“Oh, if only we knew how to always appreciate the benefit of Holy Communion! How much more fervent and recollected we would be, and how many more merits we would gather.”
~ Mother Cabrini

More than 7,000 pilgrims from different parts of New York State gathered to commemorate the Holy Eucharist at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, NY. It was fascinating to see how people were moved to join in seeking the best ways of spreading Eucharistic knowledge and God’s love.

The Eucharistic celebration being the center of everything, we had two wonderful Masses
on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Among the celebrants of the Masses were some bishops, many priests, deacons, and seminarians. Men and women religious were also present together with the faithful. During their homilies both Bishops Terry LaValley and Edward Scharfenberger preached about the significance of the Eucharistic Lord upon all the believers. They illustrated how God’s love and His mercy is revealed through His presence in the eucharist.

“God wants everyone to be part of communion and everyone to get a chance to go to heaven. Each and everyone of us,” said Bishop Edward Scharfenberger. They also shared some saints’ stories of how they devoted themselves to the Eucharistic Lord. There was exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the hearing of confessions throughout the weekend.

We enjoyed listening to some of the keynote speakers, especially to Lisa Lickona who highlighted the lives of three powerful American women saints and their devotion to the eucharist. Mother Cabrini, being one of these wonderful women, our hearts were moved mostly with the way she described her. She spoke of Mother Cabrini’s eucharistic devotion and how it developed from the early years of her childhood through her sister, Rosa, and how it continue to grow and bear fruits throughout her religious life. “Rosa (Cabrini’s sister) went to adoration everyday and took her sister along, so Frances grew up from the Blessed Sacrament which is a great gift.