At Jesuit, Holy Week is not a pause but a pivot. Students and teachers reorient from the bustle of the spring semester towards the stillness of prayer in the final week of Lent’s austerity. This pivot reflects one of the many forms of Jesuit’s relentless pursuit of God’s glory: at times this pursuit is borne out on the practice field or in service projects or in preparation for a final exam, but during Holy Week it is most powerfully expressed when the community meets together at the foot of the Cross.

Throughout the week, Blue Jays gathered during their theology classes in the Chapel of the North American Martyrs to pray the Stations of the Cross, a decades-long tradition rooting students deeply in the 2,000-year story of Christ’s love and sacrifice. Upperclassmen voiced the meditations, classmates responded in prescribed prayers, wrapping the chapel in quiet resolve.

The capstone came at Wednesday’s all-school Mass celebrated by Fr. John Brown, S.J., with concelebrant Fr. William Farge, S.J. Looking over a sea of blue and khaki, Brown paused to honor the seniors sharing their final liturgy as students.

His homily sketched two contrasting portraits: the unnamed woman who shattered an alabaster jar to anoint Christ, and Judas who shattered friendship for silver.

“When love pours itself out,” Fr. Brown said, “it holds nothing back, not counting the cost, not calculating the sacrifice. The woman understood what Judas refused to see: that Christ chose the Cross not because He was trapped, but because He loved us enough to die.”

Fr. Brown urged every student to approach Christ authentically, warning against the pitfalls of empty gestures and shallow promises. “Christ does not ask us for silver or promises or applause,” he continued. “He asks us for our hearts—and He accepts even the broken ones.”

His charge echoed Jesuit’s mission to form men for others, nudging Blue Jays to discover deeper meaning in their own sacrifices, inviting them not just to admire the woman’s example but to live it.

As the Jesuit community prepares for Palm Sunday to give way to Easter morning, we invite you to join us this Friday, April 18 for the Good Friday Nine Churches Walk.