October 23, 2010
Dear friends in Christ,
For us Catholics, it all begins with Sunday: Believe ~ Celebrate ~ Live —The Eucharist
We often take the greatest gifts for granted. That’s why we are giving special attention to the gift of the Eucharist this year. Along with many parishes in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, each week we will focus on a part of the Mass.
The complete series “Believe ~ Celebrate ~ Live” is posted on our website. You can click on the four headings below to read the complete series, staring with the first article, “Gathering.”
This focus on the Eucharist is especially important as we anticipate changes in many of the words and phrases at Mass. Beginning in Advent 2011 (Nov. 27) Catholics in the United States will begin using a new English Translation of the Roman Missal. While the words will change, the structure of the Mass will remain the same.
Our prayer is that “Believe ~ Celebrate ~ Live” will help our parish communities come to realize as never before the core teaching of the Second Vatican Council: that our weekly celebration of the Eucharist is for our Christian lives the source of all our other activities and the summit of them as well. May this series help us appreciate the incredibly important role of the assembly in the celebration of the Eucharist, who, by their full, conscious, and active participation, truly offer the Mass together with the priest, and who, sent forth from the assembly allow the Eucharist to bear fruit in the world.
As our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis The Eucharist is a mystery to be believed, a mystery to be celebrated, and a mystery to be lived.
May you and your family read, learn, and together with the whole church live the mystery of our redemption –the Eucharist. In reading this series, if you have any question, do not hesitate to contact me via phone, email, or letter. Furthermore, if any thing that I and my pastoral staff can do to help you to grow in the Eucharistic faith, please let us know.
Sincerely in the Lord,
Rev. Lam T. Le, Pastor
lam@stmarybr.org
Gathering
Liturgy of the Word
Giving Thanks
Communion
Sending