National Eucharistic Congress 2015 - 26th-27th September 2015 at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo

 

"Christ, our Hope"

 
It has been a while since the above logo from IEC2012 was used on SS102fm but we are delighted to dig it out of the photo album as it is the logo being used to promote the National Eucharistic Congress which is being held in Knock the weekend of the 26th - 27th September.
 
So what is it all about?

Over at the website for NEC 2015, Bishop Kevin Doran explains what NEC 2015 is about:

The Irish Church will celebrate a National Eucharistic Congress on the weekend of 26th-27th September 2015 at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo. The Congress will serve both as a spiritual preparation for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress 2016 in Cebu next January, and as an opportunity to focus in the light of our Eucharistic communion, on some of the important pastoral questions in the life of the Church at the present time. In many countries, in the year before the next International Eucharistic Congress, a National Congress is held, to provide an opportunity for the whole Church to participate in the preparatory journey of the host country.

The theme for the National Congress, echoing the theme of IEC2016, is “Christ, our Hope” (Col 1:27). It is our intention that, in so far as possible, this theme would be reflected in all homilies and presentations given at the National Eucharistic Congress.

The National Eucharistic Congress, which is free of charge, will have a particular focus on Marriage and the Family as well as the Year of Consecrated Life and the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy.

We look forward to welcoming you to Knock on 26th and 27th September. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Knock, we pray that the National Eucharistic Congress will be a time of great joy and hope for all and one that will lead each of us into a deeper relationship with Christ, our Hope. 

What is actually happening over the weekend?

The programme of events can be seen at the NEC2015 website and may be subject to some small changes HERE.

So what kind of preparation can be done before the Congress?

The weeks that lead into the celebration of ‘Christ our Hope’ at the National Eucharistic Congress are paved with the Sunday readings. They call us to renewed reflection on the place of the Eucharist in our lives, on the centrality of God’s Word in daily Christian living, the impact of Baptism and the Ephphatha prayer throughout our lives, and the relationship between our good deeds and our faith. In the joys and challenges of daily life Christ is our hope, and nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the ultimate challenge – death.  Jesus embodies hope, secures hope for us and is the reason we can live hope-filled lives in every circumstance.  This is the Good News we celebrate weekly, but over the course of the weeks leading up to the National Congress, all are invited to a renewal, or recovery or perhaps even a first personal encounter with the Hope that Christ is, celebrated in the Eucharist.

You can find out more from the website of the NEC2015 HERE.

You can also delve back into the posts from SS102fm for IEC2012 by checking our links here.