Parish Encounters“Without Adoration
there is no transformation of the world.”
~ Pope Benedict XVI
What is a Parish Encounter?
A Parish Encounter is a time for personally and intimately encountering Jesus truly present among us under the appearance of bread. It is a time to regain or strengthen the life of grace in our souls through the sacrament of Confession; a time to be instructed in the beautiful truths of our faith and so be motivated to build and/or strengthen our solid daily relationship with God in prayer. Ultimately, it is to help the parishioners and the parish as a whole to anchor themselves ever more securely to the two pillars mentioned in the dream of St. John Bosco—Jesus Eucharistic and Our Blessed Mother.
The Parish Encounter usually takes place from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, beginning with an hour-long talk at 6:00pm and ending with a special guided Holy Hour from 7:00pm to 8:00pm, with confessions available during the Holy Hour. It follows a four-day platform usually running Sunday to Wednesday, or Monday to Thursday. Each evening’s talk covers different topics and submerges the people deeper in Our Lord’s Eucharistic Love with each successive Holy Hour.
Expanding Adoration
Another goal of the Encounter is to help the parish expand adoration in some capacity. For example, if the parish currently has adoration all day once a month on Fridays, we encourage sign-ups throughout the Encounter, to see if we could move to having it every Friday. If the parish has adoration once a week, we would encourage perhaps two days a week. In our experience, many people are moved by the Holy Spirit during the Encounter to commit to a weekly Holy Hour. The amount of adoration expansion is up to the Pastor’s discretion. We can also help to inform a team on how to keep adoration going and address any concerns that may be had in adoration expansion.
If a parish is interested in having perpetual adoration we can implement “Invitation Sunday” to help, by God’s grace, move hearts to commitment. We have seen three parishes go 100% perpetual through this initiative.
Prayer Preparation
God is the transformer of hearts, therefore, to help prepare the hearts of all who will attend the Encounter, adequate prayer preparation is necessary. We encourage that the prayer found below be placed in the front or back of the hymnals or missalettes in the pews roughly four weeks prior to the Encounter, to be prayed by the congregation at the preceding Sunday Masses. The person who normally says the greeting at the Sunday Masses would say something such as, “Welcome to _________ Parish” (whatever your normal greeting is)—followed by, “please join us in praying our Encounter Prayer found on the inside cover of your missalette.” The parish then, as a whole, will be intentionally beseeching God’s grace for a fruitful Encounter. This also helps to motivate and obtain the grace for them to attend the Encounter if there are hesitancies.
Encounter Preparation Prayer
Lord Jesus, we ask Your Merciful Love to flow upon us and our Parish, (your parish name here), through our upcoming Parish Encounter.
We place ourselves, our families and all our loved ones in Your Eucharistic Heart asking that you lead us ever deeper in the way that makes for true and lasting peace and interior freedom.
Grant us the grace to know Your tender love for us and the grace to respond to that love wholeheartedly. Help us to live a sacramental life and anchor our lives ever more securely to the two Pillars of Your Eucharistic Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that we may truly be Your disciples and a consolation to these Two Hearts. Amen.
St. Thérèse, pray for us. St. John Paul II, pray for us!
Arrival and Announcement
The Sisters arrive at the parish the Saturday before the Encounter to personally invite the parishioners at the Vigil Mass and announce the event. We would be most honored to have supper with the Pastor that Saturday evening after the Mass to discuss various aspects of the parish, and to get to know him and the parish dynamic a bit better. If it is possible to have a table set up in the back of the Church (foyer), we would be happy to make our Eucharistic materials (prayer cards, pamphlets, books, CDs etc.) available to the parishioners and could leave the table set up over the course of the Encounter. We would arrive with enough time to arrange the table prior to the Saturday evening Mass. We accept donations for our materials but they are not required.
The Sisters would also make the announcement at all the Sunday morning Masses to invite the parishioners. Ideally, we would speak at the very beginning of the Mass (Saturday and Sunday) for about three to four minutes. For example, if the Mass starts at 10:00am, the Sisters would make the announcement right at 10:00am, not before, so as to catch those that may arrive at the last minute. We would not be able to speak after the Mass as we want to safeguard the sacred time of thanksgiving when Our Lord is substantially within us.
Also, during the Mass itself, the Sisters can provide a beautiful Communion meditation by singing the “Ubi Caritas” after everyone has received Communion and is back in their pews, while Father is purifying the sacred vessels. Ideally, we could use a handheld or lapel mic that would be with us in the pew so we could begin the hymn while remaining in our place.
Guided Holy Hour All Four Nights
The Holy Hour, which will be all four nights of the Encounter (either Sunday through Wednesday, or Monday through Thursday) from 7:00pm to 8:00pm, with confessions available each night, is a sacred time where the “Encounter” truly takes place. The Sisters set up a beautiful enthronement on the altar with fabric flowing from the monstrance off the altar onto two kneelers (this set-up occurs prior to the talk, so that we can easily transition). We dim all the lights in the church, and have a spotlight which we shine on Our Eucharistic Lord. If possible, candelabra would also be used.
We bring our keyboard and play beautiful music to help facilitate the encounter. Those in attendance are then invited to come close to Our Lord and touch the “hem of His garment,” having One-on-one time close to Him. During the Holy Hour, songs, litanies and meditations, will be used as the Holy Spirit leads, as well as gentle encouragement toward confession and committing to a Holy Hour.
Talk Topics:
Night One: The Power and Beauty of Grace; the Interior Life (notebooks and pens distributed)
On this first night, we focus on speaking about the life of grace in our souls and how that affects our daily living. We speak about growth in grace, diminishment of grace through venial sin, and the loss of grace through mortal sin. On this night, it would be wonderful to have a second or even a third confessor as we will hone in on confession and the joy and peace it brings. In our experience the lines for confession on this night are rather long. We also encourage creating a space in the home in which to begin the day with prayer for those who, because of work, are unable to attend daily Mass at this time. We emphasize the beauty of what God wants to do in our lives when we take the time to get to know the One we receive in Holy Communion. We have handouts available explaining how to meditate with the Scriptures for the parishioners to take with them. We know the craftiness of the enemy of our souls and have found it very helpful to provide those who attend with a small notebook and pen, so that they won’t forget the good resolutions the Holy Spirit will inspire during the Encounter. We walk them through writing down concrete things they may need to obtain in order to create a tranquil prayer space. If the parish is interested in this aspect of the Encounter and in purchasing these for the parish, we can send you links to some notebooks/pens that are good quality and affordable.
Night Two: The True Church
On this second night, we speak about Holy Mother Church and explain how She is the original Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Mt. 16:18). We explain apostolic succession and explain what is meant by “the deposit of the Faith,” which is handed down to us and is safeguarded from error. We use various examples and explanations to show why one should never leave the Church, even in the face of scandal. We emphasize in a particular way that Jesus remains under the appearance of bread in His Church and that to leave the fullness of the Faith is to leave Christ Himself. We strive to help the parishioners to feel honored to be members of this God-given Church and to give reasons to any who are present—especially those who may not be Catholic or who are considering leaving the faith—why they should seek refuge in this impregnable fortress of our Holy Mother Church which Christ Himself has so generously given us at the price of His Most Precious Blood.
Night Three: Our Jesus Eucharistic; Lament of the Sacred Heart
On the third night, we explain clearly the Heart and Center of our Faith—the Eucharist is Jesus Christ living among us. In various ways we help to ensure that this perennial teaching of our Faith is understood and then move into sharing that Jesus Thirsts to be loved by mankind specifically in the Most Blessed Sacrament, as Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary. We use stories and examples to illustrate this point and, by the grace of God, help to encourage the hearts of the parishioners to respond to His immense Love. We speak about concrete ways to return love for Love, such as the necessity of making an adequate thanksgiving after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion and tips for avoiding distraction during this most sacred time; ways to encourage reverence for His Divine Personhood in this Sacrament; and committing to a weekly Holy Hour. Although each night we will speak about our goal of expanding adoration as a parish in order to quench His Thirst, we will however, emphasize it in a particular way on this night.
Night Four: Our Lady of Fatima; Our Loving Mother (Brown Scapular Enrollment)
On this last night of the Encounter, we speak about Our Blessed Mother and how much she loves us and desires to be a part of our lives. At the foot of the cross Jesus gave her to us; she is ours and she longs for us to choose to have a relationship with her and become totally hers. We talk about the importance of the Fatima message for our times. We show the connection between the revelation of the Immaculate Heart—covered with thorns, as revealed to Sr. Lucia—to the Sacred Heart revelations revealed to St. Margaret Mary. We cover the practical ways we can show our devotion to Mary and respond to her call at Fatima (Daily Rosary, Five First Saturdays, Consecration and the Brown Scapular). If the parish is open to purchasing scapulars, we conclude this night with a brown scapular enrollment for all in attendance who have never been enrolled. If you are interested in this aspect of the Encounter, we can send you links to ones that are affordable and of good quality.
