December 4, 2023

Dear Friends,

Despite the sacrilege committed last week at Holy Rosary Church, keep in mind that we are Eucharistic people.  Jesus dwells in the Eucharist in a special way but He also lives in each person and in our community of faith. As believers we stay awake. We believe that one day the reign of God will enter the hearts of                                                                           everyone, and that evil will be destroyed forever.

What do I do in times of challenges like we experienced last week?  I turn to the Living Word of God. The beautiful Advent readings encourage me to stay awake. The Advent season is observed as a time of special preparation to mark the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a penitential, soul-searching, and spiritual time of reawakening and renewal, preparing us to welcome the “Word Made Flesh.” 

Advent also helps us to recognize the hope the Israelites experienced throughout the Old Testament, especially during the time of the prophets, such as Isaiah. Chapter 40:1 of Isaiah begins with, “Comfort, comfort, my people, says the Lord.” In other words, encourage my people. In the middle of their discouragement, give them courage. Speak tenderly to them. Speak to their hearts. I want to deliver you.

Last weekend we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath. It is the candle of hope. It illuminates the darkness in hearts and reminds us that, even in the midst of uncertainty, we have a sure and steadfast hope in Christ who is our light. May the hope candle be a symbol of the hope that burns brightly within our hearts, a hope that transcends the challenges and difficulties we may face.

Keep the faith; stay awake, pray the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
I pray for you at each daily mass. Pray for me.
                                                                
                                                                                                Fr. Dave                                      

Diocesan Prayer for the Eucharistic Revival
Jesus, Bread of Life and Cup of Salvation, You gave us the gracious gift of the Eucharist.
We give thanks and adore you fully present in the consecrated bread and wine.
Draw us closer to you and one another as we gather in person for Mass. Open us to receive the transforming gift of your great love. Make us new during this time of revival so that our lives will naturally reflect the faith, hope, and love that begin and end in you.  Amen.
  + Immaculate Mary, patron of the Diocese of Portland, pray for us.

Eucharistic Revival 2022-2025
           "My flesh for the life of the world." John 6:51
The Bishops of the United States (USCCB) are calling for a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They believe that God wants to see a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist—and sent out in mission “for the life of the world.” The three years will focus on different levels of Church life and include the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in nearly 50 years.

Mission, Vision, and Goals of the Eucharistic Revival
Mission:
To renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Vision:
A movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist - and sent out in mission "for the life of the world."
Goals:
This Eucharistic Revival seeks to bring together clergy, religious, laity, apostolates, movements, and parish and diocesan leaders to spur momentum, collaboration, and lasting impact for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the U.S. Grounded in prayer and responding to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the National Eucharistic Revival has four primary goals:
 + To provide a more profound encounter with Jesus Christ in the Sunday liturgy as a point of unity among all Catholics, and through this powerful encounter, to find personal healing and courage to take the Gospel to a world in need of authentic love – the love of Christ found in the Eucharist.
+ To spark personal conversions through the joyful discovery of a relationship with Christ by encountering the love of God present in Jesus in the Eucharist.
+ To elevate the truth and practices of our Catholic faith through the rediscovery of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
+ To form, inspire, and launch missionary disciples, filled with love of God and neighbor that comes from an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, to the margins of the Church and the world.

The Eucharist celebrated, received, adored, and lived
Embracing the Eucharist as it is celebrated, received, adored, and lived will guide the Eucharistic Revival in the Diocese of Portland.
+ The Eucharist celebrated focuses on how we celebrate the Mass and encourage parishioners to participate in the liturgy more fully, consciously, and actively.
+ The Eucharist received focuses on individual preparation for personal encounters with Jesus Christ in the Mass, especially ongoing conversion to ever greater faith and devotion through sharing in holy Communion.
+ The Eucharist adored focuses on honoring the Real Presence of Christ outside of Mass
+ The Eucharist lived focuses on people acting as missionary disciples changed by sharing in the Eucharist, cooperating with the Holy Spirit in serving others so the wider community may also be changed by the Father’s gifts of love, mercy, and generosity.

  
 
 

ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL

The Eucharist is the “source and summit of Christian life.” It is where we experience Christ’s love and are nurtured by it. It brings us into an intimate communion with the living God and, as Pope Francis has said, if we embrace that encounter, it transforms “our life into a gift to God and to our brothers."

Through the Eucharist, we are united with Christ and are meant to grow more and more like him. That includes helping us to grow in charity towards others. We are not only called to celebrate, receive, and adore the Eucharist but, also, to live it.

One way we can do that is by giving to the annual Catholic Appeal. The appeal supports programs and ministries around the diocese that embrace the corporal and spiritual works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, instructing the ignorant, and comforting the sorrowful, among others.

 
                    Click Here to Donate