Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Patrick,
Our Eucharistic Revival continues in the Diocese of Cleveland and many efforts are being made to foster a deeper awareness of our Eucharistic Lord. Dominican Sister Anna Ruth describes five things each of us can do to renew our Eucharistic love:
- Pray to Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. St. Peter Julian Eymard speaks of Mary as the perfect tabernacle of Jesus. This is worthy of our own meditation as we recognize how we are all called to carry Christ in our hearts.
- Invite a friend to Mass or Adoration. When was the last time we invited a friend to join us for Mass or a Holy Hour?
- Prepare before going to Mass. When you arrive for Mass, have you taken the opportunity to personally reflect on the readings of the day, or on the prayers used that day? How intentional is your Eucharistic Fast prior to receiving Holy Communion? Are you spiritually prepared?
- Consider an intention to “offer it up.” Do you offer the Mass on behalf of someone else when you come? Being intentional about this can increase our awareness of what we bring to the liturgy.
- Make an Act of Faith in Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist. We may not always be able to visit the Blessed Sacrament, but we can remember that at every moment, on some altar in the world, Christ’s sacrifice is being made present. This is the grace that sustains the world. Let us reflect on this reality.
Here at Saint Patrick, we offer three evening Masses during Lent (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30pm) and a Tuesday morning Mass at 8am in the Mission House. Confession times are offered on Mondays (4:50pm-5:20pm) and Fridays (after the evening Mass while Stations of the Cross are being prayed). Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for Sunday, April 16th for a Divine Mercy Holy Hour (more details to follow) and Sunday, June 11 (again, more details to follow).
I also want to explore the possibility of creating some formal times for making Eucharistic Adoration available to our parishioners and neighbors. If you have any thoughts about this idea, please send me an email.
May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the word, even to the end of time. Amen!
Sincerely yours in our Eucharistic Lord,
Fr. Gurnick (mgurnick@dioceseofcleveland.org)