Diocese marks ‘Year of the Eucharist’ close
By Jim Shea
Correspondent
Members of Perth Amboy’s nine Catholic parishes united Oct. 8 for a Mass closing the Year of the Eucharist, celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Edward T. Hughes.
Pope John Paul II declared that the year be celebrated from the start of the World Eucharistic Congress in October 2004 until the October 2005 Synod of Bishops in Rome, which is considering the theme The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church. He wanted all Catholics to contemplate “with greater perseverance” the “center of the Church’s life.”
“Today God blessed us abundantly and we all come here united,” said Gladys Negron, co-chair of the year-long celebration and a member of La Asuncion Parish.
Father John Gordon, pastor, La Asuncion Parish, also served as a co-chair.
In addition to La Asuncion Parish, members of the parish communities of Holy Spirit, Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, St. Stephen, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Hungary, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Mary, and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Hopelawn, all came together for the event.
“I venture to say that here in Perth Amboy we have people from every continent in the world — people from South America, Central America, Europe and Asia —and we have all come here together today to celebrate the presence of the Lord Jesus.”
Inclement weather forced the cancellation of a procession from Rudyk Park to St. Stephen Church. Instead of walking through the streets of their city, children preparing for their First Communion processed in the church before placing their parish banners on the altar.
The outdoor Rosary was also moved into the sanctuary, where people prayed in Portuguese, English, Spanish and Polish. “The Luminous Mysteries were chanted, as Pope John Paul II had introduced them during this Year of the Holy Eucharist,” Negron said.
Following the Rosary, worshipers gathered in the church for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, with music provided by the St. Mary Parish choir.
“We come to celebrate the great feast of this year, the celebration of the presence in the Eucharistic sacrifice,” Bishop Hughes said. “This is the greatest gift we can receive, the gift of the Lord Jesus himself.
“One of the purposes of this year’s celebration is to restore the awe and wonder, and that sense of amazement at the Mass,” he added. “The Lord comes to us. He comes to us to be with us because he loves us. He comes to us because he wants to see us.
“God gave us the fruit of the earth: the bread and the wine,” the bishop also said. “When these gifts are brought forth, we take them and we offer them back to Jesus and the priest transforms them into Jesus’ Body and Blood and then he offers them back to us, to save us and to strengthen us.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law