The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church (Part 1)
On this Father’s Day, we remember all fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, stepfathers, Priest-Fathers, all who have a paternal role and God the Father, who sent His Son to save us. Although His bodily, earthly life ended 2,000 years ago, Jesus remains with us in every way He promised: in the least of His brothers and sisters; in the sacred Scriptures; in those Ordained to lead and feed His Church; and in the Sacraments; above all, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of His Most Holy Body and Blood: His presence ‘par excellence!’ US Catholic Bishops’ started three-year National Eucharistic Revival, which aims to renew devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, culminates with a National Eucharistic Congress, July 17-21, 2024, and ends on Pentecost 2025. On March 27, 2020, at an early point in the global pandemic, Pope Francis walked alone in the rain across an empty St. Peter’s Square to offer prayer for the world in a time of crisis. On that day, Pope Francis presided over the rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction in order to focus our attention on the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope was reminding us that even in a time of turbulence and crisis, Jesus is present among us, as present as he was long ago in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. (To be continued…) Happy Father’s Day!