CV NEWS FEED // More than 20 parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles March 28 hosted a 24-hour prayer initiative for Jubilee Year 2025, welcoming hundreds of Catholics to pray in Eucharistic Adoration and receive the sacrament of Reconciliation.
According to an April 4 article in the Archdiocese’s publication Angelus News, a parish in each deanery of the Los Angeles archdiocese partook in the 24-hour event, called the “24-Hours for the Lord” Jubilee Year initiative, with reports showing that hundreds of Catholics received the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Father Parker Sandoval, vice chancellor and senior director of ministerial services of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, heard confessions during the event at Incarnation Catholic Church in Glendale. The prayer initiative was a unique opportunity to experience the mercy of the Lord, he said.
“There really is something about the church being open 24 hours for you that grabs people who otherwise would not show up,” he said according to Angelus News. “A church literally being open for 24 hours signifies that, yes, the Church is here for you because Jesus is waiting for you so He can show you His mercy. And that really is the bottom line.”
Father Fredy Rosales, pastor at the Los Angeles-based Presentation of Mary Church, said the initiative was a universal time for rebirth.
“It was a moment of spiritual renewal at a time when people seem to have a greater hunger for God,” Fr. Rosales told Angelus News. “People I didn’t know would stop me outside the church. They were very grateful, saying they’d never seen anything like this.”
Seeing a pamphlet about the initiative was a turning point for parishioner Theresa Anderson, who said she had not received the sacrament of Reconciliation since 2012.
According to Angelus News, Anderson shared that she grew up Catholic, but eventually the busyness of life took priority. After seeing the pamphlet promoting Eucharistic Adoration and Confession, she told her husband that they should attend.
They both went to the initiative hosted at Holy Family Church in southeast Los Angeles. Anderson shared about how wanting to be prepared for one’s death had a role in choosing to go to Confession.
“Life is difficult,” she said, according to Angelus News. “I see a lot of people dying and being prepared, so I said to myself, if I die, I might as well go to confession. If God decides to take me, I want to be ready and prepared.”
Some parishioners within the archdiocese, Angelus News stated, also partook in a seven-mile pilgrimage to various church locations participating in the “24-Hours for the Lord” prayer initiative.
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