The Michigan Area’s August First Saturday featured a discussion of John 6:24-35 and the centrality of the Eucharist to Christian life.

The August 3 event, held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Royal Oak, included the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, recitation of the Rosary, and Mass, to offer the full First Saturday devotion.

Confessions were heard by Msgr. Michael LeFevre, ChM, the Michigan Area’s chaplain, who also celebrated Mass. Marcia McBrien, DM, led the Rosary. Candidate in Formation Christi Small and Patrick Jones, KM, proclaimed the readings. Chris Rutkowski, KM, offered the Prayers of the Faithful. Area Chair Andy Smith, KM, led the group in the Daily Prayer of the Order.

After Mass, a light breakfast was provided by Chris and June Rutkowski, members of the Michigan Area’s Hospitality Ministry.

In keeping with the Michigan Area’s long First Saturday practice, Msgr. LeFevre led Lectio Divina, focusing on John 6:24-35, the Gospel reading for the following Sunday. In the wake of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, a crowd follows Jesus to Capernaum, with some seeking simple physical sustenance and others perhaps seeking something more spiritual. The passage concludes with Jesus revealing to the crowd, “I am the bread of life.” Msgr. LeFevre, contrasting “sustenance” with “substance,” commented that “At our core, the substance of our life has to be Christ, or we fail.” Peggy Stanton, DM shared some related observations from her experience at the recent National Eucharistic Congress.

Following the First Saturday event, Michigan Area members distributed sack lunches to people living on the streets of Detroit as part of the Area’s “Into the Fire” ministry, led by Patrick Jones, John Juriga, KM, and Sean Shriner, Member in Formation.

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