{"id":382,"date":"2025-04-16T08:22:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/?p=382"},"modified":"2025-04-16T08:22:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:22:48","slug":"preparatory-retreat-equips-new-extraordinary-ministers-of-the-eucharist-in-jamaica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/preparatory-retreat-equips-new-extraordinary-ministers-of-the-eucharist-in-jamaica\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparatory Retreat Equips New Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist in Jamaica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">From <strong>March 21\u201323, 2025<\/strong>, over 40 lay leaders gathered at the serene <strong>National Marian Shrine in Dunsinane<\/strong> for a powerful three-day <strong>preparatory retreat<\/strong> led by <strong>The Most Rev. John D. Persaud<\/strong>, Bishop of Mandeville. The retreat, themed <em>\u201cPilgrims of Hope: Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion\u2014Moving from the Heart to Feet, Openness to God and Others,\u201d<\/em> offered a rich opportunity for spiritual growth and discernment for those considering the sacred ministry of the <strong>Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\" wp-block-heading\">A Message from the Bishop: From Devotion to Mission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Bishop Persaud opened the retreat with a heartfelt reflection on the profound responsibility and privilege of distributing the Body of Christ. He reminded participants that the <strong>Holy Eucharist is not just a symbol\u2014it is a living, transformative encounter with Jesus Himself<\/strong>. To serve at the altar is to serve the Church and one another in humility, reverence, and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cLet your faith move from the heart to the feet,\u201d Bishop Persaud urged. \u201cThis ministry is not about prestige\u2014it\u2019s about compassion, presence, and readiness to be Christ\u2019s hands in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\" wp-block-heading\">Practical Training Meets Spiritual Formation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Over the weekend, participants engaged in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Liturgical workshops<\/strong> exploring the theology and reverence of the Eucharist<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Hands-on sessions<\/strong> on the proper procedures and practices for distribution<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Discussions<\/strong> on pastoral sensitivity in visiting the sick and homebound<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Moments of prayer, Adoration, and reflection<\/strong> to listen for God\u2019s call<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The sessions aimed to equip the ministers with both <strong>technical knowledge and spiritual depth<\/strong>, empowering them to serve faithfully and confidently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\" wp-block-heading\">From Retreat to Mission: Living the Call<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">As the retreat came to a close, the energy was palpable. Participants left with a deeper understanding of what it means to be an <strong>Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion<\/strong>\u2014not just during Mass, but in their daily lives as models of service, reverence, and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Each attendee was invited to spend time in <strong>prayer and discernment<\/strong> before formally stepping into the ministry, recognizing the sacred commitment required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThis is not a one-time training,\u201d said a participant. \u201cThis is the beginning of a lifelong journey to bring Christ to others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\" wp-block-heading\">The Diocese\u2019s Commitment to Living Ministry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The <strong>Diocese of Mandeville<\/strong> remains steadfast in its mission to <strong>form servant leaders<\/strong> who live the Gospel with compassion and integrity. This retreat is one of many steps in building a more active, Eucharistic-centered Church in Jamaica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\" wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udccd <em>Ready to Learn More?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If you feel called to serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion in your parish, speak to your parish priest or contact the Diocese of Mandeville Office for Laity and Liturgy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover how lay leaders in Jamaica deepened their call to serve at a spiritual retreat in Dunsinane led by Bishop John Persaud, preparing to become Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[72,71,70,75,73,74],"class_list":["post-382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bishop-john-persaud","tag-catholic-retreat-jamaica","tag-diocese-of-mandeville","tag-eucharistic-ministry","tag-extraordinary-ministers-of-the-eucharist","tag-holy-communion-training"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20180329_195854-scaled.avif","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions\/387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicvoice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}