One Book One Parish
St. John Neumann’s parish-wide reading program, One-Book-One-Parish, announces our 2011 fall parish book: “Our One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist” by Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI.
Pick up your copy of the book at Between the Masses on Sunday mornings (10:15-11:15am) or in the parish office for our very popular parish community-wide book read: One-Book-One-Parish. The program kicks-off in September. Cost of book: $18.
About the Book:
More so than anything else, the Eucharist is what anchors many peoples’ life, prayer, and ultimately the way they live their lives. In this deeply personal book, Father Ronald Rolheiser delves into the history and meaning of this sacred tradition, drawing upon the insights of various scripture scholars, theologians, and church teachings. With personal warmth and great insight, he reflects on his own particular Roman Catholic upbringing and the centrality that the Eucharist has within that tradition. At the same time, he looks at other denominations’ traditions around the Eucharist. Our One Great Act of Fidelity is an investigation into the ways people secure their faith and belief and discover true intimacy with God and each other. Ultimately, however, it is a spiritual and a personal statement of how Ronald Rolheiser understands the Eucharist and why he celebrates it every day. (from amazon.com)
About the Author: Ronald Rolheiser is a specialist in the field of spirituality and is currently President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. Father Rolheiser is the author of The Holy Longing, The Restless Heart, Forgotten Among the Lilies, The Shattered Lantern, and Against an Infinite Horizon. He writes a weekly column that appears in more than 90 Catholic publications. Fr. Rolheiser will present a retreat at the parish on Saturday, October 15, 2011. And the following Sunday, October 16, he will present “The Second Mark - The Path to Holiness” at our Between the Masses Adult Faith Formation program in the St. Timothy Room. You can register online now for the retreat. More information on his work can be found at RonRolheiser.com.
Sept. 11, 2011, 10:15-11:15 a.m., St. Timothy Room
One-Book-One-Parish spring book kick-off on Sunday, September 11th at our Between the Masses Adult Faith Formation hour, 10:15-11:15am. You can pick up a copy of the book ($18) during the program in the St. Timothy Room.
October 29 (Saturday), 6:30-8:30 p.m., St. Timothy Room
One-Book-One-Parish book discussion and potluck dinner. St. John Neumann will provide the beverages, you bring the food.
Participate in the book study by following us on our blog below!
October 18th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
In Chapter 13, Fr. Rolheiser shifts gears to examine the Eucharist from the perspective of Ritual. I absolutely love his insight on the importance of being regular in prayer. Consider how we think about that in the rest of our lives – we want to eat healthy, and, ideally, get regular exercise, so that we will stay well, and perhaps, live a life, where we can take care of ourselves as we get older. That requires diligence and commitment. Why should it not be the same when it concerns prayer and worship? After all, beyond the healthy life, those things take care of the “new life” that comes beyond.
Then in Chapter 14, Father writes about the waiting game that we all play every day. We are all too familiar with it as it applies to our earthly lives, waiting for the start of school, waiting for husbands to come home from work, waiting for games to be over, waiting for Mass to begin, then waiting for Mass to end. He makes an extremely valuable point here that the celebration of Eucharist, in community, helps us to keep the “vigil” for whatever may come next in our journey to Christ.
We’re all aware that the crises occurring throughout our lives are intended by God to shape us, to prepare us for what He intends for us to become. And you’ve no doubt heard of the strength that comes from prayer. Now place that understanding in the perspective of “the arms” that surround you while you are waiting, gaining strength for the journey. It’s a great image of how God not only looks out for us as He helps us to navigate our lives, but meant Eucharist, His body, to sustain us along the way. In much the same way that He sent manna to the Israelites in the desert, it is the promise that we are never alone.
Finally, in Chapter 15, Fr. Rolheiser refers to Eucharist as a universal prayer that moves us into kairos time, where we are connected with the past and all who pray the prayers in the present and the future. This is a timely discussion, given that the New Roman Missal comes out in November, with “old” prayers replacing the “new” wording of Vatican II. That council, in 1962, sought to breathe fresh air into the ancient church, its prayers and its rituals. In the process of converting to vernacular languages, however, it eliminated some of the universal unity of liturgy that connected the globe through the Latin liturgy. As we began to translate liturgy into our respective languages, words and phrases varied in translation. Today, the church seeks to reclaim that former unity, by reinstituting the former language that will provide greater connection for the Catholic Church around the world.
It’s a powerful image of a church united through its liturgical worship. And we can never underestimate the strength that comes from that unity.
October 11th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
Rolheiser’s message continues to deepen in Chapter 11, where he breaks open another understanding of Eucharist, as an invitation to service. He examines John’s Gospel of the Last Supper, which we “break out” every Triduum to celebrate Holy Thursday. Rolheiser points out that John is the only one of the Gospel writers who mentions Jesus’ call to service, when He washed the feet of the Apostles.
The scripture says that Jesus “taking off his outer garments” then stooped down to wash the feet of His disciples. Rolheiser writes that the “outer garments” were more than just the physical act of doing the worst possible thing anyone would want to do, but, in fact, they represented the prideful side of all human beings, Jesus included, who see such a chore as the “worst possible thing.” Jesus was stripping away those attitudes and behaviors that prevented Him from being who He really was, especially for the Son of God.
This is a powerful revelation for me. If Jesus was our first model for figuring out what God intended for us to be, He certainly gave us an effective example of how one strips away the “outer garments” that disguise or interfere with being true to our selves.
I believe it’s possible that many of us have covered over so much of the “real” part of us for so long, it is hard to recognize that part anymore. And it is probably the most important step in our journeys to figure out who we are supposed to be, or become, or move toward, in becoming like Christ.
In Chapter 12, Rolheiser leads us back to the celebration of liturgy, and reminds us that Jesus in the bread and wine, is showing us a “brokenness” in His body and spilled blood. We are to understand those symbols as a challenge from the Eucharist, that we are called to “offer up the tears and blood of the poor” as we take our Christ-likeness out into the world and endeavor to make a difference in the lives of all who suffer from injustice.
If ever there was a blatant call to service, this may be it. And it has been right in front of us all the time. Are we ready to answer the call?
October 4th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
So, we’re starting Chapter 9 of Fr. Rolheiser’s book, and he begins with a great story of how “story” works in our lives, as a way to remember someone or something. How often we may forget, in our own shallowness, that the celebration of Mass is the “story” Jesus left us as a way to remember Him.
But in so doing, we remember that He gave His life for us, and Rolheiser suggests that that part of the “story” is with each memorial celebration of liturgy Christ’s dying becomes present to us. It is that sacrifice, that we become part of in the breaking of the bread. Christ in Eucharist invites us into His selfless giving.
I have to admit, this was complicated for me to grasp, but it also drew me in to the rest of the book. Rolheiser’s fuller understanding of Eucharist is something for each of us to receive as gift.
In Chapter 10, he takes it a step further, and, using the wisdom ofSt. Augustine, demonstrates something that I have always believed, that as we celebrate Eucharist, our sins are forgiven. This does not discourage the Sacrament of Reconciliation, because “a full healing of one’s past” can only come from a face-to-face admission of sin, but it does remind us that at the moment of receiving Christ into us, we are free of sin.
It is extraordinary to me that God thought of everything! As wonderful as Eucharist already is, we realize that, in addition, He also brings healing to our souls.
September 29th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
Fr. Rolheiser continues his clarification of Eucharist in Chapters 6-8, using perfect simplicity to help the reader understand what we already, essentially, know by faith. He reminds us that the Eucharist is bread for our soul, in the same way that cereal might be our daily breakfast. And he uses that comparison to help us see that just as many of us wouldn’t miss breakfast, it doesn’t make sense to skip an opportunity for daily communion with God.
It’s an important message for our Catholic culture, where the majority are satisfied with once-a-week Sunday Mass. I always remember something parishioner Alan Graham said a number of years ago, that the transformation for him began with his being able to celebrate almost daily Eucharist. The “living bread” fed him, and focused him on the extraordinary mission of Mobile Loaves & Fishes.
And that brings me to the other reference Rolheiser makes to John’s gospel and how it differentiates from the other three gospel writers. He says that John emphasized the “service” of Jesus’ washing feet, and made the breaking of bread a “normal” part of evening dinner. So the message was one of serving others, but relying on the “bread of life” to support those efforts.
I also like his comment in Chapter 7 about the essential value of gathering around the “table” at Mass, as a way to bring us all together in the same way that a family’s evening meal is intended. Again, he’s showing us the importance of participating in the Eucharistic celebration with the same regularity in our lives that family dinners occur, although in hectic family life today that may be less “regular” than we’d like to admit.
Finally, Rolheiser reminds us that the Eucharist meal is also a sacrifice, a gift of love from God, given with the same intensity that He gave His son over to die 2,000 years ago. He points out that this part of the mystery is difficult to grasp, but likens it to the way we honor heroes, and their great sacrifices. Should we not pay the same homage to the family of God for His ultimate gift of love?
God’s Blessings,
Nancy Biehler, Director of Adult Faith Formation
September 20th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
In Chapter 3-5, Fr. Rolheiser addresses the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, not just as we believe It to be, but by Its physical appearance as bread at the table. He argues that all humans can only go so far on faith, that we need to be able to touch something that is real. Hence, the extra step that Jesus took at the Last Supper to break bread with his apostles, to call it holy, and to say that it was the Living Body of Christ. In asking them to do the same, as a way to remember Him, He identified Himself as the bread of life.
This understanding is important in several ways, first, because we believe in a visible presence of Christ in each of our sacraments. In baptism, it is through the water and the oil that we become part of His mystical body. In Reconciliation, it is with the sign of the cross that our sins are forgiven. In Confirmation, it is the oil, but also the laying on of hands that make us soldiers of Christ. In Matrimony, it is the symbol of the rings that make two people one. In Holy Orders as well as Anointing of the Sick, again, it is the oil and the laying on of hands. And, most importantly, through the bread and wine, we receive Christ into our own bodies.
A second aspect that Catholics consider is the practice of Adoration. While we already believe that we have taken Christ unto us every time we receive Holy Communion, we have numerous opportunities to worship Him in the flesh through the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and through the simple act of reverence we show the tabernacle on the altar.
Rolheiser points out that we see and celebrate Christ in the Eucharist in many ways, but it is in His real presence that He offers us a very physical “embrace” of love that cannot be duplicated. That’s what validates the faith we share and gives it texture. He calls it a “eucharistic kiss that needs no explanation.” After all, is there a definition of infinite Love that can be adequately put into words? For our part in the Mystical Body, we need only treasure that as His gift to us.
God bless you and yours,
Nancy Biehler
Director, Adult Faith Formation
September 13th, 2011
Dear One Book One Parish community readers,
In preparation for Fr. Rolheiser’s visit to St. John Neumann in mid-October, we decided to offer another parish “read” on his latest publication, Our One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist. It is a lovely and very personal testimony of the life-long Oblate on his own intimate connection to celebrating Eucharist.
Recently, we found out that Fr. Rolheiser is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and will need to postpone his time with us. So now, we ask our fellow parishioners to read the book in unison as a Eucharistic prayer offered for Fr. Rolheiser’s healing.
In Part One, Fr. Rolheiser helps us differentiate our understanding of the uniqueness of our Catholic faith as it relates to, and in fact, revolves around the Eucharistic celebration at Mass, with other Protestant denominations that also share in a Eucharistic feast. This has long been a complicated series of misunderstandings for many in and out of our faith, and so it’s critical that he clarify from the outset.
I very much appreciated his personal story, and the description of how his own parents imbued in him a love of Eucharist from childhood. Most of us who are “cradle” Catholics may have had similar experiences, although I fear there may be many who now take that heritage for granted in their adult faith lives. Just look around our own worship space during Mass and note those running back and forth to the restrooms as the most important element of our celebration occurs! Nonetheless, Fr. Rolheiser endeavors to help us see the continuing physical presence of Christ among us in that Eucharist.
He points out within Protestant denominations, the preaching of the Word is the primary focus of their celebrations, supported by a Eucharistic feast; whereas, as Catholics, we place Eucharist at the center of our celebrations, and support it by the Word of scripture. He further identifies a 3-part role of Eucharist in our faith: It is the celebration that draws us to “the table” in community; It is the physical presence of Christ on earth, and continuing in each of us; and It is the meal – he says the very “table” that draws us in.
Given the power of that presence among us, as the end and means by which we come to Christ, how can any of us ever take It for granted? It is this extraordinary mystery that binds us all in our faith, and offers us the means to eternal life.
God bless you and yours,
Nancy Biehler
Director, Adult Faith Formation
March 22nd, 2011
Our parish read, Becoming Who You Are, is one Jesuit’s effort at
helping each of us to understand ourselves a little better through the
lens of the very “exposed” lives of Thomas Merton and Henri Nouwen.
Fr. Martin uses these two brilliant Catholic theologians’ experiences
to show us how they gradually shed their known selves to come to the
true reality of who they were. Merton called it letting go of the
“false self,” the person we choose to present to the world, to get to
the person God intended us to be.
Martin points out that “one’s personal brand of holiness becomes
clearer the more the true self is revealed.” When you consider that
many of the trappings of our false self suggest a kind of arrogance
that we can actually fool God, and others, by our artifical
appearance, it should become a motivator to move all of us back toward
a more real image of ourselves.
Sometimes we try to manifest personality traits of people we admire.
Aren’t we charged as Catholics with a duty to “become saint-like”?
We’ve all heard it said that imitation is the best form of flattery.
I have tried very hard to emulate greater intentionality in the
fashion of Fr. Bud. He picked up on a parishioner’s habit of naming
each person he encountered, at the grocery checkout counter, in a
restaurant, in the most unlikely places. I worked a regatta on
Ladybird Lake this weekend, and after waiting in line for the
sanitation worker to finish cleaning out the port-o-potties, which has
to be the worst of all the jobs there are, I thanked the man for his
service and wished him a good day. I remember that he responded with
a bit of surprise. That was an amazing moment for me.
What I have learned through this practice is that it helps me to slow
down a great deal, when I take a minute to recognize a total stranger.
It reminds me that everyone is special, not just me! And I think it
brings me closer to my true self, to become a person without judgment.
God Bless – Nancy Biehler
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