Volume 11, Number 1: Spring 2003

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From the Director

Greetings in this joyous season of Easter and Springtime! I am still getting settled in my new home in Houston. On Fr. Tom Wiese’s return from his sabbatical in Israel; he was asked to assume the responsibilities as Communications Director for the province of St. Anne. This required Tom to relocate to the provincial headquarters in Cleveland. As Tom moved north in the bitter of winter, I was invited to move south and assume the position as Director of the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing. Not only was I happy to miss the heavy winter weather experienced this year, I also have enjoyed the early spring warmth and abundant flowers including the lovely blue bonnets that are signs of new life in Texas. This has been a very busy time for LITE teams as you will see as you read this issue. I was sitting in on a LITE seminar in Cleveland given at St. Paschal's when I learn about my new appointment. It was the same team I was part of when LITES first was started in Cleveland. My first experience of the LITE seminar was when the Corpus Christi team came to Cleveland to conduct the seminar for the SSS in September1991. During the few months I've been on the job I see that LITES is thriving as a result of the fine leadership given under the guidance of Fr. Tom Wiese. He has inspired many deeply committed men and women who form the LITE communities around the United States. It is these dedicated individuals who give generously of their time and energies to witness to the power of the Eucharist when placed at the center of our lives. My past ministries with Contemplative Outreach and Food For the Poor have prepared me to join with all of you in our continued growth as Eucharistic evangelizers. I hope you will enjoy this issue of HI LITE which reflects so much of the dedication and loving witness our teams have been able to realize in their ministry as evangelizers. I wish to make special note of Jerry Lennon, a member of the St. Paschal team who celebrates this Easter in the fullness of glory. Jerry died on December 27, on his 70th birthday. He was a founding member of this Cleveland LITE team. May we all look to the promise of the resurrection, our New Life celebrated at every Eucharist.

Father Bill Fickel, SSS
Houston, TX

LIFE IN THE EUCHARIST TEAM ADMINISTRATORS TO MEET

A shift in sites this year will be made for the meeting of the administrators of all the LITE teams in the United States as they convene in Cleveland, Ohio the weekend of May 16-18, 2003 in Cleveland, Ohio. This meeting marks the transition of Father Bill Fickel, SSS as Director of the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing and the reassignment of Father Tom Wiese, SSS as the Communications Director for the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.

Father Bill comes to his new position after a many years in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to his duties as Novice Director for the Blessed Sacrament Congregation, Father now takes on the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing. He also spends a great deal of his time giving Eucharistic missions and making appeals for Food for the Poor. Father Tom, shedding his Texas twang, joins the Provincial Staff where he will use his expertise in communications to assist the Congregation. Father Bill says he is anxious to hear from each of the teams and hopes for a good attendance at this year’s meeting. Father Tom promises regular visits “deep in the heart of Texas”.

THERE’S MUSIC IN THE AIR
The Houston teams have a real gem among them! Mary Brasseaux has been involved with the LITE movement in Houston almost since the beginning in 1990. Her outstanding contribution has been to provide musical accompaniment for LITE seminars whenever called upon. Mary probably knows Father Bob’s music as well as he does! During Father Antonio Pedretti’s recent visit to the Houston seminars, he and Mary became fast friends. Father Pedretti, also an accomplished musician, thrilled Mary by helping her with the music. Because one of the second team’s seminars was southwest of Houston, plans had to be made to leave quite early to arrive at the church to set up. Then the team would have a quick dinner together before their evening’s session. During these times together, Mary and Father formed a true friendship. Mary can be quoted as saying, “He is the joy of my life!” Hurry back, Father Antonio!

Miracles Continue to Happen

by Louise Borgione
After twelve years of being actively involved in Life in the Eucharist, I think one of the most wonderful things about the program are the changes that have come about in people’s lives. I am so happy when people contact me to share things that have happened as a result of their participation, even several years later. It is truly life-changing.

I think back about eight years ago, when a woman named Ellie contacted me six months after attending a LITE weekend. She told me that she had been estranged from her brother for about 25 years, not really recalling the reason why. There had been a strain between them, and they just drifted apart. She was so moved by the Reconciliation theme of the Eucharist, that she contacted her brother, and they talked endlessly. They renewed their friendship with each other, but more importantly, they re-instated their brotherly/sisterly love. Since then, they have enjoyed many family gatherings and traveled together several times with their spouses, even to Europe. When she looks back, she can’t believe how they “wasted” all those precious years because of something neither of them could barely remember.

Just recently, it was my good fortune to be the coordinator our parish mission at St. Paschal Baylon, called “Parish Alive”. The topic on the second night was “Eucharist”. We were honored to have Fr. Norman Pelletier, SSS, the new Blessed Sacrament Provincial Superior, deliver the catechesis on this dynamic topic. To quote Fr. Norman, he said, “They have given me twelve minutes, I could talk for twelve hours about the Eucharist!” Another highlight of this evening, was a witness by George Zagar. He had attended the LITE program our team presented last November 2002, and George, among several other participants, really stood out. In the large group sharing he was very enthusiastic and sincere. He even called me a week later to tell me that he kept thinking about the program every day since, and it just kept playing back in his mind over and over again, and how wonderful the experience was for him. When I had to discern a witness on the topic of “Eucharist”, George came immediately to mind, to which he gleefully accepted. I want to quote highlights from the witness he gave.
Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me that reconciling is being Eucharist.

“Last November, I was very fortunate to be able to attend “Life in the Eucharist”, a program designed to enrich our understanding and strengthen our belief in Eucharist. On the final day of the program, all the participants were asked to choose how they would like to be intimately involved in the con-cluding Eucharistic celebration. My grandmother had taught me the pleasures of bread making; therefore I chose to make the sacrificial bread. However, I never anticipated what I would experience at Eucharist. As Father Pelletier took my bread, blessed it and said ‘This is My Body’ I felt so proud and could feel Grandma’s and Jesus’ presence holding me….. It was quite an awesome experience!” At this point, George even gave the program a plug by encouraging the audience to participate the next time the program was presented in our parish.

George went on further: “One evening a few weeks ago, I spent some time in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel reviewing my notes for this witness. As I was reflecting on the outline, my brother, John, came to mind. John is president of our family business, and has a lot on his shoulders. Lately, in light of the poor business climate, we have not agreed very often on management decisions. However I couldn’t forget that he is still my brother. I think that’s why Jesus gave me a nudge – or should I say, “PUSH” – to break the ice. It made no sense to be a witness and hold a grudge. For the first time in a long time, the next day I went into his office to greet him, and we had a great conversation about business and family. It was wonderful. Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me that reconciling is being Eucharist.”
Another “miracle” that happened most recently, was something I received in the mail from Cherie Hassey, a member of another Cleveland LITE team, Our Lady of Guadalupe. She sent me a booklet entitled, “Gifts of the Spirit” that she has written and published. To quote from the foreword of her booklet,“Understanding the Eucharist helps one to recognize and appreciate the gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows on each of us. These poems are gifts of the Spirit. They were given to me during the times I spent before the Blessed Sacrament. They represent a very difficult three-year period of my spiritual journey through chronic illness, pain, emotional distress, depression and great sadness of world events.” Cherie goes on to thank Fr. Robert Rousseau, SSS, who created the LITE program, our St. Paschal team for sharing our gifts at the first seminar she attended, and her own team at Our Lady of Guadalupe for teaching her so much about being Eucharist for others.
Cherie has given a great deal of love, effort and personal expense to respond to the Spirit’s call to have the booklet published. In talking to her she said, “I tried several times to walk away from this project, but it was no use as it kept calling me back.” If anyone would like to order one of these beautifully bound booklets, you can write her at P.O. Box 71, Twinsburg, OH, 44087. Please send a check in the amount of $14.00 payable to Cherie Hassey to cover the cost of the booklet + mailing.

These are just a few of the many situations I can recall, as I am sure many of you have had similar experiences. My heart is filled with gratitude and love for our Lord, Jesus, as I recall these events, and know that our program will continue to reach the heart of hundreds, maybe thousands of participants in the years to come. We have all been given the gift of the Eucharist and it is the Spirit who gives us the courage and endurance to continue this precious ministry.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Team

by Faith Di Pippo

Our lively LITE team sends greetings from Macedonia, Ohio! We thought we’d give you an update on happenings in our neck of the woods.
We recently had the privilege of presenting a seminar at St. John Neumann Parish in Strongsville, Ohio. Thirty-seven people signed up for the program and what a wonderful weekend we had! As is generally the case with a parish’s first LITE experience, our participants were the cream of the crop. They were very open and shared some beautiful insights with all of us. Needless to say, we too, were spiritually enriched by their faith. Father Bob Kraig, their pastor, spoke of us in his homily as having a passionate mission to spread the Eucharist. It’s almost overwhelming, and definitely humbling, to watch as the Spirit continues to inspire and spread the message of the Eucharist. Our Lord has truly been gracious to us!
By the way, we were challenged to come up with a new schedule for presenting the seminar. Helen and I would like to share this particular schedule with others at the May administrators’ meeting. We have become very flexible in our approach, as we have never presented the same schedule twice. It keep us on our toes!!

Why Not Join Us in ITALY and SICILY?

Father Thomas Wiese, SSS who lived and worked many years in Italy will be leading a trip to the very best sites of Italy and Sicily this October 11-26, 2003 under the sponsorship of the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing in Houston. Mr. Ed Landry who has organized many trips for a neighboring parish is working with the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing to make this a trip of a lifetime. If you would like a detailed brochure on the planned trip, please contact the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing very soon. LITE members and friends are welcome! We’re saving room for you! We need to know soon who plans on joining us!

Traveling Team “on the Go” Again

The weekend of March 28-30, 2003, a team of four experienced LITE presenters traveled to Hanover, Pennsylvania at the invitation of Father Joseph Gotwalt, Pastor of St. Joseph Church. There, eighty-five parishioners spent the weekend exploring the Eucharistic mystery through the Life In The Eucharist program. Father Bill Fickel, SSS, Frank Zalar and Joe Kost (from Cleveland, Ohio) and Nancy MacRoberts (from Houston, Texas) made up the team. This was a challenge as none of the team members had ever worked together. Previous to their arrival in Hanover, assignments for each session had been given so that each person was prepared to take his or her part in prayers, leading songs, telling stories, spearheading the puzzle, and giving presentations. The team arrived a day early to fine tune each of the five parts of the seminar. The participants were delighted with their weekend experience and thanked the team profusely for their contribution to their spiritual lives. It was a valuable experience for the traveling team as well as they each learned methods used by other LITE teams.

Two young girls of high school age who attended the weekend retreat made the following comments on their evaluation forms: “I felt this was a really good experience for someone of my age. I have learned things more deeply and now understand more fully and will be able to talk about my religion. Thank you!” and, “I felt that this seminar was really helping me and I gained a good understanding for someone who is my age. It really helped me understand all that I may have known or maybe what I didn’t know about the Church. I believe that more young kids should get involved in something like this (LITE) because if more younger people know about God and their Church then maybe the young kids could put all that knowledge to good use.”
What inspiring and motivational words these two young ladies have shared with us!

Busy Lenten Season for Houston Teams

More name tags! More colors! More pencils! More newsprint! The Houston teams scurried about for some time preparing for what has been their busiest season yet. It seems every parish in every direction in the diocese wanted a LITE program for their parishioners for Lent. Team I ventured to the far west of Houston to St. John Vianney Parish where LITE was given as a Lenten mission. The return of participants from Sunday thru Thursday was evidence of the success of the team. A few weeks later, they gave a full fledged seminar to participants at their home parish, Corpus Christi Church. Father Antonio Pedretti, SSS had come from Italy to witness and learn how LITE is done. He was amazed at the process and took with him some valuable insight and lots of good ideas, hopefully to put into action in Italy.

The second team at Corpus Christi gave a seminar at St. Albert’s Parish in Houston and then followed with another at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rosenberg, Texas. This seminar was unique in that the youth group was invited to attend two nights and the team had to adapt the evening’s program for that particular audience. Saturday before Palm Sunday found the team giving a one day program based on the first “C” (Nourishment, Reconciliation and Transformation) of the LITE seminar at St. Cyril of Alexandria’s Parish.

The Spanish-speaking team, busier than ever, also offered a seminar at St. Albert’s Parish and followed that with a one day program at St. Cyril’s also based on the first “C” (Nourishment, Reconciliation and Transformation) of the LITE seminar. They were ecstatic when 128 people showed up and very pleased when their evaluations showed the people said, “More, More!”

All the teams’ members gathered for a welcomed break and an evening social to celebrate their wonderful successes during this Lenten Season. Everyone but Blanca Martinez is looking forward to some “time out” but Blanca was heard to say, “The more I participate in giving LITE, the more I want to do it!”

Workshop on Prayer in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament

If you missed the Workshop on Prayer in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament in Houston in 2001, you have another opportunity to hear the distinguished speakers who will be addressing various aspects of this important form of Eucharistic prayer. The workshop, sponsored by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, will be held at the St. Joseph Christian Life Center in Cleveland, Ohio May 13-16, 2003. The esteemed speakers include Father Edward Foley, OFM Cap who will speak on the historical background and development of the practice of prayer before the Eucharist. Father Kenan Osborne, OFM will address theological perspectives underscoring the relationship and connections between the celebration of Eucharist and prayer before the sacrament. Father Norman Pelletier, SSS will outline the spirituality associated with the practice of prayer before the Eucharist as well as assimilate the information offered by Fathers Foley and Osborne. On Friday and Father Paul Bernier, SSS will help the participants understand how to bring the material presented to them into their religious practices.

The workshop will begin each morning with Morning Prayer in the chapel followed by the morning’s workshop presentation. The Celebration of Eucharist will take place before lunch. Another presentation will be given in the afternoon followed by questions and clarifications. Time for prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament will be made available before Evening Prayer.
The cost for the entire workshop, including room and board Monday night through Friday morning, is $360.00. For those who do not want to stay at the Retreat Center, the cost is $150.00. Each individual day of the workshop costs $40.00 and includes lunch. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity may call the Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing in Houston at 713-661-3958 for additional information or to register.

SSS International | Eucharistic Theology | SSS USA | Saint Peter Julian Eymard