This year we are celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy. So Pope Francis invited us to practice the works of Mercy. One of the works of mercy is to visit the imprisoned. I always wondered what a priest’s ministry of visiting the imprisoned is like. What should you say to them, what should you do? Here in the Eucharist Congress I met a diocesan priest who does full-time prison ministry. So, I asked him. He told me that his mission is to bring hope where despair reigns.
“It is actually very simple, and I wish more guys (priest) would do it. You just need to tell those folks that God loves them, and be available for the sacraments”.
I asked why he came to the Eucharistic Congress, to which he replied, “I need inspiration; I can’t get it from anywhere else…” The Eucharist can give us strength to bring hope where despair rules.
This was the first day of the second part of the Congress. We have 15,000 people gathered in the “Pavilion,” the Convention Center that was built especially for the event. Besides the main hall where everyone gathers for the talks, there is a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament exposed throughout the day, where there are also several priests available for confession. Every morning we start the day praying the Lauds, then we have a conference, a testimony, and Holy Mass. In the afternoon we have discussion groups and another conference. In the evenings, throughout the city there are cultural events like theater plays, music concerts, musicals, all with Catholic inspiration.
Today what struck me the most was the testimony of the Cardinal Emeritus of Hong Kong, Bishop Zen. When he was a young man in China, under communist oppression against Catholics, the government ordered the people of his town to stop attending Mass and to pledge loyalty to the Communist party. Many young people and friends of his did not do it, so they were put in prison for several years.
“Those who were lucky to come out alive of the prison, lost the best years of their lives for the sake of their love for the Eucharist”.
Cardinal Zen’s testimony spoke the truth about the situation in China, which is the real situation even till now. Our churches and faithful in China really need our prayers. God bless Cardinal Zen for speaking up the truth to the world and pray for our churches and faithful in China.