Somerville, NJ
Click here to find a team or start one of your own!
The following report comes to us from team leader Alpa with our Immaculate Conception parish team in Somerville, NJ:
We set up a booth in our usual spot on a gorgeous fall afternoon. As soon as we began setting up, we ran into a group of fellow parishioners. As we were preparing, we asked them to pray with us and for us and the souls that we would encounter, and they all stayed and prayed the Breastplate of St. Patrick with us, so we were off to a wonderful start!
We were able to give away over 20 rosaries and a handful of Miraculous Medals. A few people whom we had previously spoken with stopped by to say hello and shook our hands. Our conversations this afternoon were shorter than previous times, but many people enthusiastically spoke to us, and we had many Sunday Mass-going Catholics stop by.
We had a bridal party come over to our booth; the bride was Protestant and was marrying a Catholic gentleman, and she let us pray over her for the Lord to guide her and keep her close as she begins her married life; she also took a rosary and pamphlet. We had a Spanish speaking woman take a Miraculous Medal as well as a bulletin to find out about Spanish Mass at our parish. We had two men who had just moved to the neighborhood who were looking for a parish take rosaries and bulletins and then return back again for another rosary. We had a group approach us, two practicing Catholics and one non-Catholic; one of the practicing Catholics actually had tools to make rosaries and he said he frequently makes rosaries in his spare time. We had a Catholic who usually went to Sunday Mass, but was reluctant to go to Confession. We shared our Confession story with him, and how it has made all the difference in our lives in terms of growing closer to the Lord and receiving His graces. All in all, it was a beautiful time. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death.
Praised be Jesus Christ!