SALT LAKE CITY — Pope Francis has asked parishes around the world to participate in the Annual Global Celebration of Youth and Young Adults on or close to the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Christ the King Sunday).
On Nov. 20, 2020, the Holy Father also announced that, beginning this year, the diocesan celebration of World Youth Day would be transferred from Palm Sunday to Christ the King Sunday.
“The center of the celebration remains the Mystery of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Man, as Saint John Paul II, the initiator and patron of World Youth Day, always emphasized,” he said.
“The U.S. bishops stand in solidarity with His Holiness and the universal Church as we celebrate God’s gift of youth and young adults every year on the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Christ the King Sunday). This special day in the life of the Church, centered on the Lord, reminds each of us to constantly imitate, draw close to, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ as we accompany young people on their journey through life,” wrote the Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in his introductory letter to the WYD guidebook developed by the USCCB.
In response to this request, the young adult parishioners of St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center will hold a special night of prayer. The overnight event, called “To Mary’s House – St. Catherine’s at St. Mary’s: A Night of Prayer” will be held Dec. 3-4 at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Park City.
The event is open to all young adults in the diocese.
To Mary’s House will begin at 9 p.m. Dec. 3. After an introduction, Mass will be celebrated by Father Fr. Jacek Buda, OP, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish and Father Cody Jorgensen, OP, the parish’s director of campus ministry. Vigils, a more extended form of the Office of Readings will be read at 11:30 p.m. At midnight the Angelus will be prayed, followed by Adoration.
“In the World Youth Day tradition, one of the most climactic parts of a typical World Youth Day celebration is the night in Adoration,” said Father Christopher Gray, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish.
Benediction will be at 1 a.m., followed by an outside candlelit procession.
Participants will sing the Akathistos, an Eastern Rite service consisting of several hymns of praise to the Savior and the Virgin Mary, at 2:30 a.m. To Mary’s House will conclude at 3:30 a.m. with the recitation of the rosary.
“It’s part of our larger mission of liturgical renewal, of looking at older traditions in the Church, the newer traditions that are going on and to invite young people into prayer that maybe they’ve never seen before, a liturgy that they’ve never seen before,” Fr. Cody said. “[We are] looking at bringing a couple of different traditions together to have an experience of the Church at prayer.”
To Mary’s House gives participants an opportunity to “have a moment of peace and waiting for the Lord,” Fr. Gray said.
“Outside the usual, day-to-day of the Church, which is a schedule of things intermixed with what we are doing in our daily lives, this is an intentional move to spend a night of peace and longing in vigil,” he said. “The mindset of this is simply to be with Mary.”
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