St. John the Baptist Parish groups study book about the Eucharist

IC photo/Linda Petersen

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Father Stephen Tilley, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Draper, engages the parish’s women’s prayer group in a discussion of the Eucharist.

DRAPER — As part of St. John the Baptist Parish’s celebration of the Eucharistic Revival, Father Stephen Tilley, pastor, has chosen to share a book about the Eucharist with the parish’s monthly men and women’s Prayer BnB (Bible and Breakfast) groups. Over the next six months, both groups will study The Eucharist Is Really Jesus by Joe Heschmeyer.

“It is the year of the Eucharist and I personally know Joe from the seminary,” Fr. Tilley said. “I thought the book was appropriate for the year of the Eucharist, and then we would culminate the study with Joe coming to give a number of presentations at the parish in the spring of 2024.”

“This book is offering a lens that shows what we think about the Eucharist. If we think about the Eucharist properly, then we can read Scripture from a Catholic perspective and think from a Catholic perspective and act from a Catholic perspective,” Fr. Tilley told the women’s group on Sept. 23.

Judy Thomas has been attending the women’s prayer BnB group to develop a deeper relationship with God, she said, adding that she is eager to learn more about the Eucharist. “I know the basics, but it’s amazing how much I continue to learn. It means I’m actually accepting Jesus as my savior.”

Another parishioner, Brook Armijo, said she thinks the BnB group “is a real opportunity to really bring the truth about the Eucharist to the parish. I’m very excited about it.”

Bill Kaiser, who with his son John has been attending the men’s Prayer BnB group since its beginning, had a similar reaction.

“We have found Fr. Tilley to be engaging, and John and I are both very interested in apologetics and learning about the Church,” Bill Kaiser said. “It’s a nice way to start the weekend. We leave there feeling it was probably the best use of our time.”

The two have followed Heschmeyer on Catholic Answers, a website and radio show, for several years and are impressed with the author’s latest offering.

“It’s a great balanced read; it’s not too deep and technical but it presents the Eucharist and why we revere it so much,” Bill Kaiser said of The Eucharist Is Really Jesus.

“John and I have been active in watching how society has been going, and we think it’s important that this type of book and this type of message get the publicity they deserve,” he said. “Joe talks about how the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith so everything revolves around that. So, if you have an understanding of Jesus coming down, the Word made flesh and then offering himself through the Eucharist, it really is the foundation for the entire Church.”

The book study is a major part of the parish’s celebration of the Eucharistic Revival, Fr. Tilley said. In April, the parish will host Heschmeyer, who will give five presentations on the Eucharist. The parish also has scheduled the diocesan Eucharistic Miracle Display in October, and has added a weekly Wednesday evening adoration, confession, rosary and Compline to its schedule to encourage families to engage more with the Eucharist.