FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
27 NOVEMBER 2022
The
opening prayer at the beginning of Mass is called the “Collect,” because the
priest “collects” the individual prayers of the people of God and prays a
communal prayer on behalf of all present.
Today’s Collect sets the tone for Advent: “Grant your faithful, we pray,
almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds
at his coming.”
The Season
of Advent focuses our attention on the Lord’s coming. It helps us to prepare to celebrate his first
coming at Christmas. But it also
prepares us for his second coming, either at the end of the world or at the end
of our individual lives. Jesus says that
no one knows when that will happen. That
is why Saint Paul urges us to throw off the works of darkness and put on the
armor of light. The best way to prepare
for the Lord’s second coming is to commit ourselves to living our baptismal
promises. If we put on the Lord Jesus
and die daily to ourselves and to our selfish interests, we can conduct
ourselves properly in the light of Jesus Christ.
If we
follow his advice, then we do not live in fear of death. Instead, we embrace the challenge offered by
the Prophet Isaiah. In our very divisive
time, it has become customary to deal with our enemies with swords and
spears. We are tempted to use these
rhetorical weapons against those with whom we disagree. Instead, Advent invites us to turn these
weapons into tools of agriculture. We
can use plowshares to prepare our hearts for listening. We can use pruning hooks to dismantle our
prejudices and tendencies to demonize the opposing forces.
The Collect
implies that we run forth to meet our Christ.
We may be running forth like crazy getting things ready in this “holiday
season.” But, the more important part of
running forth is the action we take arm ourselves with righteous deeds. Ironically, this type of action is
accomplished only through time spent in prayer.
We do not need to back away completely from the holiday activities. Instead, we can carve out time to enter into
Advent prayer. We can participate in the
Advent prayers here in church. We can
also make a commitment to Advent prayer alone and with our families in our
domestic churches.
Please pick
up one of the guides to prayer as you leave church today. Be sure to read the mailing we have sent
about renewing our commitment to the stewardship of prayer, the most important
element of living stewardship as a way of life.
But now give your attention to Mike Molnar, who will speak of the ways
he has embraced prayer in recovering from his life-threatening injury and is
running to meet the Lord today.
Michael Molnar
- St. Pius Witness Talk – November 26/27
When I got a call from Father Bill
asking me to speak at mass, my immediate reaction was this would be out of my
comfort zone. My second thoughts were
what an honor and opportunity. Plus, it
is very difficult to say no to Father Bill.
My name is Michael Molnar and I did
not grow up a Catholic. I married my
wife Stephanie here at St. Pius in 2011 and through the process I got to know a
lot more about Catholicism. When our first
child was baptized, I asked Father Bill to talk because I had some general
questions about the Catholic Church. I
think he had been waiting for that talk … he was ready… when I got home my wife
asked me how it went… I said, “I think I just signed up for RCIA.”
On March 26, 2016, I became a
Catholic. Over the next three plus years
I traveled around the world for work and when it was Sunday, I would find a
Mass. Bosnia, Thailand, Tanzania, China,
to name a few countries I attended Mass at.
While there is nothing like mass at St. Pius, I was always welcomed in
and found a sense of being at home.
On July 6, 2019, my entire world
got flipped upside down and my faith was put to the test. I was involved in a bad boating accident. I
had to be flown to Memorial Hospital South Bend which is a Trauma 2 level
hospital. On the way there I prayed that
God protect me. After 10 surgeries, 19
units of blood, and 3 plus years of therapy I can do most things I was doing
before my accident.
I believe that a huge part of my survival
and successful recovery had to do with my faith and with our community that we
have here at St. Pius. The two doctors
that saved my leg… they are parishioners here.
Father Bill coming to the hospital for my first anointing lifted me up
when I had doubts. My Brothers from
TMIY, many of whom I did not personally know, where praying for me and once I
was able to join them, they prayed with me.
There are so many others who I did not mention, but I was told to keep
it to 2 or 3 minutes, and we all appreciate how we finish mass on time at St.
Pius.
Today my wife and I are blessed to
have 4 children. We are lucky to be able
to send the ones who are old enough to St. Pius School. Our first born who sparked my desire to get
baptized is now in 2nd grade preparing for her first reconciliation
and first communion. The prayers in
preparation that we share together are a special time for our family.
Dedicating time to prayer is challenging at the moment. I have a very busy house and a busy job. Sometimes I stop at the grotto at Notre Dame
to light a candle and have a few moments of silence. Sometimes I will say “Our Father” while
bouncing our newborn in the middle of the night. Prayer right now for me, is fitting it in
where I can.
For me the annual anointing of the
sick service is a time for personal reflection and prayer. I challenge you to find a special day or
service that connects personally to you.
Use it as a day of reflection and prayer. Usually, I end up with feeling
the need to reach out to people who are going through life’s challenges. To share how much faith can help in
challenging times. To put purpose to the
suffering I have had to endure.
Faith and prayer are an integral
part of my personal life balance. I
continue to try to grow as a husband, a father, a son, and as a Catholic man. This church and the community we have here
are blessings for me and my family. We
are so grateful. Thank you for giving me
the honor of sharing a little with you today.
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