With Christmas approaching, many are reflecting on the journey that Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth to Bethlehem before that faith-filled day when Christ was born. Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, is central to Chaminade Julienne’s mission since both founding orders — the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and the Marianists — look to Mary as a model of grace, faithfulness, and purpose.
On Monday, Dec. 8, Chaminade Julienne celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary during an all-school Mass. This feast day honors how God prepared Mary from the very beginning for her life’s calling. The school also celebrated and gave thanks for the successful conclusion of Ascend. Just as God prepared Mary for her mission, the generosity of Ascend donors enables CJ to meet the needs of current students and generations to come.
On the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Friday, Dec. 12, the group Students Organization of Multilingual Origins with Sazón (SOMOS) prepared an all-school celebration. The feast is observed to honor the time when Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego. She asked him to tell the bishop to build a chapel on that very spot. The bishop, not believing Juan Diego, asked for a sign. On Dec. 12, 1531, Mary told him to gather roses from the summit of Tepeyac Hill, which was usually barren—particularly in the cold of December. He arranged these roses in his tilma and then took them to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously present on the tilma.
During Soar on Thursday, Dec. 11, students wrote prayer intentions on paper leaves and attached them to artificial roses. The next day, SOMOS students led a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe past the entire student body, including CJ middle school students, who lined the hallways of the school’s first and second floors. Each Soar room’s roses were collected in baskets as they walked past. The procession ended in front of the welcome center, where the statue and roses were placed on the table for display for the rest of the afternoon.
As the CJ students and teachers have left the campus to continue their Advent journey toward Christmas at home with their families, these celebrations allowed them to engage with Marianist traditions during the holy season. Through Mass, procession, and shared tradition, the feast days of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe remind us that faith is lived out in community and expressed through action. In honoring Mary, Chaminade Julienne renews its commitment to forming students who, like her, carry Christ’s love into the world.