Year of the Eucharist Begins (Click here for full article)

In the most recent edition of the Catholic Courier, you will find the pastoral letter of Bishop Salvatore Matano inaugurating the Year of the Eucharist.  To quote our Bishop from the opening paragraph of his pastoral letter:  “We are quickly advancing toward the 150 ^th anniversary of our Diocese on March 3, 2018, with solemn observances to begin in the Fall of this year, 2017.  (As a side note, I was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rochester on the 100 ^th anniversary of the docese.)  It is my prayer and firm conviction that we make the Most Holy Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the heart and center of our Sesquicentennial Celebration.”

Throughout this Year of the Eucharist, we will seek to encounter the Lord ever more deeply in our Sunday liturgies.  Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, may we gather as a faith community to give thanks to the Lord our God.   We welcome your participation in any of our various liturgical ministries -- serving on our worship leadership team, proclaiming the Word of God as a Lector, serving as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, participating in our music ministry, an altar server, a liturgical greeter at Mass, an usher, or as a family bringing the gifts to the altar. 

During this Year of the Eucharist, may we mindful of how we are Eucharistic Catholics 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The hour on Sunday is the beginning of our discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As is spoken at the dismissal rite at Mass, “Go in Peace, Glorifying the Lord by Your Life.”  The Eucharist calls us to continue to encounter the Lord in the ways we serve and love each other and in all the ways we wash the feet of God’s poor.

Bishop Matano, in his pastoral letter, highlights for us the value of the posture of kneeling that is called for in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.  To that end, we will kneel following the “Lamb of God” in preparation for the reception of Holy Communion.   It goes without saying that if health considerations keep you from kneeling, you are welcome to whatever posture is comfortable for you.   For us who are able to kneel, may we see this as an opportunity to prepare ourselves interiorly to receive the Christ of the Eucharist.

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ highlights the central place of the Eucharist in Christian life, our faith that God becomes present in a real way in ordinary bread and wine.  Christ is present to us.  Each time we come to Mass, we take part in the death and resurrection of the Lord.   “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”  Truly the celebration of the Eucharist is a place and time of grace.

Read Bishop Matano's pastoral letter, The Year of the Eucharist