DVDimage_(1)This week comes on the heels of an event in Boston that threatened to rock the world not only for every Catholic but for all people of good will. The event in question was the Black Mass that the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club intended to hold.  By God’s grace this affront on the sanctity of Christendom was cancelled at the last minute. Terry Donilon, Archdiocese spokesman, told Fox News in an email that “I would say that the event is an attack on the Eucharist.”  As the creator of a new DVD series on the Eucharist by Pauline Books and Media, I whole heartedly agree with Terry.

The Eucharist, for many people, remains the ultimate object of ridicule and attack because it defies human and scientific explanation. But for those of us with faith, Eucharist is an encounter with the risen Christ that is meant to transform our lives, heal our broken hearts, and renew our baptismal call to be disciples in the world. Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I was born in the 1950’s, and as a baby boomer growing up Catholic I memorized my Baltimore catechism, and got an A in almost every subject, including sacraments! I thought I knew it all.

It wasn’t until I became a wife and mother that I soon realized that while I knew “all the answers to my catechism,” I didn’t really know Jesus.  I hadn’t allowed myself to experience Him in my life, and most especially in the Eucharist. Shortly after my children were born, my mom and dad passed away in the same year. Through this painful ordeal, I gradually became deeply aware of the spiritual realities that were awaiting me at the Eucharistic table. “Take and eat, take and drink” soon became for me my invitation to be one with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This encounter with Jesus brought me healing, transformation and a renewed sense of love of neighbor.

The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist invites each one of us to bring our wounded, broken heart and all that lives within, and to place it on the altar table of sacrifice, so that the Spirit may not only transform the bread and wine, but our very lives as well.  The year that both of my parents were gravely ill, there was a moment when I realized I was like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  I so wanted this cup of cancer to pass from me, but I knew in my heart that it was not my will, but the Father’s that would ultimately be done. I gradually found the courage to let go of the pain and fear of losing them, as I gave them over to the Lord, praying, “Not my will but yours be done.”  As a grieving daughter, I found the courage to lovingly surrender my parents into the hands of God through my experience of Jesus in the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine.

At this Eucharistic table, it is Jesus who calls us. “Come, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” “Come, you who are broken and I will make you whole again.” Come to the table, “Take and eat, take and drink all of you, for this is my Body and this is my Blood.”  Truly the Eucharist remains one of the greatest gifts that God has given to humanity.  May our hearts be forever open to receiving the bountiful graces that await each one of us through our experience of Jesus in the Real Presence.

This new DVD series comes out of my real life experience of Jesus in the Eucharistic bread and wine.  Taped in three segments, this DVD weaves together scripture, heartwarming stories and easy to understand presentations on Catholic teachings; and is meant to reawaken your sense of the sacred, and to help you realize the spiritual treasures that await you at the Eucharistic table.

Copyright 2014 Dr. Mary Amore