ELISHA VALLADARAS-CORMIER
CATHOLIC VALUES COLUMNIST
Christ the King Chapel’s first-ever Advent Mission will provide students, staff and faculty an opportunity to spiritually recharge as the fall semester winds down, said Franciscan University’s chaplain.
The Rev. Shawn Roberson, TOR, the university’s chaplain, said he sees the Advent Mission as a period of recollection for people seeking spiritual refuge heading into finals week.
“I think it’s going to be a time of renewal in the life of our campus and of our individual students,” Roberson said.
The Advent Mission will take place over Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6 in Christ the King Chapel and is slated to feature two holy hours and a healing Mass. The Rev. Jonathan St. Andre, TOR, will lead a holy hour at 8 p.m. Thursday and offer a reflection on “What is Franciscan Joy.” Brother Daniel Maria Klimek, TOR, will lead a holy hour Friday at 3 p.m., including a reflection by him titled “Mary’s Joy.” Following this will be a healing Mass celebrated by the Rev. Dave Pivonka, TOR, at 7:30 p.m. All events will be in the chapel.
Roberson said the event has been thematized with joy, as noted by the reflection titles, and has drawn from Philippians 4:4, which reads, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.”
“We want that theme of joy to bring us into a place of understanding God’s love and mercy in our lives,” Roberson said. “For a lot of people, it’s been a long semester, … and it’s sometimes been overwhelming. (The Advent Mission) is an opportunity to close out the semester with a spiritual boost, a spirit of joy and a time to come to the Lord.”