THE GREATEST BENEFIT

WHAT IS THE GREATEST BENEFIT?

What would you estimate to be the greatest benefit of the all night vigils?

Would it be the saving of a thousand souls for every person making the vigil? Would it be personal conversions liket that of Ben DeGuzman? Or a personal spiritual transformation like that of Luina Capalla? Would it be the ever incresing spiritual strength from each vigil, even each Holy Hour, with passing years to the very dawn of Heaven as in the case of Father Dietz and his housekeeper?

You are about to read of benefits beyond what you might even have begun to imagine.

Effect On Priests

Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales (Lipa, Philippines) says:

"What truly touches me as a bishop is how these monthly vigils have so tremendously affected the lives of our priests who have become involved.

One Priest told him:

"Through the vigil Communion of Reparation I have grown to value deeply the Eucharistic-centered life-style. I have come to realize as never before that the real meaning of our Holy Orders is to safeguard the presence of the Eucharist here on earth. Through the vigil I have learned the beauty of victimhood essential in living a Eucharistic life-style. With 83 countries today legalizing abortion, how many souls do you think are already on the way to hell? I shudder at this horrible thought. Part of my priestly priority is to get them away from that brink by making this reparation vigil."

We witnessed a similar effect of the vigils in theparish of St. John the Baptist next to Madison Square Garden in New York, staffed by a community of Capuchins.

As was mentioned in the previous chapter, the church was scheduled to be closed when the vigils began. And not only was the parish saved and the church enlarged, but the entire Capuchin community was deeply affected. The priests were so impressed, often even deeply moved, by the example of hundreds of laypersons spending a night in prayer, and by the Confessions heard throughout the night. Indeed it might be said that the wonderful effect on that Capuchin comunity was even more significant than the physical saving and enlarging of the church.

TO BE CONTINUED....