Amid the hustle and bustle of the Advent season, as the bells rang to mark the start and end of school days, Our Lady of Loreto School in Foxfield was filled with Marian joy. As the Archdiocese of Denver commemorated the Days of Prayer to Mary last month, the school community celebrated their first-ever “Mary Week,” dedicated to the great Mother of God.
The unique archdiocesan feast days date back at least to 1984 and serve as a call to deeper devotion to our Blessed Mother. For Our Lady of Loreto School, the days of prayer were a beautiful catalyst for community, education and encounter with Christ through his mother, thanks to the dedicated work of Father David Bluejacket, the parish’s pastor, and Deanne Martinez, Loreto’s principal.
Beginning with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the students attended Mass, said the Rosary and prayed in Adoration multiple times throughout the days of prayer, offering beautiful hymns and devotions to the Mother of God.
“I was blessed to see how the children adored Jesus through Mary,” said Father Kevin Kasel, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Loreto, of the powerful moments of prayer and celebration throughout “Mary Week.”
To make the commemorations all the more special, the Our Lady of Loreto School community celebrated their patronal feast day with Cardinal J. Francis Stafford. The cardinal joined the school community to watch a short play directed by sixth-grade Language Arts teacher, Mr. Stachler.
“Students were amazed as the story played out in front of them, culminating in four students dressed as glorious angels picking up Mary’s house and moving it across the altar and away from danger,” said John-Paul Sullivan, Loreto’s assistant principal.
Following the play, Cardinal Stafford offered a poignant reflection from his time with Pope St. John Paul II during World Youth Day, showing photos of the iconic experience and underscoring the saintly pope’s mission to point all people to Jesus Christ — just as Mary has done through the centuries.
“Mary Week” continued with more opportunities for prayer, celebration and community, like a blue and white dress-down day complete with donuts and a joy-filled celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
To honor the great Patroness of the Americas, the school gathered for Adoration and a short reflection and had the opportunity to honor Mary by placing a rose at Our Lady’s feet. After the time in prayer, students were “set loose on an authentic seven-pronged Mexican piñata representing the seven cardinal sins,” Sullivan said. “The students learned that hitting the piñata was a symbolic blow against sin, and treats showed the sweetness when sin was destroyed.
“Overall, the four-day celebration of ‘Mary Week’ proved to be an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and parents to take a step back from all the busyness of the Advent season and honor the mother of Jesus,” Sullivan continued. “I look forward to continuing this week-long celebration of Mary long into the future.”
Loreto’s students agreed that “Mary Week” was a blessed opportunity to encounter Jesus through Mary and appreciated the chance to spend time in prayer together.
“This week of Mary got me closer to God because I went to church more at school, and Mary is the Queen of Heaven and Earth,” one student said.
“It is important to know Mary because she is not just Jesus’ mother; she is our mother also,” another added.
In short, the celebration was one marked by Marian joy, even amid the hecticness that precedes the holidays. “Mary Week” was a blessed opportunity to come together in prayer and community, honoring the Blessed Mother and her son.
“The Church gives us so many reasons to rejoice, and Mary’s motherhood fills me with that joy,” Martinez concluded.
