Remember the books we gave out at Christmas?

Thin book. Grey and gold cover. The title is hidden in the middle of the artwork.

Maybe you thought it was the worship guide for Christmas Mass—the place where we’d put the songs and readings. Maybe you picked it up right away— well, as right away as the day after Christmas when everyone went home—and started to read. Maybe you tossed it on the coffee table, the desk, the back seat of the car—with a mental note “later”.

I’m included in that last category. That grey and gold book Matthew Kelly’s 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory was still on the shelf where I put it Christmas afternoon. I’d get to it later. During the week before last’s struggle with COVID, I picked it up again. “Later” had finally turned into “now.” I was still restless with illness and reading helped.

But, this book isn’t like many other books. It’s not a story to curl up with. It’s not a churchy document with quotes from scripture and the fathers and recommendations on what we should do now. It’s not a Lent program with reflections fixed to each day.

It’s a call to refocus on the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Christian faith. It sets out a program that lasts 33 days.  You can begin when you like. You can pace the reading to fit your lifestyle. It could be your Lent, your retreat, your vacation. It’s asking for more than a read—it wants a commitment. A commitment to the God who feeds us with his flesh and blood in the Eucharist.

Now, as many of you know I’m doing the men’s program, Exodus 90, with its particular demands moving toward Lent and Easter. But, sometime soon I’m weaving in 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory. I want—as a priest and a Catholic—to reaffirm and strengthen my commitment to the Eucharist, the great mystery that challenges and shapes our lives.

Remember that book? Know where it is? Why not pick it up soon? Why not find the time when “later” can become “today”?