September 18, 2018

Second annual prayer walk held at Newman Center at UMass

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

Engineering student Ramy Sayah (left) joins other participants in the second annual prayer walk on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.

AMHERST – More than 40 people set out from the Newman Catholic Center at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (UMass) to walk and witness to Christ, Sunday, Sept. 16, for the second annual Prayer Walk. They split up into seven groups and took different routes praying for students, faculty, families, life, and other intentions.

“The goal of this prayer walk is to cover the campus in prayer, to bless the campus and just invite the Holy Spirit to come down, be part of the students, faculty, staff, anyone who comes here, just to bring God to the campus,” said organizer Megan Johnson, a UMass graduate. Johnson is active at the Newman Center, where she attends Mass and helps to facilitate Newman Women, a prayer group on campus.

Johnson gave each group a map and a list of intentions, which included prayers for students who might be struggling with their courses, friends, or feeling homesick. Each group leader also carried a prayer sheet which included the Litany of Saints, the Prayer to St. Michael and the Prayer of St. Francis.

Juliette Kamara and Megan Johnson pose in front of the Newman Catholic Center in Amherst. Johnson was the organizer of the recent prayer walk.

“For any teenager or young adult, it is hard to stand up for the truth when everyone else is making different choices. That’s the purpose of Newman, to strengthen them so they can stand more firmly,” said Johnson.

Before setting out, people gathered inside Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the Newman Center and prayed before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. A small group stayed behind in the chapel and prayed the rosary, while others participated in the walk.

Juliette Kamara, a mother of four, said people need to come back to God.

“We need to believe in God. That’s number one. People who don’t believe need to wake up. Look at what’s going on in the world,” said Kamara, who emigrated from Guinea with her late husband more than 20 years ago. She said she has endured a great deal of suffering in her life, especially with the loss of her husband, but never lost her faith.

“I am very grateful to God. I love to do this,” she said of the public witness.

Some groups prayed the rosary on the walk and others the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Ramy Sayah, an engineering student at UMass, walked and prayed with his family and a friend. Sayah said he is not afraid to share his faith with his peers.

“I find this really important at a time when so many people have shifted from their faith, from everything related to morality and spirituality,” said Sayah. The 21-year-old admitted professing the faith on a college campus is not easy.

“I focus on myself and my faith. If others are willing to listen, I’m ready for talking about Jesus or anything about faith,” he said.

Following the walk on campus, people met back inside the chapel for Benediction and to pray the Divine Praises, which concluded the Holy Hour. An ice cream social was then held in the Burke Lounge.