For years VASJ’s Spiritual Life and Art & Environment committees of Peer Ministry and the senior class have organized an annual Rosary Prayer Service at the school.
“This service grew out of a question posed by Bob Preto, a former member of the school's maintenance staff (and relative of teacher Pat Preto),” VASJ’s Coordinator of Mission Effectiveness, Bill Raddell ’67 says. “He asked what we did in regard to Mary in religion classes since we are a Marianist school.”
His question inspired Raddell and others to think of what could be done as a school community to honor Mary. As a result, came the Rosary Prayer Service.
“In religion classes students are taught how to say the Rosary. Each year we do one of the sets of mysteries of the Rosary, so over four years the students recite each set of mysteries,” Raddell says.
This year's service was based on the Joyful Mysteries. Student prayer leaders and Peer Ministers Elizabeth Smith ’18 and Malia Ali ’18, lead the community in prayer. The students would announce each mystery and read the Scripture that was the basis for the mystery. Then the Peer Ministers and other volunteers brought each mystery to life through the use of drama, music, PowerPoint, images and movie clips.
For example, during the Second Joyful Mystery, The Visitation, students first watched a clip of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth from the film Jesus of Nazareth. This was followed by the VASJ Men's Choir singing the hymn Hail Mary, Gentle Woman. After the reflection, members of the senior class, seated in the form of the Rosary on the gym floor, led the school community by saying the first part of the prayers with the rest of the school responding with the second part of the prayers. Each students was given a rosary to keep and use for their own personal prayer.
“Students have said that this is their favorite prayer service each year since it is something that is unique and different from liturgies and other prayer services,” Raddell says.