Letters

Speaker on Mark

Posted

Thank you for the fine article, “Novice Speaker Had Wealth of Knowledge About Eucharistic Adoration,” by John Woods (CNY, Editor’s Report, March 1). The appreciative audience was portrayed well in the interview with Bob Zottoli of St. Gregory Barbarigo parish in Garnerville. It was a discerning audience that seemed to sense in James Monti an erudite scholar, with mystical qualities and a humble demeanor. Is it possible that Jesus chose the perfect spokesman for this day and age to succeed St. Thomas Aquinas?

Monti reminded us that everyone desires to be with God. From the Old Testament places and shelters (the burning bush; pillar of cloud) to the incarnate presence in Mary, to the Holy Eucharist, we are happy to know where Jesus is staying. It is important Monti began on the first page and connected the blessed Eucharistic accretions: carrying the Eucharist to the sick, and in procession; the Holy Thursday observances (visiting seven churches); the Dark Chapel; Forty Hours’ Devotion; Corpus Christi; the Holy Hour; Benediction; and Eucharistic Adoration. The relevance of connecting and tracing these devotions to its root, the source of “living water,” cannot be underestimated. Monti explained why certain customs in relation to the Eucharist are contained in the rubrics.

Monti gave emphasis to Holy Thursday. It was on this evening when Jesus, close to his apostles at The Last Supper, instituted the Holy Eucharist. It seems to me that he was present to them as he had been for three years; yet it was a transition. After that evening, he would be with them in a new way.

Gloria Ausubel

Port Ewen