One day in early September of this year, a 21-year-old daily Mass-goer at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Angola decided to make another good confession and received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For years, this young man had also frequently spent time adoring the Eucharistic Lord at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Fort Wayne. Moreover, he would regularly invite people to join him in this prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Hundreds of men fill the pews at St. Vincent de Paul Church on the evening of Monday, December 2. More than 500 of the men committed to attend one hour of Eucharistic adoration per month in 2025. Ben Kurtzweg didn’t know at the time that this confession he made on that September day would be his last. The actuarial science major at Trine University accidentally fell to the ground when a second-floor balcony rail at his Kappa Sigma fraternity home gave way, leading to critical traumatic brain injuries that would claim his life, according to Father Daniel Scheidt, the pastor at St. Vincent de Paul who administered viaticum to Ben before he died. Father Scheidt noted that his detailed review with Ben’s parents, Eric and Missy, of video of the balcony rail collapse shows no horseplay or anything unusual, just a seemingly normal conversation interrupted instantly by a tragic accident. Father Scheidt believes, however, that what the Holy Spirit is now accomplishing through Ben’s life and witness is no accident. Staff members at St. Vincent recently came to Father Scheidt with a strange suggestion that was the fruit of their prayer. Discerning that more adorers were needed for the nighttime hours at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene, they proposed to Father Scheidt that he simply invite all the men of the parish to come to church on a day and at an hour there would be a minimum of excuses to get out of: 10 p.m. on a Monday night. For two weeks – in parish announcements at Mass, communication through parish organizations, and St. Vincent’s social media postings – there was just the simple invitation issued to the men of St. Vincent’s to come to church at 10 p.m. on Monday, December 2. No further details were provided, just the mysterious affirmation that this was the first time in his 23 years of priestly ministry that Father Scheidt had ever made such a request. The buzz of questions and speculations was immediate. Was this a type of “fight club” request? Were the men being summoned to war? Was this an internet hoax? As a result of the simple request, on December 2 at 10 p.m., St. Vincent de Paul Church was packed – with men standing in the back of the church. Father Scheidt said more than 1,000 men “came in pure faith,” filling the church. Father Scheidt told the men that the prophecy made to Ezekiel has come true in a new way for them: “Son of Man, I have made you a watchman” (Ez 3:17). Provided by St. Vincent de Paul ChurchBen Kurtzweg is seen after joyfully serving the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage procession through Michigan City on July 4. Kurtzweg’s devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and his death in September, has inspired hundreds of men at St. Vincent Parish in Fort Wayne to commit themselves to becoming Eucharistic adorers. Father Scheidt shared with the men who came to St. Vincent that night the story of Ben Kurtzweg’s last ordinary night, before his mortal life was asked of him. Father Scheidt noted that Ben freely chose to become a “watchman” in his prayerful commitment to Eucharistic adoration as the fruit of his sacramental life of faith. Ben had also been the crucifer of the Eucharistic procession through Michigan City in July as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. At the conclusion of that Monday evening of prayer, each man received a holy card with an image of St. Joseph on it. The inscription notes that St. Joseph adores the Lord Jesus by “working by day” and “watching by night.” The reverse side of the holy card renews Christ’s exhortation: “Keep watch! For you do not know the day nor the hour of My return” (Mt 25:13), followed by a pledge for each man to make: “Knowing neither the day nor the hour of his final return to the Father, Benjamin Joseph Kurtzweg (March 28, 2003-September 18, 2024) prioritized adoring the Lord Jesus in the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene and courageously invited others to join him. From and for the gift of Ben’s life and mission, I join the men of St. Vincent’s and beyond in keeping my prayerful watch with Christ at the Oratory one day each month of 2025.” At writing, about 500 men have made a commitment to cover an hour a month in 2025 in the Oratory during the darkest hours of the night, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Father Scheidt is convinced that this initiative is “from the heart of God and will draw multitudes” of men, young and old, to find a place where they can be in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and discern His plan for their lives. Father Dan Scheidt, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Fort Wayne, holds the monstrance during an evening of prayer and adoration on Monday, December 2. Father Scheidt shared with the men the story he recently heard from a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Father John Riccardo, who had a very clear vision of what visiting an adoration chapel means. During a building project at his parish, Father Riccardo noted a construction trailer on the property. Each day, the workers would stop there first and then return to it again and again throughout the workday, even stopping there before leaving for home. Speaking with the foreman of the project about what was going on inside of the trailer, Father Riccardo was told, “That’s where the plans are!” The workers go in and out of the trailer to find out what the plans are and to assess their work again and again in view of them. Father Riccardo noted that just as Noah had to receive the plans for the Ark from the Lord, and Moses had to receive the plans for the Tabernacle sanctuary from God, each person who comes before the Eucharistic Lord in adoration can do so to discern Christ’s plans for their life. When asked about the abiding fruit of the grace-filled Monday night of more than a thousand men gathering at St. Vincent’s church and the hundreds of commitments to Eucharistic adoration that sprung from it, Father Scheidt prophesied: “We have just begun to witness the ongoing miracle of a growing multitude of watchmen claiming the first and last hours of each day for discerning the Lord’s plan for their lives, their families and friendships, our Church, and our nation. The women of our parish have prayed and fasted for this moment, and it has arrived. Let us begin!” And as for the life and mission of Ben Kurtzweg, Father Scheidt predicted: “At the end of his earthly life, various strangers were given Ben’s organs, including his heart. But the greatest transplant surgeon of them all, Christ the Divine Physician, will give to innumerable people a new share of Ben’s heart to adore the Lord at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene and invite others to join them!” More than a happy ending – a new beginning, indeed. Bethany Beebe, a freelance writer for Today’s Catholic, contributed to this report. The post Men of St. Vincent Invited to Be Christ’s ‘Watchmen’ appeared first on Today's Catholic.