We can all give THANKS TO GOD for CELEBRATING THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE with Bishop Dorsonville last Sunday! OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST had invited all of us to COME AND CELEBRATE on a beautiful, sunny and long Sunday afternoon going into a refreshing evening. Many of us responded to the invitation with much enthusiasm. One could sense the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT and of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST in our church and throughout the outdoor PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.
We can all give THANKS TO GOD for the GIFT of the large number of VOLUNTEERS who made this Celebration, this FIESTA a REALITY. It was truly an effort of the entire parish, including: the Hispanic Community, the Youth Group, the Music Ministry, the Marian Group, the Ushers/Greeters, the Altar Guild, the Altar Servers, the Knights of Columbus, the Men's Group, the Couples for Christ, our entire staff and clergy.
Everything that had been planned did take place with much solemnity and reverence. Bishop Dorsonville first blessed our renovated daily Mass Chapel dedicating it to Our Lady of Guadalupe. He then blessed the new, large Divine Mercy painting in the presence of the family of Orlando Lagman, who had also created for us the beautiful representation of Our Lady Help of Christians in our Sanctuary and the portrait of Father Narcisse Martin in our meeting Hall.
Then the focus turned entirely to THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE, the REAL PRESENCE OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST:
FIRST, the Bishop exposed the BLESSED SACRAMENT in the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, then processed into the main church and exposed the BLESSED SACRAMENT on the ALTAR.
SECOND, then began the ADORATION of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It continued through the powerful prayer of the LIVING ROSARY: young and less young parishioners representing each bead of a living Rosary and praying one after another in their own language (English, Spanish, Tagalo). At that very moment, our parish was truly united in Prayer and Adoration as a family of families.
THIRD, at the end of the Rosary, Bishop Dorsonville gave us a beautiful CATECHESIS on the Miracle of the Eucharist happening at EVERY MASS. This Eucharistic miracle is at the center of our Christian life. His CATECHESIS helped put into context what happened next: the UNVEILING of the new EUCHARISTIC DISPLAY near the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima closely associated to the DEVOTION TO THE EUCHARIST AND THE ROSARY (October 7 is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary).
If you were not present last Sunday afternoon, we invite you to come and look at the display of the picture of the consecrated host that had been abandoned at the foot of Our Lady of Fatima for 15 long hours. As mentioned to you earlier, this picture was taken five days after the abandoned, consecrated host had been immersed in water in our sacrarium (inside our sacristy) . It displays what looks like a heart of blood on the surface of the host. I believe that this is blood. However, as the host dissolved shortly after the picture was taken, we may never know whether it is blood. This is why we refer to this SIGN OF GOD as a " little" miracle, “little" because it leads all of us to focus on the "GREAT" MIRACLE that happens at EVERY MASS when hundreds of hosts are being consecrated and are truly transformed in the REAL PRESENCE OF OUR LORD. Every tiny particle of a consecrated hosts contains the fullness of the BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST.
We were blessed with a very large participation. The Outdoor Eucharistic procession was one of the largest one we have had at OLHOC. It was very solemn with continuous incensing of the Blessed Sacrament, and a series of JOYFUL SONGS. The 7 pm bilingual Mass was packed. This was the summit of the whole event, as the total focus was on the Paschal Mystery and the EUCHARIST, which many people came to RECEIVE with utmost REVERENCE. The FIESTA ended with FELLOWSHIP, MUSIC and FOOD in the Father Martin Hall and in outdoor tents.
It is essential that we keep EVANGELIZING and CATECHIZING! We must share our LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST with OTHERS. Let us pray that God will continue blessing the children participating in our RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (about 200) , their parents and their teachers. Let us also pray that the CATECHESIS for youth and adults (ages 12+) begun last Monday (7 pm) and continuing on Mondays and Thursdays will bring fruits and that the HOLY SPIRIT will encourage us to invite someone in need to " COME AND LISTEN". May God make us more humble and help us realize that we are all in need of a deeper and more concrete FAITH!
One in Christ,
Fr. Alain
For more details on the Little Eucharistic Miracle, click below:
https://olhoc.com/little-eucharistic-miracle