Guidelines for a Safe Return to Public Worship

Greetings Parishioners of St. Anthony’s Church!

As of today, May 12, the Archdiocese of Detroit has directed all Pastors to make preparation for the resumption of public Masses. 

Daily Masses will resume next Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00am and our first Sunday celebrations will begin, at their normal times, on the weekend of May 23/24. 

Along with this news, the AOD had sent out a lengthy list of safety standards for public worship in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus. 

Using their guidelines, here is a brief version for our use:

1.      Perhaps the single, most important guideline for the safety of all is this: 
If you are sick, have a cough or a fever, or are congested, or have recently been exposed to persons who are – STAY HOME!  
I can appreciate most everyone’s desire to return to Mass.  Yet, if there was ever a time to think of others before ourselves, this is it. 
Let me be clear – there is no sin when we miss Mass because of illness.  This has always been true.         
                  

2.     Observe what has come to be known as “social distancing”.
Sit 6 feet apart in pews from those outside your family circle. 
To give proper spacing, sit in every-other-pew. 
When coming forward to receive Communion, give an adequate amount of space between yourself and those ahead of you. 
If you cannot find a place to sit, ask an usher to assist you.        
                                                                                                                                     

3.     If you are conscientious in following guidelines #1 and #2, most health concerns will be eliminated. 
However, the AOD has further advised that everyone wear cloth face masks when approaching and inside of church. 
Please remove your masks when ready to receive Holy Communion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

4.     Refrain from physically touching others when greeting them in church. 
DO NOT hold hands in prayer. 
Holy Water and Baptismal fonts will remain empty for a time. 
Song books will not be used and have been put away. 
Communion will be offered only in the hand; the Precious Blood will not be offered. 
Bulletins will be handed out as you leave church.

Wishing you God’s blessings,

Fr. John Kiselica

Pastor

To the Faithful of St. Anthony:

Two Journeys

In the spring of 1927, a shy young man climbed into a small, single engine plane in New York.  The plane taxied down the runway and then lifted into the air.  Thirty hours later the young man landed his plane in Paris.  As he taxied to a stop, thousands of people surged forward from all directions, almost crushing the young man and his plane.  Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.  Days later President Calvin Coolidge had the famous pilot and his famous plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, put aboard a ship, the U.S. Memphis, and brought home to a hero’s welcome in New York City.

Writing about the adventure later, Lindbergh recalled two exciting episodes.  One occurred as he neared Europe.  Spotting a fishing boat in the ocean, he flew low over it, switched off his engine, and shouted at the top of his voice, asking directions.  But the fishermen couldn’t understand him.  So he continued on in the direction he thought was right.  Fortunately, it was.

The second episode occurred a few days after his history-making crossing.  Lindbergh had flown to England for something and was returning to France.  But the visibility was bad, and he was having a hard time navigating, using only ground landmarks.  Suddenly he spotted a plane ahead of him.  Assuming it was on its way to Paris, he caught up with it and followed it.  Fortunately, the plane was on its way to Paris, and he arrived safely at his destination.

As we reflect on the adventurous trip of Charles Lindbergh, we find that we have a lot in common with him.  We too are one a journey.  We are journeying through life on our way to our Father in heaven.  Like Lindbergh, we feel we know the way and can reach our destination.  But like Lindbergh, we sometimes lose our way temporarily.  We become lost and need help.  When this happened to Lindbergh, he turned to a boat full of fishermen, but they couldn’t help him.  Fortunately, he managed without them.  He was lucky (“Lucky Lindy”!).  He also sought help by following another plane, which he hoped was going to Paris.  Fortunately, it was, and he made it back safely.

It’s right here that our situation becomes different from Lindbergh’s.  When he became lost and needed help, he had no one he could turn to.  He had to rely on his own ingenuity and a certain amount of luck.  In our situation, however, we have sure guidance that we can rely on at every moment in our journey.  And that sure guidance is none other than Jesus Christ.  He has made the journey before us and knows the way.  And He can guide us on every step of our journey to the Father.

This explains Jesus’ words in our Gospel this weekend, when He says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus is our guide on our journey through life to the Father.  Apart from Him there is no other sure guide.  Moreover, we know that He will never let us down.  “Whoever follows me,” Jesus said, “will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

This brings me to a second point about Jesus.  He is not only the “way” to the Father but also the “truth” about the Father.  In this day and age, when there is so much confusion about God, it’s a great gift to be able to turn to Jesus and learn the truth: that God isn’t an uncaring force, but a loving, merciful Father.

And this brings me to the third and final point about Jesus.  Not only is He the “way” to the Father and the “truth” about the Father; He also contains within Himself the very “life” of the Father.  Our journey in not just a journey in this life.  It is a journey into another life.  It is a journey into eternal life.  And we could never make that journey if we did not receive from Jesus Christ the seed of eternal life in baptism.  Through baptism, Jesus makes it possible for us to die to our own life of sin and to rise to a new life with Him.

And this brings me to each one of us reading these words today.  What can we do to thank Jesus – who is the way, the truth, and the life – for all He has done for us?

First of all, we can follow Jesus, who is the way to the Father, even when we don’t feel like it.  Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Second, we can grow in our knowledge of Jesus, who is the truth about the Father.  Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:9-10)

Finally, we can receive Jesus, who is the life of the Father, into our beings.  Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (John 6:54)

In brief, then, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.

God bless you.

Father John Kiselica

To the Faithful of St. Anthony:

The Good Shepherd

Some years ago a national magazine carried a story about an unusual girl named Laura Bell.  After graduating from college, she took a job as a sheepherder in Wyoming.  For the next three years Laura was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, tending 2,000 sheep.  All this time she was completely alone except for her horse, her dog, and the sheep.  Once a week someone rode out to the distant hill country, where she pastured her sheep to bring her food, mail, and rifle shells.

Laura’s job taught her a lot about herself.  The long hours alone gave her the time she needed to ponder her future, her doubts, her dreams.  They also gave her time to clarify her values and to set her goals.  But Laura’s job did more than teach her a lot about herself.  It also taught her a lot about Jesus.

The Bible uses the image of a shepherd to describe Jesus.  And now Laura experienced firsthand why the Bible uses that image.  She learned firsthand what the qualities of a good shepherd are.  And what are those qualities?

First of all, a good shepherd is a totally committed person.  A shepherd lives for the flock day after day, week after week, and month after month.  Shepherding isn’t just another job, like working in an office or as a clerk in a store.  Shepherding isn’t a job at all; it’s a way of life.  You don’t shepherd because it’s a job to earn a living.  You shepherd sheep because it’s a job you love.

When Jesus called Himself a good shepherd, He meant that He was committed to His flock 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  In other words, all of His energies and concerns were for the flock entrusted to His care.  Every moment of His life was dedicated to it.

This brings me to the second quality a shepherd must have.  Besides being deeply committed, a shepherd must be a deeply caring person.  A shepherd’s satisfaction is tied up with the welfare of the flock.  When the flock is happy, the shepherd is happy.  When the flock is in pain, the shepherd is in pain.

There’s an old Jewish legend that explains why God chose Moses over all the other people on earth to shepherd His flock, Israel:  One day Moses was shepherding some sheep that belonged to his father-in-law, Jethro.  Suddenly he spotted a lamb darting off through the underbrush.  Moses dropped everything and pursued it, lest it be killed by a wild animal or become lost.  He finally caught up with the lamb at a tiny stream of water, where it began to drink feverishly.  When it had finished, Moses scooped it up in his arms, saying, “Little one, I didn’t know you ran away because you were thirsty.  Your tiny legs must be tired.”  With that, he placed the lamb on his shoulders and carried it back to the flock.  When God saw how caring Moses was, He said to Himself, “At last, I’ve found the special person I have been searching for.  I will make Moses the shepherd of my people, Israel.”  It was this kind of person that Jesus was, also: gentle and caring about each member of His flock.

That brings me to the final quality a good shepherd must have.  Besides being committed and caring, a shepherd must be courageous.  There’s a story in the First Book of Samuel about how young David volunteered to fight the Philistine giant, Goliath.  The king refused to let David do it, saying: “You are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.”  David responded, saying: “Your servant used to tend his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or bear came to carry off a sheep from the flock, I would go after it and attack it and rescue the prey from its mouth . . . The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe from this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:33-35, 37) We all know how that story turned out.  David defeated Goliath.

I’d like to conclude my homily by praying the words of this Sunday’s responsorial psalm:

“The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

In verdant pastures He gives me repose;

beside restful waters He leads me;

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me in the right paths

for His name’s sake.

“Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side

with your rod and your staff

that give me courage.

“You spread the table before me

in the sight of my foes;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me

all the days of my life;

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

for years to come.”

God bless you.

Father John Kiselica

From the cross, Jesus gave us his Mother to be ours.

In every age — from the days before Pentecost until today — the Church has been blessed through the Mother of God interceding for us, from her being close to us with her care and protection. 

Let us renew our commitment to “fly to her protection.” Archbishop Vigneron invited us all to pray the Memorare every day to commend not only the Church but also our country, indeed the whole world, to the loving care of our spiritual mother.

The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.  O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen

Faith Companions

To the Faithful of St. Anthony:

About twenty years ago, I pulled a particularly interesting article from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and placed it in my “Homily Material” file.  By pure chance, while I was paging through that file this weekend, it fell into my hands.  It describes a phenomenon taking place in the waning years of the Twentieth Century . . . one, at least in a small way, I saw recurring these last two years, up to the State-imposed lock-down last month.  My prayer is, once the say-at-home restrictions are lifted, this trend will continue . . .

The WSJ carried this article (April 10, 1998), about the large number of successful young professionals who were returning to the Church after having stepped out for a while.  The article began by noting that in the past people who had stopped going to church did not feel a need to return until they married, started a family, or were struck with some major tragedy.  In the late ‘90s, people at the height of their careers and at the peak of their success were taking another look at religion.  These were people who had anticipated that success would bring them happiness.  Instead, it left them with an emptiness.  Someone referred to their success this way: “They landed on the moon and now find themselves asking: ‘Is this all there is?  There’s got to be more to life than this!’”

A case in point is Mary Kay, the head of a Hollywood production company.  She left the Church when she left home.  She conned herself into believing that religion was no longer relevant for her.  But when success came, it didn’t taste the way she thought it would.  It left a void; something was missing.  At first, she tried to fill the void by attending lectures by New Age gurus and taking university courses on a variety of spiritual topics.  But the emptiness persisted.

Then, one day, she finally admitted to herself that she was separated from her faith.  She was no longer walking with Jesus.  But returning to the Church wasn’t easy.  She said that it wasn’t until she asked God to forgive her for being away that she felt comfortable going back to church again.  The WSJ article went on to list other examples of other successful people who have returned to the faith for similar reasons.

The story of these young professionals bears a similarity to the story of the two disciples in this weekend’s Gospel.  They, too, once walked with Jesus.  They, too, once talked with Jesus.  They, too, once believed he was sent by God to establish God’s Kingdom.  Then came the events of Good Friday!  All their hopes and joy got smashed into a thousand pieces.  Disillusioned, they left Jesus behind and went their own way.

It’s against this background that they met the “stranger” walking along the road to Emmaus.  They listened to him, as they had once listened to Jesus.  They walked with him, as they had once walked with Jesus.  They watched him break bread, as they had once watched Jesus break it.  The “stranger” was not a stranger at all.  Incredibly, it was Jesus himself.  He was not dead, he was risen and alive.

Something very similar happened to the professionals described in the Wall Street Journal.  There was a time when they listened to the words of Jesus in the Liturgy of the Word, and there was a time when they watched Jesus break bread in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  In other words, there was a time when they, too, walked with Jesus and were filled with hope and joy.  Then came a tragic day when, for some reason, their hopes and dreams got smashed into a thousand pieces.  Crestfallen, they, too, left Jesus behind and went their own way.

This should cause each of us to pause and to reflect . . . The stories of the professionals, of the Emmaus disciples, are not unlike our own story.  There has been a time in our life – perhaps several times – when our relationship with Jesus got smashed into a thousand pieces.  Perhaps we even stopped walking with Jesus for a while.  But then came a grace-filled day when we met someone – a friend, a spouse, or even a stranger.  And through that person’s example Jesus spoke to us again – as he spoke to the two Emmaus disciples.  And it was through that person’s example that we returned to church, and our eyes were opened, and we recognized Jesus once again, in the breaking of the bread.

Our Gospel this third Sunday of Easter reminds us that there are many people today – like the two Emmaus disciples and the “young, urban professionals” – who are experiencing an emptiness even though they are successful.  We are invited by Jesus to be for these people what the “stranger” – what He was for the two Emmaus disciples.

And here we need to keep something very important in mind.  If Jesus is to speak through us today to people who no longer walk with Him, it will not necessarily be through our words, but through our love, our kindness, and our forgiveness.  For in this world of skepticism people are not looking primarily for word; but compassion, concern, kindness, and forgiveness.  Words can come later.

God bless you!  

Father John Kiselica

The Origins of Divine Mercy Sunday

Parishioners, both here and elsewhere, have asked me when and why the Second Sunday of Easter has been designated as, Divine Mercy Sunday, by the Church.  Having learned once upon a time that it was the writings of a little-known Polish Religious, Sister Faustina, that were instrumental in the foundation of the Feast (writings that had been placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Church), I must confess that I did not initially place much stock in it.  Today, as Pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish where the “Chaplet of Divine Mercy”, a rosary-like prayer attributed to Sr. Faustina, is recited each morning before weekday Mass, I felt prompted to investigate the origins of this Feast.  Here, taken in part from US Catholic magazine (May, 2011), is the history of Divine Mercy Sunday:

The world was in the midst of the Great Depression in 1931 and the memories of World War I were still fresh in the minds of Europeans when in Poland a sister of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Sr. Faustina Kowalska (1905 – 1938), is said to have been personally visited by Jesus.

According to her diary, an image was revealed to her of the risen Lord, from whose heart shown two rays, one red (representing blood) and the other “pale” (symbolizing water), with the words “Jesus, I trust in you” at the bottom.  Faustina wrote in her diary that Jesus told her, “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.”

When she was canonized on April 30, 2000 under the direction of fellow countryman, Pope John Paul II, he proclaimed that the Second Sunday of Easter would be henceforth known as Divine Mercy Sunday, thereby widely promoting the devotional practices associated with now Saint Faustina’s vision, already popular in many communities.

Sister Faustina, a poorly educated daughter of a humble Polish family, kept a 600-page diary of the apparitions she claimed continued for years.  Her entries focus on God’s mercy, the call to accept God’s mercy and to be merciful, the need for conversion, and the call to trust in Jesus.  It had been Jesus’ own wish, she wrote, to establish a feast day: “I (Jesus) decree that the Feast of Mercy to be a refuge and shelter for all souls . . . I am giving them this last hope of salvation, that is, the Feast of My Mercy.”

But the road to the universal recognition of this devotion was anything but smooth.  Since Sister’s dairy, which she claimed Jesus Himself asked her to keep, had been listed on the Index for more than twenty years, it hindered the exercise of devotional practices.  Detractors claimed that her writings contained theological errors, while her defenders attribute mistakes to a faulty translation from Polish to Italian.  While the diary is no longer on the Index and her canonization has officially set aside any concerns regarding the orthodoxy of her writings, critics remain.

God bless you!  

Father John Kiselica

To the Faithful of St. Anthony:

To the Faithful of St. Anthony

I had intended to use this story as my Easter Sunday homily.

I Feel the Tug

A small boy and his grandfather were flying a kite on a hill.  The kite soared into the sky.  Then suddenly a low cloud hid it from their sight.  After a few minutes the grandfather said to the boy, "Bobby, maybe some thief up in that cloud stole your kite!"  The boy shook his head in disagreement.  A few minutes later the grandfather said again, "Bobby, maybe some thief up in that cloud stole your kite!"  Again, the boy shook his head.  "But Bobby," said his grandfather, "how can you be so sure that kite's still at the end of your string?"  The boy replied, "Because I can feel something you can't feel.  I can feel the kite tug at my string."

That story illustrates who so many people who weren't privileged to see Jesus after His resurrection were sure, nonetheless, that He had risen from the dead.  They were sure for the same reason the boy was sure that no one had stolen his kite.  They felt the tug of Jesus in their lives.  In other words, they experienced the power of the risen Jesus at work in their hearts.

Before Easter Sunday many people were filled with doubt.  They had seen Jesus die a terrible death on Good Friday.  They had seen Jesus nailed to a cross and had watched their dreams die before their eyes.

But then came Easter Sunday morning.  News spread throughout Jerusalem that the rock that sealed the tomb had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.  The Jewish authorities told the guards at the tomb to say that someone had stolen the body while they dozed during the night.  At first people wondered about the guards' story.  Was it really true?  Did someone steal the body of Jesus?  But as time passed, the people became sure beyond doubt that the body of Jesus had not been stolen.  Jesus had, indeed, risen!  And the reason the people were sure is the same reason that the little boy was sure that no one had stolen his kite.  They felt the tug of Jesus in their lives.  They felt the power of Jesus at work in their hearts.

Transformed by this power, the people went forth to tell the good news to all the world.  No amount of persecution could stop them.  Eventually, some of them were crucified, like their master.  Others were ripped apart by wild beasts in the Roman Colosseum. Still others were burned alive at the stake.  But their belief in Jesus never wavered.  The lives of those early Christians changed the course of history.

Today, 2000 years later, modern Christians still feel the tug of Jesus.  They still feel the power of Jesus at work in their lives.

Examples of this are paraded before us every day in the news and in the media.  Caregivers, knowing full well the possibility of sickness and death by contact with the coronavirus, tirelessly work to save the lives of those infected.  These caregivers work in hospitals, as ambulance drivers, as police and fire fighters.  At times their task must seem futile.  Each day they see the numbers of those infected jump by thousands, the number of dead by the hundreds.  New York City recently recorded over 700 new cases in one day.  Yet, they carry on just the same.  Why?  Because they are people of unshakable hope and love.  They trust in God's plan for them.  They believe they are to live their lives based on trust in God and His Commandments, or be defeated.  And for these good people, defeat is not an option.

That is what Easter is all about.  It is the good news that Jesus has risen and is in our midst.  The good news that Jesus has a plan for each one of us.  The good news that nothing can interfere with that plan if we don't let it - not sickness, not pain, not sorrow, not sin, not even death.  

Jesus holds out an invitation to each of us this Easter Sunday.  He invites us to let Jesus do for us what He did for His followers 2000 years ago; what He does for our care- givers across our nation and across our world today.  It invites us to let Jesus help us trust again after we've lost our ability to trust.  It invites us to let Jesus help us love again after we've lost our ability to love.  It invites us to let Jesus help us hope again after we've lost our ability to hope.  It invites us to let Jesus help us pick up the broken pieces of our lives and start over again after we've given up.  

That's what Easter is all about.  It's the good news that Jesus has triumphed over sin and evil; and so will we, if we but open our hearts to His Easter power.  It's the good news that Jesus is ready to work miracles for us, if we but open our hearts to His Easter power.  It's the good news that every Good Friday in our lives can be turned into an Easter Sunday, if we but open our hearts to His Easter power.  It's the good news that we don't have to wait until we die to share in the risen life of Christ.  We can begin right now, huddled with our families in our home-churches as we celebrate Easter Sunday.  Feel the tug?

Happy Easter from St. Anthony's, until we celebrate this feast anew, through the mercy and grace of God, very soon!

God bless you!  

Fr. John Kiselica 

Seeking Good Friday, 2020, with 20/20
 
One of my earliest memories as a grade school boy back in Manchester, Connecticut was what my father told me about Good Friday.  He said that on Good Friday, I was not to go out and play as I would on any other day.  I had to stay home and be quiet, especially between 12 noon and 3:00pm.  When I asked why, he told me that those were the hours that Jesus suffered and died for us on the cross.
 
I’ve never forgotten that.  Even though I did not fully comprehend the significance of the day at that time, it was one of those primary lessons of my faith that started me down the road to Christian adulthood.  This lesson from my life underscores a very important lesson often lost on the part of many Catholic adults who are blessed with children today:  Catholic education begins at home.
 
Indeed, you made a promise to raise your children Catholic at their baptism when the priest said, you are to be the first and best teachers of your child in the practice of the faith. Like so many of those other basic truths that have fallen by the wayside in our modern society, such as teaching right from wrong, saying please and thank you, basic Christian charity, the Golden Rule of treating others the way you want to be treated; in short, all those mores that contribute to the raising of a decent, polished, civilized person, just aren’t happening.
 
I know it’s not happening because I see the result of this lack of teaching whenever I do a funeral service.  More often than not, people will contact me requesting a Funeral Mass for their departed loved one because, “that is what they wanted.”  Once Mass begins and I say; “The Lord be with you”, their response usually is: Nothing, Silence or at best, “And also with you”, a response that went out of use years ago.
 
Somewhere between the time that great generation of people who are quickly passing away raised their children in the ways of the faith, by sending them to St. Anthony’s School and dragging them along to Church every Sunday, a disconnect occurred.  Those children went onto adulthood embracing a “new way” of living, a way everywhere evident in our modern society.  Instead of passing the beauty and values of Christianity on to their children from an early age, they were told to allow them to “make up their own minds” as to what to believe one day.  I’m sorry, this approach has been a complete and utter failure.  How can a person make up their own mind about anything, let alone about what to believe, when they never received the basic tools to base their decisions upon?
 
Tomorrow is Good Friday.  Will you remember it in a special way?  Will you remember by teaching your children to have a certain empathy for those not as fortunate as ourselves by not eating as much as we normally do – by fasting – and feeling the pain of the hunger they experience daily?  Will you remember by not eating meat; by sacrificing a bit of your hard-earned money to contribute to those in need and thereby living out that one and only commandment Jesus left us, one which incorporates all of the Ten given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai: “Love God and your neighbor as yourself.”
 
If any of these statements describe you, well, pardon me, I am obliged as your pastor to guide you.  It seems as though God has given us this time to do some serious soul searching on the way we have been living our lives.  None of us are “too busy” now.  Indeed, nearly everyone is complaining how this lock down has left them completely bored, not able to engage in those normal diversions of their daily life.  And if you are one searching for ways to pass the idle time, I suggest you invest at least some of it in your children.  It is our Christian duty to pass on our faith to the next generation.  When I offer funeral Masses for the souls of those faithful Catholics, whose children and grandchildren barely know how to make the ‘Sign of the Cross’ let alone how to recite the Lord’s Prayer, I see our Church’s future slipping away before my eyes.  I see it 20/20.
 
If you find my words offensive or inappropriate, so be it.  It’s time to speak clearly and not to mince words.  It’s time to take the responsibility that our parents and grandparents took seriously when raising us.  We have been living very comfortable, carefree lives.  Perhaps too comfortable.  This pandemic reminds us that we are not in control.  We cannot live out our lives by turning our backs on our children and carrying on as if we were still children ourselves.  Be responsible, ask God’s help in our moral duty, our obligation as Catholic adults and Catholic parents.  They deserve memories of good parents and good parenting that we all only come to appreciate as we get older.  They certainly deserve better than what we’ve given them up to now.
 
God bless you!  
Father John Kiselica
 

To the Faithful of St. Anthony:

I offer this prayer to keep us strong in faith and courageous in hope in these times of darkness and fear.  

Prayer for Forgiveness

As surely as the dawn shall break,

The Sun of Justice will awake

The darkened hearts that sleep in sin

And set alight the life within 

The pit where shadows now hold sway

Until the coming of the light of day.

In mercy Christ will come and free

The bond-slaves of iniquity

To flee the lethal hold of night

And revel in the wondrous light

That shines upon the path of peace

Whose end is songs that never cease.

So let us wait with trusting prayer

For God's forgiveness to repair

The ruin wrought by sin and death

So deadened hearts may draw new breath

To sing with all the choirs on high

The praise of Life who will not die.     

Fr. John Kiselica