Our Pastoral Plan: Eucharist

Our collaborative is beginning to implement our new three-year Pastoral Plan with three main priorities: Respecting Life, Vocations and the Eucharist. All three are very important in their own unique way, but I am most interested in the Eucharist priority because it is the core of our Catholic life. I am reflecting on the importance of the Eucharist and how my relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist continues to deepen. 

We can all probably remember certain parts of our First Holy Communion.  I recall mine especially the excitement in choosing a special dress and veil, and shopping with my grandmother for my first rosary.  The most important part was finally being able to receive the Holy Eucharist at Mass.  This was a major a rite of passage in my Catholic family, but I wonder if I could really comprehend the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?  Thankfully with time, the guidance of my parents and good spiritual direction, I have developed a profound love for the Eucharist and recognize its importance in my life.   

Our collaborative focus on the Eucharist presents all of us with an excellent opportunity to reflect and deepen our understanding. The Eucharist is the very center of Catholicism. The true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist sets us apart from all other religions and I am hopeful that special attention on the Eucharist will help us all grow deeper in our faith. 

There are six goals in the Eucharist priority. They were thoughtfully created by our parish priests and deacons, and the pastoral council, to help us grow deeper in our understanding and love of the Eucharist. They are as follows: 

1. Introduce 75-100 people who have never prayed in Eucharistic Adoration to this devotion and have them pray a Holy Hour in Eucharistic Adoration by the end of 2024.   
2. Undertake an evaluation, using the norms of the Church and the experience of the people, of our celebrations of the Eucharist and Eucharistic devotions in year 1 to ensure they reflect the beauty and dignity of Christ's real presence and make 3-5 changes, as needed, annually over years 2 and 3 of this plan.   
3. Identify and prepare 15-25 parishioners from each parish during year 1 to give Eucharistic witness talks during years 2 and 3 of this plan.   
4. Send 4-6 members of our parishes to the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis, IN who will return to our parishes as Eucharistic Missionaries.   
5. Present 2-3 annual opportunities to learn about the Mass.   
6. Annually increase the number of people attending Mass by 5% based on the October Mass counts.  

The one goal that really excites me is introducing parishioners to Eucharistic Adoration. Eucharistic Adoration was rarely offered where I grew up in St. Louis and I only attended adoration a few times before my adult life.  When my oldest two children were in high school, they were involved with a Life Teen program that offered Eucharistic Adoration several times a year. One particular evening, parents were invited to join their children. In preparation, the presiding priest told us the only thing we should feel during this hour is love of Christ. I sat alone and quietly prayed. What I did not expect was to experience a profound feeling of Jesus’ love and the tears began to flow. I think this is when I truly felt the absolute true presence of Christ beaming out before me. I don’t know why that day was different from any other time I have sat in Eucharistic Adoration, but it changed me and the depth of my faith. 

I feel called to tell people how blessed we are to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. I invite you to take part in some aspect of the Eucharist priority with me and others in our collaborative. I hope you will come to Eucharistic Adoration. Join us for Mass each Sunday. Watch the bulletin for special events and make the choice to attend. The door is open wide for all of us. Our shared faith in the Eucharist makes us unique among all Christian faiths. It is why, without a doubt, I call myself Catholic. 

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