Parish mission to focus on the Eucharist

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Fr. Louis Guardiola, C.P.M.

TAYLORSVILLE — The Eucharist is the answer to the many challenges families face today including drugs, violence, divorce and broken homes, according to St. Martin De Porres Parish pastor Fr. Jan Bednarz.

“Mass is the healing sacrament,” he said.

In light of this, St. Martin De Porres Parish is sponsoring an Advent mission Dec. 2-6 with Fr. Louis Guardiola, C.P.M., a member of the Fathers of Mercy whose ministry is preaching parish missions and retreats, with an emphasis on the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

Fr. Guardiola is the author of The Family Eucharistic Crusade, a book described in its publicity materials as “a twenty-first-century adaptation of the Society of Jesus’ Eucharistic Crusade manual of the twentieth century. The … reflections … follow the twenty centuries of teachings, definitions, and traditions of our Catholic faith.”

The mission will kick off Sunday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. when Fr. Guardiola will introduce the Crusade to parishioners. On Monday through Thursday at both 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., he will share the procedure to form a “Eucharistic army and Crusade of Eucharistic soldiers.”

On Monday, Dec. 3, Fr. Guardiola will speak about Eucharistic education, which explains the who, what and why of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist. The importance of Eucharistic adoration will be the subject of Fr. Guardiola’s Tuesday, Dec. 4, presentations. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, he will present the third part of his message, “Eucharistic Communication,” which addresses the effect of the first two elements that leads to a “complete oneness, communion and total identity with the Eucharistic Lord.”

Thursday, Dec. 6, Fr, Guardiola will tie all the elements of his message together in “The Eucharistic Missionary.”

“One cannot be an effective missionary of the Holy Eucharist unless one is affected, that is, totally interiorizes the love, wisdom and courage of the Eucharistic Lord,” the information about the Crusade says.

“Today people don’t have time for the Eucharist,” Fr. Bednarz said, encouraging people to attend the mission. “Only 23 percent of U.S. Catholics attend Mass. ... For this moral and spiritual crisis, the Eucharist is the answer.”

During the parish mission, there will be Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession daily.

WHAT: Advent Parish Mission

WHEN: Sunday-Thursday, Dec. 2-6 

WHERE: St. Martin de Porres Parish, 4914 South 2200 West, Taylorsville

All are invited.