What does it sound like when more than 1,100 middle schoolers from 49 parishes play a sit-stand game of “Would you rather” or clap and cheer for Bishop Michael F. Burbidge? Loud and joyfully exuberant.
Excitement pervaded Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington as more than 1,300 students and adult chaperones filled the campus April 25 for BASH. Centered around Mass with Bishop Burbidge, the gathering exemplifies the vibrancy of the diocesan community.
“I came back for the community,” said Abby Minear, a third-time attendee at BASH, and parishioner of Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria. “It’s nice seeing everyone, that we can just come together and we can worship in the same place. You can be with people that have the same beliefs and values. We can just have fun.”
Abby, who attended with her younger sister, Ava Reese Minear, helped collect programs after Mass. “Both of my siblings came and the way they talked about it, it sounded like a very fun and an awesome way to connect with our religion. It proves you don’t always have to just sit there; you can have fun. The Mass was very beautiful and inspirational.”
Other event highlights included Catholic speaker and author Rachel Leininger; Catholic illusionist Giancarlo Bernini; interactions with local priests; vocations breakout sessions; inflatables; gaga ball and a free-throw competition.
Eating Italian ice with friends after Mass, Ella Cancilla said that for her, BASH, “is a constant reminder that there’s so many of us (Catholics), and we’re all one church. It brings us together now.”
“It makes me more confident,” said Zoe Zang, who sat nearby.
The theme of community and gathering with peers who share the faith was expressed by several attendees.
“It’s a really great way to bring everyone together,” said Liam Manalo from Sacred Heart Church in Manassas. “It’s not just talking, it’s fun.”
The excitement was particularly notable for the chance to greet Bishop Burbidge. The line to talk with him formed immediately after Mass and was still dozens deep nearly an hour later.
“It’s great to see the bishop,” said Ella, who said it was one of her top reasons for attending BASH, as well as seeing a lot of her friends.
The joy of getting to talk with the bishop, receive his blessing, or get his autograph on their event badge was clear in the faces of students lining up to meet with him — along with the standing ovation he received after Mass.
“How great you’re here on Good Shepherd Sunday to be here with your shepherd,” said Kevin Bohli, executive director of the diocesan Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, during the announcements at the end of Mass. The students felt the same.
“Whenever I’m here with you young people, I am lifted up,” Bishop Burbidge told the middle schoolers.
Focusing on the community at the heart of BASH, Bishop Burbidge said in his homily, “In Christ’s church you are never alone. We walk together in faith, in joy, in hope.”
Bishop Burbidge encouraged students to, “Ask for that grace to see yourself as Jesus sees you — as beloved of God, his loved one.”
The theme for this year’s gathering was “Call upon the Lord.”
Reflecting on the image of the Good Shepherd, Bishop Burbidge said, “I look at how close Jesus is holding the flock to him. And that is what he does for each one of us.”
That theme of being loved by God was shared by Leininger in her opening address. “When Jesus was on the cross, your face flashed across his mind.” She encouraged students to realize, “The most important choice you’ll make is about God.”
Jacob Nguyen and his friend Connor Tran attended from Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington wearing the uniform of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement, a group that helps bring youths closer to God. When asked what they think other middle schoolers in the diocese should know, Jacob said, “Go to Mass every Sunday.”
For the middle schoolers to take home with them after BASH, Bishop Burbidge reminded them to “Be strong and courageous, and lay down their lives for each other.”
Goss is a freelancer in Arlington.
