As we begin Holy Week and try to enter into the deepest mysteries of our faith, I wish to comment on the invitation that went out to participate in a kind of communal spiritual exercise. I’m referring to the fact that a number of us have been walking this Lent with a beautiful book (provided free by the Sag Bridge Mission Society to anyone who wished to take part) called “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory.” Instead of quoting a few great lines from this book I wish to extol the virtues of doing such an activity on a parish level. The book was a simple read but what became difficult, was the time necessary to “keep up with the chapters”. I use the phrase “keep up” purposely. When we say “keeping up with” a few thoughts come to mind. First, we might think of running a race. As in “I have to keep up with the guy in front of me”. Or as in “Keeping up with the Jones”. But as the days of Lent rolled along there was a kind of fear in falling behind in the chapters of the book. I didn’t want to lose any chance to share something wonderful about the Eucharist. The pressure was not so much to win a race but to find the treasure. But the kind of treasure we were looking for was a treasure that increases in value when you share it. It doesn’t lose value like when pirates have to split up the treasure they found amongst themselves. 

I’ve read many books as an individual of course. I love to read and so I absorb what I absorb, and I move on. But reading a book “as a parish” is different. It’s a unique way of uniting people. I hope those of you who did “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory” found this to be true. While reading the lessons, we were, of course reading for our own spiritual benefit. But knowing others were reading it too, and that there were opportunities to share our thoughts, created the desire to share what we learned with others. People talk a lot about unity in a community but reading a book as a community is rarely thought of as a way to build that unity. Reading “33 Days” had this effect on many of us. I am reminded of what one mom said to me as I ponder why the younger generation doesn’t have the experience my generation had when it comes to sings-a-long songs. She said, our young people all listen to their favorite artists on Spotify or YouTunes, so their generation has few songs they all know. Hence singing a song together isn’t so easy. I like discovering songs that can be sung together for the mere fact that singing together is good. 

It occurs to me that our Catholic faith possesses similar characteristics. Love for the Eucharist should be one of those things that unites us as a faith community. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure that that love sings in the hearts of Catholics across the board. One of the more powerful points Matthew Kelly makes in this book is the following. “Despite all the things that can lead people to leave Catholicism, those who believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist…don’t leave.”