Nikolaus Elliehausen / Sacraments / Fr. Manahan / Period 8
Thanksgiving began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. The MUHS Thanksgiving Mass incorporated many of those original ideas and added their own. Thanksgiving itself and Thanksgiving Mass are different for everyone. Everybody is giving thanks for different things in their lives, but ultimately the Thanksgiving Mass revolves around the idea of just being thankful and giving back, both of which are expressed regularly in the MUHS community. They lay underneath the various Grad at Grad values that most students will possess when their time comes to graduate from Marquette University High School. As for the difference it makes in the community, besides improving overall spiritual …show more content…
Many of the sentiments he expressed were shared by students. Another component was the presentation of the Book of the Dead. It gave an opportunity for those affected by loss to gain a sense of closure. The song choice “Life is changed, not ended” fit wholly into the presentation. The student body silently gave thanks for the time they spent with their deceased friends and family and also gained a deeper appreciation for the time spent with one another, knowing how easily it can be taken away. Overall it was a very solemn and reverent part of the Mass. The environment, or setup, of the Mass consisted of lots of bright, autumnal colors, many baskets, and signs conveying, again, giving thanks and being thankful. There was a joyful atmosphere among the students (not unusual) and the staff monitoring the students (unusual). The atrium itself was more illuminated than for other all-school masses. As always, Mrs. Sajdak and the choir did a wonderful job. The choir sang a few other symbolic songs other than “life is changed, not ended”. They also sang “table of plenty,” which was especially relevant considering when most think of