Have you ever felt faith come alive in the most unexpected moments? The Lower 6 girls of Holy Name Convent, Port of Spain, accompanied by their teachers, Mr. Durham, Mrs. Marin-Amar, and Mr. Williams, experienced just that at the Jubilee Festival of Hope on Tuesday, October 14th. The event officially began at 9 a.m., with schools exploring the vibrant booths that surrounded the venue before everyone gathered back in the main area. The morning opened with a safety briefing, followed by a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem by Presentation College, San Fernando, filling the space with pride and unity.
Everything took off with great excitement as the crowd entered into a lively session of praise and worship. The students, teachers and collaborators present all filled the main area with energy as they sang in unity in celebration of God’s greatness.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, there were touching remarks by Sr Deborah de Rosia, the Coordinator of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Trinidad and the Chairperson of the Evangelization Commission in the Archdiocese of POS, and His Grace Charles Jason, Archbishop of Port of Spain. The Archbishop implored us to read his book “12 Reasons to Believe in God”, if we are still on that journey in life and need that extra push. Their words encouraged us to keep faith alive in every aspect of our lives. Mr. Winston Garcia, Co-founder of the People of Praise Community, then addressed the audience, leaving us with a renewed sense of energy and inspiration to continue spreading God’s message.
This led to another uplifting session of music, followed by the Rosary, which was beautifully divided among various schools. The first decade representing Africa was led by Providence Girls’ Catholic School, the second decade representing the Americas by Holy Cross College, the third decade representing Europe by Holy Name Convent, Port of Spain, the fourth decade representing Oceania by Corpus Christi College, and the fifth decade representing Asia, along with the closing prayers by St. Joseph Convent, Port of Spain. The schools arranged themselves in such a way that the form represented the shape of a rosary as they prayed.
Afterwards, we gathered for Holy Mass, which was deeply moving and filled with wisdom. The homily reminded us that God constantly shows us His love, and if we look at creation with faith and hope, we can see His fingerprint in everything. We learned that God has always been and always will be, that science cannot counteract His power, and that even when we choose to disregard Him, He continues to show us how much we need him. The priest reminded us that while we can do little on our own, through God’s grace, everything is possible.
The Festival of Hope was a gathering that allowed us, as students, to remember our faith and encouraged us to continue praying to God and preaching His word.
Written by: Jalene James
Photos provided by: The Photography Club