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| Jake (back left) with his community members |
The
past two weeks here at St. Michael Indian School have truly been life changing
for me as a person. There have been a number of times in which I have simply
stopped, taken a step back, and said, "Wow! I am here on the Navajo
Reservation experiencing life in ways I didn't know were possible." One
particular experience in which I was really struck with awe was about a week
ago at our all school liturgy in honor of the newly canonized Saint Kateri
Tekakwitha. For this mass, I was asked to participate in a couple ways that I
have recognized made the experience extremely special for me.
A couple days before the liturgy, I was asked to help carry the Saint Kateri statue in during the opening procession and then out after mass. Immediately, I said yes and was excited to do it. But, I certainly didn't realize the feelings I would get while doing such a simple action. Once the native drummers and singers started the opening song and I began to help carry it, the feelings hit and were overwhelming. The entire congregation focusing on the statue of a woman that changed perspectives for years to come - and I was carrying her forward! Unbelievably humbling to say the least is how I would describe that experience. And you can bet that at the end of mass as I helped carry her out, the same feelings returned once again.
The other part of the mass that I was asked to help out with was being a Eucharistic minister. Again, I said yes without any hesitancy. However, I think I forgot how much of a humbling experience being a Eucharistic minister can be as well, especially when you are providing blessings to many of the students and faculty who are not of the Catholic faith. Words cannot describe the feeling of providing God's blessing to kindergartners, first graders, fifth graders, faculty, community members. In essence, these two experiences at the liturgy honoring a Native American woman struck me as life changing humbling experiences that I will never forget.
A couple days before the liturgy, I was asked to help carry the Saint Kateri statue in during the opening procession and then out after mass. Immediately, I said yes and was excited to do it. But, I certainly didn't realize the feelings I would get while doing such a simple action. Once the native drummers and singers started the opening song and I began to help carry it, the feelings hit and were overwhelming. The entire congregation focusing on the statue of a woman that changed perspectives for years to come - and I was carrying her forward! Unbelievably humbling to say the least is how I would describe that experience. And you can bet that at the end of mass as I helped carry her out, the same feelings returned once again.
The other part of the mass that I was asked to help out with was being a Eucharistic minister. Again, I said yes without any hesitancy. However, I think I forgot how much of a humbling experience being a Eucharistic minister can be as well, especially when you are providing blessings to many of the students and faculty who are not of the Catholic faith. Words cannot describe the feeling of providing God's blessing to kindergartners, first graders, fifth graders, faculty, community members. In essence, these two experiences at the liturgy honoring a Native American woman struck me as life changing humbling experiences that I will never forget.
Jake DeMarais - St Michael Indian School - St. Michaels, AZ
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