The first all-school Advent assembly was held on December 2, featuring a speech by Michael Grindey, the Theology III teacher who replaced Father Bernardo.
However, there was an issue with the south bleachers, leading to half of the student body sitting on the ground.
“The service felt almost like a story time, with half of us sitting on the ground and listening to the speaker,” senior Kaiser Sinica said.
Each of the services will focus on a member of the holy family, with this one being focused on baby Jesus. Grindey emphasized the cold, dirty conditions in which Christ was born into, particularly the manger.
“Christ just wants to love us and transform us, but for the longest time, I didn’t let Him in,” Grindey said.
He spoke of how, since his childhood, he appeared to live a perfect life, playing football, serving in the student council, partaking in many extracurricular activities, and remembering to go to Mass and pray the rosary.
However, these all left him feeling unfulfilled, without a real connection with God. This led to him emptying the manger in his heart and opening himself to Christ.
“When I emptied that manger, I wasn’t sure what it was gonna look like,” Grindey said. “But I was met with the overwhelming love of Christ.”
This openness resonated with students, such as senior Isabel Buss.
“I liked how he was open and vulnerable, as being a teacher here, he has a stake in the matter with his students,” Buss said.
As he finished his talk, Grindey suggested that the students follow what he did.
“You just have to leave that manger empty to receive the love of the Christ child,” Grindey said.
