There are no resources to display
Annual Mother-Son Mass raises appreciation for SLUH moms

Do you know who never gets enough praise? Moms. No matter how much is given, they always deserve more, and the students of St. Louis U. High had the opportunity this past Sunday to properly thank their moms for all of their hard work and love. 

An aerial view of the Mother Son Mass last weekend. Photo: Courtesy of SLUH Mothers Club Facebook.

On Sunday, Jr. Bills from across all four classes and their moms gathered to celebrate Mass and a delicious brunch. This event was hosted and organized by the Mothers Club, and as expected, it went well.

“I think it’s important to recognize how much your mother does for you and how much she sacrifices,” added freshman George Donahue.

As with many events in the past year and a half, the Mother-Son Mass was modified in 2020 to fit Covid protocols, but this year’s Mass and brunch resembled that of events in years past. The Mothers Club adapted the Mass to take place in the Field House, providing enough space to accommodate all of the guests, and the brunch was split into two—freshmen and sophomores before the Mass, and then juniors and seniors afterwards. This way, all mothers and sons who wanted to attend were able to do so safely and enjoyably.

“Given our spacing restrictions, we're very happy with how it turned out and we got lots of very positive feedback from moms,” said Mothers Club president Chris Mittendorf.

The other large portion of preparation for the event came from Campus Ministry, with the likes of Fr. Matthew Stewart, S.J.,  Brian Gilmore, and seniors taking on various roles of the Mass. Students ranging from freshman to seniors, as well as a few moms, sang in choir for the Mass, and seniors a took on the roles of altar servers and Eucharistic Ministers. Stewart presented yet another dynamic homily, relating his own maternal experiences from his childhood to Sunday’s Gospel reading.

“The church always begins at home,” said Stewart. “The church is called the domestic church because mothers and fathers are the first teachers of the faith to their children. And so to have a Mass that recognizes that I think is incredibly important, but also just to celebrate with moms and the important role that they have in the lives of their kids.”

A mother-son duo singing at the podium. Photo: Courtesy of SLUH Mothers Club Facebook.

In what many called the morning’s most special moment, Mass was followed up by a pair of speeches from seniors George Henken and Gus Tettamble, addressed to their moms. Both were heartfelt and personal, and they both brought tears to many eyes, particularly the mothers in attendance.

“I started out talking about how I used to think of her paying for everything, and her driving me everywhere was the main thing that she did for me,” explained Henken, referring to his speech. “But then I wanted to talk about how she's a really good friend of mine, and how her company over the years has really been important to me.”

Henken spoke about his daily walks around the neighborhood during quarantine, a time to get away from the world of asynchronous learning and screen time. In these moments, his mom was his best friend, the one there for him through it all, listening to every minute detail of his life.

“I have the privilege of knowing Carol and George (Henken) personally, so that one was especially meaningful and touching to me to hear George speak about his mom,” said Pam Barks, mother of Tyler Barks ’23. “I think they both did such a great job. I'm always impressed with the quality of speeches at these events and just how professional and mature the students sound during them.”

Tettamble spoke very intimately of his own emotional journey with his mom, through the good and the bad. His tribute to his hard-working, “jack of all trades” mom touched everyone at the Mass. 

“I wanted to make it as good and as possible, because she deserves a good speech,” said Tettamble. “She liked it, so that's all that I really care about.”

Juniors Matthew Barnes, Ryan Kellogg, and Jaylen Morris with their moms. Photo: Courtesy of SLUH Mothers Club Facebook.

For many moms, this was the most important part of the event.

“Well, the two senior boys who spoke to their moms directly and talked about their moms to all of us, definitely made me tear up,” said Lisa Dougherty, mother of Charlie Dougherty, ’25. “I thought the things they said about their moms were just wonderful.”

After the Mass, and for underclassmen, before, a delicious brunch took place in the Commons. This provided an opportunity for moms and their sons to enjoy a brunch of eggs, waffles, and fruit, as well as spend some quality time with each other as well as catch up with friends and classmates.

“One of the great things about it was having the opportunity to meet new moms that I didn't know,” said Dougherty.

“I think it's a great opportunity to just have more one-on-one time with both the sons and the moms of his friend group, so I really do enjoy those moments and making those types of memories,” agreed Barks.

“It's been a while since we've had these little events so it was nice to get back to it,” said senior Charlie Vonderheid. “It was just good to see everybody smiling.”

 

 


 

 

 

No post to display.

Prep News – the weekly student-run newspaper of St. Louis U. High
Copyright ©2020 of St. Louis U. High's Prep News
No material may be reprinted without the permission of the editors and the moderator.