The first of eight evenings with Father Damian Ference, diocesan vicar for evangelization, was hosted Feb. 26 by St. Colette Parish in Brunswick. The event focused on the Eucharistic Revival, which is coming to a close this year, Bishop Edward Malesic’s first pastoral letter and the recently launched Jubilee Year of Hope.
The evening programs are taking place at the eight sacred sites the bishop selected. One was designated in each of the eight counties of the diocese. In addition, three shrines are sacred sites.
“This is a movement of the Spirit,” said Father Tim Gareau, St. Colette pastor. “We need to continue this movement of the Spirit. Are you going to leave a person of hope and take this out with you?” he asked the approximately 100 people who attended the program.
Father Gareau said we encounter this movement through suffering and our life experiences. “It’s a movement that involves all of us,” he added.
As the program began, he led attendees in reciting the Jubilee Year prayer.
Then Father Ference started his presentation, telling the group he would guide them through how the Eucharistic Revival, the pastoral letter and the Jubilee Year are affecting people on three levels: the Vatican, nationwide and locally.
As he discussed the post-pandemic Church, Father Ference asked attendees to think back five years to March 2020. He was in Rome for the final year of his doctoral studies. As the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, Father Ference shared that outside of China, Italy was the epicenter of the virus.
He had hoped to hunker down in Rome as he completed his studies. However, in short order, all United States citizens were ordered to return home. He was quarantined for two weeks. The churches were closed. There were no public Masses for about two months. Then, as life gradually returned to a new normal, people wore face masks and endured social distancing.
In his pastoral letter, the bishop acknowledged the pain endured by the Church on all levels as public worship gradually resumed. He said Pope Francis has also written on this topic.
The virtue of patience is something we all need to learn, Father Ference said. “It’s a virtue close to hope. People want things now. They’re not used to waiting,” he said. Father Ference used the example of someone taking a photo, then taking the film in for processing. It used to take time for this to happen, he said, which required some patience. Now, people snap a photo with a cell phone or a digital camera and the picture is available immediately.
He said the pope pointed out we no longer have time to be together. “At family mealtimes, put your phones away. Spend time together in conversation,” he urged.
To help instill patience, Father Ference said therapists sometimes encourage clients to start a garden. “It takes time to prepare, plant and wait for the plants to grow. It requires patience,” he explained.
The bishop wrote about the paschal mystery, noting that God came to remind us he is not dead, he is still with us, Father Ference said.
“What we think about God and how we think of God matters,” he said, noting the bishop shares this thought in his pastoral letter
When he was a seminarian, Father Ference said a priest mentor gave him some advice, telling him to make his prayers trinitarian. “He said to speak/pray to each person in the Holy Trinity. He said we should ask ourselves what kind of a friendship we have each person in the trinity.
“What kind of friendship do I have with God? Do you believe that God the Father takes great delight in you? The pope tells us God the Father loves you … and he also likes you,” Father Ference said.
Jesus, the Son, is with us on our journey, as is the body of the Church, he noted. And, Father Ference added, we should quiet ourselves in order to listen to the Holy Spirit.
“We tend to want to get things done more than wanting to be with God. The bishop asks you to give at least 15 minutes a day for prayer, to talk with the Lord,” he said. During Lent, Father Ference said we should consider increasing the time spent in daily prayer.
“Share your dreams, fears, sorrows and listen for the response. You’ll hear it in the silence of your heart,” he added.
Father Ference said becoming a missionary disciple requires a daily prayer life, a commitment to sacramental life, community encounters with God and knowing/telling our own stories.
“We need to be able to talk to people about our story, about why we are Catholic,” he said.
The Eucharistic Revival, which was highlighted by last summer’s Eucharistic Congress that drew about 60,000 people to Indianapolis, Indiana, was one way to do that. He listed the four pillars of the revival: forming missionary disciples, encouraging missionary disciples to embrace their identities as beloved children of the Father, encouraging them to be strengthened and renewed through the Eucharist and going out to evangelize.
He encouraged the faithful to choose someone, to pray and walk with that person. “Ask God who you should walk with. He will let you know. When you walk and pray with that person, you will be transformed along with them. Try and connect on a human level and when the time is right, invite the person to go deeper. Let the Lord guide you,” Father Ference said.
He also recommended that the faithful befriend the Blessed Mother, who is the mother of the Church and a teacher.
“Mary gave all to God and he gave her everything when he chose her to be the mother of his Son. Jesus gives us everything in the Eucharist and he’s asking us to do the same,” Father Ference said.
“The deeper your relationship with the Lord, the more he will share himself with you,” he added.
The remaining programs will take place at 7 p.m. March 31 in SS. Peter and Paul Church, Doylestown; April 10, Immaculate Conception Church, Madison; April 22, St. Mary Church, Chardon; April 24, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Lorain; and April 28, Queen of Heaven Church, Uniontown. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will have its program at 5:30 p.m. March 15.