Jesus was Jewish.  God had a plan. 

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist shines fresh light on the Last Supper by looking at it through Jewish eyes.  Using his in-depth knowledge of the Bible and ancient Judaism, Dr. Brant Pitre answers questions such as: What was the Passover like at the time of Jesus? What were the Jewish hopes for the Messiah? What was Jesus' purpose in instituting the Eucharist during the feast of Passover? And, most important of all, what did Jesus mean when he said, "This is my body... This is my blood"?

To answer these questions, Pitre explores ancient Jewish beliefs about the Passover of the Messiah, the miraculous Manna from heaven, and the mysterious Bread of the Presence. As he shows, these three keys-the Passover, the Manna, and the Bread of the Presence-have the power to unlock the original meaning of the Eucharistic words of Jesus. Along the way, Pitre also explains how Jesus united the Last Supper to his death on Good Friday and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

St. Damian Parish is offering this book free to parishioners.  Books will be distributed after Masses the weekend of February 10/11. 

Our hope is everyone will read it...even better...we hope many will gather in small groups for discussion while reading the book.  We will offer some small group options.  Would YOU like to lead a small group?  Invite your friends and/or family to a small group for Lent!  Meet in your home.  Meet in a Coffee Shop.  Set up a Zoom. Want to meet at the parish?  We’ll set up the space.  Email FriedaB@stdamianchurch.org for more information.

Click here for the Book Discussion Guide.

Can't join a group?  Scroll to the end for a YouTube presentation with Dr. Pitre, the author.

Join one of our Book Discussion Groups.  These meetings are scheduled to last no more than 1 1/2 hours each.  Generally, one chapter will be discussed at each meeting unless instructed otherwise.

Options:

Sundays after 9:30am Mass in Shaw Hall.  This group will be led by Mary Jo Jenkins.  The first meeting is Sunday, February 18th to discuss the first chapter.  The following Sunday is the Women's Retreat, so there will be no gathering.  Meetings resume March 3rd.

Wednesdays at 10:00am in the Pastoral Center, Damian A.  This group will be led by Diana Dilger. The first meeting will be Wednesday February 21st.

Wednesdays at 7:00pm online via Google Meet.  This group will be led by Connie Swidergal.  The first meeting will be Wednesday, February 21st due to Ash Wednesday and will cover the Introduction and the first chapter of the book.

Thursdays at 6:30pm in the Pastoral Center, Damian A.  This group will be led by Tony Mazurowski beginning February 22.