2021 Light of Leadership Mass

On August 13th St. Mary’s School held their annual Light of Leadership Mass. During this Mass, the 8th graders fill the roles of Readers, Ushers, Cantors, and Gift Bearers. At the conclusion of Mass, the class receives a special blessing as they are elevated to be the leaders of the school. They are given a blessed Miraculous Medal of Mary, the Mother of God, the patroness of the school, and a lit candle. Upon receiving the medal, the class recites:  

Heavenly Father, please form my intellect that I may discover what is true. 

May your grace strengthen me to choose the good 

And guide my body to do what is good. 

Help me, Father, to follow You  

And to love well by willing the true good of those You place in my path each day. 

Help me to lay down my life for those around me. 

By all my actions, may I inspire my fellow classmates to greatness of soul,  

So that we may achieve our final goal of life with You in heaven. 

Please finish this good work You have begun in me 

That with Blessed Mary, Ever Virgin, Saint Dominic, Saint John Paul and all the saints 

I may praise you forever in heaven.  Amen. 

The class then processes with the priest and deacon to the front of the school where they place their lights before a statue of Jesus and the Children.  The 8th graders then proclaim: 

Dear Jesus, help to spread your fragrance everywhere I go; 

Flood my soul with your spirit and life; 

Penetrate and possess my whole being so completely  

That all my life may be only a radiance of yours; 

Shine through me and be so in me  

That everyone with whom I come into contact 

May feel your presence within me. 

Let them look up and see no longer me—but only Jesus.  Amen. 

The Light of Leadership Mass is a relatively new tradition to the school. It started within the last decade. Despite its newness, it is a milestone that 8th graders have come to look forward to and signifies the start of their final year at St. Mary’s.