Jesus, the Eucharist

(Need a refresher on Adoration?  View this: A Beginner’s Guide to Eucharistic Adoration – Busted Halo  Having a booklet like this one, may help. For younger children, view this video.)

How does Eucharistic Adoration change lives?  Joel Stepanek, Chief Mission Officer for the National Eucharistic Revival shared how over the span of four years Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist changed his and those of others…

“I was fourteen years old when I experienced the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, and I found refuge in the peace of Christ that accompanies his presence. In the midst of the many challenges, frustrations, changes, and general anxieties that being a freshman in high school presented, I simply sat at his feet.

“It was during the winter retreat my parish youth ministry hosted, and, prior to lunch, the priest exposed the Blessed Sacrament and invited us to pray as long as we liked. After several minutes, other teenagers began to slowly leave to go to lunch. I stayed. I felt like I found a safe haven in the storms of life. I didn’t want to go. 

“But, as a freshman boy, eventually my stomach made it clear that it was time to leave and eat. I left at the same time an upperclassman, Brent, was walking out. 

“Brent had no idea who I was, but I knew him. He was so much of what I wanted to be—wrestling team captain, faithful disciple, well-spoken and well-liked. He was moral, strong, and lived his faith boldly. We started to speak as we walked to lunch together.

““It’s so wild,” he said to me, “I don’t even know you, but we just spent time together in prayer and it’s like, we’re brothers, you know?” 

“The Eucharist is powerful because when we gather around the Eucharist, we don’t gather around a symbol—we gather around a person. Yes, Brent and I shared a quiet moment of prayer in Eucharistic Adoration, but later we would even partake in receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and be united in the Body of Christ in a profound way. 

“That retreat changed my life.

“Three years passed, and I was a senior in high school—a wrestling team captain, deeply involved in my youth group, and trying to confront the struggles of living your faith while in high school. I walked quietly into the sanctuary space of our parish alongside many others. 

“We were there to grieve Pfc. Brent T. Vroman, who was killed on December 13, 2004, while serving as a marine in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The community lost a son, a brother, a friend, and a soldier. People wept and held each other as we prayed. 

“And yet, in the center of that moment, there was the Eucharist. Jesus’ presence was with us—and in his presence there is peace. There is hope. The funeral Mass for Brent was profoundly moving, the source and summit of our faith, and I remembered that moment from three years prior. 

““It’s like, we’re brothers.”

“Yes, and much more.

“The Eucharist stood in the middle of these moments for me.  These moments reminded me how Jesus Christ, in the Blessed Sacrament, stands in every moment. He is the through line—the peace in the storms. He is the beginning and the end, the source and the summit. 

“As we walk the many roads of life, we do not walk alone. There is a traveling companion who is also our home. There is a place from which we go and always return. It is the Eucharistic sacrifice—Jesus present to us in the Blessed Sacrament—who promises to be with us always as we run the race… even to the last breath we take.”

To read more testimonies, go to www.youtube.com/catholiccourier

Do you know Jesus?   The Church needs revival!  Studies show that only 33% of all who identify as Catholic believe in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist.  Not a believer?  Watch this: TVR | Exploring the Greatest Eucharistic Miracles with Michael O’Neill, The Miracle Hunter V2. – YouTube 

We are in our second of three years of Eucharistic Revival.   It has 4 main goals.  Our diocese has created a website for regional growth and celebration.   Plans are being made to offer local growth and celebration opportunities.  The elements of the Parish Year:  fostering Eucharistic devotion, strengthening our liturgical life through faithful celebration of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, missions, resources, preaching, and organic movements of the Holy Spirit.” 

We must remember that grace comes to us through the Sacraments!  Forgiveness requires repentance.  (Jesus’s first recorded word in the Gospels is “Repent!”  Use a daily examination of conscience to help you to know how often to seek Reconciliation.)  Also, without absolution of sin there is no communion.  Our life with Jesus — His passion, death and resurrection — began with our Baptisms.  Are we uniting our sufferings with His at the foot of the Cross?  Are we being fed in Word, Sacrament and Service?  

This is an introduction to the Eucharistic Revival.    Participation means being Christ-like and celebrating the Sacraments!  Use this QR code to get involved.  Subscribe to the National Eucharistic Revival newsletter.  Podcasts.  Blogs.  Create an account to access a library of free video content.  Let the stories of the Saints help you “encounter Jesus in the Eucharist and go on mission with him for the life of the world.” On Formed, courses like “Presence, The Mystery of the Eucharist“can be found.  Or let Bishop Andrew Cozzens break open “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.”  Access more about the National Eucharistic Revival on its pages at Instagram, Facebook & YouTube.

A series of materials guiding you to make a local pilgrimage are available at our worship sites, or by contacting Patty Larzelere.  The NYS Eucharistic Congress will be 10/20-22/23 at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs, Auriesville, NY.  Ride the charter buses if only going on 10/21 with the people from Sts. Mary & Matthew, Honeyoe (GetOnTheBus#3Bulletin) or Blessed Trinity  www.blessed-trinity-parish.org/pilgrimage/ 

Why attend the National Eucharistic Congress?  Reserve your space now to attend (7/17-21/24)  Speakers are being assigned to address various tracks.  Find yours at Track Options – National Eucharistic Congress