St. Mary Parish mission to focus on the Eucharist

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Editor's Note: The parish mission planned for Nov. 13-17 at Saint Mary Parish in West Haven has been canceled due to a situation with the presenter’s family.

WEST HAVEN — A week-long parish mission will be part of the efforts Saint Mary Parish in West Haven will undertake as part of the parish phase of the Eucharistic Revival.

The parish mission will take place Nov. 13-17, and will focus on the Eucharist. The presenter will be Father Benedict La Volpe, OFM Conv., who will conduct the retreat for three days in English and two days in Spanish.

Fr. Benedict has been giving parish missions and other presentations throughout the country for many years. Born in Australia to an Italian family, he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order in 1995 and was ordained in 2005. He holds bachelor’s degrees in theology and Italian & literature. He also obtained a STB and licentiate in Franciscan Spirituality and Theology of the Consecrated Life from the International Seraphicum College in Rome. After serving as a pastor in Melbourne in 2018, he was named the Guardian Rector of the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe-Marytown in Illinois. In 2022 he moved to Dearborn Heights, Mich., where he resided at the order’s friary.

Having this parish mission at St. Mary’s is a way of evangelizing about the Eucharist, and “there is a spiritual hunger that only the Eucharist can fill – not sports, iPhones or other points of interest,” said Donna Masek, a parishioner who has organized the event with the support of Father Martin Picos, pastor.

The parish mission also is a good way to teach that the Church is holy ground, Masek said. “When Moses came before God’s presence at the burning bush, God told him to take off his shoes for he was on holy ground. … We, too, are in a holy place when we enter the sanctuary, for God is present in the tabernacle.”

Although it is a parish mission, all are welcome to attend the presentations, Masek said. The presentations in English will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; the presentations in Spanish will be on Thursday and Friday.

Those who attend can expect that the mission “will give them the tools so they can be example to others,” Masek said. “We celebrate the Last Supper, Good Friday and the Resurrection at Mass. We are asked to take what we have learned and received and go out and share the Good News with all those we meet. It is with hope that through our own example, others will feel God’s presence among them.”

Although she believes storngly in the power of prayer, nothing is as powerful as “receiving God’s body, blood, soul and divinity into our own bodies and souls,” Masek said. “Our venial sins are washed away, challenges become less challenging, because by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, he gives us the strength to love as he loves, [to] forgive as he forgives.”

Inviting all to participate in this bilingual parish mission, Masek said that she hopes that all who attend will “grow in their knowledge, faith and belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.”

Fr. Benedict will start his presentations with homilies during the weekend Masses Nov. 11-12 in preparation for the parish mission the following week.

WHAT: Bilingual Parish Mission on the Eucharist   presented by Father Benedict La Volpe, OFM Conv.

WHERE: St. Mary Catholic Church, 4050 South 3900 West, West Haven

WHEN: Nov. 11-17

Saturday, Nov. 11 – homily at the 5 p.m. Mass

Sunday, Nov. 12 – homily at the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Masses in English and the noon Mass in Spanish

Monday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. – presentation “Eucharist: Mystery to be believed, celebrated and lived”

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. – “Eucharist: Sacrament of Healing”

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. – presentation  “Eucharist: O, Come Let Us Adore Him”

The presentations on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 16-17, will be in Spanish.