By Katie Vasquez
A March morning filled with song and benediction before the Blessed Sacrament at St Mel’s Church in Flushing, Queens wasn’t a usual school day for Diocese of Brooklyn middle school students.
“The kids got to step out of the regular everyday stuff and to be quiet with their God for about an hour. It doesn’t get better than that,” Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn, Deacon Kevin McCormack, said of how the students spent their day.
Four Catholic academies, St Mel’s, St Luke’s, St Andrew Avellino, and St Michael’s brought their students together for a Lenten rally as a chance for reflection and prayer.
7th grader Jayden Morita says it’s this time with God that convinced him to transfer from public schools.
“I pray before eating. Every morning I pray. Every afternoon I pray, and so every night I pray like I’m getting closer to God now that I’m in a Catholic school,” he tells Currents News.
Seeing other kids her age is an inspiration to Genesis Lin, an 8th grader at St. Michael Catholic Academy.
“Usually teenagers, they’re pretty far away from God nowadays,” she explains, “and it’s pretty reassuring that we’re all here in his name.”
Father Joseph Fonti, the pastor of St Mel’s, led a eucharistic procession around the Queens church. He is urging the students to follow their vocation whatever it might be.
“We usually believe around that time young people are invited to know Him, love Him, serve Him as a vocation, whether it be through marriage, through religious life, or or priesthood,” he says.
During this Lenten season, students like Jayden plan to follow whatever path God has for him.
“He spent 40 days without, you know, but I feel like it’s getting me closer to him,” he explains.
Another Lenten rally is planned for March 18 at St Thomas Aquinas in Flatlands, giving nearby schools in Brooklyn a chance to be alone with Christ.