The priests and parishioners at St. Raymond’s parish in Downey, California staged an “Occupy Christmas” event at a busy local mall where they fell on their knees in the middle of the mall and began to reverence the Eucharist.

The flash mob, which can be seen on YouTube, shows Fr. John Higgins, pastor of St. Raymond’s, gathering the faithful around him in the mall, then exposing the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance. The crowd burst into Christmas carols and fell to their knees, with shoppers pausing to witness the rare sight.

Father Higgins, who is celebrating his 30th year in the priesthood, is known to be solidly pro-life and to stress the need to bring God back into every aspect of life, including the local community. He is particularly devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, which is why he decided to “co opt” the “Occupy” theme and stage a flash mob at nearby Stonewood mall.

As one blogger wrote on Gateway Pundit, “This event may not be earth shattering news, but a religious flash mob held in a mall in uber progressive California is definitely something you don’t see everyday.”

Even the self-proclaimed non-devout liked the idea. “Love it!,” commented one reader named “PJ.” “And I’m not even devout, just hate leftist speech codes.”

“It’s nice to see something positive for once,” another reader named Galt wrote, then added: “I’m surprised the mall allowed it.”

The faithful were even more impressed. “Oh my goodness” exclaimed “Scub” on the California Catholic Daily website. “I just watched the ‘Eucharistic Adoration flash mob.’ It brought tears of joy to my eyes… and brought me to my knees. What a wonderful celebration of Christ.”

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