An Evening of Prayer

Tonight we didn't have the usual class, instead we gathered together for an evening of prayer. At the beginning of every year all of the students in the ILM program take this opportunity to be attentive to their spiritual formation, and this year the Mass was held at Saint Joseph Cathedral Basilica in down town San Jose. The multi lingual service lasted just over two hours during which we also celebrated the opening of the Year of Faith and the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. The theme was, "Members of our region call us to share our diverse gifts in praise of God", and it began with music from the various cultures in the various communities in the San Jose Diocese, including a small group of Vietnamese drummers and a larger Samoan choir. The Gathering Song was Laudate, Laudate Dominum which is sung in Latin, but the second verse was, "In the faith of Christ we walk hand in hand, light before our path as the Lord has planned; shinning the torch of faith in our land". As always the music was beautiful!

The Year of Faith is all about ordinary Catholics and what ordinary Catholics do. Pope Benedict laid out the purpose for this Year in his letter Door of Faith, stressing that the door of faith is always open for us, ushering us into a life of communion with God and offering us entry into his Church. The Pope believes that if only all of us lived more clearly the faith that is given to us in the Scriptures and professed at our Baptism and renewed every Sunday, then more people would be inspired to enter that "door of faith" to be one with God. "We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is "the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed, and also the source from which all its power flows". At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers' witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year." (Pope Benedict XVI)

One of the most important events in modern history of the Catholic Church has reached a historical milestone. Fifty years ago, with the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII confidently threw open the windows of the Church trusting that the Holy Spirit would blow through it a fresh breeze of renewal. During this worldwide ecumenical council the 2500 bishops approved 16 documents to enliven Catholic spirituality; one of which, Guadium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) insists that the Catholic Church must be at the service of all humanity, especially those most in need. Another development of that council is the ecumenical proclamation for the Gospel and the defense of Gospel values. Bishop Brian Farrell recently said, "The challenges facing religious belief itself and church life are common, no church, no religion is an island, and we need one another and can learn from one another. The mission that the Lord entrusted to the Apostles, to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, has not been fulfilled", and ecumenical cooperation is crucial when trying to transmit the faith in the modern world and to re-propose Christianity in areas becoming more secularized.

Near the end of the evening we sang the song Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow which is one I used to sing with my Mom on Sundays. After that, representatives from all of the Parish's (including me) were called forward to receive a candle during which everyone sang, The Litany of Saints. Once again our evening of prayer was a personal blessing to me and an inspirational evening for all.