Energizing The Faithful

When Patricia Wang, catechist and parish advocate for people with disabilities at St. Joseph Catholic Church, was thinking about how to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the church's Perpetual Adoration Chapel, the first person she thought of was the Rev. William Casey.

Casey is a renowned speaker and frequent guest on EWTN, the global Catholic Network.

So she called him to see if he would help the church celebrate its chapel.

Casey will speak about the "real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament" Sunday through Tuesday.

"Belief in the real presence of Jesus is fading," Wang said.

St. Joseph pastor, the Rev. Allan Wolfe, praised Wang's work within the church.

"Patricia desires to help others experience that same kind of love she has experienced," he wrote in an email. "She diligently catechizes our children in preparation for their first Holy Communion, lovingly guides children and teens through prayerful adoration, and now has undertaken to coordinate much of this weekend's festivities centered on the Eucharist.

Casey will spend 40 hours of devotion speaking at all Sunday masses and as well as at services each evening at 7.

As part of the festivities, St. Joseph Catholic Church also will display the Vatican International Exhibition of Eucharistic Miracles of the World.

In a recent interview, Casey explained that the 40 hours of devotions was established in this country by St. John Neumann, the first American saint.

The intent of 40 hours is to reinvigorate Catholics through the use of prayer.

"I see everywhere the great loss of faith," Casey said by telephone from Kentucky.

"Every family is wounded in this apostasy - let's call it what it is," he said. That includes addiction, suicide, infidelity, crime, atheism and bad marriages.

Casey is a member of the Fathers of Mercy, an order that was founded in 1808 with the mission to reach out to parishes throughout France and restore people's faith following the French Revolution.

Casey drew a parallel between the dissolution of faith in France in the 19th century and what he called the "pagan conquest of this country" today.

It is, he said, "the spiritual battle of our time."

Casey, who grew up near Philadelphia, has visited Lancaster in the past. His father used to take him to Lancaster to see the Amish and ride the Strasburg Rail Road. He remembers the beauty of the countryside.

On this visit, he hopes to rekindle Catholics' faith through prayer and devotion.

Credit: ECORNELIUS@LNPNEWS.COM