Blessed Carlo Acutis liked to repeat those seven words: "THE EUCHARIST IS MY HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN". From an early age, Blessed Carlo put the Eucharist at the center of his life. Since his First Communion at the age of seven, he went to Mass every day to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. This was his rich, daily spiritual nourishment. As he died at the young age of 15, Blessed Carlo has had a great influence on the youth of our times. He has been called the first Saint of the "Millennium" Generation (1991-2006). It was fitting that following our "little" Eucharistic Miracle (April 2021) our parish would hold an exhibit of Blessed Carlo "Miracles of the Eucharist" (a display of 140 miracles throughout the entire world and put together on the Internet by young Carlo). I did not know what to expect. I had little...
“Alain, I want to have pictures of your Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession in the Catholic Standard!" Our Cardinal addresses all the priests of the Archdiocese by their first name. As we are over 200, I am always surprised that he remembers all our names. My surprise last Saturday was the Cardinal’s last-minute simple but unusual request to me as he was leaving the Sacristy of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the joyful morning he had just ordained 10 new young priests. We had only a few hours before our Corpus Christi Procession. My first reaction was...
Have you ever walked with Jesus outside the walls of our church? COME AND JOIN BISHOP DORSONVILLE THIS SUNDAY JUNE 19. He will lead our outdoor Eucharistic Procession at 12:30 PM right after celebrating with us the 11:30 AM Mass. You may wonder why a Bishop is coming to Waldorf: we are celebrating the completion of our First Year of EUCHARISTIC RENEWAL on the Day of CORPUS CHRISTI, the SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. This all began with our " Little" Eucharistic Miracle a year ago. Do you remember the abandoned Consecrated Host at the foot of our statue of Our Lady of Fatima...
Can you brighten the day of your former pastor, Father Eamon Dignan? He is awaiting your visit. I assure you that meeting him will also bring you MUCH JOY: "you will receive more than you give". You may recall that about one year ago, I wrote an entire column about " VISITING FATHER DIGNAN" (bulletin of June 17, 2021). We had strict Covid restrictions and I could meet him only outdoors. A few days ago, I found the time to re-visit him. The good news is that his health has improved. He is no longer in a wheelchair and his "memory" is coming back: this time, we could have a conversation about his long 17 years as our pastor at OLHOC (1987-2002). We prayed together. He gave me a priestly blessing. As I was leaving, he...
"THE LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT INTO OUR HEARTS THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLING IN US! ALLELUIA" (Romans 5:5). THE GIFT OF THE LOVE OF GOD IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. We are in a time of great expectation. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS COMING. We just celebrated the ASCENCION OF THE LORD. At the very end of Luke's Gospel (Luke 24: 50-53), Jesus blesses his disciples as he is being lifted up to heaven, then "his disciples returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY, and they were continually in the temple praising God". Like Jesus' first disciples, we are also anticipating...