Catholic youths gathering this Saturday @ Catholic Underground London

• Missing PBXVI already?
• Feeling inspired by all the weird-looking but wonderfully peaceful moments of prayer you saw on tv?
• Have an urge to learn more about how other young Catholics celebrate their faith?

Then this Saturday evening, make your way to:

Our beautiful Pope may have left us to return back to his home, but he left behind a legacy of words, images and precious personal moments that we shall never forget. And that's not all he left us. He left us with his hopes for our salvation, and his wish for us young Catholics to bask in the mystery of Christ's precious Body and Blood in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

"Faithful to Christ's command to "do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19), the Church in every time and place celebrates the Eucharist until the Lord returns in glory, rejoicing in his sacramental presence and drawing upon the power of his saving sacrifice for the redemption of the world. The reality of the Eucharistic sacrifice has always been at the heart of Catholic faith." Pope Benedict XVI @ Westminster Cathedral on 18 September 2010.

I recently returned from a pilgrimage to Fatima, and there, I was enraptured in my learning of the beautiful and holy child of 10 years old, Jacinta. Jacinta, being only 10 years old, and never having received Holy Communion, ardently desired with all her heart to receive the 'hidden Jesus'. She had seen, with her own eyes, the Blessed Virgin Mary appear to her, yet, during her time and by her village's traditions, she wasn't able to receive her first Holy Communion; and so, Jesus remained hidden to her - even to her death. How fortunate are we! We have only to go to our local Roman Catholic Church, and see Jesus face to face, through the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Oh, how we take that for granted! We have only to look to organisations like Catholic Underground, who bring us the experience of our Lord Jesus Christ exposed before our eyes all around the world.

Adoring Christ isn't a difficult or strange thing, my fellow young Catholics. 'Adoration' is one of the most beautiful ways to open your hearts, and let yourself be flooded with God's love. When Pope Benedict XVI addressed us for the first time with "The Kingdom of God is very near to you!" (Lk 10:9), he was not joking.  Every single word that you are about to read, which is his address to the young people outside Westminster Cathedral, is the absolutely truth, and we must listen, and transform these words into actions, if we are to find the love we so earnestly yearn for:

"I ask you to look into your hearts each day to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there, quietly waiting for us to be still with him and to hear his voice. Deep within your heart, he is calling you to spend time with him in prayer. But this kind of prayer, real prayer, requires discipline; it requires making time for moments of silence every day. Often it means waiting for the Lord to speak. Even amid the "busy-ness" and the stress of our daily lives, we need to make space for silence, because it is in silence that we find God, and in silence that we discover our true self. And in discovering our true self, we discover the particular vocation which God has given us for the building up of his Church and the redemption of our world." Pope Benedict XVI outside Westminster Cathedral on 18 September 2010.

So, I'm inviting all my young Catholic friends, to join us in celebrating Jesus' presence face to face, at Catholic Underground London. There will be time for silence in adoration, as well as a little bit of evening prayer, compline, confessions and vespers at our unique Holy Hour, complete with Benediction led by Fr Augustus.

And to top that all off,  we've got Christian rapper Baliva, and our headlining act Crossbeam - one of the hottest Christian bands on the circuit, providing entertainment for the rest of the evening. What makes Catholic Underground London so unique is the ability to bring the latest and greatest local Christian musicians, performance artists, and creatives to the live stage on the same night as experiencing the silence we experience through Holy Hour. Here's a taster of what Catholic Underground is all about.

 

I am one of the organising members of Catholic Underground London. So let me know your thoughts, let me answer your questions, and let me reach out to you by inviting you to come along to Catholic Underground London @ Holy Ghost RC Church in Balham this Saturday evening. 

http://catholicundergroundlondon.co.uk