Led by Sister Joanne Suranni, CSSF, and coordinated by Theodore Musco, the event saw the training committee come together in prayer, much like the Families of Parishes will do when they participate in the Life in the Eucharist Program. The six pilot families will be given a training session at the end of May to learn how to implement Living the Eucharist into their parishes.

“Life in the Eucharist: Sacramental Reflections” is a five-session program that presents five specific themes framed in the categories of Celebration, Contemplation and Communion with the Suffering. Topics include God’s Love as nourishment in Jesus Christ; God’s love as Reconciliation in Jesus Christ; God’s love as Transformation in Jesus Christ; God’s love as Abiding Presence in Jesus Christ; God’s love as Mission in Jesus Christ. Meetings will take place on campus in the church or parish hall and are meant to create a bond among members of the new parish families through prayer.

Each family is required to participate in the Living the Eucharist program and a service project.

“It’s really to get them to come together; to bring the parishes together to unite under a common theme,” explained Musco, director of Renewal Mission, Evangelization, and Lay Formation. “We chose Life in the Eucharist because here in the United States we’re going to have the National Eucharist Revival starting at the Feast of Corpus Christi. So, it really fits in nicely.”

Over three years, every Catholic diocese, parish, school, apostolate, and family is invited to be a part of renewing the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

This Revival launches on the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 19. Over the next three years, dioceses will host Eucharistic Congresses and processions. Parishes will increase or begin Eucharistic Adoration. There will be a revival of faithful adherence to the liturgical norms in all their richness – the ars celebrandi. Families and friends will gather in small groups to learn and pray together. Missionary disciples will go to the margins, recognizing the mystery of Jesus’ presence in the poor.

All of this will culminate in the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in almost 50 years held July 17-21, 2024.