Prince of Peace Parish

CNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The popular Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow recently announced its third annual Hallow Summit, which brings the platform’s digital community together for an in-person encounter with the Lord.

This year’s summit will take place Aug. 2–4 at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Attendees will take part in prayer and worship, Mass, Eucharistic adoration, confession, and listen to Q&As and talks from speakers including Jeff Cavins, Dr. Scott Hahn, Matt and Cameron Fradd, Chika Anyanwu, Jonathan Roumie, and more. 

Bryan Enriquez, head of customer operations and founding team member of Hallow, told CNA in an interview that the first Hallow Summit, which took place in 2022, was launched as a test. 

“Up until that point, we had just focused on the digital experience of the Hallow app,” he said. “We had no idea if that would translate into an ability for us to host a high quality in-person experience.”

He noted that upon his own reflection, he realized that “some of my most powerful spiritual experiences had happened at retreats or conferences,” adding: “There is something special about a ‘mountaintop’ experience that jolts you out of your routine and creates an opportunity to draw closer to God with a new way of seeing the world.”

“I wanted to create an experience that combined the mountaintop experience with a practical roadmap for how to continue to engage with God after the event was over. Thus, the Hallow Summit was born.”

The theme for this year’s Hallow Summit is “Prayer and Surrender.”

Enriquez shared that the team wants participants to “reflect on the power of surrendering ourselves to the will of God.” 

“This is not easy and in our culture surrender has a negative connotation,” he added. “However, after our Lenten reflection on ‘He Leadeth Me’ by Father Walter Ciszek, we saw that this idea resonates with a lot of people.”

“We want attendees to have an encounter with Christ so that the Lord can reveal what parts of their hearts need his healing. The way to do this is through prayer and meditation. Our job is to provide an atmosphere that is conducive to this.”

He emphasized that the whole point of the summit is to “facilitate an encounter with the Lord.”

“One way we do that is by pairing talks with experiences. We don’t just have keynote addresses where someone talks at you for an hour,” he explained. “Instead, our keynotes combine talking with doing. We pair them with a spiritual exercise such as lectio divina or the examen to emphasize how accessible and powerful these techniques are.”

While the atmosphere at previous summits has always been joy-filled, Enriquez pointed out that there is also “an energy of Christ-centered fellowship,” which he believes is part of Hallow’s brand.

“We are known for being approachable yet profound, and I think that translates into the experiences we host in person as well,” he expressed. “We don’t water down our content but we don’t want to turn anyone away from experiencing the power of prayer.”

ACI MENA, May 16, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

A Lebanese Catholic man has created a giant rosary that floats upon the Mediterranean waves.

Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, built the world’s largest rosary on the ocean on May 11 — with the help of family and friends — on the feast of Our Lady of the Seas.

The idea came to Abdel Sater during his daily contemplation of the sea.

For six months, he perceived the outlining of rosary beads on the water’s surface. Compelled to make this vision a reality, he received blessings from the local parish priest, Father Ferez Tawk, and from the mayor. However, executing such an ambitious undertaking was no easy feat.

“For a month, I puzzled over what materials to use — wood or foam?” Abdel Sater recalled. “How could I secure the rosary’s shape against the shifting currents?” But, as he put it, “divine providence facilitated things.”

An illuminated icon on the waves

Stretching 100 meters (about 330 feet) across the water, the finished rosary is comprised of white plastic gallon jugs representing the Hail Mary beads and larger blue ones for the Our Father prayers. The cross is made of wood.

“I dove down and tied the beads with rope, anchoring them to the rocks below,” Abdel Sater explained to ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. “So despite the changing tides, the rosary’s form remained intact.”

Outfitted with lights, the installation casts a luminous glow at night.

Though forced to temporarily move it ashore due to rough waters, Abdel Sater hopes to soon re-float his unprecedented creation, which he has submitted for inclusion into the Guinness Book of World Records.

A community united

For the Parish of Sts. Takla and John, the floating rosary provided a centerpiece for celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Seas on May 11. As Tawk explained: “We gathered parishioners to offer a Mass giving thanks to Our Blessed Mother. This endeavor symbolizes our Eastern Catholic devotion to Mary.”

Reflecting on the profound symbolism, Tawk noted that “alone, rosary beads lose their meaning. As Catholic faithful, we’re those beads and our community binds us together through life’s crashing waves.”

“Without that communion, even the strongest believer can be swept away,” Tawk said. “But by walking together with Jesus as our anchor, we can withstand any storm and find redemption. Thus, we become like Mary, who stood firm in her faith under the cross, understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice is the beginning of salvation.”

This article was originally published by ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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