Year of the Eucharist

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 10/7/04)

This coming week the universal Church sets further "into the deep" with the commencement of the Year of the Eucharist. Pope John Paul II has dedicated the year — from Oct. 10, 2004, with the start of the World Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, to October 2005, when the Synod of Bishops will consider the theme "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church" — to "contemplating with greater perseverance" the "center of the Church’s life."

At the 30th anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington this past August, I expressed my hope that in this coming year, we would become ever more a diocesan church whose heart is Eucharistic.

Now, at the formal outset of this year, I am encouraging all of our laity, consecrated men and women, deacons and priests to make the "Year of the Eucharist" the unifying blueprint for our many pastoral projects.

How will this blueprint — this focus on the "source and summit of all Christian life" — renew our families, parishes, schools, and ministries? What will happen when we find Him?

Our Holy Father identifies three fruits that I pray we will taste throughout our diocese, from the "domestic churches" of our many families to our 66 parishes, 43 Catholic schools (39 diocesan, four private), and many diocesan initiatives: growth in the "art of prayer," a heightening of our "standard of Christian living," and our living out of the "new evangelization."

First, the "Year of the Eucharist" will strengthen and deepen our prayer life if we take practical steps to make adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and regular celebration of the Eucharist even more the very fabric of our lives. How aware are we that Christ is truly, really and uniquely present in the Eucharist? Seek Him throughout this coming year, and you shall find Him afresh!

Secondly, the "Year of the Eucharist" will heighten our "standard of Christian living" in ways we cannot imagine. How is the Eucharist connected to our daily lives, to our answering of His call to holiness? By the Eucharist, we are "fed" and "enlightened," transformed as individuals into a clearer image of Christ. In turn, the Eucharist "leads us to a love for our neighbor, to a love for every human being" (Dominicae Cenae 6). Draw near to Him throughout this coming year, and you will find Him anew!

Finally, the "Year of the Eucharist" has the potential to transform us more fully into "missionaries of the Eucharist" for the new evangelization. As Our Holy Father has said, "[A]nyone who encounters Christ in the Eucharist cannot fail to proclaim through his or her life the merciful love the Redeemer" (World Mission Sunday 2). Seek Him in the coming year, and become the missionary of His Presence to a needy world.

As one encouraging example of this blueprint in action, our Diocesan Office of Youth Ministry will put the Eucharist at the center of its initiatives for the approximately 15,000 young people actively involved in our parishes’ youth ministry programs. The theme "Get Real — the Real Presence" will be the central theme for the upcoming year’s Youth Rally, Junior High Bash, WorkCamp and other events. Through this focus, our youths will continue to inspire us with their contagious and personal experience of living and grappling with the faith.

Following the lead of our youths, then, let us all endeavor to become a Church whose heart is Eucharistic. Parents, is there a creative way in which you can foster a deeper love and awareness of the Eucharist in your family life? Priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and lay-leaders of our parish-based and diocesan ministries, how can our pastoral projects be more rooted in the Eucharist?

And finally, aware that October is the month of the Rosary and that Oct. 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, let us all contemplate the Eucharist ever more "with the eyes of Mary," for as our Holy Father has said, "Gazing upon Mary, we come to know that transforming power present in the Eucharist."

We are a Eucharistic people. May we ever more deeply find Christ truly present in the Eucharist and thereby may we ever more authentically be His Church in this time and in this place. Amen! Alleluia!

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