February 25, 2000
HOUSTON - Father Thomas Wiese, S.S.S. and Nancy MacRoberts work at two desks which occupy most of a former convent room at Corpus Christi Parish, 9900 Stella Link Road. Yet, while their simple, second-floor office may seem obscure, their nationwide ministry is not.
Father Wiese and MacRoberts are the staff of the Center for Eucharistic Evangelization (CEE), the national headquarters for the Life in the Eucharist Seminar (LITES). From their hidden upper room, they coordinate a program that has drawn Catholics around the country into a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist.
The idea of LITES is basically to he1p catechize the ¡ay people on the Eucharist: it's a celebration, a celebration that leads us to pray before the Eucharist and also that leads us to do something for other people,» explained Father Wiese, director of the CEE since October, 1999.
Since 1990, the seminar has been offered to parishes across the country to enhance members' understanding and awareness of the Eucharist in their lives. Using a small group faith-sharing format, LITES explores five Eucharistic themes: nourishment, reconciliation, transformation, abiding presence and liberation. The seminar is presented by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers (S.S.S.) and LITES team members: laity whose previous experience of LITES sparked a desire to share the retreat with other Catholics.
To see the faith of the people coming together and wanting to share what they've experienced with others – it's just fantastic,» Father Wiese said. The first time I attended the seminar 10 years ago, it was lay people who gave the seminar to priests and brothers. It's supposed to be our job to know about this. We belong to a congregation dedicated to the Eucharist, but to hear their simple stories of how the Eucharist had moved and nourished their lives was just very, very impressive.»
MacRoberts was one of the LITES team members who presented the seminar to Father Wiese and his community in 1990. After experiencing the first national LITES at Corpus Christi parish, she volunteered for the ministry because of its profound impact» on her.
LITES has definitely changed my outlook on Eucharist and on life,» MacRoberts said. Before, I used to just kind of go to Mass, say the prayers, go home, go on with my life. Now, when I go to Mass, the different parts of the Mass really mean a great deal more. I pay more attention, participate, take it home with me. It has become part of my life. I don't just leave it at the parking lot or the Church door.»
Indeed, MacRoberts was so inspired by the retreat that she volunteered to assist in coordinating the national movement - if the CEE could be moved from Cleveland to Houston. Father Robert Rousseau, S.S.S., former CEE director, accepted her suggestion and moved the program's offices to Texas in 1996.
Today, Father Wiese and MacRoberts travel around the country to facilitate LITES and train lay teams to continue the ministry. LITES teams in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Utah, California, Michigan, Illinois and New Mexico offer the program to groups numbering 18 to 175 people. The seminar has been extended across the U.S. without any formal publicity campaign.
People hear (of LITES) from someone else who had the experience and they want to know more,» he said. So basically, that is how the seminar is spreading. We don't really advertise it; we do it by word of mouth.»
Three Houston area teams, each numbering 10-15 people, have offered the program to 15 parishes within the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. Father Wiese hoped the program would continue to thrive during the Jubilee Year.
This year, we are really moved to do more because the Holy Father said this should be an intensely Eucharistic year. So we would hope through the seminar to get people in touch with the Eucharist, the faith the Church has in the Eucharist and what the Eucharist can be, as a source of power for Christian life and for people's personal lives.»
For Father Wiese, evangelizing the power of the Eucharist is a vocation. The CEE and LITES are missions of his religious community, whose charism is using the Eucharist to inspire and move people in their personal lives and the communal life of the Church.»
On February 12, the religious order was honored for its 100 years of service in the U.S. at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, who invited the congregation into the diocese in 1987. The multi-lingual Mass was held at Corpus Christi parish, where the Blessed Sacrament Fathers have ministered since their arrival in Houston.
Father Tony Schueller, provincial for the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, delivered the homily during the centennial celebration. He recognized the order's collaboration with parishioners as building on the second Vatican council, which emphasizes the responsibility of all of us towards the mission of the Church. We are inviting laity in particular to become involved in our mission and become partners with us in sharing Eucharist.»
Father Schueller affirmed that LITES, as a partnership between the priests and the laity, has found a true home in Houston.
We really felt Houston was a natural place for the program to be, because we have such active LITES teams here,» he said. Our first hope is to stay here a long time, because this has been a wonderful union and partnership between our community and the people of (Corpus Christi) parish. We hope to see this outreach program be extended through committed and weIl-trained laity. They are numerous, they're enthusiastic, and we want to work with them. They have become an extension of our mission.»
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, an international religious community also administers LITES in several other countries: Italy, Poland, Great Britain, Australia and the Philippines. The material for the seminar has been translated into over 20 languages.
While the seminar is typically presented over a three-day weekend, LITES teams can format the program to meet the particular needs of groups. Bilingual teams are also available to facilitate the seminar. For more information on LITES, call (713) 661-3958.
SSS International | Eucharistic Theology | SSS USA | Saint Peter Julian Eymard
©
Copyright 2000-2001
Rev. Thomas A. Wiese, SSS,
Director
Mrs. Nancy MacRoberts, Administrator
Center for Eucharistic Evangelizing
9900 Stella Link Road
Houston, TX 77025
Telephone: (713) 661-3958 + Fax: (713) 662-2014