Help with "Re-Focus on the Eucharist"

[jaikin01]

My Parish is putting together a program to help our Catholic brothers and sisters in our community return the focus of our lives to the Eucharist. We are going to run this program for a few months to help inspire people to dive a little deeper into their faith. We are still in the planning phases, but our intentions at this point are to have a guest speaker (or two), to have some sort of parish festival/cookout in which we can display the Vatican Exhibit on the “Eucharistic Miracles Around the World” which (hopefully) will bring our parish families together for the sole purpose of spending time together learning about Jesus and our Church outside of Mass, and we intend to provide CDs and booklets in the back of Church of talks on the Eucharist.

What I’m asking is, does anyone have any ideas for some other things we can do for this program? Whether it’s ideas on activities, or resources, or fun things to get our parishioners involved outside of Mass…I don’t know! We need as many creative, fun, and/or resourceful ideas as possible! Hope someone can help!

 

[InternetWoman]

Pope John Paul II wrote an entire encyclical on the Eucharist (ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA). It’s opening line is “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.” So perhaps some way to let folks know of this wonderful document? It is only 28 pages long (excluding foot notes), fewer pages if you make the font smaller! So could you afford to give everyone one a copy?

You can find it at:

vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_20030417_ecclesia_eucharistia_en.html

 

[paperwight66]

we can display the Vatican Exhibit on the “Eucharistic Miracles Around the World”

I love all of your ideas except that one, I’m sorry to say. It’s difficult to explain why. It’s something to do with being uneasy when the impression is given that the Presence is physical, rather than Real, as the church teaches. I’m afraid that any claims that the Host bleeds or, worse, is composed of actual heart muscle rings alarm bells, and would make me walk right out again.

 

[puzzleannie]

What I’m asking is, does anyone have any ideas for some other things we can do for this program? Whether it’s ideas on activities, or resources, or fun things to get our parishioners involved outside of Mass…I don’t know! We need as many creative, fun, and/or resourceful ideas as possible! Hope someone can help!

well the priest should be the one directing this and coming up with thise ideas, and of course has to buy into them since the all mean the greatest effort is on his part

a little late to plan but a Corpus Christi procession, maybe for next year to culminate the program

Forty Hours Devotion midway through the program

one of your chief aims should be to establish adoration, at set hours if not perpetual, in your parish and draw more people to participate.

regular Holy Hours with exposition, adoration and benediction during the process

commemorate the Holy Days of obligation with more emphasis than you may have in the past with Holy Hour after the evening Mass

make sure these are all publicized and involve existing parish groups, perhaps giving each specific responsibilities

you don’t want this to sound like a small select special interest group is dictating to the rest of the parish or running the show

every group that meets regularly should, if they don’t all participate in the program directly, have some programming that fits in with your agenda
special presentations to confirmation and first communion candidates, suited to age and readiness
special presentations to RCIA candidates, and make sure they are invited to everything that you have planned

one thing that has worked well here to draw people in gradually to hearing a short, mild spiritual message that awakens their hunger for something deeper, is our dinner and a movie nights.
the meals are simple, burgers, hot dogs, spaghetting, chili etc that can be served quickly, the Diocese and parish library have good short videos on lives of the saints and other topics that are entertaining as well as instructional and spiritually uplifting, and there are general discussion questions for table talk during dessert, which is served after the movie (which is 30-60 minutes, never longer).

everybody stays for dessert because they are fabulous, made by a parish group that does nothing else except bake for these events. and ticket cost is nominal just covers cost of food. There are also children’s plates cheaper (nuggets etc) and a children’s video just for them.

I see a gradual increase in families enrolling for CCD, coming to other programs, parcticipating in outreach and apostolates and most of all mass attendance since these started–and it was done by volunteers, not parish staff. Most of all and that is my point, attendance at novenas, prayer vigils and holy hours is increasing as a result, because they are publicized at these events, not merely from the pulpit.

 

[jaikin01]

Thank you! These are fantastic ideas. The group heading this task is a parish group called the Evangelization Team. It is spearheaded by one of our priests, so rest assured he is the guy in charge! We wanted to get out and see what other parishes around the country have done or what other Catholics might have suggested. These are wonderful ideas. I will bring them to the table for sure.

As far as the issue with believing the Eucharistic Miracles… I think that’s a topic to discuss in a different thread! I won’t get into much detail about it, so I’ll make this quick. I can only challenge you to look into what it is. The Vatican has put together a wonderful exhibition of over 140 panels of Eucharistic Miracles around the world, separated by country. Many of them are Miracles that occurred in people’s lives that pertained to being a direct result of the Eucharist, whether through prayer, consumption, what have you. Not all are dealing with (in fact most are not) the host physically turning into flesh and blood. However…Whether it is disturbing or off-putting or not, it is a very powerful realization of the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The University of Notre Dame did a study, and those surveyed showed I believe 80% practicing Catholics who thought it was merely symbolic. So it is important to show in many ways that we believe it truly is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus.
And to those who would visit and say they had a problem with what that particular exhibition was displaying, I would simply ask them to read very thoroughly John chapter 6, particularly verse 66. It’s not that we want to disturb anyone. The material is presented in a very glorifying way, and quite easy for children to understand. We have seen it done in other parishes, and it was quite a moving and welcoming experience to Catholics who attend Mass, and those who have fallen away.

 

[puzzleannie]

since the purpose of the Eucharistic miracles, like all miracles, is first and foremost do demonstrate that Jesus is who he says he is and to awaken and strengthen the faith of the recipient and immediate witnesses, I certainly think there is a place for this part of the program. I would not make it the be all and end all, and I still think all on the team need to share the priest’s vision for what fruit you expect to come from the effort. I have known so many people, particularly converts from non-Catholic denoms whose biggest stumbling block has been the Real Presence, awed and moved by exposure to documentaries on the Eucharistic miracles, so I won’t knock it. As an introduction or simply a draw to get people to participate sounds like a good place to start.