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All-night Adoration by Youth of the Diocese
The Scoop!

(October 22 - 23, 2005)

"Come, now is the time to worship...!” Youthful voices and rhythms echoed through beautiful Sacred Heart Church in Peterborough all through the night of Saturday October 22 nd to Sunday morning. This was just one of the many songs of praise and worship which were sung by youth of the Diocese who had come to spend the night in prayerful adoration of Our Lord Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament and exposed on the altar in a shiny golden monstrance. Every hour on the hour, from 7pm to 7am , we, that is, about 25 young people from across the Diocese, went up from the hall to the Church to join other worshippers who had come for an hour or so and we led a brief meditation with passages from sacred scripture and songs. People and other youth dropped in throughout the night to pay a visit to Our Lord and to spend some time with him.

The all-night adoration was initiated by the youth themselves and thoughtfully planned by the Youth Office with Father Norbert and a few youth and adult volunteers. It was a tremendous experience for each of us! The Blessed Eucharist was never left alone. There was always someone there to keep Our Lord company and that's the point: Jesus is waiting there to make himself known to us as our friend, the best friend we could ever have.

Of course, teenagers are teenagers, and staying up all-night was as much fun as it was a challenge for us. But despite the yawns and tired smiles we found ourselves drawn to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, joined hands, bent our knees and paid him homage. It was a wonderful way for us young people to get to know Jesus and develop a very personal relationship with him in thought and prayer and song.

In between, when we weren't in adoration, we retreated to the church hall downstairs to grab a snack, play our guitars and bongo drums, and even start a few games of cards, limbo and high jump! It seems we just did not run out of energy.

The evening was even more memorable since Bishop Nicola made a visit that night, too and spoke a few encouraging (and humorous!) words to us, letting us know that we are a big part of the future of this Diocese and that he relies on us to bring Christ's message to the world!

I was one of the teenagers who came for adoration that night and, probably like many others, didn't know what exactly to expect. The feeling vanished quickly as each person arriving bonded almost instantly with the others and it did not take long before the core group for the all-night adoration felt like one. Music, prayer, and fun helped, but Jesus brought us together.

With faith as our base and much energy to spend we made it through the night. Adoration ended with benediction in the morning and soon after with a hearty breakfast prepared and served by some “behind the scene” parishioners.

Some of us managed to get “forty winks” before the 9am Mass which concluded our “morning watch”. With or without sleep we participated wholeheartedly in the Mass even though a few nodding heads received the occasional nudge from a caring friend. The music for Mass was provided by the newly-founded CORC's (“Catholics on the Road for Christ”), an up-and-coming Catholic youth peer ministry group in the Diocese. It was great to hear the rest of the parish join in quite enthusiastically and come over after Mass to tell us how uplifting it all was and how encouraging to see youth involved in the Church.

I'm guessing I was one of many who crashed on their beds the minute they got home, attempting to make up for some of the lost sleep. However, I'm sure all of those who attended will agree when I say that it was 100% worth it!

As Pope John Paul II said so many times the youth are the future of the Church and the future is NOW. Borrowing the Holy Father's idea, which he expressed at World Youth Days in the past where he called the young people “watchers of the morning”, we decided to call our adoration nights “morning watch”. During the darkness of the night we wait and watch for the morning light, Christ, the morning star, who sheds light into the darkness of confusion, doubt and sin in our world.

It was wonderful to see the effort put in by each person that night and I'm very excited for the future here! I can only encourage anyone reading this to join us next time. We look forward to seeing YOU at the upcoming events and we would like to send out a big “thank you” to everyone who made the all-night adoration possible! Thanks.

Julia Carvalho