Yesterday morning, this author was invited to speak to staff and teachers of St. John Vianney School at their annual faculty retreat. They allowed me to pick the topic and I chose the Eucharist, given the lack of faith many Catholics of today have in the True Presence.
Thankfully, the audience was very receptive. I explained the Church's teachings on the Eucharist and shared about various Church-approved Eucharistic Miracles, while showing images of them, via a slideshow. All the while I emphasized the Eucharist is the ultimate gift of Divine Love to us from Jesus, himself!
Two, of several, Eucharistic Miracles I shared
about: Lanciano (c. 700) & Sokolka (2008).
As for relics, which this ministry is known for, I felt prompted to bring just one - a relic of the True Cross. I directed the group to pass the relic around while reflecting on the truth that the same body that was nailed to the cross on Calvary - a splinter of which they now held in their own hands - is the very same body and blood of Jesus we're privileged to receive in Holy Communion at every Mass we attend.
At the end I had the sense that the majority of the group was positively touched by what they heard and saw... and by the presence of the relic. Several women later approached me to express gratitude, including one who shared that she had been away from the Church for a while but was now ready to come back. Praises be to God!
This ministry's True Cross relic.
My eventual hope is that these teachers, in turn, will take some of what they learned from the presentation - or what inspired them - and somehow pass it along to the children they teach. Our kids need to understand the Eucharist, too... today, more than ever. So please pray for this hardworking group of educators... and for this ministry, too. God bless us all.
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