A Revival and More

You may have heard that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promoting a Eucharistic Revival throughout the entire county. It is a three year process. The website states: Our world is hurting. We all need healing, yet many of us are separated from the very source of our strength. Jesus Christ invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith: his Real Presence in the Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Revival is a movement to restore understanding and devotion to this great mystery here in the United States.

You may remember that we had a “Year of the Eucharist” in 2021. I don’t think that the US Bishops copied our idea, but who knows for sure. The first year of the process is called the “diocesan phase.” You’ll begin to see announcements in the bulletin about a faith formation program throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The Archdiocese is organizing a study of Bishop Robert Baron’s series “The Mass” which will include reflections from Archbishop Schnurr. See page 9 for more information.

Also one of our parishes will be a hub for another exciting Eucharistic event this winter. Blessed Carlo Acutis is on his way toward sainthood. He is an Italian who died in 2006 at 15 years old. He had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and created a website which cataloged Eucharistic Miracles throughout the world. For the Eucharistic Revival, a relic of his heart muscle is traveling throughout the country. This relic will be making a weeklong stop at St. Joseph Church!

In conjunction with the visit of Blessed Carlo’s relic, we will host a traveling display of Eucharistic Miracles. We will be hosting a weeklong Eucharistic festival. We will also have three speakers and a Friday Night Holy Hour. I hope the event will attract people from all over the area to learn about Eucharistic miracles, venerate the relic of Blessed Carlo, and grow in love of the Eucharist.

This is a very exciting opportunity for our parishes. The relic won’t visit any other parishes in the area. The nearest stops are: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Fort Wayne. We will invite people from all over the area and there will be an article about the Eucharistic Festival in the January edition of the Catholic Telegraph.

Here are a couple things you can do in preparation for the Eucharistic Festival: 1. Mark your calendars for January 30 through February 5 for the Eucharistic Festival. 2. Consider volunteering. We will need lots of parishioners to stay with the relic of Blessed Carlo and direct visitors. 3. Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a deeper love of Jesus in the Eucharist throughout our parishes.

There is a lot of activity happening in our parishes right now. It can be hard to keep up. For the next few bulletins, I’ll be sure to put some save the dates. Of course it is Advent as well, which means that we will have two Days of Grace this month. The Lord is so good and we are grateful for the continued activity in our midst.

Save the Dates:
– Tuesday, December 13 – Day of Grace at St. Joseph
– Thursday, December 22 – Day of Grace at Immaculate Conception
– Sunday, December 25 – The Nativity of Our Lord
– Sunday, January 1 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
– Thursday, January 5 at 7pm at St. Joseph– Holy Hour to finalize our patron saint
– Saturday, January 7 at 9:00am at St. John – Holy Hour to finalize our patron saint
– Sunday, January 8 at 11:30am at Immaculate Conception – Holy Hour to finalize our patron saint
– Monday, January 30 – Sunday February 5 at St. Joseph – Eucharistic Festival with the relic and Eucharistic Miracle Display

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson