The August Promoter

Spotlight: Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour

Now is a great time to start planning for the Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour held annually the first Friday in October.  In 2008 the date is Friday, October 3 - less than one month away!  Sponsored by Children of the Eucharist of the World Apostolate of Fatima, this event provides children the opportunity to unite their prayers with millions of children around the globe. 

The Holy Hour will be led by Father Patrick Byrne, SVD, Secretary General of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood Association, from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.   Starting at 10:00 a.m. (EST) EWTN will broadcast the event live to 40 nations throughout the world.  Children are invited to gather together in their schools and parishes to join in praying the World Mission Rosary, with the intention being for their own families and all families throughout the world.  The Holy Hour will also include the prayers taught to the Little Shepherds of Fatima by the Angel of Peace and a prayer to ask for the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Pope Benedict XVI gave a very special blessing for this event: “It is my hope and prayer that each of the children who participate in this Holy Hour will be ambassadors of Jesus Christ to other young people and to the world.”  You can help by visiting www.childrenoftheeucharist.org and asking your bishop, pastor or school principal to consider participating in this special event. Even though the televised broadcast will take place at 10a.m., children may participate at other times as well.  The priority of the day is to gather the children before our Lord in the Eucharist and pray for families.  The Children of the Eucharist website provides everything needed to participate in the event including sample programs to use during the Holy Hour, sample letters for pastors, principals and parents and even flyers for promoting the event.

Promoting Vocations 101

“Let the children come to me, do not hinder them… for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14)

How important children are in the eyes of Jesus!  Sometimes, as adults, we may wonder how much children are able to retain during Mass or praying before the Blessed Sacrament.  Do they really understand what is happening and do they have the capacity to grasp this pillar of our faith?  The answer is yes.  Children have a pure and simple faith and perhaps, because of their purity and innocence, they understand this mystery better than some adults.  In Matthew 18:3, Christ placed a child in front of Him and said to His apostles who were arguing about who is the greatest, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Children are full of trust and the capacity to love.  They will recognize the presence of Christ in the Eucharist when they are given the opportunity to encounter Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Children who come to Eucharistic adoration experience brief periods of silence and intimacy with Christ that are needed in order to know him and to develop a friendship and love for him.

Father Antoine Thomas of the Congregation of St. John has developed a Eucharistic adoration program, Children of Hope, which helps parishes offer adoration for children.  Father Antoine speaks about the benefits he has seen from children spending time with Christ in the Eucharist, “The children have a great excitement about being part of this kind of prayer group.  They enjoy being at the feet of Jesus, resting under the loving gaze of he who is no longer hidden in the tabernacle.  The children experience a pacification of body, mind and spirit.  They have a deeper desire to pray, are more attentive at Mass and have an unshakeable faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”  The friendship that children develop with Christ during these moments will hopefully remain with them as they grow into adolescence. In Him they will find strength, hope and the sensitivity to hear and respond to the will of God.

 Quote Corner:

“To the extent that we teach young people to pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God’s call. Programs, plans and projects have their place; but the discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call."