Father Comer to begin a series of talks on foundations of the Eucharist

The Church in the United States has begun a three year process of National Eucharistic Renewal. This process is in response to a very troubling loss of faith in the Eucharist, as the Catholic Church believes and teaches it, among the Catholic people. With a special focus on the Eucharist over these three years it is hoped that Church leaders will be able to help people to understand the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, and to embrace it.

In an upcoming series of talks, Father Michael Comer, pastor, Mother of God Parish, Covington, is taking a foundational approach to catechesis on the Eucharist by inviting everyone to journey back in the Old Testament to uncover the roots of the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. The series begins Thursday, Sept.8 with a morning session at 10:30 a.m. which is then repeated in the evening at 6:30 p.m., at Mother of God Church. This series will be based on the book, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper,” by Brad Pitre.

“This book, ‘Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,’ is one of the best that I have read in a number of years about the Eucharist,” said Father Comer. “I especially like the way in which Pitre helps us to see that what Jesus did at the Last Supper — when he instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist — was the fulfillment of a number of Old Testament prophecies and Old Testament pre-figurements.”

The Passover meal, the manna in the desert, the offer- ing of sacrifices in the Temple, the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, are all preparation for the coming of Jesus, and for the Eucharist, and the ongoing Real Presence of Jesus among us in the Blessed Sacrament, Father Comer said.

Brad Pitre has a doctorate in Scripture from Notre Dame University, and has been a professor of Scripture at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is the author of a number of books showing the inti- mate connection between the Old Testament and Christ. These include, “Jesus: The Bridegroom,” “The Case for Jesus,” “Jesus and The Jewish Roots of Mary,” and several more.

The book is available on Amazon and other booksellers, including regular book stores, and Catholic book stores, or it can be downloaded to Kindle, I-pad or other readers.