Nightfever

As a worldwide initiative, the idea behind Nightfever is a simple one: open doors and open hearts. On designated nights, Mass is held in a city centre church, and afterwards, the church is filled with candlelight and prayerful music. Volunteers invite passers-by on the street to come inside and light a candle of their own, and many stay to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of peaceful and prayerful reflection in the loving presence of God.

Luke is a member of the Cork NET Team, a youth evangelisation team run in partnership by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Dominicans. Here, Luke shares his experience of Nightfever in Cork City…

“For over a year, I have been involved with a wonderful outreach group called Nightfever. Today, I’m delighted to talk about my time as a volunteer with this group, which will hopefully help to shed some light on the power and efficacy of this largely under-appreciated ministry.

In the last four months, there have been three Nightfever events in St Augustine’s Church, Cork City. Hundreds of people have come into the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist on account of these three events. Many of these people have not been season ticket holders, so to speak – some may not have ever even set foot in a church before.

Amazingly, this is achieved by the simplest of invitations. Volunteers go out in pairs (one boy and one girl), and watch out for people passing on the street. We approach passers-by and invite them to light a candle in the church… and that’s it. We might mention that there is some beautiful reflective music inside as a bit of an incentive, but that is the full extent of the invitation. Those who say yes are led by the volunteers from the street into the church, right up to the altar where they light their candle before the Lord.

I have had the privilege of welcoming people as they approach the altar at two out of three of these events. I have seen people being moved to tears in seconds – just once look at the Blessed Sacrament is enough. For some, it’s just this sense that something is different here, and I have observed countless people looking around as if trying to figure out what that is. These people often pause and take a good look at the monstrance, seldom realising that it contains the one that is different, the one that is divine.

Nightfever really has deepened my faith. I would encourage any young Catholics who are interested in joining us in this outreach in Cork to get in touch with the Fr Alan Neville at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for more information.”

You can contact Fr Alan by email at fralan@mscvocations.com, or by phone on 086 785 7955.