Posted on

Pray with Mary Every Day

During Mass this week celebrating Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Our Lady of Victory), a Fenwick student preacher reflected on the importance of the Blessed Mother in her family’s life.

By Charlize Norielle Guerrero ’22 (Elmwood Park, IL)

“Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasiya. Ang panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.” Devoted voices rang throughout Santísmo Rosario praying in unison. The Filipino Church was across the street, yet somehow I could still hear the parishioners loud and clear. “Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat.” Like any typical five-year-old, I whined as my mom took my hand and brought me to Mass. The church was filled to the brim with what felt like thousands. All the seats were taken, yet people of all ages continued to pour in. “At pinagpala rin naman ang anak mong si Hesus.”

I scanned the room, and everyone, from the priests, to the grandmothers, to the children, firmly held a rosary in their hand. Their eyes were glued to the portrait of Mary lovingly looking down upon them. “Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos, Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan. Ngayon at Kung kami’y mamamatay Amen.” I didn’t know at the time, but the churchgoers were saying “The Hail Mary” in the Filipino Language, Tagalog. And although I did not fully understand their words, when I heard them pray with utmost confidence, reverence and devotion, I felt the Holy Presence of Mary with all of us.

Ms. Guerrero delivering her reflection (in person and via video livestream) on October 7, 2021.

Every single Sunday, these parishioners would pack the church hoping to hear the word of God. Even if all the seats were taken, many would stand by the doors and listen, despite the heat and humidity upon them. And before each Mass, without fail, everyone would pray the rosary together. When I sat in the seats of Santísimo Rosario and looked around, I would see people from many different walks of life. Yet as we were gathered under the loving presence of Mary, we were all truly one, united body.

Many in the Philippines do not have the same privileges that we take for granted every single day. They unfortunately do not have the luxuries of running water, food security and electricity. And when he was growing up, my father was one of them.

My father is an incredible witness of trust in Mary’s intercessory power and the power found in praying the Rosary. No matter what happened, for both good and bad, my dad always had the rosary by his side. Despite the many changes and setbacks in his life, Mary was always his constant theme. As he grew up, he often visited Santísimo Rosario and prayed the rosary.

He prayed with Mary when he couldn’t afford his education.

He prayed with Mary as our family immigrated to the United States.

He prayed with Mary after he passed the medical board exams.

And he prays with Mary each and every day, giving thanks or asking for guidance.

My dad shows me how we can turn to Mary even during the roughest parts in our lives. I admire how he and the parishioners at Santísimo Rosario, even in the face of adversity, always held firm in their faith. Rather than resenting God, they turned to both him and Mother Mary during their struggles. Like Mary, they trust in God.

Mary is the perfect faith role model. As shown in the Gospel, following her initial confusion, Mary willingly accepts God’s call. She trusts that he knows what is best for her. We should pursue that same level of devotion. While we may not always know what God has in store for us, we must trust in God as Mary would.

In times of doubt, trust in God.

In times of sorrow, trust in God.

And even during those times where it seems like nothing is going right we must:

Trust. In. God.

When I was in Santísimo Rosario, I could truly feel Mary’s undeniable presence pervade the entire room. And even today, as we are all gathered here together, I can feel Mary’s presence. And, hopefully, you all can too … Mary is still here. Mary has always been here.

As we go through life, we must remember that Mary walks with us; she is there for us and will always intercede for us as we continue to grow in our trust in God. So as we begin this mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, I encourage you all to truly listen and reflect upon the ever-so-famous prayer:

Hail, Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Posted on

God, Honor, Country: Fenwick Alumnus Leads U.S. Intelligence Community Counterterrorism

Protecting and serving is a way of life for this Friar and decorated military son who fights international terrorism.

By Mark Vruno

Fenwick’s Friar Files blog has reported on an “intelligence community alumnus [who] prays the Rosary every morning at 5 a.m.” This Friar spoke last semester with students at Fenwick, and the U.S. government has cleared the school to share the following, somewhat random facts about this mystery person:

  • He works for the National Counterterrorism Center‘s Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in Washington, D.C.
  • For counterintelligence reasons, he stays off of social media. (See below).
  • He also has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as a strategic advisor and, before that, for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
  • He held a leadership position at U.S. Central Command (Department of Defense) before retiring from the U.S. Army in 2001.
  • He graduated (general engineering) from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to earn a master’s degree in international relations.
  • He served his country in Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War (Iraq, 1991), where he earned a Bronze Star. (See photo.)
  • He managed crises teams during Rwanda’s civil war in the mid-1990s.
  • He followed and reported on coup attempts (in Paraguay and Suriname, South America) and refugees (from Cuba and Haiti).
  • He worked in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and briefed POTUS, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council on military matters.
The Bronze Star: awarded for heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement or meritorious service in a combat zone.

Describing such a vitae as “impressive” might be considered a gross under-statement. When he visited Fenwick history and government classes in October 2019 to talk about counter-terrorism and the U.S. “intelligence” community, the former Army infantry officer challenged students to a search contest on finding information about him. “Try to find me on Google. You won’t. I’m off the grid,” he said. “There are other people with my name, but they’re not me. If you do find me online, please let me know!”

Intel expert

In military and national-security contexts, so-called “intelligence” is information that provides an organization with decision support and, possibly, a strategic advantage. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines intelligence as “information that has been analyzed and refined so that it is useful to policymakers in making decisions.” According to the FBI, intelligence is the information itself as well as the processes used to collect and analyze it.

Slogan on a CIA T-shirt that our friend brought with him to Fenwick: “In God We Trust, All Others We Monitor.”

“What they teach here at Fenwick sets the foundation for your futures.”

“Our job is to tell truth to power,” the alumnus told Fenwick students in an attempt to explain the role of the United States’ intelligence/ counterterrorism communities. The absence of truth leads to abuses of power, he warned, quickly adding that truth and integrity are moral values which align with Fenwick High School’s mission. “What they teach here at Fenwick sets the foundation for your futures,” he assured them.

Continue reading “God, Honor, Country: Fenwick Alumnus Leads U.S. Intelligence Community Counterterrorism”
Posted on

Friars’ Student Preacher for October

A Fenwick junior urges her classmates to learn from sisters Martha and Mary in the Bible — and be more diligent with their prayer lives.

By Grace McGann ’21

Grace McGann, a junior, commutes to Fenwick from Western Springs, Illinois.

In today’s Gospel, we learn about two sisters named Martha and Mary. When welcoming Jesus into their home, Martha scrambles to clean and organize the house while Mary simply sits at Jesus’ feet to listen to his wisdom and prayer. Eventually, fed up and exhausted, Martha complains to Jesus about the actions of her sister. Jesus simply explains to Martha that her own anxieties and worries have gotten the best of her, and that Mary has made the better decision by choosing to pray alongside Jesus.

It’s easy, especially as Fenwick students, to see ourselves in Martha’s position. From what seems to be endless hours of homework, maintaining grades and also maintaining meaningful relationships, high school does come with a lot of things to be worried about. So many of us have gotten to a point where it feels like these worries consume us. It’s at moments like these where we must remember the Gospel. Jesus told Martha that she was too focused on worrisome things and that she should focus more on the thing that truly matters: prayer. We are all individuals with very busy schedules, but as Jesus said to Martha, we cannot let our worries take priority over our faith. In the long run, your grade in geometry is not going to have a significant impact on your life. Your faith, however, can set your soul on fire for the rest of your life, and that all starts with our prayer habits.

Yes, we do pray before every class and some of us might pray before every meal. But it is easy to find ourselves stuck in the rabbit hole where we are just going through the motions. We stand up, say a “Hail Mary” or even an “Our Father” and sit down. But how often do you think about what you just did? An easy step to take to improve your prayer habits is being aware of what you are saying. We pray before class, for example, because we are asking God to help us with our struggles, not to just focus on our struggles and completely and ignore Him in the process. There are thousands of ways to engage in meaningful prayer. For me, its praying before I go to bed.

Continue reading “Friars’ Student Preacher for October”