The Jesse Tree is put on and decorated by the Helias Catholic Campus Ministry class. This is an Advent tradition: a new ornament representing a story or figure from the lineage of Jesus is added to the tree each day. 

Each Helias Catholic campus minister is assigned a specific day and ornament to reflect on. They film a short video about what ornament they have, a reflection, and a challenge for that day. They are also tasked with making their own ornament and symbol to put up in the Crucifix Entrance.

Grace Bailes (12) has the symbol of the crown of Mary, and it represents Mary, the mother of God. Her challenge is to say yes like Mary and do one thing God is asking you to do. 

Bailes exclaimed, “I’ve always felt a really close connection with our mother, so I definitely wanted to choose this option to reflect on.”

“The easiest part for me was explaining what my symbol was because it was Mary and her fiat, and from there, I was able to come up with a challenge,” Bailes said.

Joey Jones (12) and Aaron Minarik (12) had the symbol of the hammer and saw, representing St. Joseph. They decided to add the most chaste heart and do a dual symbol with their story.  

“We believe both are important, but the most chaste heart has a deeper meaning for young men to keep their hearts pure and love truly like St. Joseph,” Jones said.

Each day a new video is shared for the Helias Catholic community to reflect on.

“The hope is that our videos each day with the symbols are reminders to us that those bible stories are actually supposed to teach us something about God, who we have this relationship with,” Chaplain Father Paul Clark explained. 

The Jesse Tree is supposed to aid us in the season of waiting for Christmas to arrive. This helps us to take time to reflect on the connection between the Old Testament prophecies and how they are fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus. 

 “It’s a great representation of preparation for Christmas and this exciting time of the year,” Bailes said.