Fr. Roger J. Landry
The Anchor
Editorial
September 6, 2024
The importance of tomorrow’s Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter cannot be overstated. The renewal of the Diocese of Fall River, like the Church in the United States and beyond, always begins, continues, and ends with Jesus, and Jesus is with us by means of the awesome gift of the Holy Eucharist.
The same Jesus who took on our humanity in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was born and adored in Bethlehem, who called, formed, and sent out the apostles, who suffered, died, rose, ascended, and with the Father poured forth the Holy Spirit, remains with us, just as he promised, until the end of time, in his ongoing self-gift in the Blessed Sacrament. He just looks different in his sacramental appearance, humbly hiding himself under the appearance of simple food and drink.
He is with us after the consecration during the celebration of the Mass. He is with us in our tabernacles and monstrances. He is with us in the most wondrous way when we receive him in Holy Communion.
It would be fitting that every edition of this newspaper since its 1957 founding have a huge front page headline above the fold declaring, “Jesus Christ comes to Diocese.” The biggest news that takes place throughout the south coast and the islands on any given day is that the King of the Universe, the One through whom all things were made, the Savior of the human race, the Son of God and Son of Mary, comes from heaven to our Diocese every time Mass is celebrated.
The fact that this miracle happens so routinely, more than 100 times a day within the Diocese, can habituate us to what’s really happening and to how lucky we are. But one day, when the Lord comes for another type of visit, at the end of our life and at the end of time, everyone will recognize just how momentous each Mass is and where the supernatural center of the entire universe has been.
That’s why it’s so fitting and important for the Diocese to have a spectacular celebration of the Lord Jesus in the sacrament of his love. A month and a half after the extraordinary National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, in which 60,000 people came together to celebrate the Eucharistic Lord, the faithful of the Diocese will fill the former Bishop Connolly High School to capacity in order to celebrate the same Lord.
After Indianapolis, the “mission” phase of the National Eucharistic Revival commenced, in which those in attendance and beyond committed themselves to try to accompany people one-by-one back to the Lord. There are four stages in this phase: Eucharistic encounter, Eucharistic identity, Eucharistic life, and Eucharistic mission.
Everything begins with encountering the Eucharistic Lord, which means more than simply being in his presence or bumping into him, like many did in the Gospel without faith. It means recognizing him, believing in him, receiving his love and adoring and loving him in return. Tomorrow’s Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter is meant to help everyone — from perpetual adorers to seekers — meet Jesus in this way.
We can never take such encounters for granted. Many fallen away Catholics made their First Communion and regularly practiced the faith for a time, but never really became conscious of what was really happening. For if they really grasped what they were doing, that in Holy Communion and adoration, they meet the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ himself, it’s hard to believe they would have ever deliberately chosen to leave or drifted away.
Once such a real encounter happens, and becomes habitual, a Eucharistic identity is formed. We begin to relate all aspects of our life to the truth that we are not alone in the world, but that God is with us, seeking to help us to unite all we are and do to him.
That leads to the possibility of a truly Eucharistic life, in which we seek to draw our very life from the Eucharistic Jesus and make our existence a commentary on the words of consecration.
When that occurs, then a Eucharistic mission is not just something we “do,” but that we “become” and “are,” giving witness to the impact that receiving and adoring Jesus have in our life to all those we encounter — and seeking to bring others with us to the same Source of joy, life, light and meaning.
Tomorrow’s Diocesan Day of Eucharistic Encounter will feature a Mass celebrated and preached by Bishop Edgar da Cunha, Eucharistic Adoration, praise and worship music, a special track for children and keynotes in English by Chris Stefanick, in Portuguese by Boston auxiliary Bishop Cristiano Barbosa and in Spanish by Worcester priest Father Hugo Cano. Each is meant to help those in attendance truly encounter the Eucharistic Jesus more deeply and consequentially.
It’s a real gift that Bishop da Cunha and David Carvalho, Diocesan Secretary for the New Evangelization, were able to get Chris Stefanick, international television host, speaker and author, to come to the Diocese for the Encounter. Stefanick played the role of St. John the Baptist at the National Eucharistic Congress, getting those in attendance ready for the final Mass celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
He told those present that the truth of Jesus’ real presence in the Holy Eucharist is “the best news that mankind has ever, could ever, or will ever receive.” That news is not just that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that whoever should believe in him would not perish but have eternal life,” but that he gives us that Son as our “food in the Eucharist.” We are reminded of that love, Stefanick emphasized, in every Communion.
But he said that gift demands a “radical response” from us in return. We can give a high five to someone’s else’s high five, he stated, but if someone proposes marriage, we can’t respond just with a high five. Our response to Jesus’ self-gift in the Eucharist should involve, he said, seeking to live in Holy Communion with Jesus by becoming a saint and striving to share the Gospel, the love story that Jesus is with us in the Eucharist, joyfully with others. He urged us to ask Jesus in the Eucharist to help us make that radical Eucharistic response, by making us holy and making us bold witnesses.
Tomorrow’s Day of Eucharistic Encounter is an optimal day to do so. Sept. 7 is providentially the feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River, the mother Church of the Diocese, and the liturgical epicenter of all Diocesan Eucharistic worship. Even if faithful of the Diocese are not able to attend the Encounter in Fall River, they hopefully will go to their local parish for daily Mass or a one-on-one encounter with the Lord in adoration, to celebrate the diocesan Feast and pray for the success of the Eucharistic Revival of the Diocese.
Jesus Christ is coming to the Diocese tomorrow, yet again. Let us go out to encounter him, and, having been renewed by him, renew our parishes and our diocese!
