Camping with Jesus

This spring, St. Faustina parishioners participated in our first annual “Camping With Jesus” event. People of all ages enjoyed a time of fellowship and greatly appreciated the opportunity to come together for two essentials when camping with Jesus - s’mores and Adoration.  

Brian Cathey was inspired to attend “Camping With Jesus” because he saw this as an opportunity to increase his children’s devotion to the Eucharist and to spend an extended amount of time in Adoration. With small children, this is often difficult, but the environment made it much more doable for a family. In fact, Brian’s son enjoyed spending time with Fr. Dat in this informal setting so much that it fostered his interest in pursuing the priesthood.

The camping trip started on Friday of Divine Mercy week with Confessions in the church, followed by a talk on the Spiritual Works of Mercy and celebration of the Mass. Then, attendees participated in a Eucharistic Procession that ended in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration that lasted all night long! This extraordinary night concluded with Benediction at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning.



Camping with Jesus emphasized an aspect of parish life that is so important as Catholics in today’s world: fellowship, rooted in Christ. Adults and children alike had an opportunity to step away from the busyness of regular Friday nights and do something full of faith and also full of fun. The parish hopes that this will become a popular annual event for the St. Faustina parish family. 

Brian shared, “This was a fantastic event for families to come together in front of the Eucharist. I would encourage everyone, especially those with young children, to attend next year!”