Pastor's Letter August 27: Building up our Faith in the Eucharist

Dear Parishioners,

The Sety’s fire in Chewelah that just happened August 18 is a reminder to all of us how temporary buildings and things are. I was thinking the night of the fire that I could have been looking out the window to see the church going up in flames.

The feeling of loss of a structure is what the Jews were feeling when the Romans destroyed their Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. It was huge loss to Jewish worship and to their national identity. In fact, some Jews (the Zionists) want to rebuild the Temple, now almost two millennia latter. Jesus himself prophesied the destruction of the Temple and that true worship would be replaced by his body, the Eucharist. Temple worship would be replaced by the worship of his Body and Blood.

As Catholics we build churches as a place to celebrate Eucharistic liturgy, the sacrifice of the Mass and house the Eucharist in the tabernacle. The building is important, but it is the Eucharist that transforms our structures from meeting halls to a sacred space for worship. The building should point to the transcendence and dignity of the Eucharist and is why a Catholic church should be treated with reverence.

Since the 70’s in the “spirit of Vatican II” there has been a misguided effort to strip our churches of transcendence, beauty, dignity and reverence. This has gone hand and hand with a lack of belief in the real presence of the Eucharist. If the Lord is not present in the Eucharist, then yes, let’s make our churches meeting halls and strip them of transcendence and beauty. It is one of my goals to recover some of the transcendence and beauty that has been lost at St. Mary’s from how it was originally built. It is a small miracle that no one destroyed the original beautiful interior of St. Joseph’s.

Of course, our churches are only a reflection of the faith of the people that worship there. If we want to build up our churches and not just maintain the structures, we have to build up our faith in the Eucharist. Faith and reverence in the Eucharist is the only thing that will change the downward spiral of demographics that is forcing us to ask difficult questions about the future of our church buildings.

This is why the Eucharist Revival the bishops are presently proposing is so important. It will be the future of Catholic faith in our country and local area. Without the Eucharist we are nothing. If people believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist they would be at mass. We are doing our part here at the Catholic Parishes of South Stevens County. Our bus pilgrimage to Expo '23 on Sunday, Sept. 10 is bringing together the Church of Eastern Washington to adore and worship Jesus in the Eucharist. The opening of the new Eucharistic Adoration Chapel will be Sunday, Sept. 17 and the first topic for Faith Night, which begins Wednesday, Sept. 13, will be the Eucharist.

On the first Faith Night, the adult class will begin a study on a little book by Bishop Robert Barron entitled “This Is My Body, A Call to Eucharistic Revival.” That evening participants will receive a copy of the book and an orientation for the expectations of the study, which will last three weeks. Faith Night will be every Wednesday starting with dinner at 6 pm and Faith Formation for all ages at 6:30 pm. We look forward to seeing everyone Sept. 13.