Focusing on Eucharist aim of next five weeks

    The goal of this “Year of Renewal: Offering a Worthy Sacrifice of Praise” is to move faithful Catholics to a deeper understanding of the Mass, an understanding that will result in more worthy celebrations of the Mass and greater participation in the Mass in parishes, schools and other ecclesial gatherings.
    All of us as Catholics embrace the Eucharist as the central sacrament of our Church. We respect the liturgy, especially the liturgy of the Mass, as “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, (and) at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flows” (“Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” Vatican II, paragraph 10).
    Working closely with other offices of the archdiocese, with pastors and those who assist them in parish ministry and with chaplains of institutions, the Office of Worship has been seeking to offer opportunities for learning about Mass, for prayerful reflection on the Mass, for experiences of Mass that are inspiring and exemplary.
    The next element in this year-long process, which will come to its conclusion at the end of this liturgical year, will be a homily series on the Mass that will begin in archdiocesan parishes on the weekend of the 17th Sunday of the Year (July 28-29) and will conclude on the weekend of the 21st Sunday (Aug. 25-26).
    It is fortuitous that, in this cycle of Sunday readings in the Lectionary, there is a five-week “break” from our continuous reading of St. Mark’s Gospel that will include readings from St. John’s “Bread of Life Narrative.” This follows the story of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish and the feeding of the 5,000.
    In our tradition, we see this multiplication of loaves and its feeding of the multitude as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life that nourishes all members of Christ’s Body, the Church – multitudes upon multitudes! This five-week scriptural reflection on the Bread of Life offered a wonderful opportunity to develop a homily series on the Mass in the context of this Year of Renewal.
    The Office of Worship has provided to all priests and deacons serving in the archdiocese materials that will help them develop a series of homilies, based on the readings from St. John’s Gospel each weekend, that will provide both instruction on the Mass and exhortation to participate more fully in the Mass, all leading to each person in the Sunday assembly to respond to this great gift of the Eucharist with increased praise and thanksgiving in active prayer, song and posture.
    Msgr. Ken Hedrick is director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship. He can be reached at [email protected].