Debra Rony
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a beautiful way for the faithful to pray, meditate, and praise the Lord for all that He has done for us in our lives and for the world. Fr. Ian Van Heusen, Parochial Vicar at St. Bernadette’s Church in Fuquay-Varina, has a passion for what he calls “the art of worship”. For the second time this year he organized an evening of praise and worship Holy Hour on Saturday, November 5th, 2017. Dana Catherine, a Christian recording artist and friend of Fr. Ian, provided the live music as Fr. Ian led the people in reflection and spontaneous prayer. Many people commented on the reverence and peacefulness of the evening and that the contemporary Christian song choices were inspiring and they were able to sing along. Hearts were moved and filled with the love, joy, and peace that accompanies being in the presence of the Lord. I sat down with Fr. Ian to discuss his future plans for this type of Adoration and what inspired him to bring it to our Diocese. He said that he participated in praise and worship Holy Hour in Philadelphia and a few other areas and wanted to introduce it to our smaller communities in order to raise awareness of Catholic art and how it can be incorporated into liturgical celebrations. Praise and worship is also a celebration that we, as Catholic Charismatics, believe in strongly. One of Fr. Ian’s goals is to bridge the charismatic and orthodox sides of the Catholic Church; combining praise and worship with Adoration is a great way to do that! He anticipates having additional Holy Hour Adoration a few times a year in different areas and parishes including St. Joseph’s in Raleigh and also parishes in Fayetteville and Wilmington. He adds that he “realizes that some people have more of a leaning towards contemporary Christian music while others enjoy the more traditional music” and he plans on offering both styles to accommodate different musical tastes. He has also worked in youth ministry and recently held a retreat in which he incorporated praise and worship music as part of the retreat and he hopes to inspire other priests and young seminarians to do the same. In addition to his love of praise and worship, he also embraces other types of art like videography. His website has his own videos and commentaries with catholic teaching, inspirational messages, and articles covering a wide range of topics regarding spirituality and faith. He keeps up with national trends in the Catholic Church and he wants to use all forms of Catholic art to inform, inspire, and illuminate us. His website entitled “The Art of Living Well” is a great forum for doing this so be sure to check it out at www.ianvanheusen.com. The next Adoration Hour he has planned with Dana Catherine right now is tentatively scheduled at St. Bernadette’s in May 2017. Then there may be two more at other locations in June 2017 and July 2017. It should also be noted that Dana Catherine is scheduled to appear at the Ignited by Truth Conference in March 2017. Her first album, “Glorious Horizons”, was released in September 2015 and is working on a new album. Her single, “My Savior in Me”, can be found on Amazon, iTunes, and Spotify. If you are interested in contracting Dana for an event please visit her website at www.danacatherinemusic.com.
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