Growing in our Love for the Eucharist
Dear Friends in Christ:
As you know, the US Bishops have been calling us to a “Eucharistic Revival” and many of you participated in the pilgrimage from the Co-Cathedral on June 2, 2024 with Bishop Barron carrying the Blessed Sacrament and arriving at the Civic Center for a celebration of the Eucharist. Another connection, the opening song for the liturgies this past week was introduced during the gatherings on June 2nd. Sebastian, our liturgical musician, composed the song: “Fed With Finest Wheat”, that was commissioned by Bishop Barron.
The pilgrimages from all corners of the Nation ended up in Indianapolis with over 50,000 Catholics focused on the grace and gift of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A week ago, I was approached by a person who attended the event in Indianapolis, and she was so on fire with a begging heart to discover how she could share her experience and help others know the beauty, grace, and exceptionality of the real presence. It was a pure gift to listen to her bearing witness to all that took place on the road as clearly her heart is burning with awareness. Our own staff person, Laura Miller, joined the people there as well, and I look forward to listening to her reflection at our next staff meeting. I am confident she had a faith-filled experience.
In the midst of all this positivity, we also need to acknowledge that the forces of evil are at work, and this was evidenced in the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris. No doubt, you have heard of the mockery of Leonardi de Vinci’s “Last Supper” with drag queens and sexual implications. Perhaps, you have read or listened to our Bishop Robert Barron as he brought us to look at the scandalous scene. I quote the Bishop as follows:
“France felt, evidently, as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, that the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity, where Jesus in the Last Supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the cross. What was presented, though, is this gross, flippant mockery. … France, who’s culture, and I mean the honoring of the individual, human rights, of freedom, is grounded very much in Christianity, felt the right thing to do was to mock the Christian faith. …
What is interesting here is this deeply secularist, post-modern society knows who its enemy is, they’re naming it, and we should believe them. They’re telling us who they are. But furthermore, we Catholics should not be sheepish. We should resist. We should make our voices heard” (Bishop Barron video on Facebook).
Many people have pointed out that the painting referenced was actually “Le Festin des Dieux” by painter Jan van Bijlert (1597-1691), which takes its inspiration directly from Da Vinci’s work. “The Dutch art historian Walther Schoonenberg was in no doubt. “The tableau vivant or ‘living painting’ in the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 was of The Feast of the Gods, by Jan van Bijlert from 1635,” Schoonenberg said on X” (The Guardian).
What matters is our call to not stay silent in the face of evil. We are a people with a message of joy and God’s peace, and we have such an experience of positivity. Bishop Andrew Cozzens reminds us in his statement about the Olympic Opening Ceremony:
“Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed. As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer—in season and out of season—is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
As the Church throughout the world gathers tomorrow at the Lord’s Altar, let us do so with renewed zeal. Let us pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery. Let us commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin. Perhaps you could attend Mass once more this week or do an extra holy hour?
We may also be called upon to speak about this evil. Let us do so with love and charity, but also with firmness. France and the entire world are saved by the love poured out through the Mass, which came to us through the Last Supper. Inspired by the many martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we will not stand aside and quietly abide as the world mocks our greatest gift from the Lord Jesus. Rather, through our prayer and fasting, we will ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ—our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist—for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls.”
This whole experience offers an opportunity for each of us to grow in our love for the real presence in the Eucharist.