Prayer on the Parkway
Celebrating the
Year of the Eucharist

By Cardinal Justin Rigali

On June 10, 2004, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, announced the Year of the Eucharist. Exulting in the mystery of the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II proclaimed: “Grateful for this immense gift, the Church’s members gather round the Blessed Sacrament, for that is the source and summit of her being and action. Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit! The Church draws her life from the Eucharist and knows that this truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery in which she consists (cf. Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no. 1)” (Homily, Basilica of Saint John Lateran, June 10, 2004).

The announcement of the Year of the Eucharist was welcomed with great enthusiasm throughout the universal Church. In a particular way, in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we hailed this year-long observance as a great opportunity of grace, which would enhance Eucharistic celebration, adoration and devotion in parishes, schools and institutions throughout our great Archdiocese.

On October 7, 2004, I wrote in my pastoral letter on the Year of the Eucharist: “During this period of time, we are asked to celebrate a year of special prayer in which, as individuals and as the Church, we personally renew our faith in the Eucharist. We proclaim anew the Catholic teaching that the Eucharist is the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, offered on Calvary and renewed sacramentally in the Mass. We proclaim the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. … We likewise acknowledge that the Eucharist, given to us at Mass, is also to be adored in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in our tabernacles. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle or exposed on our altars continues our participation in the Eucharistic action and prepares us spiritually to come back and share again in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.”

Throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, parishes, under the guidance and zeal of our priests, whenever possible, have made Eucharistic Adoration a priority. Many parishes have opened their churches or chapels to allow the faithful more opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. Some institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, have made available the consoling and strengthening practice of Eucharistic Adoration, a great source of consolation to residents, patients and their families. Even in our high schools, opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration have provided for our students occasions for Eucharistic Adoration, a significant opportunity to learn quietly in the Real Presence of Christ our Teacher. For years to come, we will reap the benefits of our endeavors during this Year of the Eucharist.

Public Witness
Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter to the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful for the Year of the Eucharist, Mane Nobiscum Domine, emphasized: “There is a particular need to cultivate a lively awareness of Christ’s real presence, both in the celebration of the Mass and in the worship of the Eucharist outside Mass. … Our faith in God who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an expression of grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of blessings” (no. 18).

This desire of our late Holy Father has been realized through the observance of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi as many parishes sponsored Eucharistic processions and outdoor Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. In a very special way, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will come together on a large scale for the purpose of worshiping Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist in the Prayer on the Parkway Holy Hour, scheduled for Sunday, September 18 at 6:00 P.M. It will be my great privilege and joy to preside at this celebration which will be a public witness to our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh, in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The beginning of the Third Millennium has been a time of joy and of sadness, of great blessings and terrible tragedy, of tremendous advancement and of horrible suffering. Daily accounts of war and violence weigh heavily upon our hearts. While the memory of the tsunami in Southeastern Asia remains so vivid in our minds, we now see the devastation so close to home caused by Hurricane Katrina. I am confident that, once again, a tremendous wave of solidarity will help to rebuild and restore after the damage and heartbreak of our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster.

As Catholics, we are formed by the Gospel; therefore we know that in such trials as well as in our joys, Christ is with us. In every moment, in every circumstance, we take refuge in Christ as we receive Him at Mass, or as we worship Him in the monstrance or tabernacle. Prayer on the Parkway will draw together thousands who know and have experienced the wonder of Christ truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament and who wish to proclaim to everyone by their example and by their devotion that Christ is with us! We believe, in the words of the Responsorial Psalm: “You open your hand to feed us Lord; you answer all our needs” (Psalm 145, Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist).

A note of gratitude and a renewed invitation
For many months, a committee has been planning the Prayer on the Parkway event. Under the leadership of Auxiliary Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and Father Joseph C. McLoone, an enthusiastic and dedicated group of the faithful from across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has worked to address the enormous logistical, technical, and devotional aspects of this great event. I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the collaboration of so many people who are committed to making this opportunity for public worship memorable and spiritually enriching for all. Our Eucharistic Lord certainly will bless all those who help to gather us in adoration and praise.

I extend anew my invitation to all of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to come to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 18. This public celebration will also be an affirmation of who we are as the Church. The faithful gathered with their priests in the presence of the Bishop will express to all our solidarity and communion in Christ Jesus. How much more vibrant and beautiful our public witness will be by the Real Presence of Jesus Christ whom together we adore and whose Body we form as the Church. For the efforts of our priests in promoting Prayer on the Parkway I am most grateful.

May all of our efforts in this Year of the Eucharist, culminating in Prayer on the Parkway, lead us all to submit ourselves totally in love with our Eucharistic Lord. Come, let us adore Christ the Lord!
September 8, 2005