Reflecting the Lenten season, the inside of Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., was adorned in purple as Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated Mass on April 8 for the Sacred Heart School community. Capuchin Franciscan Father Emilio Biosca Agüero, Sacred Heart’s pastor; and Capuchin Franciscan Father Diogo Escudero served as concelebrants for the Mass.
Since Sacred Heart is a bilingual school, the Mass had a mix of English and Spanish throughout, and there was a projector set up near the lectern with responses and song lyrics displayed in both languages for the congregation to follow along.
Cardinal Gregory started the Mass with the sign of the cross in Spanish, saying, “En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo.”
The Sacred Heart School choir sang and students offered prayers during the Mass. During his homily, Cardinal Gregory said, “We are going find out that Jesus is in trouble with the religious authorities of his time,” referring to the impending Holy Week.
Cardinal Gregory clarified what “really got Jesus in trouble” and sentenced to crucifixion was not that he claimed to be the Son of God or performed miracles – it was that Jesus told people that they also were the children of God.
“They didn’t want to hear that because if they were going to be God’s sons and daughters, they would have to behave differently,” Cardinal Gregory said. “They would have to be kind to one another, they would have to love one another, they would have to treat one another as brothers and sisters.”
The cardinal went on to explain that this sentiment, that some people will reject the truth of the Church if it requires effort on their part, is still relevant to the present Church.
“What [Jesus] told them and what He told us is still true, that we are God’s sons and daughters and that means we have to care for one another and respect one another, and love one another as brothers and sisters. It means that the differences that distinguish us – our languages that we speak and the races that we belong to, and our ages, and all of the things that make us unique must not keep us from loving each other,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Yoselin Fernandez, an eighth grader at Sacred Heart School, said she loved the Mass and enjoyed the homily.
“I really liked how he talked about how other people usually don’t want to follow God’s steps, and how all of us should be a family instead of going against each other,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said she was excited to celebrate Easter this year, as her younger siblings will probably enjoy an Easter egg hunt and her family would go out to eat.
“For Easter we usually go out to a fancy restaurant, just celebrate our time as a family together,” Fernandez said.
Verenize Tejada, a peer of Fernandez, is also looking forward to Easter and the end of the Lenten season.
“I want my chocolate back,” Fernandez said. She said of their plans, “We’re probably going to church, spending time with family and rejoicing. We’re very religious, so we really like this time of year. It’s very nice after the 40 days of Lent which is all very sad. We can just go back to Easter, which is all happy and nice.”
After Communion, Elise Heil, the principal of Sacred Heart School, encouraged everyone to give a round of applause to the choir, as well as students and staff who helped coordinate the Mass. Cardinal Gregory was then presented with a gift, an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and asked to give a blessing to students in second and eighth grade who will be receiving the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation, respectively.
