WOMEN OF THE EUCHARIST

At the Annunciation, Mary’s Fiat, (Luke 1:26 ff) opens her to the title, Woman of the Eucharist and her offering in thanksgiving makes her Mother of this Eucharistic Lord who is Jesus Christ! (Pope John Paul II)

She experiences, in this union, a kind of transubstantiation as she takes to herself the body, blood, soul, and divinity of her Lord who is this eternal Eucharist of the Father.

She, among all women, is worthy of such a title, being conceived without Original Sin and full of grace, her womb is truly blessed (Luke 1:39 ff).

"At the root of the Eucharist is the virginal and maternal life of Mary." (Pope John Paul II)

Mary stood at the foot of the Cross and as her heart was pierced with a sword (Lk 2:35), she prayed and suffered with her High Priest and son. She offered Him comfort, love and support.

With Mary, the Women of the Eucharist [W+E] stand at the foot of the Cross that their parish priest shares 'In Persona Christi' with Jesus. They do so in prayer, love and support. The presence of the women empowers their priests to cry out with Jesus, "I thirst", I thirst for souls!

Jesus gives, from the Cross, Mary as mother to all priests and in the union with Mary, the W+E become mothers to all priests.

As blood and water flowed from the sacred side of Jesus on the Cross, He gave life to His Church. The blood represents the Eucharist, the water, the cleansing power of Baptism and Reconciliation. In His priesthood, Jesus gives to all His priests the authority to continue this sacred and saving action.

On December 8, 2007, the Solemnity of this Immaculate Conception, the Holy Father engaged the whole of the Catholic world by asking, through the Congregation for the Clergy, that each diocese establish adoration chapels or shrine churches to pray specifically for priests and vocations to the priesthood.

Click here to read a document entitled: Eucharistic Adoration for the Sanctification of Priests and Spiritual Maternity (.pdf)

The Pope further asks every woman in the Catholic world to exercise her spiritual maternity, to embrace priests as spiritual sons and to pray for their sanctification.

Click here to read a document entitled : A Little Catechism on Spiritual Motherhood for Priests (.pdf)

On May 30, 2008 a group of women calling themselves Women of Mercy met for the first time to begin monthly adoration for the sanctification of priests. This day coincided with the world day for consecration of priests, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It began as a result of the appeal from the Congregation for the Clergy.

The John Paul II Centre for Divine Mercy has further taken up this initiative by inviting all women to become W+E in union with our Blessed Mother to pray for the priests of Jesus Christ.

"In order to evangelize the world, we need experts in celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Holy Eucharist." (Pope John Paul II)

Mary then is the inspiration and model for the [W+E]. As well, many great women saints of the Church have lived their lives united in Jesus praying for priests. St. Therese of Lisieux went to Carmel to give her life for priests. St. Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, as the Apostle of The Divine Mercy, embraced a life of prayer for priests. Through prayer and suffering, she affected a movement making present a message that Jesus asked her to carry to the world, a message immersed in the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.

In her diary, Jesus speaks to St. Faustina in clear terms:

"Your purpose and that of your companions is to unite yourselves with me as closely as possible; through love you will reconcile earth with Heaven, you will soften the just anger of God, and you will plead for mercy for the world. I place in your care two pearls precious to my heart, these are the souls of priests and religious. You will pray particularly for them; their power will come from your diminishment. You will join prayers, fasts, mortifications, labours and all sufferings to My prayer, fasting, mortification labours and sufferings and then they will have power before My Father. "(Dairy, 531)

In response St. Faustina writes, “O my Jesus, I beg you on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of your Spirit, and give power to the words of priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to you. O Lord give us holy priests; you yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the Devil’s traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests, for you can do all things.” (Diary, 1052)

Again, she writes, “I am suffering as much as my weak nature can bear, all for immortal souls, to plead the mercy of God for poor sinners and to beg strength for priests. Oh, how much reverence I have for priests; and I am asking Jesus, the High Priest, to grant them many graces.” (Diary, 953)

In this message then the W+E live out their call, to be a Bethany, as St. Faustina suggests, where Jesus (and their parish priest) may come to rest (Diary, 735). As women surrendered in union with their God, they pray, Father, for the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on our priests and on the whole world.

Who are the Women of the Eucharist?

The W+E pray individually and in community and are parish based. The women approach their pastors offering to hold them in prayer everyday and to invite them to bring any personal or parish concerns that need prayer. The women are there for their pastors, to pray for them, and support them, in any way they can.

It is hoped that the women will gather together at times in adoration to pray for these requests. There will be gatherings at a regional level of all women from the different parishes for Holy Mass, an hour of adoration, cathechesis, teaching and social time.

"The Eucharist is the heart of the Church. Where Eucharistic life flourishes, there the life of the Church will blossom." (Pope John Paul II)

Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter, Novo Millenio Ineunte calls the entire Church to put aside all fear and pursue daring apostolic goals, which are deeply rooted in prayer. The pope’s clarion call is a return to our first priority, a universal call to holiness. This holiness is found, the Pope suggests, in these ‘Schools of Prayer’, in the ‘Art of Prayer’.

Both Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI have stated emphatically that the future of the Church is found in small Christian communities and this is the impetus for the W+E. As women gathered in prayer for others, they are brought more fully into the art and the school of prayer and a greater holiness of life.

As they pray for the sanctification of priests, they find themselves being sanctified.

Again, in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Ineunte, the Holy Father wrote, “The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction. It is also clear however that the paths to holiness are personal and call for a genuine ‘training in holiness’, adapted to peoples needs.”

“This training in holiness calls for a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer... Yes, brothers and sisters our Christian communities must become genuine schools of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly falls in love”. (NMI 32, 33)

The prayer that all women are asked to say each day for their parish priest is offered in love and support of these men who have given their lives to Jesus Christ and His people.

We pray Lord Jesus that you bless and anoint with the Oil of Gladness our parish priest(s) Fr. _________. Grant that he may love deeply in this life and be richly rewarded in the next.

Grace him always with the virtues of humility, obedience, kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice.

Give him the wisdom to guide the souls entrusted to his care.

Sanctify him in Your Truth. Help us always to afford him the respect and reverence due a priest, for from his anointed hands we receive the sacred and most precious food for our souls, your Body and Blood.

He anoints us when we are sick, absolves us of our sins when we fall, prays for us when we die, and from his lips we hear Your Holy Word.

Help us O Lord to see You in him, to co-operate with him in all of his works for our good and the good of all Your Church.

We pray that you Mary, our Blessed Mother, Mother of the Eucharist and mother of all priests, wrap your heavenly mantle around Fr.________ to guide and protect him always.

St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests intercede for your brother in Christ.

Lord watch over our faith community, guard us from all evil.

AMEN

Women praying in this 'common union' become 'communion'.

St. Therese of Lisieux who went to Carmel to give her life for priests, pray for us!

St. Monica, patron of mothers, pray for us!

St. Faustina, apostle of mercy, pray for us!

St. John Vianney, patron of priests, pray for us!

Blessed Pope John Paul, great mercy pope, pray for us!

Catholic Mass (video)