A 24-hour adoration for the Feast of the Annunciation began last night in Holy Spirit Chapel, Le Mans Hall at Saint Mary's and will continue until 6 p.m. this evening.
Freshman Julie Weilbaker engendered this event and said students from Notre Dame and Holy Cross are welcome to join in prayer to commemorate the Annunciation.
"God truly is so good to us and gives Mary to each of us to be the mother of us all," Weilbaker said. "This is a chance for us to reciprocate that gift and invite the other campuses to come to Jesus here at Saint Mary's. I always love to be able to celebrate the feast with as many people as possible."
Weilbaker said Annunciation is the highest Marian feast day, for it celebrates Mary's acceptance of God's plan to give her a son.
"Human history centers around this moment when God became man, out of pure love for us," Weilbaker said. "Our only response can be to adore Him and love Him as best we can. Jesus is constantly calling to us, waiting for us to give Him even the slightest glance and return the love that He gives to us every moment of our lives."
The adoration itself will allow students to do just that, as Weilbaker said it involves a variety of prayers and songs in honor of Mary. According to Weilbaker, each hour will begin with a different prayer, including the four mysteries of the rosary, litanies to Mary and meditations.
"We wanted to incorporate some of our Holy Cross traditions by including one of the meditations written by Fr. Basil Moreau and a few poems to the Blessed Virgin written by Sr. Madeleva [Wolff]," Weilbaker said. "When we celebrate the Annunciation and honor Mary, she gives that glory to God, and it is magnified."
Weilbaker said her past participation in 24-hour adorations at her home parish, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, led her to suggest this idea to Campus Ministry. She encourages peers who wish to set up similar events to pray for Mary's intercession and to remain persistent.
"The idea just kind of came to me as I was walking out of the chapel," Weilbaker said. "It seemed like such a simple but profound way to honor Our Lady, the patroness of our school. I just went to our chaplain Fr. John Pearson and mentioned the idea to him, and he was very willing to help me as much as possible to make sure that it happened."
Pearson said he encourages students to become involved with Campus ministry so they can share their ideas with faith.
"Campus Ministry is open to proposals that are appropriate and that we have the resources to meet," Pearson said. "Students proposed this opportunity and worked hard to make it happen."
He said students should attend the 24-hour adoration to celebrate Mary's commitment to God and to relate to her on a spiritual level.
"It took the assent of a woman even younger than our students to make possible the incarnation," Pearson said. "That makes it a feast especially attractive to young women growing in their faith."
