the less fortunate in our local communities, both through school service opportunities as well as opportunities provided at their home church. After all, our school motto is “Seek to Serve.”
May I live in the world as one
who always seeks to serve.
May I live as one who
knows the love of God.
Lord, teach me
how to live and how to serve.
With my ears may I hear,
with my eyes may I see,
with my lips may I speak.
May your Word be heard through me.
Thus as I live each day,
may love sustain the will to serve.
Amen.
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