NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE

The national pilgrimage leading up to the Eucharistic Congress is almost here!  As you will recall from my earlier articles, it will begin to pass through the Philadelphia area at the end of this month, coming from the Trenton Diocese on 30 May as it crosses over the Walking Bridge into Morrisville, PA, with a walking procession to Holy Trinity Church. The Pilgrimage will continue to St. John the Evangelist Church, Morrisville and St. Andrew Church, Newtown, before going to various churches in Philadelphia.  On Sunday evening, 2 June, the Pilgrimage will reach St. Laurence Church, Upper Darby, and you are invited to join in Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament beginning at 7:00pm. On the next day, the Pilgrimage will involve a brief procession beginning at 8:30am followed by 9:00am Mass at Ss. Simon and Jude Church, West Chester, and an 11:30am Prayer Service at St. Agnes Church, West Chester, before moving into the Harrisburg Diocese.  I encourage you to go to eucharisticpilgrimage.org to learn about all of the events of this Pilgrimage and to register for any of these events; all of the events are free.

Allow me, also, to encourage you to consider going to the National Eucharistic Congress which will be held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, from 17 until 21 July this year.  Attendance at this 10th National Eucharistic Congress will be an inspiration time for everyone.  Families are especially encouraged to attend.  There will be plenty of kid friendly activities throughout the week to bring children of all ages into an ever deeper relationship with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.  Registration at designated hotels with reduced rates ends on 1 July.  Go to Eucharistic congress.org for more information.

The Eucharistic Pilgrimages and the National Eucharistic Congress are the highlights of the parish phase of the Eucharistic Revival that started last June.  They are offered to help us fall deeper in love with our Lord, Jesus, present in the Eucharist and follow him more closely.  Participating in the Pilgrimage and/or the Eucharistic Congress allows us opportunities to mirror our internal journey with an external journey, connecting body and soul in our pursuit of Jesus.  The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is not one event or a road trip.  It is an exciting opportunity for all of us Catholics throughout our country to visibly demonstrate our desire for a Eucharistic revival.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton wrote:  “Jesus is as a fire in the very center of our souls ever burning.  Yet, we are cold because we do not stay by it.”  Let us use this sacred time to come close to Jesus and become ever more enflamed in his love.

 

MANNA BAGS

Throughout the year, you are invited and encouraged to participate in a variety of food drives, both here in our parish and – I’m sure – from a number of charitable agencies in our area and around the world.  In the name of all of those you feed with the support you provide, I thank you for responding to our Lord’s call to feed the hungry.  The summer is a particularly challenging time for these agencies and I would like to invite you to participate in a food drive that we sponsor every year to help some of the parishioners in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres.  As you can well imagine with the sharp increase in food prices, our support is particularly important this year.

We’re all familiar with the gospel accounts of Jesus feeding large crowds; it’s one of the few stories of Jesus’ public ministry that we find in all four gospels (cf. Mt 14:13-21, 15:32-38; Mk 6:32-44; Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-13).  The accounts all begin with Jesus curing the sick or teaching the crowds at length and when it gets late the disciples ask him to send the crowd away so that people can buy themselves some food.  Jesus directs the disciples to give the crowd food themselves.  The disciples complain that they do not have nearly enough food for so many.  Jesus tells them to go and see what they do have.  They bring it to him and with it he feeds thousands!  It is in this spirit that we share in feeding the hungry today, aware that our efforts are multiplied abundantly with our Lord’s help.

Every year, the Nutritional Development Services Office of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia invites all of the parishes throughout the Archdiocese to participate in the MANNA food drive.  Each parish is, in turn, allowed to choose which Archdiocesan food center will receive their donations.  Due to our close relationship with St. Martin de Porres parish, our sister parish, we select its food cupboard to receive the food we gather through this drive.  You will find brown shopping bags on the tables at the church entrances this weekend; you may also use your own bags, if you prefer.  Please fill them up with non-perishable food and return it to the parish library.  We will deliver the food to St. Martin de Porres food cupboard to help them feed their hungry throughout the summer so feel free to drop off your donation at any time over these summer months.