Moving Forward - Part 1

     Over the past several months, I have hinted at and folks have inquired about returning to the reception of the Blood of Christ during the Eucharist. Though I tend to be a little more cautious when it comes to such issues (trying to keep folks healthy and respecting the Eucharist) there will be no perfect time and the necessary logistics will never be perfectly in place to take the next steps. I do understand neighboring parishes have already re-started the practice of receiving from the cup and I believe we will learn from both their successes and their challenges.
     I have received many suggestions of how to go about restarting this practice: having individual mini-cups, intinction (dipping the host in the wine) and many more. One thing we must always remember, any practice we adopt must be within the parameters of our Catholic Tradition\ Eucharistic Theology and maintain the greatest respect we can have for the Body and Blood of Christ. Here are some things to ponder:

• We will resume the practice of receiving the Blood of Christ on the weekend of August 26th and 27th. We will have an earlier start for the weekday masses.
• As we begin, we will do so gradually having two cups of the Precious Blood available at first. It is hard to say how receiving from the cup will be received by the parish. Reports and numbers from other parishes have been at both ends of the spectrum. As we develop a better sense of how folks respond, we will be able to adjust as to how many cups will be needed and how much of the Precious Blood should be made available.
• Parish and school leadership will be working with our children (both school and formation programs) when it comes to receiving from the cup recognizing for some of our younger members they have not had the opportunity to receive from the cup since they made their First Communion. Parents will play an important role in helping their children engage in this sacred practice.
• Finally, for now, we need new members of the parish to come forward and assist in the distribution of the Precious Blood. This is not a priest\deacon thing – we need your help in ministering to the members of this community in all sorts of ways but right now by being a Eucharistic Minister of both the Body and Blood of Christ. If you are willing to assist please contact, Michelle Heeren (info in the bulletin) and she will arrange a time and place for learning the appropriate procedures. We cannot accomplish this without your assistance.
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​     Over the next few weeks you will be receiving more information about receiving from the cup, reception of the Eucharist in general (sometimes we all get into bad habits), and how we can be more intentional when it comes to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. We must be willing to ask ourselves “what we believe when it comes to the Eucharist,” “how we believe,” and what we do with the belief when it comes to living out our lives.

Blessings, Fr. Howard