2022 Lenten Reflection Series-Dina Dow, "Living a Eucharistic-Centered Life: Example of the Saints"

April 6, 2022. Mrs. Dina Dow presents the challenging question, "Is my life centered in the Eucharist?" and then gives encouragement to look at the witness provided by the saints. She says that through the Body of Christ, the saints encountered the living God, were transformed, and carried out the command to make disciples of all nations. Quoting copiously from a plethora of holy men and women spanning from the early Church through modern times, Mrs. Dow reviews the six effects of Holy Communion: union with Christ; renewal of the life of grace; forgiveness of sin; communion with the One Body, the Church; love and service for others; and the unity of all Christians. She details how the Eucharist gives peace and the strength to replace vice with virtue. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are necessary to conquer the devil. She concludes by focusing on the life of Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, who spent 13 years (1975-1988) in a Communist North Vietnam "re-education camp," sustained by the Holy Eucharist and covertly celebrating Mass, through which he ministered to a multitude of other prisoners. Among the numerous compelling saintly
quotes given by Mrs. Dow during her presentation were these: "We must choose God over works of God." "The Eucharist is the living heart of each of our parishes" (Pope St. Paul VI). "After this--nothing else but heaven!"