Eymardian Family of the Americas taking part in the Eucharistic Congress in Quito 2024
"Fraternity to heal the world is what you show us, Lord, from the cross. You gather us around your table and teach us to love our brother".
With this refrain of the Eucharistic Congress hymn we all recognise ourselves at the Eucharistic table, which comprised that of the Word, that of the breaking of the bread and that of fraternal fellowship (agape).
However, the bread we shared "around the table" for us, Blessed Sacrament religious of the American Continent, had a taste of intimacy. The CAS (SSS American Conference) prepared a beautiful pilgrimage from Colombia, Peru, the United States, Brazil and Argentina.
As part of the programme of meetings of the Eymardian family in the CAS, the three provinces, St. John XXIII, St. Anne and Our Lady of Guadalupe gathered more than 50 lay people and religious to celebrate the charism of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation.
The Provincial Superiors, Fathers Marcelo Carlos Da Silva SSS (Our Lady of Guadalupe, and president of CAS), John Thomas Lane SSS (Saint Ann) and Carlos José Sierra Rodriguez SSS (St John XXIII) prepared a programme of formation and living together as the Eymardian family which was lived in parallel with the programme of the Congress.
In this sense, while the Eymardian family participated in the week of the Congress, with its talks, testimonies, dialogues, prayer and culture, it also had time for two (02) Eucharistic programmes proper to the Eucharistic spirituality of the Americas, namely: the Workshop on the Spirituality of the Table and Life in the Eucharist (LITE).
On Thursday, 12 September 2024, more than 50 lay persons and SSS religious of the Conference gathered at the Retreat House Our Lady of Quinche, in the north of Quito, to live this unique experience of the Spirituality of the Table. We began by celebrating the novena of St. Peter Julian Eymard (Province of St. Ann) and then the workshop, under the direction of Fr. Marcelo Carlos SSS (Our Lady. of Guadalupe).
But what is the Workshop on the Spirituality of the Table? It is a programme of Eucharistic spirituality that recalls the table experiences of Jesus, following the path from the tables of the daily bread to the table of the Eucharistic bread (Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe). The aim is to recover the daily tables as a sacred space of agape, of family conviviality, starting from the Eucharistic table, the source and summit of all tables. The Spirituality of the table celebrates the three tables: the table of the Word, the table of the Eucharist and the table of agape. This new approach to spirituality proposes an encounter that blends spirituality, prayer, silence, poetry, music, dance, theatre and food.
The second programme of the Eymardian family was the spirituality of LITE (Life in the Eucharist) day, which was held on Saturday the 14th, under the responsibility of Ms. Mona Grigsby, Fr. Lane SSS (Saint Ann) and Fr. Elibien Joseph SSS (St John XXIII). At this meeting, the Conference also had the presence of two (02) very special guests, Fr. Fiorenzo Salvi SSS (Italy) and Fr. Tony Akena SSS (Uganda). We began with the Eucharist which was followed by the three (03) talks in the course of the day: (Food: Fr. Jaime Rodriguez SSS; Transformation: Fr. Elibien SSS; Presence: Fr. Francisco Jr. De Oliveira Marques SSS). LITE is a programme of spirituality rich in multiple experiences that bring together Eucharistic formation, prayer, silence, group dynamics and sharing.
This whole experience (the Congress, the Spirituality of the Table and the Lite) was crowned by the bonds of friendship strengthened, by the sharing at the table nourished by friendship, by the group outings, in short, by the smiles on faces that proclaimed to the world: how good it is to be a religious of the Blessed Sacrament!
A special thanks to all those who experienced this SSS vision in the Americas. To the provincial superiors and their councils, lay and religious involved in the organisation, especially: Fr Hernan Zuluaga SSS and Fr Elibien SSS (St John XXIII); Carmen Bezerra (Our Lady of Guadalupe); and Mona Grigsby (Saint Ann).
And so, looking forward to the 54th IEC, Australia!
Father Francisco Junior De Oliveira Marques, SSS
General Consultor for the American Conference
