A
augieboo
Guest
Last weekend I attended a “Come and See” event with the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, an order of priests which, among other things, runs St. Vincent De Paul parish in Holiday, Florida.
It wasn’t a retreat, per se, in that there was no set agenda for the weekend. On Friday, I had dinner with the three priests who run the parish. Afterward the four of us sat and talked about their order, my vocation, and the priesthood in general for a couple hours. The rest of the weekend I just hung out, chatted with whichever of them was not busy at a given time, and did whatever I wanted when they were all occupied. I attended five Masses, prayed the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Novena with some cute little old ladies, took pictures for a family having two children baptized, helped one of the priests with a computer problem, helped with repeated (unsuccessful) attempts to find and fix a gremlin in the church sound system, went to some kid’s high school graduation party in the parish hall, and the like.
About the order:
The Congregation was started in France by Saint Peter Julian Eymard. St. Peter Julian was ordained as a Marist (SM) priest, but developed such a strong devotion to Christ in the Eucharist that he wound up leaving the Marists to found an order specifically devoted to the Most Blessed Sacrament. (The order retains a strong devotion to Mary.)
So, how does this devotion to the Blessed Sacrament play out in the life of the order? Well, there are six Blessed Sacrament-run parishes with websites. Here is the name of each, along with their times for Eucharistic Exposition & Adoration:
St. Charles Borromeo, Albuquerque:
All Weekdays
St. Vincent DePaul, Florida:
**Monday - Friday: 11 AM - Noon
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
First Friday: All day 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. **
Corpus Christi, Houston:
Monday & Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
St. Andrew’s, Manhatten:
**1:30 - 5:00 p.m. daily **
St. Jean Baptiste, Manhatten:
All hours of the day except during Masses,
St. Paschal Baylon, Cleveland:
Working toward perpetual adoration, 365 days per year!
More stuff they do:
The Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing – “The CEE has as its mission the creation and promotion of adult-education programs and resources that assist Catholic adults in deepening their understanding and appreciation of the fullness of the Eucharistic mystery.”
“The LITE (Life in the Eucharist) movement is an officially-sanctioned ministry of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a worldwide movement comprised of laity, religious, and clergy who commit themselves to empowering Catholics to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Eucharistic Mystery.”
They have written quite a few books, especially on the Eucharist.
They maintain shrines to St. Anne, (mother of our Blessed Mother), in Cleveland and New York.
They publish Emmanuel Magazine, the only periodical entirely devoted to Eucharistic Spirituality.
Vocation Info:
Priestly Vocations – blessedsacrament.com/vocation/
Brother Anthony’s Blog – blessedsacrament.com/blog
Blessed Sacrament Sisters – blesacrament.org/
It wasn’t a retreat, per se, in that there was no set agenda for the weekend. On Friday, I had dinner with the three priests who run the parish. Afterward the four of us sat and talked about their order, my vocation, and the priesthood in general for a couple hours. The rest of the weekend I just hung out, chatted with whichever of them was not busy at a given time, and did whatever I wanted when they were all occupied. I attended five Masses, prayed the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Novena with some cute little old ladies, took pictures for a family having two children baptized, helped one of the priests with a computer problem, helped with repeated (unsuccessful) attempts to find and fix a gremlin in the church sound system, went to some kid’s high school graduation party in the parish hall, and the like.
About the order:
The Congregation was started in France by Saint Peter Julian Eymard. St. Peter Julian was ordained as a Marist (SM) priest, but developed such a strong devotion to Christ in the Eucharist that he wound up leaving the Marists to found an order specifically devoted to the Most Blessed Sacrament. (The order retains a strong devotion to Mary.)
So, how does this devotion to the Blessed Sacrament play out in the life of the order? Well, there are six Blessed Sacrament-run parishes with websites. Here is the name of each, along with their times for Eucharistic Exposition & Adoration:
St. Charles Borromeo, Albuquerque:
All Weekdays
St. Vincent DePaul, Florida:
**Monday - Friday: 11 AM - Noon
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
First Friday: All day 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. **
Corpus Christi, Houston:
Monday & Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
St. Andrew’s, Manhatten:
**1:30 - 5:00 p.m. daily **
St. Jean Baptiste, Manhatten:
All hours of the day except during Masses,
St. Paschal Baylon, Cleveland:
Working toward perpetual adoration, 365 days per year!
More stuff they do:
The Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing – “The CEE has as its mission the creation and promotion of adult-education programs and resources that assist Catholic adults in deepening their understanding and appreciation of the fullness of the Eucharistic mystery.”
“The LITE (Life in the Eucharist) movement is an officially-sanctioned ministry of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a worldwide movement comprised of laity, religious, and clergy who commit themselves to empowering Catholics to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Eucharistic Mystery.”
They have written quite a few books, especially on the Eucharist.
They maintain shrines to St. Anne, (mother of our Blessed Mother), in Cleveland and New York.
They publish Emmanuel Magazine, the only periodical entirely devoted to Eucharistic Spirituality.
(follow link for more about their Mission.)
Vocation Info:
Priestly Vocations – blessedsacrament.com/vocation/
Brother Anthony’s Blog – blessedsacrament.com/blog
Blessed Sacrament Sisters – blesacrament.org/