Hey Deacon!

Last summer over 60,000 Catholics gathered in Indianapolis at the National Eucharistic Congress - a Eucharistic Revival pilgrimage that was put in motion through the USCCB to help foster a renewed appreciation of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.  This gathering of Catholics across the U.S. was powerful and awe inspiring but it did not end there.  It continues to be an inspiration for many dioceses across the country to institute their own Eucharistic revival.  
 
Bishop Rice recently announced that our diocese will have its very own Diocesan Eucharistic Congress on August 15, 2026, in West Plains as we also celebrate the 70^th anniversary of our diocesan charter.  It is Bishop Rice’s hope that all parishes and parishioners will participate in this special all-day celebration featuring inspirational talks from nationally renowned speakers, community fellowship, liturgy and worship.
 
As part of our preparation, Fr. J has asked the clergy to focus their homilies on Christ’s  Eucharistic presence in the Sunday scripture readings – which is one of the four-fold presence of Christ in the Mass.    Specifically, Fr. J has set aside one Sunday every other month to have a homily with a strong emphasis of Christ’s real  presence in the Liturgy of the Word.  The first of these Sundays will be the 28^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle C.  The readings are from the second Book of Kings (Naaman’s gratitude in being miraculously healed), Psalm 98 (the Lord’s saving power), St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy (faithfulness and salvation), and Luke’s gospel (Ten lepers cleansed but only one returned thankful).  In this Sunday’s readings the theme of thanksgiving and salvation are witnessed – the spiritual essence of the Eucharist.
 
The Lord is present to us through the actions within the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass in four distinct ways: 
(1) in His Body - the assembly of the people; (2) in the ministry of the priest; (3) in the Sacrament of the Altar; and (4) in the proclamation of holy scripture – the Liturgy of the Word.
 
The Liturgy of the Word is a crucial part of the Mass, where the Eucharist is preceded by the proclamation of the Word of God. This part of the Mass is designed to prepare the faithful for the Eucharist by allowing them to hear and meditate on the Scriptures. We can’t expect to commune meaningfully with Jesus through the Eucharist if we don’t hear Him in the Scriptures. If we look at the pattern of Scripture, we see that God’s Word always precedes and prepares people for His presence.
 
In a thirteenth homily by Origen of Alexandria (184-253 AD), he spoke on the Book of Exodus (Chap 35) and the importance of the Liturgy of the Word for communion with Christ in the Eucharist. He emphasized that in the same manner which the Israelites brought gold and silver from their own homes to construct the tabernacle, we too should bring our own gold and silver in our hearing and obedience to the Word at Mass: 
 
“For you cannot offer God anything from your understanding or from your word unless first you have understood in your heart what has been written. Unless you have been attentive and have listened diligently your gold or silver cannot be excellent”.
 
Origen concluded by reminding the people when they receive the body of the Lord and how they are to protect it.
 
“You are to protect it with all caution and veneration lest any small part fall from it, lest anything of the consecrated gift be lost. For you believe, and correctly, that you are answerable if anything falls from there by neglect. But if you are so careful to preserve His body, and rightly so, how do you think that there is less guilt to have neglected God’s word than to have neglected His body?”
 
When we come to Mass, we receive the four-fold presence of Christ. Quoting St. Augustine, “We become what we eat and drink.”  In other words, we become Christ present in the gathered assembly, in the presider, in the Eucharist broken and shared, and in the Word of God proclaimed.
Author Bio:
 Deacon Dan Vaughn