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that on Corpus Christi Sunday the Bishops of the United States initiated a three-year program to increase understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist?

This will be a three-year grassroots (parish) revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of JESUS in the Eucharist! The Bishops believe that God wants to see “a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with JESUS in the Eucharist and sent out in mission ‘for the life of the world’!”

Catholic churches are not ‘worship centers’ which stand empty until worshippers enter the building – they are “Presence centers,” where the Eucharistic Lord remains, tabernacled, as the still, quiet Center of the Parish’s life and ministry.

(It is for this reason that we Catholics make the Sign of the Cross and utter a short prayer of thanksgiving whenever we pass a Catholic church – we are always gratefully aware of His Presence in our midst!) 

Consider that our Lord’s Eucharistic Presence is the fulfillment of His promise: “I am with you always, even to the consummation of the ages!”

We, as a Parish, will want to consider ways to increase devotion of the Eucharist; certainly by offering more opportunities for Adoration and other special liturgies, which will help us to deepen our understanding of the Gift of His Presence!

We will be sharing the resources available, through our website, as well as offering some studies on the Eucharist, in the coming months!

St. Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787) once lamented: “So many Communions; so little spiritual progress!” The Saint said that the reason that we don’t get the full benefit of our Communions is two-fold: Lack of preparation, and lack of follow-through!

Do we adequately prepare for our reception of Holy Communion? Are we spiritually prepared to welcome Christ into the center of our lives? Have we made a sincere examine of our conscience and availed ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we are not in a state of grace?

Do we follow-through – that is, do we let Christ live in us and through us, in our dispositions, attitudes, priorities? Do those around us recognize Christ in us “for the life of the world”?

With all of the extra “helps”, to our devotion and understanding, that we will be receiving in the next three years, let’s make this Eucharistic renewal a time of personal renewal!

Please avail yourself of the opportunity to make visits to the Eucharistic Lord – the Divine Mercy Chapel is open 24/7 – the code for the keypad is: 1958. He is waiting!

“For this a man ought to suffer anything and everything, rather than divide the Church of God, and it is no less glorious to incur martyrdom to avoid schism than to avoid idolatry; in fact, in my opinion, it is more so. For in one case a man is a martyr for the same of his own single soul, but to avoid schism, for the same of the whole Church.”





                                                                                                         

                                                                                - St. Dionysius of Alexandria (+265)

This Week’s Question: “Are there any ‘official’ translations of the Mass in Native American languages?”

The answer to last week’s Question: “What is devotion to the ‘Infant of Prague’?”  This is a devotion that has evolved from the gift of an eighteen-inch wooden statue of the Child JESUS to a community of Carmelite Friars in Prague in 1655. The figure’s left hand holds a globe surmounted by a cross and its right hand is raised in blessing. It represents both the Kingship of Christ and Holy Childhood. (A statue of the Infant of Prague is venerated in our Good Shepherd Mission.) One of the most important expressions of this devotion is that of the Santo Niño de Cebu, widely venerated by Filipino Catholics. It is the oldest Christian artifact in the Philippines, originally a gift from explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Rajah Humabon in honor of his Christian baptism in 1521.  A beautiful copy of the Santo Niño de Cebu was given by our parishioners to mark the 500th Anniversary of the Evangelization of the Philippines and is enshrined in the Gathering Room of our church!

(If you would like to be as well-informed as the “Quiz Master” – pick up a copy of the Catholic Source Book, available in the Parish Office, for only $25!)