Book by Cardinal Cupich inspires new series on the Eucharist

Inspired by Cardinal Cupich’s book “Take, Bless, Break, Share: A Strategy for a Eucharistic Revival” (Twenty-Third Publications), the archdiocese’s Office for Lifelong Formation and Office for Divine Worship produced “Remain In Me,” a five-part series on the eucharistic revival.

Each session is tied to the celebration of the National Eucharistic Revival and includes videos, Scripture, prayer, individual reflection, small-group discussion and personal testimony and can be used by parishes and other Catholic groups in the archdiocese. It can also be used online by individuals.

The series launched in English in January and will soon come out in Spanish.

The sessions follow the main points about eucharistic revival laid out by Cardinal Cupich, said Kevin Foy, director of lifelong formation for the archdiocese.

“We use some real-life examples from things people might be facing, some examples of saints and martyrs who have shown a devotion to their faith in the Eucharist, and then witness testimonies of people of how they kind of connect to the Eucharist, how they live their faith out in devotion to the Eucharist, in their lives and how it feeds them, nourishes them,” Foy said.

The series is designed to invite people into deeper reflection on the Eucharist no matter where they are on their faith journey, he said.

One of the ideas put forward by Cardinal Cupich and included in “Remain In Me” is that while Catholics must follow the commandment, “Keep holy the Sabath,” it is also important to reflect on another one: “You shall have no other God before me.”

“The whole entry point into it is putting God first,” Foy said. “The cardinal has a great reflection that we just kind of build out around it, of making the time for Sunday worship and what that can open up for you.”

In that session, presenters recognize that people are busy and it can be difficult to make it to Mass on the weekends, but stress the importance of prioritizing Mass.

“If we can just put God first in our lives and at least in this one simple way and profound way of making time for Sunday worship, that really is the entry point of building the habit and starting to be in awe of what Jesus is offering to us through the Eucharist,” Foy said.

Another idea the series examines is what it means to be transformed in the Eucharist in terms of sacrificial living, Foy said.

“If we’re really drawing close to the Eucharist, it should lead to our modeling our lives on the sacrifice Jesus made,” he said. “We make a point that most of us are thankfully not called to martyrdom, but that really there is a sense of what Jesus gave and what does that profound gift mean, not just in terms of our spiritual life, but in terms of our practical witness in our daily life and how we how we make that a priority.”

The sessions also discussion the relationship of Mass to adoration.

“The cardinal really of makes a point that our primary and our first experience in relationship with the Eucharist is the eucharistic liturgy,” Foy said. “Then drawing from that, adoration really is a beautiful and profound and important way to deepen that relationship.”

Each session touches on lives of saints or people who were martyred for their faith. When explaining the relationship of the eucharistic liturgy to adoration, the program offers the example of St. Teresa of Kolkata who, with her sisters, started each day with Mass and ended each day with adoration. In between, they ministered to the poor.

Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette began offering the series in February, with one session each month leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July.

“The first one we did was awesome,” said Michael Cesario, director of evangelization.

About 40 people participated in the first session, he said.

“The program itself, especially for people like me who are conducting it, it’s wonderful because everything is laid out for you,” Cesario said. “We’re just really grateful that this is a program that has been offered.”

Parishioners really responded to the small group time that allows them to reflect on the themes, he said.

“It’s a good one-two punch because the videos and the testimonies and the content set people up to really think about, ‘OK, do I actually believe the Eucharist is the living presence of Jesus Christ?’” Cesario said. “What I’ve noticed is they are all learning from each other, and I think that’s the best type of learning.”

Helping people to understand God’s love for them in the Eucharist is especially important now, he said.

“Our world right now is suffering very much from a lack of belief in God, a lack of trust in God, so this eucharistic revival and this ‘Remain In Me’ series are resources to help people understand that Jesus loved us so much that he left us, at his Last Supper himself, in the form our very human minds could understand: bread and wine,” Cesario said. “And when you have that you have everything. There’s nothing else you need.”

To learn more about “Remain In Me,” visit eucharisticrevivalchicago.org.