News from St. Mary's

Reported by Mary E. Gentges

The Feast of Christ the King

On the last Sunday of October, the Feast of Christ the King is celebrated at St. Mary's with an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament on the St. Mary's campus. This year, for the first time, we went in procession into the town of St. Marys—as was once done in by­gone days in Catholic communities.

The whole parish—adults, students, tiny tots—turned out for this historic event, so that there was standing room only in the chapel as the procession formed, and many more people waiting outside. Led by the cross-bearer, a long line of altar boys bore the beautiful banners with emblems of the Holy Eucharist. Little girls in their First Communion dresses strewed petals on the path over which the Blessed Sacrament was carried, while altar boys rang the sanctus bells and incensed the Sacred Host carried by Father de la Tour under the golden canopy. The brothers, nuns, and choir followed, leading the great crowd of the faithful in the singing of hymns in honor of the Holy Eucharist. "Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat" they sang, as the reign of Christ our King was the theme of the day. "Christus vincit" was worked in beautiful letters of sawdust on the roadway at the edge of the campus.

Hearts lifted as the two-block-long procession turned to enter the town—for indeed Christ the King was traversing the streets of the community in blessing! In a sense, even the civil authorities recognized the Kingship of Christ when police officers stopped traffic on busy Highway 24 for the procession to cross.

When such processions take place on campus, there are always pauses at outdoor altars for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This time, College President James Taylor's home, at the halfway point of the route, provided a place to erect a temporary altar on the front porch. "Christus regnat" was beautifully lettered on the front sidewalk, while a crown of Christ the King and emblem of the Holy Cross were worked in sawdust and flowers on the path over which the Blessed Sacrament was carried up to the flower-decorated altar. The crowd (estimated at over 400 people) completely filled the quiet residential intersection and knelt in the street while Father led the hymns and prayers of Benediction and then raised the Host in blessing.

Feast of Christ the King—the long procession with the
Blessed Sacrament emerges from the campus and
proceeds into the town of St. Marys.



While servers hold the canopy (in bottom picture),
Fr. de la Tour raises Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
to bless some patients of St. Mary's Manor Nursing Home,
during the Christ the King procession.

As the procession continued up the street, some people of the Novus Ordo parish in the town joined in, and others who were watching from their front porches knelt as Our Lord passed by.

On that beautiful afternoon, the deep blue of the sky and brilliant sunlit yellow and red of the trees seemed to proclaim the Kingship of their Maker, and to form a backdrop of color rivalling the gold of Father's vestments and the copes of the servers.

A beautiful and memorable incident took place at the local nursing home, where some of our Academy students had brought patients out to the curb in their wheel chairs. The procession halted while Father carried the Blessed Sacrament to the side of the Street and lifted the golden monstrance in blessing. Our Lord—in our midst—stopped to bless the sick and elderly as He did in the Holy Land two thousand years ago.

People in cars watched respectfully as we passed by; then we re-crossed the highway to enter the main entrance of the campus, where on the pavement letters proclaimed "Christus Imperat" (Christ commands). The second ceremony of Benediction, as the last golden rays of the sun slanted across campus, was held at the outdoor altar that is the site where the first cathedral between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains was once located. Returning to the chapel, we attended the third and final Benediction.

Part of the great crowd of the faithful who followed the
Christ the King procession into the town of St. Marys.
Young and old—adults, students, and even infants in carriages
and strollers—participated in this memorable event.

Father de la Tour's letter to the parish the following week expressed some of the fullness that was in all hearts. Thanking the parishioners for participating, he said in part: "We all felt joy and peace walking along with Our Lord, Our Beloved King. Our Savior must have been very pleased to see so many faithful singing praises to Him; proclaiming His great victory over sin, the devil and the world. So many sinners repay Our Lord with ingratitude that we really have to praise Him even more in order to make up for our own forgetfulness of the past and the present impiety of so many."

Young Adults Round-up, 1984

"It was the best ever!" was the comment of several young adults who were repeat visitors to St. Mary's College for the fifth "Young Adults Get-together." Held annually on Thanksgiving weekend, this past year's "Round-up" was the biggest ever with 110 young adults registering in the guest book. About half of these were local young traditionalist Catholics and college students of St. Mary's, and the rest were visitors who came literally from the four corners of the United States: Massachusetts, Florida, California, Washington State, and from many points in between.

After settling in on Wednesday, visitors had an opportunity to get acquainted at an evening reception in the college rec room, which was "dressed up" with streamers and checkered table cloths. The college girls and other young ladies of St. Mary's prepared an array of tasty goodies and a tiered "Round-up '84" cake. At 9:00 p.m., everyone adjourned to the chapel for the chanting of the Office of Compline with the priests, brothers, and nuns after which—back in the rec room—College Chaplain Father DeLallo gave his welcome address.

Father enumerated some of the many reasons for young people to attend this gathering (which is for young singles ages 18 and up). The most important reason is, of course, to take advantage of the spiritual life of St. Mary's—such as Compline. For many visitors it was the first time they had heard the Divine Office chanted. And then, obviously, it is a time to be together and enjoy each other's company. Father welcomed all, expressing the hope that everyone would feel at home and join in all the activities.

On the spiritual side, during the next few busy days, visitors had the opportunity to attend daily Mass (a High Mass on Thanksgiving Day, the Feast of St. Cecilia). There was opportunity for confessions, and those who desired could attend the chanting of the Offices of Prime, Sext, and Compline daily as well as daily Rosary. Thursday there was Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Friday, Stations of the Cross.

Father DeLallo presented several well-prepared conferences on such topics as "Dating and Marriage," "Prayer and the Interior Life," "Vocations," "The Sacrifice of the Mass," and "The Church and the Bible." At the end of his last conference, Father summed up in a few words what it is all about to be a Catholic: "Your faith should not just be a part of your life; it must be your life!"

Meanwhile, the Round-up isn't only a chance to get one's spiritual batteries "recharged"—it is also a lot of fun. Young people spent hours in the rec room at a favorite past-time: talking!—while playing games, munching snacks, and working jigsaw puzzles. Since the weather was pleasant, they could take walks on St. Mary's large acreage or into the town of St. Marys. They participated in organized (and disorganized) sports—volleyball games being a favorite in these parts.

For Thanksgiving dinner, the college girls and campus ladies prepared a memorable feast: turkey with apple-raisin dressing, sweet potato souffle, creamed spinach, cranberry sauce, homemade bread, and apple cider—topped off with homemade pumpkin, mincemeat, blueberry and apple pies!

The Thursday evening square dance in the gym will be long-remembered. Among the decorations were two life-size stuffed scarecrows. Attired in overalls, and with faces painted on their burlap heads, their straw stuffing spilling out at every seam, they were suspended from the ceiling on rope swings. The square dance was in full swing when—to the amazement of the unsuspecting dancers—the scare­crows came to life! They swung on their trapezes, slid down ropes, grabbed partners, and began to dance! Just who these lively scarecrows were has remained a guarded secret!

The St. Mary's Academy 1984 Football Team. Coaches
are Phil Salerno, Bob Kaiser and Greg Feuerborn.

On Friday evening the young adults assembled in the campus' McCabe Theater for some "live" entertainment as college students presented the best of skits from previous college variety shows. Musical presentations alternated with humorous skits. The all-time favorite seems to be the "Philharmania Orchestra" directed by "Doremi Fasolati." Among the instruments "played" by the musicians seated in a semicircle on stage were umbrellas and tennis rackets (violin section); snow shovel (bass fiddle); garbage can lids (cymbals); and telescope, funnel, vacuum cleaner and telephones (wind instruments)! What the audience heard them "play" so vigorously was the "William Tell Overture" (in which everyone recognized the "Lone Ranger theme), and you guessed it—among the many hilarious surprises that took place during this rendition, the finale had "Tonto" come charging in on a stick horse to "scalp" the bewigged conductor.

Amidst comments of "Boy, that was really funny!" the tired players were happy to collapse in theater seats and join their guests to enjoy a showing of the movie, "The Quiet Man."

On Saturday, the mild weather held, allowing an outdoor barbecue prepared by young men of the parish. The tender and delicious pit-cooked beef was accompanied by baked beans, a tomato dish, bean salad and potato salad. That evening a big bonfire at the Cerny place out in the country was the final event that wrapped up the 1984 Round-Up.

The following morning after Mass aw the young folks departing for home, exchanging addresses, and promising to write or to return and…"see y'all next year!"

Football Returns to St. Mary's

Sixty years ago, when St. Mary's was a famous Jesuit boys' college, it was renowned for its sports program, which was a part of the development of the Catholic young man. Football, basketball, baseball—St. Mary's had good teams. This past fall, on the old college playing field-newly graded and re-seeded—football returned.

Coached by parishioners Greg Feuerborne and Bob Kaiser, the Academy boys worked hard for a grueling three weeks of practice before going out against St. John's Military Academy in Salina, Kansas. Though our boys didn't win this first game against another school, they played well and made a respectable score, actually out-scoring St. John's in the second half. This was their only game against another school this year, but several games are lined up for the coming season and the boys plan to start practicing early. Though the team still needs a lot of equipment, they were blessed in the fact that a generous friend of St. Mary's from New York donated half the cost of the uniforms for both football and basketball teams.

The Academy's basketball team really got rolling this year. As of this writing, with only two games left in the season, the varsity team has racked up eight wins and three losses, playing against other schools. One that they beat at basketball was St. John's Military Academy!

Coach Salerno is starting intramural leagues among the younger kids so they will have experience in the game when they are old enough to go into the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. It is a real joy to see these young men play a good game of basketball one day, and devoutly serve Sunday High Mass the next morning.

In keeping with the encyclicals of the Popes on this subject, sports at St. Mary's are a part of the total development—spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional—of the Catholic young man.

In sports the boys find an energy outlet, a competition they can enjoy and look forward to during the hours they have to sit still in class! Working off their energy in competitive sports makes them more settled in class, more able to concentrate on spiritual things in chapel, and sends them to bed at night with a healthy tiredness.

Through sports, many virtues can be inculcalted in boys in a practical way that that cannot always grasp in a sermon—patience and charity towards others, humility when called down for mistakes, cooperation with others. They develop fortitude and physical strength they will need when they go out in the world and must be able to keep their Christian ideals against the errors of the modern world. They learn to work hard and discipline themselves. Sports builds physical strength and grace—which even shows up on the altar as the servers who are athletes improve in gracefulness and posture!

Here at St. Mary's, with the grace of the Mass and Sacraments to keep everything in focus, athletics is kept in its true place and perspective as a very necessary part of the boy's formation, but not as an end in itself as is so often the case in the modern world which has corrupted the real purpose of athletics. The boys on the team are expected to maintain a good spiritual life, a strong academic life. If a boy's grades slip or he has discipline problems, he is suspended from the team until the problem is corrected—giving him an incentive to keep his grades up.

In athletics—as in everything at St. Mary's—the spiritual is brought into the program: the team attends Mass in a body; they say the Rosary on the bus on the way to games.

These athletic activities contribute to the goal of St. Mary's Academy—to produce a well-balanced Catholic young man and student, developed to his fullest potential academically, spiritually, and physically.