Preaching New Eucharistic Revival
Father Andy Davy is a priest in the order of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Marians. He is currently pastor at Our Lady Queen of peace in Darian, Illinois. He shared some thoughts on the great gift of the Eucharist, and his effort as a “Eucharistic Preacher” during this time of renewal.
The Call
Father responded to the Holy Father’s call and is one of several hundred priests in the United States called Eucharistic preachers. This entails making a concerted effort to help the faithful understand the gift of the Eucharistic and the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. In the next three years, there will be national, diocesan, and parish-wide events to bring about this labor. Their purpose will be to better educate the faithful on Church teaching and that Jesus is present in the Eucharist Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, recalling that even in John Chapter 6, misunderstandings and disbelief in the Eucharist caused many disciples to leave and never return to Christ.
The Image
In the Divine Mercy Image, Jesus appears as the High Priest. We know he came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, and in the image, he is wearing the robe of a Jewish High Priest. Yet, at the consecration, the high priest also becomes the sacrifice. If we look at the Image and reflect on the Sacraments of mercy - the Eucharist and Reconciliation are central to the priesthood and the message of mercy. The red rays symbolize the blood which is the life of souls, and the pale rays the waters of baptism and the Sacrament of reconciliation.
The Message
The message of Divine Mercy is a Eucharistic message - St. Faustina understood and added to her name “of the Most Blessed Sacrament.” In one of her visions, she even saw rays of Blood and Water emanating from the Monstrance. It is Divine Mercy that allows us the grace of confession, ensuring that we do not receive Christ unworthily and bring condemnation upon our own heads. May the faithful come to understand the great gift of the Eucharist better, and in the words of Louis Eymard, “May thy Eucharistic Kingdom Come!"
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