The 25th Annual Baccalaureate Mass
On Sunday June 3rd, 2012, Kellenberg Memorial High School celebrated its 25th Annual Baccalaureate Mass at Hofstra arena. The celebrant of this Mass was Father Philip.
Graduating senior, Meghan Cramsie, and the class salutatorian, Connor Barrett, assisted Father Philip as altar servers during the Mass. Many seniors participated during the Mass by serving as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharistic, by bringing up the gifts, and by proclaiming the readings. The entire Kellenberg faculty attended the Mass and was able to be with the many men and women they once taught together as a family for the last time. The juniors of the National Honor Society also helped make this Mass very special. Throughout the Mass, the Gregorian Consortium sang a variety of the seniors’ favorite songs such as “When God Ran,” sung by senior Joseph Minasi among others.
In the Gospel proclaimed this day, it spoke about Jesus’ Last Supper. “This is the senior class’ last supper,” said Father Philip. This would be the last time that the class of 2012 would celebrate Mass together as part of the Kellenberg Marianist family. Father Philip also made sure to note the mantra that he wanted to instill in the graduating class: “change is inevitable, growth is optional.” He wanted to teach the seniors that although they have learned many life lessons during their time at Kellenberg, they must continue to learn as they move on and develop as good catholic men and women.
To conclude the beautiful Mass, each of the graduates was given a candle to be lighted by one of the Kellenberg faculty members. This ceremony was very beautiful because each student was able to go to his or her favorite teacher to light their candles. It was an emotional time for the members of the class of 2012 as “Go Light Your World” was playing, encouraging the graduates to spread the values learned from their Kellenberg experiences.
The 25th Annual Baccalaureate Mass was the perfect way for the seniors to spend their last experience of Kellenberg. It taught the graduates to be “lights” of the world and always remember and grow in their faith.
Article by Gabrielle Harvey, Class of 2015