Monitor Magazine: In Focus JUNE 2022

In Focus

A ‘movement’ that gets to the core of Catholic faith FROM CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE AND STAFF REPORTS

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eginning June 19 on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the National Eucharistic Revival seeks to renew both understanding of and fervor for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – coming from Heaven into our midst every time the holy sacrifice of the Mass takes place.

That reality, sadly, appears to be lost on a significant number of Catholics, if a 2019 Pew Research survey is an accurate de-

piction of how the faithful regard the central tenet of the faith.

According to the results, 69 percent of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the consecrated bread and wine distributed at Mass are not Jesus, but instead “symbols of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.” The Pew study also showed that just 30 percent of Catholics understand the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The results struck a nerve with many U.S. bishops, who saw a catechetical crisis in this lack of fundamental understanding.

Emboldened by an obvious need, the bishops not only approved plans for the Eucharistic Revival, they also released a statement in November 2021 on “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” addressed to all U.S. Catholics.

The In Focus section of The Monitor this month features resources for participation in the National Eucharistic Revival, with events at the local level, throughout the Diocese and country, as well as explanations – what is it, why it’s important, and ways to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.

Eucharistic Revival will get a weekend launch in Diocese of Trenton

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he Diocese of Trenton is devoting an entire weekend to the launch of the Eucharistic Revival. And it’s the goal that both days will provide occasions for families to come together for some fun and to celebrate their Catholic faith.

On June 19, which is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ and the actual start date of the Eucharistic Revival, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will join the community of Corpus Christi Parish, Willingboro, for the celebration of the 11 a.m. Mass, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with a Eucharistic

procession. All parishes in the Diocese will commemorate the feast and the launch of the Revival.

The day before on June 18, Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold will serve as the site for a Mass and picnic to be held for families from throughout the Diocese. The 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. event will begin with Mass celebrated by Bishop O’Connell, followed by a picnic lunch with fun activities including soccer, volleyball, a puppet show and face painting. The

Blessed Sacrament will be exposed and attendees will have time to participate in Adoration. The day will conclude with Benediction.

Turkey Swamp Park, Sandy Run Area, is located at 200 Georgia, Rd., Freehold. For more information and to RSVP, visit dioceseoftrenton.org/celebrating-families June 2022

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THE MONITOR MAGAZINE 7

In Focus

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE

National Eucharistic Revival

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aunching on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi, the National Eucharistic Revival is a threeyear initiative sponsored by the Bishops of the United States to inspire and prepare the People of God to be formed, healed, converted, united, and sent out to a hurting and hungry world through a renewed encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist – the Source and Summit of our Catholic faith. (Information for this page was collected from dioceseoftrenton.org and eucharisticrevival.org.)

THEME:

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.”

STRATEGIC PILLARS: PILLAR ONE – Foster encounters with Jesus through kerygmatic proclamation and experiences of Eucharistic devotion.

PILLAR TWO – Contemplate and proclaim the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist through the Truth of our teaching, beauty of our worship and goodness of our accompaniment of persons in poverty and those who are vulnerable.

“My Flesh for the Life of the World” – John 6:51

Peter Paul Rubens, Last Supper. Wikipedia image

PILLAR THREE – Empower grassroots creativity by partnering with movements, apostolates, parishes and educational institutions.

PILLAR FOUR – Reach the smallest unit: parish small groups and families.

PILLAR FIVE – Embrace and learn from the various rich intercultural Eucharistic traditions.

2022 • 2023 • 2024 • 2025 TIMELINE:

June 19, 2022 to June 11, 2023

DIOCESAN YEAR OF EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

YEAR ONE is the diocesan phase that begins with our Mass on June 19, 2022, in Corpus Christi Church, Willingboro, and extends to the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ on June 11, 2023. During this period, all parishes of our diocese will be asked to pray for the Eucharistic Revival, focusing on the great gift of Jesus Christ truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

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June 2022

June 11, 2023 to July 17, 2024

July 17-21, 2024 to Pentecost 2025

YEAR TWO focuses on highlighting in our schools and parishes the Mass and devotion to the Holy Eucharist as the source and summit of the life of the Church and all of its activity.

YEAR THREE: The parish phase of the Eucharistic Revival will culminate in a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024. From the Congress in 2024 through Pentecost of 2025, the entire American Church will be sent on mission to share the gift of our Eucharistic Lord with their local communities and beyond.

PARISH YEAR OF EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

NATIONAL YEAR OF MISSION

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL?

WHY IS NOW SUCH A CRITICAL TIME IN THE U.S. TO HAVE A EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL?

Grounded in prayer and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the National Eucharistic Revival has four primary goals:

Our world is in desperate need of the love of God. Geopolitical crises, social unrest, increased polarization, and the need for recovery and renewal from the pandemic have created the opportunity to “open wide the doors to Christ” through Eucharistic Revival.

• 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, 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 – the Source and Summit of our Church and of who we are as a people of God. • 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.

Pray and fast for the National Eucharistic Revival. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about the fruit He desires for the Church in America through this three-year initiative.

Get involved locally! Contact your parish for opportunities to be a part of your local Church’s Eucharistic Revival.

Attend the Family Picnic that will launch the Revival on June 18, 2022 at Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold.

Attend the Eucharistic Procession at your Parish on June 19, 2022 or visit Corpus Christi Parish, Willingboro, where Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will celebrate Mass at 11 a.m.

Sign up to receive the “Heart of the Revival” newsletter found at https://eucharisticrevival.org/. By signing up for the newsletter, you can stay up-to-date on the latest news, events, and information about the Revival, as well as event details for the National Eucharistic Congress to be held in July of 2024.

The difficulties and challenges over the last few years have shed light on the Church’s need for healing, unity, formation and conversion: • More than 30 percent of Catholics have not returned to the pews post-pandemic, and recent data (2019 Pew Research study) reveals that the majority of Mass-going Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

• The past decade has also seen the rise of the “nones” among the millennial generation, with more than 40 percent now self-identifying as “unaffiliated” with any religion.

• Many young Catholics find the faith to be irrelevant to the meaning of their lives and challenges.

In the midst of these challenging times, we must increase our ability to provide to those inside the Church and to the world a credible witness of the difference Jesus Christ makes in the life of every individual. As the people of God, we must be reminded that the Eucharist truly is the living God, Jesus, with us, “always, until the end of the age,” (Mt 28:20).

HOW CAN WE GET INVOLVED? WHAT MAKES THIS SUCH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE U.S.?

Everything about the National Eucharistic Revival is intended to “bear fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16). By building a consistent grassroots momentum beginning with dioceses and parishes, the intention is to bring together all facets of the Church – apostolates, movements, religious orders, universities and ecclesial organizations – all rooted in a shared love for the Eucharist that will create impact in the Church for generations to come.

June 2022

 THE MONITOR MAGAZINE 9

In Focus

DO THIS IN

Memory OF Me

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he following are excerpts taken from the catechetical writing series on the Holy Eucharist

by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., originally published by The Monitor in August 2016. To read the full two-part series, visit DioceseofTrenton.org > Our Bishop > Pastoral Writings > The Sacraments.

When we receive Holy Communion, the minister offers us the host and says, “The Body of Christ;” … And we respond, “Amen,” a Hebrew word found throughout the Old and New Testaments that means, “yes, truly;” “so be it,” “I believe it.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully present in the host and wine consecrated by the priest at Mass. The appearances of unleavened bread and true wine remain visible — the “sign” of the Sacrament … and the taste remains the same — but they are totally, entirely and completely transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The theological term used for this transformation is “transubstantiation,” the mysterious process by which the Lord Jesus Christ becomes present.

as they were eating He took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, this is my body.’ And He took a cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank of it and He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for many (Mark 14: 22-24).

As we read in the Letter to the Hebrews, “faith is confident assurance about things hoped for and conviction about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11: 1).” Transubstantiation and the “Real Presence of Christ” are one of the core beliefs and acts of faith of the Catholic Church … Mystery? Yes, it will always be. Truth? Yes, it will also always be.

Jesus explained … ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. …

Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me,

At the Last Supper of the Lord Jesus Christ, … the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist: And 10 THE MONITOR MAGAZINE

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June 2022

USCCB document on

Holy Eucharist and I in them. (John 6: 35-51).’

St. Paul instructs the community of faith about the Holy Eucharist: ‘… the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” … For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor 11: 23-26).’

True, there have been theological discussions and debates — even disagreements — about the scriptural sources for and the meaning of this and other Sacraments of the Catholic Church. But belief in the Holy Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ has endured in the Catholic Church from the Last Supper on as a fundamental and constitutive element of the Catholic faith. It is a non-negotiable belief for Catholics.

Shutterstock image

The Second Vatican Council (1963-65) referred to our Catholic belief in the Holy Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life (Lumen Gentium, no. 11).”

In his catechesis, our Holy Father Pope Francis reflected: ‘In his life, Christ manifested his love by being with people, and by sharing their desires and problems. So too the Eucharist brings us together with others – young and old, poor and affluent, neighbors and visitors. The Eucharist calls us to see all of them as our brothers and sisters, and to see in them the face of Christ (Pope Francis, General Audience, Feb. 12, 2014).’

The following are excerpts from the document “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” developed by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The full document and a free online course can be found at www.usccb.org/resources/mystery-eucharist-life-church

The pandemic has forced us to stay physically distant from one another and, for a time, to view the celebration of the Mass on a television or computer screen. Many ... having lived without Mass for so long, may have become discouraged or accustomed to life without the Eucharist. In many ways the pandemic is still with us.

The words of the liturgy on the night the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist [Holy Thursday] speak to us of the Mass as the re-presentation of Christ’s unique sacrifice on the Cross ...

The salvation offered in the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ is nothing less than sharing in the very life of God, in the communion of love among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no greater gift that God could possibly give us.

In Christ, we are sharers in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). …

Pope Francis reminds us that “in the bread of the Eucharist ‘creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards unification with the Creator himself.’”

We have abundant experience of evil, yet so many of us deny the cause of much of that evil—our own selfishness, our own sins. ... Without the grace of Christ received at Baptism, strengthened in Confirmation, and nourished by the Eucharist, this selfishness dominates us.

In Christ, however, what was lost by sin has been restored and renewed even more wondrously by grace. … At the Last Supper, celebrating the Passover, Jesus makes explicit that his impending death, freely embraced out of love, is sacrificial.

The Eucharist is a sacrificial meal ... Its fundamental pattern is found in the Jewish celebration of the Passover … At the Last Supper, Jesus reveals himself to be the Paschal Lamb (“Behold the Lamb of God”) whose sacrifice brings liberation from slavery to sin and whose blood marks out a new people belonging to God. All the sacrifices in the Old Testament prefigure and find their fulfillment in the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus.

June 2022

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THE MONITOR MAGAZINE 11

In Focus

Christ in the Eucharist – A revival of

BY JESSICA DONOHUE  Special Contributor

A

s a professional “Church lady,” a lay person working for the Church in religious education, I felt a seismic shift in 2019 concerning my perspective on our goals in handing on the faith. The impetus for this was the pretty shocking and well-publicized Pew AT Research study published in the summer of that year, which indicated that many Catholics did not believe in or understand Making Faith Come Alive for Your Family the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Considering how essential this belief is to what it means to be Catholic, that the conseEN – Body, crated Host is not a mere symbol but is truly Christ Blood, Soul and Divinity – this news began a well-founded wave of deep concern among clergy and the lay faithful.

The silver lining to this problem is that it awakened in fe us Haciendo que la se mantenga viva the realization that there was a special urgency in ensuring en tu familia that all Catholics, especially the young people who are the future of our Church, understand that the Eucharist is nothing less than the very heart of our faith and is really and truly Christ, present to us.

To be fair, the Eucharist is a profound miracle and mystery that, as I tell my students, even the smartest theologians and greatest saints could never completely understand. Even St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the “Angelic Doctor,” was said to have burned his own great theological work after a mystical encounter with the Divine, because in that encounter he realized that nothing a human being could express could possibly come close to touching the mystery of God. Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t devote our mind and

FA IT H HOM E

FE CA SA

spirit to understanding the Eucharist, quite the opposite; it just means that there is always more depth of understanding to pursue, more room to grow in faith.

A good way of understanding how human beings evolve and grow in their understanding of God and in their faith is expressed by St. Gregory the Great, who once described the Word of God as being “like a river both shallow and deep, in which the lamb walks and an elephant swims.” His words were on my mind at our recent Communion practices when I was reviewing the basics of the Sacrament with our children.

Since our practice time is relatively short, I had to summarize the Eucharist for them very simply and practically, in a way that a 7-year-old would understand. I explained to them that in the miraculous, consecrated Host is all of the love, goodness, and mercy of Jesus. All of the beautiful Bible stories they have heard of Jesus healing people, forgiving sinners, telling his friends to love one another – all of this is in the Host, because the consecrated Host is truly Jesus.

As I experienced the incredible blessing and privilege of witnessing them each

Father Scott Shaffer, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, gives Holy Communion to a parishioner attending the Easter Vigil April 16.

Rich Hundley photo

Faith at Home is a monthly column coordinated by the Dio-

cese of Trenton’s Departments of Catechesis, Evangelization and Family Life, and Youth and Young Adult Ministry. For additional Faith at Home resources, visit dioceseoftrenton.org/faith-at-home.

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the soul

and Families

Unity and Diversity

Jeff Bruno photo

Engaging Children, Teens

Kids and families were a main focus of the congress, with Oct. 12 devoted just for youth, and Oct. 13 focusing on the Church Family. The Saturday itinerary featured fun kid activities, a couples and a Mass that blessing of anniversary highlighted the importance of God’s family.

Autumn Pittelli photo

Place of Prayer

Congress goers were offered for prayer throughout the many opportunities congress, from Morning Prayer and Vespers to silent Blessed Sacrament in the prayer before the on-site chapel and instructions on different prayer traditions in the Church, such as the Liturgy of the Hours.

Ken Falls photo

 Stay updated on the Eucharistic Revival! – Check out the Diocese’s webpage – dioceseoftrenton.org/eucharistic-revival – for continuous updates about events in our Diocese. You can also sign up for the National Eucharistic Revival Newsletter at eucharisticrevival.org.

“Peace be with you, ” proclaims Bishop O’Connell, stretching as he begins the Opening out his arms before Mass of the Diocese nearly 8,000 teens of Trenton’s Eucharist day congress to take and their chaperon ic Congress Oct. 12. place in the dawning es The bishop convoked days of the Year of anniversary of the Faith, proclaimed the threeSecond Vatican Council

by Pope Benedict and the 20th anniversa Church. Held in the XVI to mark the 50th ry of the promulga PNC Bank Arts Center, tion of the Catechism Holmdel, the congress children, who took of the Catholic drew an estimated part in Masses, Eucharist 20,000 men, women, ic Adoration, concerts, spiritual talks and teens and more. Photo by Jeff prayer services, dramatic Bruno. See inside and cultural performa for full coverage nces, .

A look back to our Eucharistic Congress and Ocean Counties.

 Bring First Communion preparation home: Preparing for First Communion is an exciting time for children, but this Sacramental preparation does not only have to happen in church and in the classroom! Check out Catholic Icing’s resources at catholicicing.com/first-communion-resources-for-kids/, and Josephine Nobisso’s beautiful book, “The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith,” an allegorical fairy tale-type story which teaches children and adults alike about the Eucharist.

is our

Mercer, Monmouth

 Try going to Eucharistic Adoration: If you haven’t gone to Adoration before, it simply means sitting before the consecrated Host, displayed in a special receptacle called a Monstrance, quietly in prayer. Parishes may have Adoration scheduled for certain days and times, and some have perpetual Adoration, where you can go any time. Most parishes include their Adoration schedules in their bulletins and/or on their parish websites. In our very over-stimulated world, spending quiet time with Christ in the Eucharist can be especially beneficial in so many ways to young and old alike.

itor.com Vol. 59 | No. 19a | 75 cents

Fa i T h

Community in Burlington,

RENEW LOVE for the EUCHARISTIC JESUS

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Serving the Catholic

receive Communion for the first time a couple of weeks later, I thought that there are probably fewer things more beautiful to God than to have his children, no matter the age, receive him with a childlike wonder and a humble heart.

Teaching the young well is only one aspect of ensuring that all of the faithful truly understand the gift of the Eucharist. The Bishops of the United States recognize this need among all Catholics, and have initiated a national Eucharistic Revival, which will fittingly begin on June 19th, the Feast of Corpus Christi. This revival will extend for three years, and plans are underway in our own Diocese to join this exciting movement, which is essentially an opportunity for “Catholics across the United States [to be] healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist – and sent out in mission ‘for the life of the world”’(eucharisticrevival.org).

May the next three years be a time of conversion for believers and non-believers alike, as we open our hearts and minds to the transformation which can only be found through the great Divine Love with which we are gifted in the Eucharist.

Jessica Donohue serves as director of religious education in St. Joan of Arc Parish, Marlton.

OctOber 2012

Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, N.J.

A Keepsake Issue on Diocesan Eucharist the ic Congress

October 12, 13, &

A prayer gathering for the Spanish and Portuguesespeaking faithful, and a multicultural song and dance expo celebrated the diverse heritage

that is the Church, whose members came ily, more than 3,000 strong, together as one famon Sunday afternoon for the Great Mass.

As the Church throughout the United States is poised to begin a three-year Eucharistic Revival, The Monitor is marking the 10th anniversary of the Diocese of Trenton’s first Eucharistic Congress.

In October 2012, just two years into his episcopacy, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., convoked the Congress with the aim to gather in celebration of Jesus Christ in our midst, in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist.

For three days, many thousands of Catholics from throughout the four counties of the Diocese and beyond gathered in Holmdel at what was then called the PNC Arts Center in a celebration of our shared belief of life in Christ.

With the theme “His Presence, Our Faith, Celebrate!” the Congress featured Masses and prayer sessions; talks from national speakers and theological scholars; musical presentations by contemporary Christian artists; cultural dance performances; social service projects and Confessions.

The Monitor team was on location throughout the Congress and produced a special keepsake report of this extraordinary event. To take a look back at the Eucharistic Congress as we prepare to mark its 10th anniversary, visit TrentonMonitor.com.

June 2022

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THE MONITOR MAGAZINE 13

In Focus

Exhibit of eucharistic miracles seeks to bolster faith in Real Presence

BY GABRIELLA PATTI  Catholic News Service

FLAT ROCK, Mich. • In the year 1300, a priest was celebrating Mass in the convent of O Cebreiro, Spain. Lacking faith in the true presence of Jesus in the Sacrament, the priest nevertheless recited the consecration prayers.

Suddenly, the host he held in his hand turned into human flesh. Turning to the cup, the priest, incredulous, noticed not wine, but actual human blood.

He fell in adoration.

The incident, recognized by Pope Innocent VIII as the “Miracle of O Cebreiro,” is one of hundreds of eucharistic miracles in the Catholic Church’s history – incidents in which the supernatural reality of Jesus’ body and blood in the Eucharist became powerfully and physically apparent.

Church teaching holds that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Catholic faith. However, a 2019 Pew Research Center study found that only one-third of Catholics believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, spurring the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ three-year movement to promote conversion and encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.

Meanwhile, a small apostolate in Michigan has been educating Catholics on the Real Presence since 2007 by offering a traveling exhibit about eucharistic miracles – instances in which the literal presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist have become physically manifest.

The collection of 170 panels features historical documents and photos of 140 eucharistic miracles from around the world.

For Margy Nagel, who co-founded the Real Presence Apostolate of Michigan, promoting the Real Presence is crucial to bolstering faith in the saving power of Jesus.

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Nagel, a parishioner at St. Joan of Arc Church in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, said the idea for the apostolate came about in 2007 after she learned of the Chicago-based Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association, which was founded by Father John Hardon, a sainthood candidate who has the title “Servant of God.” Soon after Nagel inquired about how to bring the exhibit to Michigan, others who shared the same goal were connected through the association. Nagel said the exhibit itself was created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who documented eucharistic miracles on his website before dying of leukemia in 2006 at age 15.

An anonymous donor gave the Michigan group the ability to print the 170 panels, which have since been on display in all seven Catholic cathedrals in Michigan and more than 400 parishes. Because there are so many panels, parishes can choose whether to display all of them or just some.

“Every parish uses their own creativity,” Nagel said. “One parish created life-size Swiss guards for the entrance

A traveling exhibit of eucharistic miracles is seen in St. Roch Catholic Church, Flat Rock, Mich., April 11, 2022. The exhibit comes as faith in the Real Presence among U.S. Catholics has declined, according to a Pew Research poll. CNS photo/Valaurian Waller, Detroit Catholic

June 2022

of the exhibit. Some parishes bring in speakers. Some have 40 hours’ devotions.

Some parishes organize and give tours.

Every parish does its own planning, and we are always thrilled and delighted to hear what each parish has done.”

At St. Roch Parish in Flat Rock, all 170 panels were on display in the vestibule at the start of Holy Week.

Father Ray Lewandowski, St. Roch pastor, said the parish offered a Lenten program focused on the spirituality of the Eucharist in addition to the exhibit.

Father Lewandowski hopes the exhibit and teaching materials will help Catholics make a connection to the Church’s teaching, and to better understand and appreciate the gift of the Eucharist in Catholic life.

“Hopefully, (non-Catholics) may recognize that we are unique or different and say, ‘There is something different about you,’ and then you can say, ‘I’m a Catholic Christian,’” Father Lewandowski said. “And then you can talk about what (you) receive, what (you) celebrate, and how the Communion (you) celebrate has an influence upon (you), an effect, and that is demonstrated by everyday living.”