Rev. Donald J. Planty Jr.: The Four Pillars of the Christian Life

By Rev. Donald J. Planty Jr., First Things, Jan. 1, 2024

Rev. Donald J. Planty Jr. is the pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Parish in Arlington, Virginia.

Something extraordinary happened at my parish recently. Two hundred young adults gathered with our bishop and several priests to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our weekly “P3” apostolate. “P3” stands for “Prayer, Penance, and Pub”: Every Wednesday evening for the past decade we have offered young adults an hour and a half of eucharistic exposition, during which they can pray and go to confession. A priest or guest speaker then gives a thirty-minute meditation, followed by social time at our own parish “pub.” While we can’t offer metrics of grace, we can calculate that, over the past ten years, we have offered young adults: 750 hours of quiet prayer time in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament; 25,000 confessions; 500 meditations; and 1,000 hours of pub time fellowship, with a total attendance of 35,000. …