A message from Fr. Chris Bologo ….

Eucharistic Celebration as an Encounter with Christ that leads to encountering Him in Others

 

From July 17th to 21st, the National Football League (NFL) Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, welcomed more than 50,000 Catholics from all over the United States to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. The five-day congress will unite the faithful and inspire people to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Congress is the high point of the parish and diocesan Eucharistic Congresses held throughout the country earlier. 12 parishioners from St. Simon attended the Diocese of San Jose Eucharistic Congress on June 1st at the Bellarmine College Preparatory School, San Jose.

 

The Eucharist is the ritual meal of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he left for us before his crucifixion and told us to eat and drink in remembrance of him constantly. During the Eucharistic celebration in Mass, bread and wine made by human hands are consecrated, and they become the body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation. Because the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ, we encounter Christ when we participate in the Eucharistic celebration: we encounter his love, sacrifice, and brokenness.

 

The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was an act of love. His love for us made him submit to the will of the Father to suffer pain for the sake of saving humankind. It is this sacrificial love that we encounter in the Eucharist. Furthermore, Jesus was broken while laying down his life for humanity, particularly between the Last Supper and the crucifixion. He suffered humiliation, physical and emotional pain, emptiness, and darkness. When we encounter the love and brokenness of Christ in the Eucharist, it should lead us to a mission: to share in the suffering, pain, and brokenness of others, and to give them hope through love.

 

Fr. Brendan, our Pastor, Joan Mibach, our parish Business Manager, 20+ St. Simon parishioners, and others from Churches within San Jose joined the Tijuana Ministry and the Brothers and Sisters in Community Service (BASICS) charity for a week-long mission to Tijuana. They encountered Christ in the local community during the mission, which has become an annual tradition. They built three homes for three families and prepped another one for a fourth family. They also ran a summer day camp that engaged the children in the Tijuana community in various activities. This is a practical way of living the Eucharist in the world after its celebration in the Church. We take out into the world what we celebrate in the Eucharist. We respond to our encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist by showing solidarity with those suffering and marginalized.

 

As a Eucharistic people, let us continue to offer hope and encouragement in difficult times by reaching out to others with kindness, empathy, and support. Some of the things we can do include volunteering at local charities and contributing to the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Society so that they can continue to help those in need with groceries, rent, gas, warm clothing during winter, school supplies in September, food items at Thanksgiving, items for Veterans, Christmas gifts in December, and basket supplies at Easter to name a few. You can also support our Parish Ministries such as the Hospital Ministry, Visiting Ministry, and Homeless Meals Ministry helping those in need locally. Thank you to all of you for your support of the SVdP July men’s clothing drive and the recent Catholic Charities Kinship Center backpack drive.

 

As you know our own local Rummage Sale is coming up on Augus 23rd & 24th with donation collections starting August 4th. The sale is a great way to recycle and upcycle items you no longer use. The rummage team then sell the items at reasonable prices, for someone else to enjoy and saving them from going to the landfill. Items not sold are donated to over 20 local charities. We have a parishioner who has moved to Florida who is the Rummage Sale Charity Donation Coordinator – she’s our first remote rummage volunteer! She contacts local charities and asks them for a list of their needs, she then passes on these lists to each rummage sale department, and they box them up for delivery after the Rummage Sale. It is our way for our community, which is blessed with so much to give to those in need. Please consider donating your time to:

  • help promote the sale,
  • sort and set-up items on the collection nights,
  • box up and move items after the sale and/or
  • provide breakfast, lunch or snacks for the rummage sale volunteers the week of the sale who work hard to transform the Parish Center gym into a large Thrift Store.

To help, you can email communications@stsimon.org, Pattie Sharrow here or sign up on Engage (our online volunteer platform) here.

 

Let us go forth, nourished by the Eucharist, to become living testaments of Christ’s love in the world. Have a blessed week and be Christ-like!

God bless,

Fr. Chris