Catechetical Wednesday

FORMED Presence Session 2: "The Story of the Eucharist" April 1, 2020

Today is the second Wednesday of what St. Joseph Church is calling "Catechetical Wednesdays". While you are physically away from the church, we want to bring the church to you through the Internet, and continue to nurture your life of faith.

We have been in touch with many of you through phone conversations or through email. What we have heard many times is how disappointed you are that you cannot come to Mass. You long to come to church to give thanks to God and to unite yourself more closely to him. You long to be in the church and to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. This is a great hunger that you have! Keep that hunger alive; unite yourselves with our Lord in spiritual communion, until the day when we are all gathered together again in the church. The Lord hears your cries and he is with you.

We would like to continue our catechesis, then, with a teaching on The Eucharist. During this time of being away from the Eucharist, we can reflect on what it is we believe about this sacrament. How does the Eucharist fit in with God's story for humanity? What is the connection between the Passover of the Jews in the Book of Exodus and The Last Supper that Jesus had with his apostles?

To help us understand more deeply the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we will continue the online video course called "Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist" that is in four sessions. Session 2 is called "The Story of the Eucharist". It's about 38 minutes in length. We suggest that you watch it and then take some time after the session to think about what you saw and share with others if you have the opportunity. There is a "Presence Study Guide" (on the same webpage as the session videos) that has questions and reflections for each of the sessions.

To access the course, we use a website called FORMED, sponsored by the Augustine Institute. The website has resources, including books and videos, that teach and explain the Catholic faith. It is free for all of our parishioners to use.

To access Session 2 "The Story of the Eucharist", go to www.formed.org. If you already have an account, click "Sign In" at the top right of the screen. If you do not have an account, click "Sign Up" in the middle of the screen. When the pop-up screen shows, click "I belong to a Parish or Organization". When the next screen asks for your parish information, enter our code "MGFN9G" or you can search by entering in our parish information. Click "Next", and then enter your name and email address and click "Sign up". Then, follow the instructions on the next screen.

Once you've signed in to FORMED either as a returning user or a new user, you can access Session 2 "The Story of the Eucharist" here: https://watch.formed.org/presence.

Please share your experience of Session 2 on our Facebook page. You can also email the church at SJC@sjy.org. If you have questions about accessing FORMED, please call the parish office or email us at SJC@sjy.org. Let us all continue to pray for our parish and for our world.