The Communion of Marriage and Family

Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, gave an incredible address at the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland last week. As a husband and a father, he spoke on the theme of Exploring and Celebrating the Communion of Marriage and Family.

“It is easy to see that the Eucharist is central to the life of a priest,” Anderson said. “But it is no less central and vital to the life of a lay person. Without the Eucharist, our communion with others is cut off from what sanctifies it, for ‘it is through the Eucharist that Christ guides our lives and builds our communities of love, understanding and mercy.’”

For more on how the Eucharist sanctifies the family and helps build a “civilization of love,” read the full testimony here.

Adoring our King

In his homily for Corpus Christi, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the topic of Adoration—a practice which has been discredited by some Catholics as ritualistic and a distraction from the importance of the Mass.

Spending time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is “one of the most authentic experiences of our being in church,” he said. And in order to enter into true communion with our King, we must exchange glances with Him and give Him “intense, eloquent silences full of respect and veneration.” Adoring the Blessed Sacrament gives the celebration of the Mass a fuller meaning, and that is why giving Him time in silence and in processions is so important–we better understand Who and What we are receiving when we approach the table. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church includes Blessed John Paul II’s words on this topic:

The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.

Let us make a commitment, then, to adore our King in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us also pray for the success and fruitfulness of the 50^th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. Ireland needs the healing power of the Eucharist.