by Mirian Rodriguez
I belong to the St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church Parish in Bushwick. I feel so blessed by participating in the different activities of the Eucharistic Revival 2022-2025, starting with the first activity we had with the different parishes in the area.
We began our procession at St. Martin of Tours, and then we visited St. Barbara and St. Brigid’s, and we concluded at St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church Parish. It was an unforgettable day full of blessings, seeing how the people who were walking through the streets stopped to observe how we carried the Blessed Sacrament in procession.
This was something wonderful that touched many people who were able to contemplate the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. For me, this activity was a Eucharistic Revival of unity in the community.
Then during the Eucharistic Revival at the parish level, we went out in procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets surrounding our parish. This was something impressive because I felt that my heart was opening more and more to the healing power of Our Lord. All of this period of time of the Eucharistic Revival has helped me reflect and deepen further my relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist.
During the preparation for the Eucharistic Revival at the diocesan level, everything was done with great enthusiasm, although it did not take place on the agreed date in 2023 due to the bad weather. We were always on alert waiting for the new date which would be in the spring of 2024. Then we had the information that it would be April 20, 2024.
We continued with the spiritual preparation by carrying out Holy Hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, vigils until midnight and the Holy Hour of Reparation. For me, all this preparation has helped me revive my understanding and devotion to the Holy Eucharist. It is a personal encounter with Jesus that helps me have a more solid formation of my faith.
As a leader in my parish, I worked on the distribution of tickets and helped people accept their tickets and have them on their phone.
And when this great day of the revival arrived, a large number of people from my parish left very early in the morning, gathered at the train station of the No. 7 train to join in procession with Bishop Robert Brennan.
This was something that cannot be explained in words. When we got off the train, as we were walking, I felt like I was walking and singing with Jesus by my side. I had never spiritually experienced something so great.
After we arrived at the stadium when the procession with the Blessed Sacrament and the holy Mass began, I felt that God was renewing hearts because revival begins in our own hearts and in this way we can transmit it to others, because as St. Augustine said: “One loving heart sets another on fire.”
During the homily, Bishop Brennan’s words came to me in an encouraging way and with the hope that I could examine my life, remembering how loving and merciful God is. I feel that as a daughter of God, this was a day of interior healing, a day of encounter with the Lord in which each of us present could feel the true and real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
I personally would like to participate for at least three days in the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis because I know that after this congress, Catholics will be more united and even if we go through a storm, Jesus is present to heal, renew, and unify the world.
Mirian Rodriguez is a parishioner at St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church Parish in Bushwick.
