Advent: A Time of Waiting and of Encounter With the Lord

“I am sure these days in which you have held your new elections will be days of growth for the entire Militia of the Immaculate throughout the world.” With these words, the Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, His Excellency Bishop Dario Gervasi, greeted participants at the 6th Elective Assembly of the Militia of the Immaculate.

The Assembly took place in Rome, at the Pontifical Seraphicum Institute, from 27–30 November. Bishop Gervasi celebrated the concluding Mass, giving thanks to the Lord for the election of the new International Council. Fifty delegates from more than twenty countries gathered for the event. During the Assembly, the Spanish layman of Polish origin, Miquel Bordas, was re-elected International President of the association, a role he has held since 2021. The laywoman Margareta Begić, currently President of the M.I. in Croatia, was elected Vice President.

Advent: A Time of Waiting

In his homily, Bishop Gervasi invited participants to reflect on the season of Advent and on the meaning of waiting for Christians. “In this season, the Church invites us to remember that the believer is a man or woman whose heart is animated by a deep longing. The theme of waiting is often forgotten even within our ecclesial life. And yet the believer is someone who waits. Today, through this liturgical season, we tell the world that we await a coming and that time has meaning precisely because it prepares us for this encounter.”

Recalling St. Maximilian Kolbe, founder of the Militia of the Immaculate, the Secretary added: “In St. Maximilian Kolbe, the sense of expectation for the encounter with Christ the Lord was very much alive. He was a man whose gaze was turned towards the future, and he understood that by spreading the Christian message, hearts had to be awakened to the Good News, especially in the face of ideologies that lulled every eschatological hope to sleep or replaced it with other false and dangerous expectations. The day before his death, St. Maximilian – who no longer had a watch or any sort of calendar – learned that it was the eve of the Assumption and said: I would see her in Heaven one day”.

A time to clothe ourselves in Christ the Lord

But this time of waiting is not a time for resting, Bishop Gervasi continued in his meditation. “The well-known passage from the Letter to the Romans that we heard in the second reading is an invitation to fill our time not with empty amusements or useless activities, but with what matters most: ‘But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Rom 13:14)”. This verse is also an invitation addressed to the Militia of the Immaculate: “Beyond calling us to change our lives, this verse is a true invitation to carry on what you consider to be an important mission: cultivating inner life”.

A time to announce the going up to the ‘mountain of the Lord’

The proclamation of salvation is meant for everyone, and a Christian who awaits the Lord never waits for himself alone, but for everyone. The Secretary recalled that “The prayer each of you recites daily is filled with this sense of universality: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for those who do not have recourse to thee, especially for the enemies of the Church and those who recommended to thee. God desires to transform even enemies into friends!”

Entrusting the Militia’s future path to the Immaculate

Finally, a wish for the future: “Let us place the journey of the Militia into the hands of the Immaculate, as it begins anew today with the new President and the new General Council. Let us continue our celebration with the desire to contemplate the future as a time to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, as she did, being the first to set her gaze on her Son Jesus.”

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The Militia of the Immaculate is one of the International Associations of the Faithful formally recognized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. All information related to the Militia of the Immaculate can be found in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, available on our website.