Just a week ago, the 10th National Eucharistic Congress was concluded with a solemn Mass at Lukas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. The five-day event gathered over fifty thousand attendees from all over the country together with 200 bishops, more than 1,200 priests and a good number of religious. Along with the preceding the congress pilgrimage the event was part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops launched in 2022 to increase understanding of and love for Jesus in the Eucharist. The event aimed at revitalizing the Catholic Church in the United States by reaffirming the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and encouraging Catholics to become Eucharistic missionaries in their everyday lives.
Last Sunday we heard in the gospel reading about the mission of the apostles sent by Jesus two by two to announce the gospel. Well, for our secularized and pragmatic mentality this kind of mission may seem completely pointless and crazy. In the end, the disciples went without any human resources: no money, no car, no appointments, no food. There were to trust completely on God’s providence. In our times we avoid any form of improvising, we want to be effective, efficient and prepared. And yet, to many’s surprise, the Twelve not only returned happy recounting what had happened, their missionary work turned out to be very fruitful and be received unexpectedly well.
If you are grieving the loss of a child, no matter the age of your child, how long ago your child died, or the cause, you are invited to attend an one-day retreat that centers on the spirituality of the grieving process on Saturday, September 14th from 9:30am to 7:00pm. The retreat will be hosted by St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, MD and is sponsored by The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Office of Family Life and the Emmaus Ministry for Grieving Parents. It will offer the opportunity to focus on your spiritual journey after the loss of your child. No one is expected to participate in activities or share more than they are comfortable sharing. Please feel free to simply come and listen. For more information, please contact the Office of Family Life at [email protected] or 301-853-4546. Registration deadline is September 6, 2024.
The East of the River Youth Rally will take place on October 5th, 2024 at Mount Calvary Catholic Church.
The event will start at 10:00AM and conclude with a Mass at 4:00PM. Rev. Stephen Sohe will be the speaker.
Summertime is this part of the year when most of us go on vacations, we look for some rest from our responsibilities, and make plans to find a moment just for ourselves. After the whole year of work, we deserve to take some break from the daily routine. Every year, exactly during this time the Sunday gospels speak about Jesus sending out his disciples two by two on an evangelization mission. They are to go to prepare the coming of their Master by preaching, exorcisms and healing. The same mission of announcing the good news of Jesus is still being carried out today by the Church to those who want to find true peace and rest.
The 35th Annual East of the River Revival will start on October 7th and run through October 9th, 2024 at Mount Calvary Catholic Church on 6700 Marlboro Pike in Forestville, MD 20747.