Year of the Eucharist Motto

Bread of Life - Covenant of Love

Many thanks to the schools that submitted suggestions for the
Year of the Eucharist Motto:

Katie Andrews: 8th grade, St. Jude's, New Lenox
Haylee Barry: 7th grade, Immaculate Conception School, Morris
Ann Bergl: the 8th grade class, St. John the Baptist, Winfield
Annamarie Boyle: 8th grade teacher, St. Michael Parish School, Wheaton
Chloe Castelluccio: 7th grade, Immaculate Conception School, Morris
Michael Daly: 7th grade, St. Jude's, New Lenox
Monica Davy: 7th grade, Immaculate Conception School, Morris
Mary Ann Feeney: Principal, Notre Dame School, Clarendon Hills
Katie Friend: 8th grade, Immaculate Conception School, Morris
Richie Jaworowski: 5th grade, St. Anthony Parish, Frankfort
The Junior High Students of All Saints Catholic Academy, Kankakee
Gail Kueper: St. Scholastica School, Woodridge
Marty Palmasani: 7th grade, St. Jude's, New Lenox
Therese Stahl: St. Petronille School, Glen Ellyn
Mrs. Carol Stiff: Religion Teacher, Grade 5, St. Mary Nativity School, Joliet
P. Thierer: St. Mary School, Plano
Clair Vrabec: 8th grade, St. Jude's, New Lenox
Georgia Williams: Middle School Religion Teacher, St. Mary of Gostyn School,
     Downers Grove

The Motto and Logo for the Year of the Eucharist:

Jesus says in John 6:48-51, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Jesus began to give his flesh for the life of the world, to empty himself, the night he was to be handed over. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and a chalice filled with wine, and offering them to the Almighty Father, he instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as the perpetual memorial of his perfect sacrifice of himself for his friends.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is once and for all, and he has given us the gift of his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist to draw us more deeply into the mystery of the divine self-gift, a gift which unites us to the heart of God, entering into the new and everlasting covenant.

The motto “Bread of Life, Covenant of Love” reminds us that Christ faithfully and lovingly gives us life and draws us into a mystical union with him and one another through the gift of the Holy Eucharist. The goal of the Year of the Eucharist and Eucharistic Congress in the Diocese of Joliet-in-Illinois is to help all Catholics - clergy, religious and lay faithful - to rediscover the treasure of the Holy Eucharist, the source of our unity and charity. It is the hope and prayer of our Diocesan Church during this year that all may grow in their love for this most precious gift, through a more conscious and active participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by spending more time in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, and through renewed catechesis and study and so that all may experience the peace, healing, unity and life that Jesus gives us in His Body and Blood.

The logo for the Year of the Eucharist displays the chalice and host, the main symbols of the Holy Eucharist, and the years of this observance. This image was taken from a stained glass window found at St. Charles Borromeo Pastoral Center in Romeoville, Il. Around this image is name of our Diocese and the motto for the Year – “Bread of Life, Covenant of Love”. This reminds us that the center of our life as a diocesan Church, as it is for all Catholic Christians, is the Holy Eucharist

The motto was suggested by Michael Daley, a 7th grader from St. Jude School in New Lenox, IL. The above explanation was prepared by Fr. Matthew Pratscher, Parochial Vicar at Visitation Parish in Elmhurst, Il. The logo for the Year of the Eucharist was designed by Pat Dally, graphics designer of “Christ Is Our Hope” magazine.