WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- On Oct. 2, children across the globe will gather in their parishes and chapels to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
A press release from the World Apostolate of Fatima announced the upcoming 7th annual Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic Holy Hour.
The event, sponsored by Children of the Eucharist, a program of the World Apostolate of Fatima, will invite children worldwide to follow the example of the young shepherds of Fatima who were taught by Our Lady and the angels to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
In Washington, D.C., at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, some 4,000 school children will gather with Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, Louisiana, for a Eucharistic hour.
The prelate will lead the holy hour at 10 a.m., which will be broadcast live to some 140 countries by the Eternal World Television Network.
Children are invited to join in this hour from their own hometowns and parishes. The program offers online resources to parents and teachers who want to facilitate a time of prayer in unity with those participants worldwide.
They will gather before the Blessed Sacrament to “console the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, and to pray for their families, and in this Year for Priests, there will be special intentions made for children to pray for the world’s priests,” the communiqué explained.
It added, “The children will pray the rosary, prayers of reparation as taught by the Angel of Peace of Fatima, entrust themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with closing Benediction.”
Our job
Todd Amick, director of the New Orleans Archdiocese Office of Eucharistic Renewal, affirmed: “As human persons, we are made for the Eucharist and our children in particular have a receptivity for the Eucharist that is only waiting for an invitation.
“That’s our job as adults to make that invitation to help them come to love and serve Christ.”
The event is being organized and promoted in collaboration with the Pontifical Mission Society of the Holy Childhood Association and OptionC, Inc.
Connie Schneider, founder of the Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour, said that she was “always inspired by the messages of Our Lady of Fatima, which are messages of hope for the entire world and entrusted to little children.”
Schneider explained that the idea for a global children’s holy hour came after reading Pope John Paul II’s letter to children, which said, “My Dear Young Friends, it is to your prayers that I entrust the problems of your own family and all the families of the world.”
She also quoted the words of Benedict XVI, who said, “The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus’ love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children, to their parents; thus reopening the places of faith in our times.”
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On the Net:
Children of the Eucharist: http://www.childrenoftheeucharist.org/
