Dear parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish,

I have written the following Pastoral Letter to provide for us an opportunity to meditate on the Mystery of the Eucharist, the Unity of our Parish in the Eucharist, and the Worship of the Holy Eucharist outside Mass.

It is entitled "O Sacrum Convivium" - "O Sacred Banquet".

The letter contains both a Theological Meditation on the Eucharist as well as some new norms related to Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The English language version of O Sacrum Convivium can be downloaded here.

The Spanish language version of O Sacrum Convivium can be downloaded here.​
​
The Vietnamese language version of O Sacrum Convivium is currently pending.

Some excerpts:

« 1. O sacrum convivium! O sacred banquet! In the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Church gathers around the one Altar: to hear the one Word of God; to offer the one Great Prayer of our true High Priest in the one unbloody Sacrifice of Christ; to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord in which we become one Body; and the Church is sent out into the world, in order to proclaim that there is only one Way to the Father, Jesus Christ (Cf. Jn 14:6; Eph 4:5-6). The Sacred Banquet of the Holy Mass is the source and summit of the Christian Life, for in the celebration of the Eucharist, it is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who is the protagonist and principal director of the entire liturgical action that unfolds. It is from the Mystery of the Eucharist that the Church receives her nourishment, her sustenance, and her mission. »

« 13. When our parish pioneers first celebrated Mass in the Bear Creek area of northwest Houston nearly fifty years ago, that was when our parish was born. We are born from the Eucharist, just as the Blood and Water flowed from the side of the Lord as he was crucified. Our parish’s life comes from the Eucharist, for if we do not eat the Flesh of the Lord or drink his Blood, we do not have life in him at all (Cf. Jn 6:53). In the Lord we have life, in the Lord we have our identity. And in our parish’s celebration of the Eucharist and in our regular Eucharistic Communion in the Lord, we have our parish’s unity in Him, our Eucharistic Lord. »

« 18. For us as a parish, our entire week revolves around the Sunday Celebration of the Eucharist. Currently, as our Mass schedule can attest, we celebrate the Eucharist seven times as a parish on Sundays, with three additional anticipated Masses on Saturday Evenings. Indeed, each weekend celebration of the Mass is distinguished by those who attend a given particular Mass, but the Eucharist celebrated is still the same. Indeed, each celebration is a portion of the larger parish community, but not a community separate from the parish as a whole. »