On Saturday evening I attended the popular "Catholic Underground" hosted by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at Our Lady of Good Counsel in the Yorkville section of Manhattan.
Deacon Daniel Tuite, a fellow Queen of Peace parishioner and alumnus of St. Joseph by the Sea High School, invited me to join him for the event. Deacon Dan will be ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in May and several of his classmates are Friars.
"Catholic Underground" gathers once a month for a holy hour and then for an evening of music, poetry and such in a coffee house setting. Though it attracts people of all ages, it is particularly geared toward young adult Catholics - and it is very successful in attracting energetic Catholic youth. The Church was filled, and the majority of those in attendance were in their teens, twenties and thirties.
Gathering in the church, the evening begins with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, including Evening Prayer and ending with Benediction.
In between, the holy hour is filled with praise music led by the Friars. Both the darkened church and the music are meant to bring the participants into deeper awareness of the Lord's Presence in the Eucharist.
I couldn't help but be impressed with the Friars, who so authentically live the radical call of religious life - and with the holy hour itself, which so clearly exerts a positive influence in the lives of the youth who attend.
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