Returning to the Eucharist with Joy 

​The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic Faith… this should cause us always to return each and every time to the Eucharist with great Joy! The Archdiocese has put together the following videos on how we are called to return with Joy to Mass! Check them out linked below: 

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Returning to the Eucharist with Joy – Sean Hussey​

Reflection/discussion questions to pray with:
  • What’s the connection between waiting for the coming of the Lord on the one hand and, on the other, the opportunity we have to celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist each and every week?
  • Who has rescued you from sin and death, giving you hope of eternal life in heaven?  What does Sean say is our main opportunity to remember that we’ve been so rescued—thereby increasing our hope as well as our ability to live with patience and perseverance?
  • What’s the relationship between the Day of the Lord (Sunday) and the rest of the week?  How does receiving Jesus in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity (i.e. in the Eucharist) address the past week and prepare you for the week ahead?

  • Additional Resources:
Returning to the Eucharist with Joy – Sr. Nicolette Etienne 

Reflection/discussion questions to pray with:
  • ​It’s been said that if the Eucharist isn’t the Real Presence of Jesus, then what’s the point of going to Mass?  What’s your reaction to the flipped version of that statement—the true version:  Although the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus, what might keep me from getting to Mass each Sunday?·       
  • Take a moment to consider Catholics around the world who aren’t able to celebrate Mass weekly, for various reasons (distance, political oppression, natural disasters etc.).  How might Sister Nicolette’s example allow you to benefit these Eucharist-deprived disciples by your faithful attendance at Mass and reception of Jesus in Holy Communion?
  • The song Sister quotes says “No joy can be complete until at last I sit by your side.”  How does attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist allow you to sit at the side of Jesus in a unique and irreplaceable way?

  • Additional Resources:
Returning to the Eucharist with Joy –Father Patrick Beidelman 

Reflection/discussion questions to pray with:
  • What sacrifice did Jesus make for you, so that you can have access to heaven?  When someone saves you from someone or something that’s potentially very terrible and harmful, what natural reaction or feeling arises in you toward that person—the one who saves you?·       
  • Because God is not bound by time and space, the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can be made present to us at Mass.  Imagine that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, or John, the apostle and Gospel-writer asked you to stand with them at the foot of the cross during the crucifixion of Jesus.  What is your reaction and reply?
  • How does the sacrifice of Jesus relate to our own suffering?  What’s the connection between the sacrifice of Jesus—made present at each Mass—and the offerings we can make to God our Father?
 
Returning to the Eucharist with Joy – Ken Ogorek 

Reflection/discussion questions to pray with:
  • Recall one or more banquet-like experiences in your life.  What was the general mood or tone of the event?  How would you describe the joy level in the room?  Why might Mass—especially the Eucharist—be described as a banquet?
  • Knowing what research says about the relationship between less at-risk behavior and frequent family meals, why do you think that Holy Mother Church emphasizes the importance of celebrating the Eucharistic banquet—Mass—each and every Sunday?
  • If a weekend starts around 5pm Friday and ends at midnight on Sunday, Mass takes up about 1.8% of a typical weekend.  On a scale of one to ten—ten being simple and one being impossible—how easy would it be for you to spend 2% of your weekend participating in the Eucharistic banquet (celebrating Mass)?

  • Additional Resources: