Rain delay

A rain storm over Miami has us sitting on the airport runway, waiting to take-off for Cuba.

In the mean time, we've broken out the games and magazines. No word on when we might leave Miami.

Ready for take-off

We're at LaGuardia and ready to leave for Miami.

Everyone got here early. Mr. Kilroy reports that everyone was "chipper."

Some time for a quick breakfast before boarding...

¡Alla vamos! (Here we come!)

In just three days, 10 students and two Prep employees will spend two weeks living in solidarity alongside other volunteers at the Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador.

The Working Boys Center (www.workingboyscenter.org) is a mission created by Fr. John Halligan, S.J., that provides education, healthcare, and other assistance to low income families.

The Prep contingent, which will be at the WBC from June 5 - 19, is comprised of:

Mr. Ryan Heffernan, Director of Campus Ministry
Mr. John Kilroy, Religion Teacher
Kevin Cevasco, '10
Kevin Cunningham, '11
Alex Diaz, '10
James Kuklinski, '10
Peter LiVolsi, '11
Matt Mullman, '09
Edwin Ortiz, '10
Kyle Robinson, '10
James Shovlin, '10
Tom Tulp, '10

The group will be updating this blog daily while abroad, so check back for photos and reflections from our work in Quito.

Community Mass planned for Saturday

Saint Peter's Prep will host its last Community Mass of the school year in Upper Montclair on Saturday, April 25. The Mass, an opportunity for members of the Prep community to join together for prayer and fellowship, will be held in Saint Cassian's Church at 7 p.m. 

All members of the Prep community – students, parents, staff, alumni, and friends – are invited to join us, with a special invitation to those living in the Montclair area. Saint Cassian's is located 187 Bellevue Avenue in Upper Montclair. The parish can be reached at (973) 744-2850. 

Successful "Arrupe Lecture Series" examines issues of genocide

 “I believe that the deepest call this week will be the call of Christ,” said Rev. Ken Gavin, S.J., as he spoke to students and staff at Saint Peter’s Prep last week.  Gavin, president of the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) in the U.S., celebrated the opening liturgy on March 23 for the school’s Arrupe Lecture Series – a weeklong summit focusing on a particular matter of social justice.  The summit included a panel of Holocaust survivors, a keynote address from a Sudanese refugee, a visit to the United Nations, and documentary screenings, among other events.

Gavin introduced the year’s theme – genocide – by discussing the JRS, an apostolate of the Society of Jesus that provides humanitarian aid to displaced refugees victimized by acts of conflict.  “It is not enough to say that you've learned about the long history of genocide," he said.  “Christ will invite you to focus your eyes on the eyes of total strangers… the most vulnerable among us. And as you look deeply into the eyes of the crucified people of our world, Jesus will call you to see brothers and sisters.”

The series is named for Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the late superior general of the Jesuits.  Arrupe charged the Jesuits with their modern mission – to form “men and women for others.”

It was important that the week begin with a Mass.  “Our Catholic, Jesuit faith asks us to contemplate what kind of response our faith dictates from us when it comes to matters of injustice,” said Ryan Heffernan, Prep’s director of Campus Ministry.  “A focus throughout the Arrupe Series is to catalyze in our school community a ‘faith that does justice’.”

A panel of Holocaust survivors spoke to the student body two days after Gavin’s Mass.  Ed Bindel, who grew up in Poland during World War II, told of how only one in six European Jews survived the Holocaust. “Sometimes…I imagine that there are five others…standing behind me, who cannot be here to talk with you – because of prejudice, because of genocide, because of hatred,” said Bindel.  “It still boggles the mind."

A 20-foot timeline, exploring contemporary issues of genocide, was displayed in the school and surrounded by first-hand pictures of conflict-torn regions provided by the United Nations.  Art, English, history, modern language, religion, and science teachers integrated lessons on genocide into their curriculum during the week.

The series closed with an address by Elizabeth Kuch, a young woman who fled Sudan at the age of 5 and grew-up in a Kenyan refugee camp.  “Her story of oppression and hope was a fitting conclusion to the week,” Heffernan said.

Students Donate Video Game Systems to Hoboken Medical Center

Students from Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City collected and donated more than 12 video game systems for the Pediatric Wing at Hoboken Medical Center. The donations, which were delivered late last month, also included more than 100 video games.

The video game drive was started by Prep junior Keith Cummings, who was hospitalized in the medical center’s Pediatric Wing earlier in the year. “They didn’t have any video games to play and the board games were missing pieces,” said Cummings. “When I got out, I decided I would give some of my old video games and systems to the hospital so the kids would have something to play with.”

With help from the members of Prep’s chapter of Pax Christi – a service and social justice club – Cummings was able to collect everything from Playstation 2 systems to the popular Madden football games. “We put flyers throughout the school and got a great response,” said senior Christian Baranok, who serves as president of Pax Christi.

“It was great to see Keith recognize and respond to the need at the hospital,” said senior Jay Kowalcyzk, who is also part of Pax Christi. “The generosity of the students at Prep was tremendous and it was great to be able to help out.”

Prep contingent returns from Ignatian Teach-In

Saint Peter's Prep students and staff outside of Fort Benning, Georgia.

Saint Peter’s Prep students and staff returned yesterday from the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, an annual event calling for the closure of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly the School of the Americas). It is also an opportunity to commemorate the deaths of the Salvadorian Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter, who were murdered by SOA-trained soldiers.

The Prep contingent was led by Mr. Erich Sekel, assistant director of campus ministry. He was joined by Ms. Jane Bleasdale, a religion teacher and Prep’s director of faculty formation. Together the pair joined 15 students who spent the two days in prayer, reflection, dialogue, and peaceful protest alongside hundreds of students from other Jesuit high schools and colleges.

“Our students entered the weekend open and enthusiastic,” said Mr. Sekel. “I was impressed by their attentiveness and desire to learn about the various issues discussed. Through their discussions and reflections, they challenged one another to bring the spirit of solidarity and commitment to justice back to Prep.

“For me,” he continued, “it re-affirmed my belief in the mission of Saint Peter’s. It was just a great and proud weekend for me.”

Novices visit Prep for Jesuit Vocations Day

Travis Stoops, n.S.J., speaks to freshmen in the Madonna Chapel.

Two Jesuit novices from Saint Andrew's Hall, the novitiate for the New York, New England and Maryland Provinces, were on hand on November 14 as Prep held its annual Jesuit Vocations Day. The day began with a prayer service for vocations in the Mulry Hall lobby.

Throughout the day, Travis Stoops, n.S.J. and Vinny Marchionni, n.S.J. met with freshman religion classes in the Madonna Chapel. The two talked about their faith, about the process of Jesuit formation, and shared stories that helped the freshmen see parts of their journeys in their own lives.

As part of the larger Jesuit community, Prep recognizes the need for men who feel called to serve the mission of the Society and the Church. Vocations Day is an opportunity to introduce the possibilty of becoming a Jesuit priest or brother to the young men of the Prep community.

"Many times, students don't realize the opportunities the Jesuits offer," said Mr. Ryan Heffernan, Director of Campus Ministry. "Around the world there are ordained Jesuits working as doctors, lawyers, and artists. The Jesuits make it possible to follow both your heart and your dreams."