To the Band of Brothers: June 7, 2021

Fr. Willie ‘87 | President
Good morning!
 
Last week they installed the image of the Holy Spirit in the new chapel. It’s the first piece of artwork that has made its way into the building. The architect designed the perfect place for it. Like the rest of the structure, the white dove surrounded by golden rays and clouds hangs perfectly in its place, expressing a powerful theological message.
 
On the south end of the chapel is the presbytery, the elevated space where the altar, ambo, tabernacle, and crucifix will be located. If you stand right in the middle, where the altar will be placed, and look up, you will see a lantern surrounded by four glass windows that marks the tallest point of the building. Up against the ceiling hovers the Holy Spirit of God looking down at you.
 
It’s a powerful statement. If you read the story of the Annunciation in the gospel of St. Luke (1:26-38), the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary and informs her that God has chosen her to be the mother of His Son. Mary, understandably, asks a simple question, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man” (v.34)? The angel replies, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (v.35). When Mary gave her “yes,” Jesus was conceived in her womb. 
 
The conception of Jesus happens every day. On every altar, in every Catholic Church, when we celebrate the Mass, Jesus is “conceived” in the bread and the wine. The powerful words of consecration the priest pronounces, words that come from the very mouth of Jesus in the Last Supper, are a call to the Holy Spirit of God to descend upon the altar and overshadow the bread and wine and transform them into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The image located now in the highest point of the chapel is a reminder of this.
 
Here’s another point. Just last week, I was giving a tour of the chapel to a couple of alumni. I showed them the image of the Holy Spirit. They thought it was beautiful, but complained no one would see it. That’s true. If you are sitting in the church as part of the congregation, you do not see the image. But, isn’t that just like the Spirit. It descends upon the earth bestowing grace in every prayer, every sacrament, every act of goodwill, and, yet, you never see Him. What is invisible to the eyes of the face is visible only with the eyes of faith.
 
One last thing. I confess I was very concerned about installing this beautiful art piece while so much of the dusty construction work is still going on. We were forced to do so because there is a second structure that needs to be placed in the lantern space that would have made it impossible to install the Holy Spirit image. 
 
When you think about it, it’s very appropriate. The installment of God’s Holy Spirit rightfully should come first because it is exactly He who will help guide every worker, painter, sculptor, and installer. In layman’s terms, the Holy Spirit becomes the “owner’s rep” or “project manager” of this magnificent new structure. Now, if we can only make sure He completes the project on time.
 
Auspice Maria
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BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain.  The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline.  In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty.  The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow.  Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.