Video & Photos: Students Celebrate Easter with Joy

California

April 22, 2022

As Lent came to its end last week, students at Thomas Aquinas College, California, prepared themselves for the Easter holiday with a silent Triduum retreat, led by alumnus priest Rev. Gary Selin (’89), formator and professor at the Archdiocese of Denver’s St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The retreat consisted of three days of prayer and conferences, focusing on the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary. Students also had the opportunity to meet with the College’s chaplains to discuss their vocational discernment while in a state of prayerful contemplation.

“Hope was a major theme,” said James McCann (’24). “We revisited its relationship to ourselves, our deficiencies, and the prayers.” The retreat served as a powerful time for students to prepare themselves for Easter in their contemplations — and a great period of preparation it was. “It was a beautiful way to enter Easter,” remarked David Ivory (’24). “I’ve never felt so ready.”

Between conferences, students attended the liturgies of the Holy Triduum — the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday:

Photos: Holy Thursday

… the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday:

Photos: Good Friday

…. and, in a glorious resolution of the Triduum, the Easter Vigil late Saturday night. Students gathered outside Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, entering with candles to illuminate the darkened nave. There, Fr. Selin and the College’s chaplains led students through the Vigil’s meditation on salvation history, accompanied by the Thomas Aquinas College Choir. In his homily, the priest urged the congregation to be “hopeful and joyous” in their faith. And, bearing witness to this charge, two students — Eli Hunt (’25) and ZoëAnna Gibson (’23) — entered the Catholic Church, to the delight and joy of their classmates.

Photos: Easter Vigil

After the Mass concluded, students feasted on a magnificent brunch of crepes, steaks, and baked goods in St. Joseph Commons. Eventually, tables were shoved aside, replaced by a dancefloor in the Commons’ center. For the next few hours, swing-dancing ensued with electric joy. Then, as the sun neared its morning ascent, students hiked to the Painter’s Shack to watch its rise. “It was beautiful,” said Francesca Orellana (’24).

Photos: Easter Brunch and Dance