177 Project

DANA CATHERINE

JOHN
NIVEN

KINNELON  Before the Blessed Sacrament, miracles can happen and Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish here will be hosting a special evening of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, Oct. 29, inviting the faithful of all ages across the Diocese to an evening of prayer, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, reconciliation and music.

Presented by Adoration Artists, the 177 Project will lead this special evening, as they travel to all 177 dioceses of the United States to bring hope and encouragement to Catholics with a nationwide tour of Eucharistic Adoration.

The evening will begin with the recitation of the rosary at 6:45 p.m. followed by Adoration at 7 p.m. and a small concert at 8:15 p.m. Leading the participants in song and worship will be Dana Catherine and John Niven, Catholic musicians who are part of Adoration Artists.

With Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament as the highlight of the evening, Kim Oliveira, youth minister at Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, said, “Spending time with Jesus is the most important thing we can do to strengthen our faith and be in communion with him. The hope and goal of this event is to provide an opportunity for people’s lives to be enriched by this experience and to grow closer to Christ and his Church.”

During the event, attendees will have opportunities for confession, to pray for others, to hear about the importance of vocations, to pray the rosary, to engage with local and national ministries and to interact in a variety of other ways. “This will be a dynamic night filled with all forms of prayer and worship over the course of two hours,” said Oliveira. “The two nationally known Catholic musicians, John Niven and Dana Catherine, will be guiding the evening through their gifts of song. After Benediction, we’ll end with a brief concert, showcasing the talents of these two wonderful musicians.”

Since the 177 Project is nationwide, social media was largely responsible for bringing it to Our Lady of the Magnificat. Oliveira said, “Social media is essential to ministry and perhaps the most effective way for the Church to evangelize today. The 177 Project was advertised on Facebook by Adoration Artists and they quickly had a response from churches across the nation in support of this event.”

According to Adoration Artists, “its purpose is to cultivate new music within the Church and to provide a platform for it to help draw people into intimate encounters with Jesus. Music as an evangelization tool works both inside and outside of the Church.”

Adoration Artists believes “in the power of spending time in front of the Eucharist and want to encourage that through a worshipful evening that fosters community within and across parishes.”

For the next three months, more than a dozen artists in Catholic music will split up into teams of two and visit all 177 dioceses in the U.S. including those in Alaska, Hawaii and St. Thomas, V.I.

The parish community is excited about being the diocesan representative to the 177 Project. “We, at Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, are thrilled to be the host parish for the Paterson Diocese. We hope to have a great turn out from all the parishes. It doesn’t matter if you’re 16 or 96, we hope that you will come and adore Christ with us,” Oliveira said.