Hundreds of students, teachers and relatives gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on a sunny spring morning March 24 to participate in the annual Christian Service Awards ceremony honoring exemplary high school seniors for their volunteer service to the local and international community.

Collectively, the 78 awardees chosen from 50 Catholic high schools throughout the five regions of the archdiocese have contributed more than 40,000 hours of Christian service during four years of high school.

Some of the projects which have benefited from the students' volunteerism include the Braille Institute of Los Angeles, Corazon house building in Mexico, Good Shepherd Home for Battered Women, Knights of Columbus outreach, Sea Lab Habitat Restoration, and the Special Olympics.

In her welcoming remarks, Sister of the Holy Faith Angela Hallahan, archdiocesan Christian Service coordinator, called the students' achievements "remarkable." She also acknowledged the presence of this year's eight nominated teachers as "influential role models" in their schools.

"How appropriate then," said Sister Hallahan, "that surrounded by tapestries of 136 saints and blessed ones, all of us are here this morning to celebrate students and teachers who are indeed following in the footsteps of these holy people by advancing the reign of God through participation in Christian Service activities."

In his homily, Our Lady of the Angels Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark said the example of Christian service is a powerful way to preach the Gospel "…not by words but by actions; not by proselytizing but by modeling; caring for others by the works that we do: touching hearts, energizing the soul…

"You become a stream of light that heals others and allows them to bask in the light of God. Don't lose this gift. It's not just the gift of a few years of high school. It's the gift of a lifetime. You are the light of Christ. You are the living stream of God's love."

In his post-liturgy introduction to the presentation of the Christian Service Awards, Father Sabato Pilato, superintendent of secondary schools, said Catholic school students, in their Christian service, are able to "make the connection between Our Lord's Eucharist and the service He calls us to in the community."

"The service award is a huge honor because it reflects a powerful and important part of Catholic schools and Catholic education and what it means to be Catholic," said Marc Nuno, St. Monica High School teacher award co-recipient who was honored along with campus ministry team member Siobhain O'Neill.

Other teacher award recipients included Hector Alatorre, Bishop Mora Salesian (Los Angeles); Ralph Goldstein, Damien (La Verne); Anunciacion Anderson, Junipero Serra (Gardena); Holy Cross Father Joseph Moyer, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks); David Mestas, St. John Bosco (Bellflower); and Liz Cadwalader, St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs).

Katie Langhorne, from Bishop Garcia Diego High School in Santa Barbara, told The Tidings after receiving her Christian service medal from Bishop Clark that her favorite Christian Service activity among the many community and parish projects she has participated in has been building houses in Tijuana through the organization Corazon over the past eight years. "She's definitely helped the whole family on their spiritual path," commented her mother, Pam.

"Doing Christian service has made my high school experience even better because I got to interact with other students more and learn about them," said Beatriz Alfaro, a senior at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills who, besides volunteering at her parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, helped start a liturgical ministry at the school "to make the Mass come alive."

Jason Aguja, who plays drums and guitar for Bishop Alemany Masses, said he enjoys volunteering his musical talents to the campus community. Fellow Bishop Alemany award recipient Madeline Casanova, who has spent four years serving as an Alemany Amigos mentor to elementary children among numerous other volunteer projects said that her favorite activity has been helping coordinate the annual exceptional Halloween dance for mentally and physically disabled people that her aunt started at the school 29 years ago.

Kathleen Nicolas, campus minister at Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, said that their Christian Service award recipient, Andrea Kamille Conanan, who completed hundreds of Christian Service hours, was chosen for her insightful, written reflection on the value of campus ministry. "It was the connection she was able to make that [Christian service] is the work of a lifetime, not just an award," said Nicolas.

The 2009 Christian Service awardees:

Alexis Nicole Salazar, Alverno; Danielle D'Agostaro, Bellarmine-Jefferson; Beatriz Alfaro, Jason Aguja and Madeline Casanova, Bishop Alemany; Andrew D. Tassinari, Christina Colacsan and Christopher Saenz, Bishop Amat; Yamili Tello, Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto; Katherine Langhorne, Bishop Garcia Diego; Alexis Cabaero, Van Pham and Brenda Van, Bishop Montgomery; Andrew Gonzalez, Bishop Mora Salesian; Heather Takeyama, Cantwell-Sacred Heart; Brian Barraza and Kenneth Carbajal, Cathedral; Melissa Demyan, Sharanjit Kaur Sandhu, and Amelia Weiss, Chaminade; Lucas Hunter Borncamp, Crespi; Evan Dorner, Reilly A. Hirsch, and Thomas Nolan, Damien.

Arthur Luna and Horacio Ortiz, Don Bosco Tech; Megan Turner, Flintridge-Sacred Heart Academy; Regine De Castro, Holy Family; Laarni Ashley Cordero, Immaculate Heart; Victor M. Gonzalez, Jr., Melinda West, Junipero Serra; Sarah Almada, La Reina; Gabrielle La Fontaine, La Salle; Andrea Kamille Conanan, Louisville; Kyle Anthony Moran, Jared Matthew Padilla, and Bryan Marcus Ruiz, Loyola; Michelle Nader and Margaret Quijada, Mary Star of the Sea; Jessica Gabriela Mata, Marymount; Malissa Balderama, Mayfield Senior; April Bang, Notre Dame Academy; Stephanie Escobar, Monique Gelineau, and Patrick Hrnjak, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks); Joseph Harrington and Alexander Turcios, Paraclete; Brianna Lizette Garcia, Pomona Catholic; and Cassandra Lohman, Providence.

Xochil Johansen, Ramona Convent Secondary; Athenas Contreras, Sacred Heart; Jessica Jacobo, San Gabriel Mission; Bianca Beltran, Santa Clara; Joey Mendoza, St. Anthony; Rita Collius, St. Bernard; Austin Michael Garcia and Tem Vampola, St. Bonaventure; Katsu Che Frausto, St. Francis; Tyler Archey and Ian Hopps, St. Genevieve; Justin Fontenot and Kyle Hirabayashi, St. John Bosco; Jacquelyn Braceros, Amy Griffin, and Jessica Klemme, St. Joseph (Lakewood); Robert Francis Bucayu and Joanna Ortiz, St. Joseph (Santa Maria); Renee El-Khoury and Marisabel Agosto, St. Lucy's Priory; Jennifer Guzzman, St. Mary's Academy; Natalie Herrera, St. Matthias; Jonathan Gobrial and Christy Hughes, St. Monica; John Warriner Boles, St. Monica Academy; Geselle Sarmiento and Stephanie Samaniego, St. Paul; Fernando Moreno, Verbum Dei; and Jessica Vigil, Villanova Prep.