Acts in our time

Acts 1:13-14

13 When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

14 All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Last weekend my family and I spent the weekend at Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg where my older son is finishing up his freshman year and is involved with CCM (Catholic Campus Ministry). It was CWU’s yearly Family Weekend. We had a wonderful time and on Sunday evening we attended Mass at the campus.

Mass is celebrated in a simple, nondescript, upper room classroom and everything needed for the Mass is brought over from the CCM house across the street. The seating was rows of chairs. The altar was a simple folding table.  The Priest for this weekend drove in from another town 25 miles away. The choir was two people, my son being one of them.

When Mass began there was a total of maybe 20 people. From what I understood it was a lite turnout because some of the other students and their families had gone to Mass earlier in the day at the nearby Catholic parish. My wife, younger son and I were the only family in attendance that evening. Everyone else were students.

I have to say it was incredible.  When I looked around at the young faces of these college students I was so happy.  Here they were.  None of them were told they had to come.  They were in college, a place where so many fall away from their faith, where the world and its sins tear at them daily. There was nothing of the world there to entertain.

There was something there though.  You could see it in their faces.  You could hear it in their voices as they prayed and sang.  All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.

To me it was being transported to the time of Acts. You could feel it.  The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit was there with them, within them.

Simply, beautifully, powerfully.