On Friday, February 12, 2016 the third Mercy Night in New Jersey was held at the Church of Saint Bartholomew in Scotch Plains! Again, I have asked one of my brother seminarians and close friend, Deacon Daniel R. Peterson, to offer his testimony on the Mercy Nights he has experienced. Danny has been at all three Mercy Nights offered in New Jersey and is a great supporter of this mission!
“When my companion, co-worker in the vineyard and dear friend, Lynx Soliman, invited me to encounter the Lord at a Mercy Night, I thought to myself: “This sounds nice; just like the many other events I’ve been to with adoration, music, confession, etc”. Little did I know the abundance of grace that the Lord bestows upon his people during these Mercy Nights! I can’t exactly place my finger on it, but somewhere, somehow in the musical harmony, the beauty of the candles, the compassion offered in the Mercy Groups, the providential discernment of the Joy Box and Worry Box, and the vulnerability of the persons offering their testimonies that the Lord comes to us in a powerful way! In a word? Freedom. I see that the people have the freedom to adore in silence, to worship in song, to seek support from their brethren through the prayer for one another. To be vulnerable, to be intimate and to be in love. I’m so blessed to have been a part of this and I’m falling in love with the charisms that have come to the Church through the Emmanuel Community, and I’m falling deeper in love with the Lord Jesus. To Him be praise, glory and adoration forever and for ages unending! Amen!”
Deacon Daniel R. Peterson
Archdiocese of Newark
Ordination to the Priesthood in May 2016
Glory to God and thank you for this witness, Daniel.