Eucharistic Congress
On Friday evening the “Catholic Campus Ministry” (CMM) group hosted a gathering for young adults. There were two talks that stood out in the event.
First, a sister gave a witness talk about her calling. While in college, she felt the Lord was calling her to religious life, but she wrestled with the notion of a lifestyle that did not seem tangible to her life. Over time, the sentiments of the call continued, and she eventually conveyed to the Lord that this way of life was foreign to her; however, if this were the Lord 's desire, she would follow the Lord in this way. That entrustment to the Lord made all the difference, in fact, over time she found there was great joy in following the Lord’s will rather than her own.
A college professor gave the second talk about how to stay Catholic while in college. He suggested that reason and faith are integral to the spiritual life and that the Ignatius examine puts one’s day into a spiritual perspective. The exercise involves recalling two experiences that happened through the course of the day and being thankful for them, so that gratitude at the heart of one’s spiritual life.
After the talks, there were about one hundred of us that processed with candles to St. Peter’s Church for Eucharistic adoration. The Vietnamese community led the adoration. Although we could not understand what they were saying, the mantra of their prayers promoted a communal-mystical experience of adoring and praising the Lord. Many of CCM college students stayed overnight in the church hall while taking turns keeping an all-night vigil with the Lord.