Spartan Memorial Mass celebrated for deceased alumni, faculty

So much has changed during the pandemic; then again, so much has not.
 

For the 17th consecutive year, the annual Spartan Memorial Mass was celebrated for deceased alumni and faculty of Immaculata High School (IHS), Somerville. While in years past this special liturgy was celebrated in the school gym to accommodate hundreds of congregants, this year’s afternoon service on Feb. 21 was live-streamed from the IHS chapel, an integral part of the school. From 1964 to 1976 after a fire destroyed the church, the chapel served the Immaculate Conception parishioners for daily Mass, weddings and funerals. For decades, the chapel has been used by Immaculata students for prayer services, daily Mass, theology classes, and private meditation, so it was a beautiful and meaningful setting for this special liturgy.
 

Near the altar, symbols illustrating the hallmarks of IHS were displayed. Among them were a Bible (faith), mortar board (scholarship), service award medal (service), and red roses (friendship). Each symbol denoted a specific decade of deceased alumni. In previous years, family members of the deceased would process to the altar with carnations in memory of loved ones; this year in front of the altar, there was a single memorial bouquet of hydrangeas by a statue of a Guardian Angel inscribed: “May your unfailing love be my comfort.”
 

Before the Mass began, Joan Silo, head of school, welcomed all the family, friends and alumni participating in the online Memorial Mass. “Unfortunately, we cannot be in-person today,” Silo said adding, “but our prayers will be as deep and our ceremony as special.”
 

She noted that because the Mass was virtual, many families from all over the country were able to participate.
 

“We believe Once A Spartan, Always A Spartan and this Mass symbolizes our prayerful commitment to all of our Immaculata community,” Silo said.
 

Msgr. Joseph G. Celano, recently named pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish and director of Immaculata High School, presided at the Mass. Deacon John Czekaj (class of 1966) assisted.
 

The first and second readings, as well as the Prayer of the Faithful, were dedicated to the different groups of the deceased including: students, faculty, Hall of Famers, Spartans of the Year, parents, second-generation parents, and Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters.
 

In his homily Msgr. Celano said, “For the deceased members of our alumni and our faculty, our benefactors, the campaign of holiness that is Lent is now ended. What they strove for, setting the love of God and neighbor above all other concerns, is now theirs in its fullness.”
 

Music for the Mass was provided by students Victoria Coey, Olivia Izzo, Phillip Enad, Jack Slomka and Sarah Nichols. They sang “On Eagle’s Wings,” “Seek Ye First,” and “Amazing Grace.”
 

Before the final blessing, Terry Lavin Kuboski (’69), who helped establish the Memorial Mass, gave the Mass’ traditional closing remarks on grief and healing.

“Prayer is one very key way to assuage our grief,” she said. “Believe in the strength of prayer. Remember the story of the villagers gathering to pray for desperately needed rain.  Only one little boy brought an umbrella. Be that one little boy.”
 

Reflecting on grief, Kuboski, now a retired faculty member and director of communications, said, “Pay tribute to our deceased loved ones by living life to its fullest. That is what they would want. But how can you do that when grief is suffocating us? Does it ever end? No, it doesn’t. It may become softer and gentler. But like love, it is forever. For the rest of our lives, grief becomes a dance between sorrow and joy, pain and sweet memories. It can’t consume you, for if it does, it goes against our loved one’s most fervent wishes. And if you feel grief destroying you, then you must give it to God.”
 

Twenty-six of God’s Spartan Angels  were remembered this year. They include Ed Chaya, Pat Cullen, Marilyn Mills DePoe, James DiLello, Hector Elfante, Rosemarie Gessner, Andrew Gombos, Anne Kotalic Gray, Claire Murphy LaMont, Jamie LePoidevin, Rosemarie O’Donahue McGilligan, Frank McGuire, Joe Moran, Mark Murphy, Robbie Pietrucha, Anthony Quadagnito, Vincent Riccardo, Karen Janeski Sauer, Christian Smith, Valerie Lisi Tienkien, Christopher Wasson, Andrew Woodhull; and faculty members Jack Kelly, and Sisters Patrick Mary, Sister Aloysius, and Sister Mary Ernestine. as well as new Guardian Angels: Mimi Brown, Jean Cummins, Ray Durborow, Ann Marie Lisi, Diane Peterson, and Lina Poorten.”
 

The Guardian Angel Scholarship Program, established in 2019, gives the opportunity to family and friends to remember loved ones, dedicated to Immaculata and Catholic education. This past school year, six enrolled students received scholarships toward their tuition, thanks to those benefactors.
 

Kuboski concluded her remarks by saying, “Certainly, we miss the sense of togetherness of our grieving community. We want to have classmates and families with us. They have created an invisible net of support and hope for our new grieving families. We wish classes could gather for the repast. But next year we will be back in the gym and our sense of community will be even stronger.
 

“There is a saying for grievers: may his/her memory be a blessing, which translates into this: it is those left behind who must keep the loved one’s goodness alive…to keep their legacy of kindness, grace, and compassion vibrant. May we do that for all those deceased teachers, classmates, Guardian Angels, and may God bless Immaculata and our entire community. “
 

In closing, Msgr. Celano expressed his gratitude for those who joined in the Mass.
 

“You are here with us in spirit and heart. As we celebrate our unity through the Eucharist, we commend our deceased loved ones to God’s mercy and love,” he said.