17 April 2025 · 2025-04 newsletter
“24 Hours for the Lord” is now in its 12th year. It was begun by Pope Francis in 2014 as a Lenten initiative. The universal Church was encouraged to offer “24 Hours for the Lord” centred on the sacrament of confession in the context of Eucharistic adoration.
Churches around the world have been encouraged to participate, staying open for prayer and with priests available to hear confessions for 24 hours on the eve of the fourth Sunday of Lent.
At Mount Schoenstatt this initiative has been taken up every year and this year from March 28-29 it was special because participants were also able to receive the plenary indulgence being offered by the Church in this Jubilee Year. Since Bishop Vincent, the Bishop of our local diocese announced that the Schoenstatt Shrine at Mulgoa would be one of three places in the Parramatta Diocese where pilgrims would be able to receive the plenary indulgence with the usual conditions, we were keen to make people in the diocese aware of the “24 Hours for the Lord” and invitations were sent to all the local parishes.
Our 24 hours began with Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Pawel OP at 6pm on the Friday evening after which Confession was offered for a couple of hours. Several groups took responsibility for praying and offering appropriate texts for reflection at various times throughout the 24 hours. The adoration continued during the night with a few people braving the night hours. The conclusion was Holy Mass at 5pm on the Saturday which was preceded by the offer of the opportunity for Confession once again. There were about 50 people present at both Masses and many pilgrims took the opportunity to pray through night and day.
After Mass on the Friday evening there was an opportunity for some fellowship in the Pilgrims’ Centre and the hot soup and buns were very much appreciated. Many thanks to the organisers and volunteers who made this initiative once again possible.
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