Sunday, October 17, 2010

In The UK Young Catholics Rediscovers Silence and Adoration

This is a pretty good article here The First Fruits: The UK One Month After Benedict

I was struck by this last part which truly has a universal message.

A friend told me an enlightening story last week. She was attending 40 hours devotion at an inner city church, where she heard the priest confess of his lukewarm initial response to the pope's scheduled evening vigil for youth at London's Hyde Park. But Fr. X explained that as he encountered the incredible silence of a Pontiff and his outdoor flock of 80,000, praying in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament something moved him, profoundly. In fact, he based the last hour of the 40-hour devotion on the pope's programme for that night.

Everyone who attended that vigil has spoken of the silence at that event, which seemed to many to recall the half-hour silence mentioned in Revelation 8:1. One man, I know, a fully paid up member of "the church liberal," has repeatedly spoken with awe about how that silence, that vigil, affected him.

Of course the Lord's parable of the sower and the seed is a reality check; some who embraced the pope's visit may be like the seed that did not bear fruit. However you can't help thinking that Peter came among us obeying the Lord's admonition to strengthen the brethren (Luke 22:32), and that his obedience was efficacious.

We feel truly strengthened by those truly amazing four days in September.

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