A missionary week is being held in Paris at the basilica of the Sacred Heart In Montmartre. During the week, which will last until 28 June, dozens of young people recruited in the parishes or movements to which they belong and recognisable by their T-shirts welcome visitors, inviting them to rediscover prayer in the shrine which for more than 120 years has been dedicated to the perpetual adoration of the Most Holy. The “inestimable value” of this practice was recalled by John Paul II in his recent Encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”. During the month of June traditionally a period of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus the young people bear witness to visitors that the love of God is directed to all men and women, in keeping with Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman which inspired the theme of the week: “If only you knew what God gives”. Events of the missionary week include prayer before the Most Holy, meditation, a daily vigil starting at 8:00 p.m., confessions and musical animation. Following last Sunday’s feast of Corpus Domini, events reach their climax today, 27 June, feast of the Sacred Heart. The week ends tomorrow, 28 June, when Archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger will ordain 15 priests in the cathedral of Notre Dame.
