April 22, 2017

24 hours of mercy at UMass brings students closer to Christ

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Stephen Kiltonic

24 Hours of Mercy at the Newman Catholic Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst wrapped up Saturday. Students could pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament through the night. Priests were also available for confession throughout the 24-hour period.

AMHERST — On April 21 and 22, the Newman Catholic Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts hosted “24 Hours of Mercy,” giving students and members of the community an opportunity to reflect, relax and receive the sacrament of reconciliation.
From 1 p.m. on Friday April 21 until 1 p.m. on Saturday April 22, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the Newman Center was open for eucharistic adoration and for confessions, which were heard by 16 priests from the Diocese of Springfield throughout the 24-hour period.

Father Gary M. Dailey, executive director of the Newman Center, said the students wanted to repeat the “24 Hours of Mercy” after the success of last year’s event held during the Year of Mercy. The extraordinary jubilee year designated by Pope Francis highlighted mercy, forgiveness and solidarity. Father Dailey said an event like this is important, particularly for students at a secular university like UMass.

“There are so many things going on around campus that draws their attention away from God. They’re bombarded by so many things that lure them into immoral activity,” said Father Dailey.

“They come to a quiet chapel because they know that there’s a sense of peace here amidst all the craziness that’s going on around them. They can come and find a place of solitude. It’s also an opportunity for them to be able to come and to pray and be able to unite themselves with God and also confession is such an important piece of this,” added Father Dailey.

Father Dailey commented that reconciliation is something students desire, not just around holidays or holy days, but year-round. He added that he hears more confessions on campus on a weekly basis than in all the other individual parishes he has served at during his 31 years of priesthood.

“It’s so heartwarming for me. Not only do they come to confession, but their confessions are sincere,” he said. “They’re very deep. They’re really looking at aspects of their life that many adults don’t even recognize in their life as sin and really laying out their souls, their whole lives and seeking the mercy of God and for me it’s a wonderful, wonderful experience.”

This year’s event was tied into the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday on April 23, which marks the revelations of St. Faustina.
Jed Arnold is a graduate student from the University of Maryland who works for a group on campus called FOCUS, whose mission, he said, is to send people to college campuses to evangelize. He attended the “24 Hours of Mercy” last year and said it was a huge success.

“We have adoration every week with confession but I think this one offers more of an opportunity to go to a priest that you don’t know or you don’t see regularly which a lot of students who haven’t been to confession in a long time would prefer. This makes them feel more anonymous,” said Arnold.

Laura Suttenfield, a junior at UMass, said having an event like this is important.

“To have a 24-hour period where people are praying for mercy and praying for mercy of other people is a really powerful benefit on the campus and a really important thing that we continue to remind people of the importance of the Feast of Divine Mercy,” said Suttenfield. She added, “It’s a good thing to remind people that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus forgives and that mercy is his nature.”

Father Dailey said he hopes the message of Divine Mercy and the diary of St. Faustina resonates with students.

“’The greater the sin, the greater my mercy,’ and I think that it’s a message of hope for the students,” said Father Dailey, who appreciates all the priests who help out with confessions. He said that many students are seen in the chapel even during the early morning hours. Students also volunteered an hour of their time in the chapel to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament all through the night.

“I try to teach students here that no matter what it is, come bring your sins to confession and more and more are doing that. I really see tremendous progress in the maturity of the students spiritually and we hope that it will continue far beyond Newman,” concluded Father Dailey.