Last Thursday and Friday, students went with their Spiritual Life classes to the Innovation Lab for the school’s annual Advent prayer services.

Advent is a time in the Catholic church leading up to Christmas as Catholics wait and prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

The prayer service began with a video describing what Advent is and then followed with a discussion on the meaning of the holidays beyond material goods and modern traditions.

It ended with each student writing her personal goal for the season on a cutout of a leaf which were collected to create a wreath.

The prayer services were planned by the Spiritual Life department.  Its teachers hoped that students would spend the time getting into the spirit of the season and reflect on what the upcoming holidays mean to each of them.

Spiritual Life Department Chair Ynez Manalo says, “Hopefully, they will take time to reflect on what distractions they want to let go of during this Advent season, like cell phones or shopping, and what they should focus on more of, like love or joy.”

Titan Johana Ligtenberg commented, “It was interesting that it was done differently since, in past years, the reflection was a meditation.”

She also said, “I’ve heard that writing down your goals makes them more likely to come true, so hopefully what we wrote on our leaves will help us finish out the year strong!”

The symbolic Advent wreath was featured during the prayer service.  It consists of four candles that represent each week , three that are purple to represent fasting and repentance and pink to represent joy.  The wreath will be on display on the second floor next to the St. Julie statue.

This is the third consecutive year that prayer services were held in classes, rather than as a whole school.

With contributions by Winnie Saulala, Staff Writer