St. Mary Parish to host three-night Eucharistic mission

+ Enlarge

WEST HAVEN — Saint Mary Parish in West Haven will host a mission with the theme “Alive in Christ with Eucharistic Wonder” Oct. 14-16.

The three-night mission will conclude the parish’s series on the Eucharist; it began with a March 2023 presentation by Father Gregory Dick, O. Praem, then a 2024 Lenten retreat given by Father Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata Ada Locatelli and Jillian Cooke; the third was in June, presented by Fr. Thomas Czeck, OFM Conv., the national spiritual assistant of the Militia of the Immaculata.

“I think Father [Martin] Picos [pastor] really wanted to do as much as possible to strengthen the time in our Church of Eucharistic revival,” said Donna Masek, who is helping organize the mission. “Doing so, he thought that we annually have given a Lenten retreat at St. Mary’s, and helped organize that, and he had said, ‘Let’s expand that.’”

Over the three evenings Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP, one of four foundresses of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Mich. will present three talks.  

The talks will be given at 7 p.m. each evening; Eucharistic Adoration will follow. The first talk will be “In Memoriam (Is. 11:6) The Wolf and the Lamb Will Lie Down Together” (Oct. 14). This reflection highlights the historical and spiritual progression through time and into the deeper holiness that culminates in reception of the Holy Eucharist at Mass.  

The second talk on Oct. 15 will be “Agnus Dei: Like A Gentle Lamb Led To The Slaughter (Jer. 11:19.)” This reflection is a study on psychological afflictions of the world today and highlights the reality of humankind’s fallen nature as people remain in essential need of the One Perfect Love who is Jesus Christ, who is received in each Holy Communion.  

 The final talk on Oct. 16 will be “Mary, Mother of the Eucharist – “I Watched As The Lamb Opened The First of Seven Seals… ‘Come!’ (Rev. 6:1).” Catholics should venerate the mother of God whose love brought divinity to share in humanity.  She is Christ’s mother and, as of Good Friday, 33 A.D., she is humankind’s mother too.

Sr. Joseph served as the Dominican Sisters of Mary’s vocations director for 25 years. In that role she has traveled extensively giving talks, writes for various Catholic publications and leads retreats for students, parishes, priests and seminarians.  She has appeared in media including EWTN, Oprah, NPR, CBS and Fox & Friends. Sr. Joseph has also written and compiled two volumes of And Mary’s ‘Yes’ Continues, concerning religious life today.  

In its 27 years, the Dominican Sisters of Mary has grown to more than 140 members, with women coming from throughout the United States and internationally. Sr. Joseph has been assigned as the community’s “Eucharistic and Marian Revival Preacher” for the past two years.

“This mission is good for anyone that would like to come and learn more about the Eucharist,” Masek said. “I think that would be good, being the last in this series of parish missions. We always grow in our understanding and deepen our appreciation of that element of our faith, and so I think it would continue to be beneficial in doing that to many people.”

“The average age of Sr. Joseph’s community is 35, so if there are young adults who may be interested in expanding their faith journey, she would speak well to them, due to her experiences as a vocation director,” she added.

WHAT: Alive in Christ with Eucharistic Wonder mission

WHERE: St. Mary Catholic Church, 4050 South 3900 West, West Haven

WHEN: Oct. 14-16; 7 p.m. each night

The mission is free and open to all.