Going to confession can be scary. Here’s how Mayfield students are trying to change that.
When Director of Campus Ministry Teri Gonzales announced to the Campus Ministry Council that they would be organizing a Sacrament of Reconciliation prayer service during Lent, the girls took a deep and anxious breath.
“My first reaction was that I was excited to have a Reconciliation service because it’s new for Mayfield,” said Emma Weidman ’19. “But I was also a little worried if students would be open to the idea of confession.”
In a major undertaking that involved bringing 10 priests to campus, planning an inclusive service that respected the beliefs and sensitivities of all, and offering an opportunity for every student to go to confession, Mayfield’s Campus Ministry Council made history this week when they organized the biggest-ever celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
They danced, made origami, watched a slide show and listened to Gospel readings and music. To ease any trepidation, they even prepared a handy “cheat sheet” of instructions about confession.
Mrs. Gonzales said her goal was for the girls to have a joyful experience of God’s unconditional love and mercy through this often misunderstood sacrament. She hopes to make the service part of Mayfield’s Lenten tradition.
“We need to shift our understanding of Reconciliation—it’s no longer sin-oriented but love-oriented and community-centered,” Mrs. Gonzales said. “We are reconciling not just with God and ourselves but with one another. We hurt and harm each other and through this beautiful sacrament we are reminded not so much that we are sinful but we can be more kind, loving and healing to one another by God’s grace and mercy.”
She said renewing our awareness of the sacrament is aligned with Pope Francis’ call to celebrate mercy, not just as individuals but as a community and Church.
The students’ concerns about organizing a prayer service in which they would invite classmates to go before a priest for personal confession challenged them to create an experience that their friends could relate to.
Campus Ministry Council member Trinity Gomez ’18 said she had “mixed feelings” about the service. On one hand, her Catholic friends would have an opportunity to receive a sacrament “that is often forgotten or put off.” On the other, she and other leaders were worried that non-Catholics would feel excluded.
“This affected how we planned the service because we knew there needed to be a variety of ways to reflect on the mercy received during the Lenten season,” Trinity said. “We wanted to express a universal theme that Lent is a time for inner reflection.”
Compounding their challenge, these young ministers were all too aware that Sacrament of Reconciliation is not popular.
Indeed, 70% of American Catholic women go to confession less than once a year or never, according to a first-of-its kind survey of U.S. Catholic women by the Jesuit magazine America last January.
Also of note, “the number of women who attend Mass and participate in the other sacraments is much lower at the younger end of the age spectrum,” the magazine said of the survey conducted by the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
Mrs. Gonzales sensed the girls’ hesitation and unfamiliarity with the sacrament and helped them to conceptualize the service.
On Wednesday, the students assembled in Pike. Campus Ministry leaders Bella Paine ’19, Lauren Spensiero ’18, and Angeli De La Cruz ’18, along with others, had worked for weeks and felt confident the service it would resonate with their classmates.
Trinity opened with this prayer:
“We have been given an opportunity to ask forgiveness for our sins, for missing the mark, for being selfish, for separating or isolating ourselves. This is an invitation to return to our merciful and loving God and to be reconciled with one another in our families and communities.
“God is constantly welcoming us back… and desires that we live together with mercy, kindness joy and peace....Today let us quiet ourselves and prepare our hearts and minds to experience God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”
Students were then invited to leave Pike and meet with priests.
Remember the “Act of Contrition?” It was typed up on a little cheat sheet. But it also assured students that that “any spontaneous and heartfelt prayer that expresses you are truly sorry for your sins” is OK, too.
During the reflection time, three students played the flute, another group performed a graceful dance to contemporary music. Everyone was invited to make origami doves as a sign of mercy and healing—to fly in reference to the meditation poem ‘The Holy Longing’ by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Inside Strub Hall and Pike Auditorium offices, priests met with all the girls who chose to receive the sacrament.
“Reconciliation can actually be a really great experience, especially because we had such nice priests,” said Sara Lydon ’19. “I learned that so many girls at Mayfield do value their Catholic faith and the Sacrament of Reconciliation because so many of them chose to go.”
Trinity thought the experience brought new light on the sacrament.
“While planning I learned that confession does not have to be scary,” she said. “I learned that the whole idea behind it is to become better, kinder people...The truth is we can receive God’s mercy by trying to change and learning from our sins or the things that hold us back from becoming better people in Christ.”
No comments have been posted
Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
