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Join the Holy Father and “Banish the Dark Clouds” of Unacceptable
Eucharistic Doctrine and Practice!
In April 2003, Pope John Paul II issued his new encyclical on the Blessed Sacrament,
Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Church of the Eucharist). Perhaps the most
powerful document of his entire papacy, it’s an awesome spiritual treasury of teaching
on the “central mystery” of our Faith—the Holy Eucharist! Faithful Catholics
everywhere are greeting these words of the Supreme Pontiff with joy, but the fact
that they needed to be written at all is both revealing and disturbing. Why
would the highest-ranking prelate in the world find it necessary to compose an official
document of the Church devoted to teachings that every Catholic should already believe,
know and love?
A “Tightening Up”
In the timely new series Sacrament Most Holy: The Urgent Message of Ecclesia
de Eucharistia, Fr. Shannon Michael Collins CPM, unpacks the Pope’s latest Encyclical
to reveal the Holy Father’s urgent message to you regarding the source and summit
of your Catholic Faith. Recorded live at Mother Angelica’s Shrine of the Blessed
Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery and available now on three CDs or
cassettes, Fr. Shannon describes the Pope’s letter as a welcome rejection of liturgical
abuses and religious indifference and a “tightening up” of the doctrine and practices
of the Church concerning the Holy Eucharist.
Return to Reverence
As Father Collins relates, the Supreme Pontiff has taken the occasion of the promulgation
of this awesome new encyclical to insist on a return to Eucharistic reverence
and devotion. As Father’s insightful commentary unfolds you’ll discover Pope
John Paul’s frustration that the Eucharist is often “celebrated as if it were simply
a fraternal banquet”, that “Eucharistic Adoration has been almost completely abandoned”,
how liturgical abuses have led to “confusion with regard to sound faith and Catholic
doctrine” concerning the Blessed Sacrament, why the Mass is “too important and precious”
to compromise by “innovative” practices, how many of these abuses have been “institutionalized”
and most important what’s to be done about it!
Personal Perspective
Promulgated on the anniversary of Christ’s institution of the priesthood, this
document emerges as one of Pope John Paul II’s most personal. You’ll gain
a new perspective into the heart of the Holy Father as Fr. Collins relates JPII’s
reminiscences about celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, from his first mass as a simple
parish priest to the humbling experience of offering the Eucharistic sacrifice in
the Cenacle, the very upper room where Christ Himself offered the first Mass at
the Last Supper.
Order Sacrament Most Holy: The Urgent Message of Ecclesia de Eucharistia
with Fr. Shannon Michael Collins today and experience Pope John Paul II’s beautiful
defense of the Blessed Sacrament as he exercises his supreme teaching office to
proclaim the unchanging, saving truths of our Faith.
What You’ll Discover:
- Why the Eucharist is “a sacrifice in the strict sense”
- How the Mass is like a time machine
- How Eucharistic Adoration “is of inestimable value”
- Why The Eucharist, celebrated by a priest, is “a gift that radically transcends
the power of the assembly”
- How doctrine and practice go together
- Why the use of “altar girls” was a bad decision
- How celebrating Mass facing the people is not an ancient practice
- Why extraordinary ministers should not be used in ordinary circumstances
- How liturgical abuses have been institutionalized
- Why it is “unthinkable” to substitute “ecumenical celebrations” for Sunday Mass
- Why The Mass is “too important and precious” to compromise by “innovative” practices
- And much, much more…
Fr. Shannon Michael Collins, C.P.M. — A graduate of St. Phillip Neri
Seminary in Toronto, Canada and a native of Cohasset, Fr. Collins joined the Congregation
of the Fathers of Mercy in 1994. After completing his seminary training and
priestly formation, Fr. Collins was ordained to the sacred priesthood in 2000.
Fulfilling the primary mission of the Fathers of Mercy to preach parish missions
and conduct retreats, Fr. Collins travels the country giving talks that provide
practical and helpful support to better understand life in the light of Christ.
Fr. Collin’s recent tape series’ for St. Joseph Communications include Spiritual
Boot Camp—Becoming A Soldier For Christ, Firestorm of Faith and God’s Remedy
for Our Times.
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