A Practical Way to Pray Tom Wierzbowski ’00 has a commute most would envy. Just a 10-minute car ride from the Brooklyn public high school where he teaches 10th grade English, Mr. Wierzbowski furthers his personal prayer life on the morning drive by using the app Pray As You Go. The mobile software, produced by Jesuit Media Initiatives, combines music, scripture and questions for reflection that Mr. Wierzbowski describes as “a nice and manageable way to explore faith on a deeper level.”
Sharing Faith The days can be long for Michael Powis ’11, a full-time student at Saint Joseph’s University with a part-time job managing a local Pinkberry frozen dessert restaurant. Yet faith remains an integral part of college life, whether he is serving as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist for weekly Mass, helping at-risk kids with homework at the Northern Home for Children or facilitating Koinonia, a weekly group that meets for faith-sharing, prayer and discussion of significant life issues. Serving as a Koinonia group leader is especially gratifying for Mr. Powis, who attended and then led Kairos retreats while a student at Xavier. “We grew very close on Kairos,” he recalled. “I think it showed that each and every one of us had problems in our own lives and that no one was going through the stress of high school or the college process alone.”
“One of the best ways to live out your faith is coming together in community to talk to one another.” Lauriann and Tom Wierzbowski ’00.
Finding practical ways to grow in faith has been a priority for some time. “I went to Catholic school my whole life,” Mr. Wierzbowski explained. “We’re indoctrinated with the teachings of the Church and that’s one level of faith. I’m interested in taking all that doctrine and seeing what it means in real life.” He began with a book of daily meditations when he was director of admissions at Xavier and moved on to Catholic apps like Laudate and Pray As You Go.
“I’m interested in taking all that doctrine and seeing what it means in real life.” Last summer, the Xavier alumnus completed a fourweek take-home retreat based on The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola. He and his wife, Lauriann, have a baby on the way, so “A little bit each day,” is his credo for fostering a closer relationship with God. “If I wanted to be a Catholic, then I wanted to go all in and explore it more deeply,” he said. “I know I have to work at it.”
God, he believes, can be found by forming meaningful connections with one another. “One of the best ways to live out your faith is coming together in community to talk to one another,” said Mr. Powis, who traces his involvement with campus and faith ministry today to his time on 16th Street. “If not for Xavier, I wouldn’t have gone to Mass by myself at St. Joe’s or done any of these activities,” he added. “It was Ms. Kittany showing me how to be an extraordinary minister. It was Fr. Rivera talking to us every day about accepting others and living out our lives as examples. It’s specific people at Xavier that live their faith every day, so that when I got to St. Joe’s, I was able to ask, ‘How can I get involved?’”
Michael Powis ’11 performing service on a global community retreat. XAVIER MAGAZINE
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