EUCHARISTIC EVENT TO USE
         MONSTRANCE FROM VATICAN         

A monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II last November will display the Eucharist for adoration when some 10,000 of the faithful in the Diocese of Brooklyn come together Saturday, Oct. 15, for the solemn closing of the observance of the Special Year of the Eucharist.

            Since January, the 24-inch-high exposition case and stand for a consecrated host has traveled to archdioceses and dioceses around the U.S. to stimulate prayers for vocations. It will arrive in Brooklyn from the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., and will then go on to the Diocese of Joliet, Ill.

            The monstrance was given to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by the Vatican, which is promoting eucharistic adorations and expositions as a way of praying for vocations during the Year of the Eucharist proclaimed by the late Holy Father.

            KeySpan Park in Coney Island will be the site of the day-long eucharistic celebration, and the monstrance bearing the Blessed Sacrament will be carried to the park in a procession from nearby Our Lady of Solace Shrine Church.

            Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will be the principal celebrant of the afternoon Mass, which will conclude the day’s spiritual activities. Father Caleb A. Buchanan, parochial vicar of St. Ephrem’s Church in Dyker Heights, will preach the homily.

            Father Buchanan said he will address the day’s theme, “One Bread, One Body, One Family in Christ,” relating what it means to the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens.

            He said the third aspect of the theme, “One Family in Christ,” will provide an opportunity to make a connection between the people of the Diocese and those afflicted by Hurricane Katrina.

            For parts of six summers, Father Buchanan did graduate work at the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans, completing his courses in July. The August hurricane severely damaged the university buildings, and he remains concerned for the members of Our Lady Star of the Sea parish, where he assisted on weekends, and the condition of the church.

            “The people there have gone through an intense Crucifixion,” he said.

            Another speaker at the eucharistic celebration, Father Benedict J. Groeschel, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, experienced a life-threatening trauma of his own early last year.

            Father Groeschel hovered near death after a car hit him Jan. 11, 2004, in Orlando, Fla., where he was to speak at the International Institute of Clergy Formation. A long recovery followed the near-fatal accident.

            At one of his first speaking engagements after the recovery period last fall, he said that the renewal of the Church will begin when people start giving respect and reverence to the Eucharist. “Adoration of the Eucharist should bring us joy,” he said.

            Father Groeschel, associate director of Trinity Retreat House for Clergy in Larchmont and the postulator for the canonization cause of Cardinal Terence J. Cooke, has entitled his talk at KeySpan Park, “Be Surprised at the Eucharist.”

            The day’s program, beginning at 9 a.m., will include a blessing of families. Bishop DiMarzio has stated that on his second anniversary as Bishop of Brooklyn in October, he will issue his second pastoral letter, on “the mystery, gift and mission of Catholic families for our Church and world.” 

            Also planned for the morning is a “Living Rosary,” recitation of the Glorious Mysteries in ten languages, led by individuals, married couples or families.

            At the afternoon Mass, a 100-voice choir and a brass and percussion orchestra will provide the music, said Msgr. Francis J. Caggiano, the Vicar for Evangelization and Pastoral Life, who chairs the committee coordinating the day’s events. 

            The monstrance blessed by the late pontiff is moving around the country in a tour organized by Serra International, a Catholic organization that promotes vocations to religious and priestly life, and the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation.

            As part of the Oct. 15 program, a young seminarian, James Rodriguez, a student at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, L.I., will give a brief “witness talk” in English and Spanish on “The Eucharist in the Life of a Seminarian.”

            Bishop DiMarzio has asked pastors and administrators to invite parishioners to attend the KeySpan Park ceremonies closing the Eucharistic Year. The diocesan observance falls during the latter part of the world Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist at the Vatican, which begins Oct. 2 and concludes Oct. 23.

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