Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament - Province of Saint Ann

Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament - Province of Saint Ann Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament - Province of Saint Ann, Catholic Church, Highland Heights, OH.

We are a Catholic religious congregation of priests and brothers partnered with lay associates whose mission is to share the riches of God’s love manifested in the Eucharist: by prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and an active apostolic life.

06/24/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 24, 2026 Wednesday
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - Mass during the Day

Our Mass readings often remind us of the great intimacy we have with God and of how each of us has a beautiful vocation story. From our conception, God calls us by name and gently leads us by a grace-given arm. We are formed to be servants who live a Eucharistic life.

In recalling the nativity of John the Baptist, each year we are born again to fulfill a mission for evangelizing the Christ. We join with John as stewards of this great hand of care to others. We recall our parents' naming of us. We recall that we entered into a deep and lasting covenant at our baptism. We renew this covenant, where God calls us again and again through the regular celebration of the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion. We are blessed because we are wonderfully made!

How are we growing stronger in God’s spirit these days? The aging process may at times take us away from realizing the graces in our growth in wisdom. The aches, pills, and appointments with health care are time-consuming elements that, for some, make us forget the wonderfulness of our bodies. The reality of looking into a mirror and seeing something new that God is creating with our DNA is sometimes a great surprise!

Yet we are called to see that God’s mercy is upon us, as with Elizabeth, who, in her aging, was called to live a new reality of mothering. Zechariah, too, was muted for nine months to ponder God’s works, then boldly proclaims a name above all others. That creative, bold name, meaning “God’s beloved,” reminds us that each one of us, too, is a beloved child of God. We are called to fulfill praise and worship of God, pointing the way to the Lamb of God.

John Thomas Lane SSS
Highland Heights, Ohio

Prayer
Help me, O God, to know that I am wonderfully made, chosen by you to serve and bring others to your Son, Jesus Christ. May my desire to ponder your Word and Sacrament. Help me with the wisdom of my age and unite me to the glory of your reign, through Christ our Lord.

06/23/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 23, 2026 Tuesday

The Praying King (2 Kings 19)

Upon receiving a threat from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, King Hezekiah went on his knees and prayed. Dear friends, King Hezekiah should be our model today. His prayer is very touching, and it speaks. He starts by acknowledging God as the supreme leader of his people. In his prayer, the king knows that he only leads a section of the people, but God leads the entire creation. Leaders need to remember that. Christian leaders are leaders because of the kingship they received through baptism. Leadership is, therefore, a gift.

As leaders, we normally receive threats. The biggest threat is losing faith in our ability to serve as leaders. It might be true that you feel incapable of being a good father or mother. That you are probably not the example you should be. Perhaps your leadership is doubted in your parish group. It could be that you are failing to please your employees. You could be struggling with loneliness since your team sees you differently. And still, you might lack solutions when everyone is waiting to hear from you. King Hezekiah is in this difficulty. He runs to that one person who is the author of his leadership. He learns to put himself aside without necessarily resigning. He calls God to take control.

I dream of a world when prayer will be our first and last resort. When leaders, even political leaders, call the population to pray. That in difficult situations, the world might not resort to war but to amicable talks. Let us again not only admire the prayer of the king but also imitate the praying King.

Father Simon Peter Zikusooka SSS
Masaka, Uganda, East Africa

Let Us Pray:
Almighty God, we pray for our leaders today. May they know you. May they seek you. That our leadership might draw strength from you alone. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

06/22/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 22, 2026 Monday

The Blame Game

The place is not hard to find. It’s just off one of our interstate highways. You can’t miss it. Quite deserted. A ramshackle barely stands in the heat. And still people go there; and people don’t go there. Some go there for an extended stay, others make a visit. On a wooden post, a relic of the past, the placename is still clear – Blame Town. Here is an outpost to notice and know to stay away from.

It is here we find faults in everyone whom we meet and judge accordingly.

In the cultural psyche, the fall from Eden has left its mark of pride upon us, prompting us to seek self-fulfillment. Throughout history, bigotry, paranoia, and even religious extremism have fouled the waters of our baptismal commitment.

We are not to judge does not preclude judging moral wrongs, but rather taking the negatives and turning them into positives. Father Eymard counsels to sanctify the present. What’s the alternative?

To grumble? Complain? Where is peace of mind and soul? Certainly not in a dilapidated frame of judging. Being present for someone who isn’t seeing straight is a way to break down the barrier created by judging others.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)

Joe McCormack
Highland Heights, Ohio

Prayer:
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

06/21/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 21, 2026 Sunday
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

So, do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

We are assured by the words of the Gospel today that we have no need to fear because the Father’s love is greater and more powerful than anything that could endanger us. We are worth more to our Creator than even one of the smallest, most insignificant birds. If not one of them falls without the Father’s knowledge, how much more embraced and protected are we?

And yet we succumb so often to fear, one of the most universal human emotions. We can relate to Jeremiah. Terror on every side. It seems there is more to fear in our world today. Wars, economic insecurity, diseases, and pandemics threaten society, inequality, violence, and distrust of one another, to name just a few. Each of us has our list of who and what keeps us on edge. Oftentimes, what is omitted is fear of the things that can destroy our souls: prejudice, cruelty to others, destruction of our environment, refusal to accept one another, and failure to forgive.

Jeremiah also reminds us that the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion. Instead of trying to find heroes who will save us, our hope and trust should be in the One who has already saved us, as Saint Paul reminds us: how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.

Rather than our fear, we are called to proclaim God’s saving grace from the housetops. We are challenged to offer hope to one another by reminding ourselves of the gifts we have received in the Eucharist, in our walking in faith together, and in our overcoming fear with trust and love for ourselves and one another.

What will I shout from my housetop today?

Mary Muehle
Richmond Heights, Ohio

Let Us Pray:
Father, Son, and Spirit, we kneel in gratitude for the great love you have poured upon us. Enable us to replace our fear with such a deep trust in your love that we will be able to love others as you have loved us. Amen.

06/20/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 20, 2026 Saturday

We all experience joy and hardship. Some days we feel great, while other days weigh heavily. Everyone has faced moments that test our strength: grief, unemployment, our health, or the uncertainty that comes when life simply doesn’t go the way we hoped. These struggles are real, and Jesus never dismisses their difficulty. Yet, during these challenges, he tells us not to worry about this world.

Jesus sees our struggles as temporary. He reminds us that this life, with all its uncertainties, is not the final chapter. He asks us to let go of material security and place our trust in him, confident that God sees our needs and will provide for them.

Jesus teaches that worry accomplishes nothing. It can’t extend our lives, solve our problems, or bring peace. When we assume everything depends on our own strength, our fear grows. But when we remember God has everything under control, we can rest. Instead of pouring energy into fear and imagining what might go wrong, Jesus asks us to direct that energy toward faith.

He asks us to make the Father the priority — his will first. When we do, Jesus assures us our material needs will fall into place. This doesn’t mean we stop working or making responsible choices. We must still put forth effort, but we begin with prayer, trust, and surrender.

Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow. Through receiving the Eucharist, we are reminded to place tomorrow’s fears on the altar. If we don’t, we lose the strength meant for today. He wants us to live one day at a time, trusting his timing.

Christine Anderson
Twinsburg, Ohio

Let Us Pray:
Dear Lord, help us to face our problems with a different outlook—one grounded in faith rather than fear. Help us to trust. Help us to remember that God’s presence becomes our source of peace, no matter what happens tomorrow.

06/19/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 19, 2026

Store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

It seems obvious that not all material things last. As Jesus notes, they can easily be destroyed or stolen. He suggests that we store up treasure in heaven instead. What does it mean to store up treasure in heaven? It is a question of knowing what our ultimate values are and what we work most for. If we place it on material goods of this earth, we always run the danger of losing what we have stored up. If we place the basis in God, nobody will be able to destroy it, and we will have interior freedom to share with others what we possess. Because, as Jesus tells us today, where our treasure is, there is our heart.

As Jesus speaks of treasures, we might ask, ‘In what ways was Jesus rich?’ Jesus wants to share with us any wealth we recognize or value in him. As Jesus also said, he came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. We celebrate that reality in every Mass: Jesus giving himself completely, even to the point of pouring out his life for us. Jesus, loving us while we were still sinners. Jesus lived and loved for others. His values were to make this world one where justice and peace prevailed. He was totally unselfish in sharing his gifts and talents.

As for us, regarding giving, the Church speaks of time, talent, and treasure. What are some ways to hoard these instead of sharing them?

Father Paul Bernier SSS
Richfield, Ohio

Let Us Pray:
O Jesus, make me aware of the various ways my ultimate values seem to be material things rather than those of heaven.

06/18/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 18, 2026 Thursday

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. He does not teach them to say many words or to use beautiful words to persuade God. Instead, he says, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

God is not a stranger to us. He is our Father. He knows our worries, our needs, our weaknesses, and even the deepest places of our hearts. Therefore, prayer is not first about saying many words – it is about coming to God with the heart of a child.

When Jesus teaches us to say, “Our Father,” he opens to us an intimate relationship with God. Through Jesus, we become children of God. We are invited to trust him, place our lives in his hands, and say to him: “Father.”

But Jesus does not teach us to say, “My Father.” He teaches us to say, “Our Father.” This reminds us that God is the Father of all, and that we are brothers and sisters to one another. Jesus also teaches us how to live with love and forgiveness.

Jesus says clearly: if we forgive others, our heavenly Father will also forgive us. Forgiveness is not always easy. But each time we pray the Our Father, we are invited to ask the Lord to heal our hearts and to help us walk the path of reconciliation.

At every Mass, before we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we pray the Lord’s Prayer together. In the Eucharist, Jesus unites us with himself and with one another as children of the same Father.

Father Martin Hien Tran SSS Highland Heights, Ohio

Let us pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

06/17/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 17, 2026 Wednesday

Today’s Gospel Reading is the one that we traditionally proclaim on Ash Wednesday as we begin the Penitential Season of Lent, but it is good for us to hear it again.

We are confronted with two antithetical attitudes and their corresponding actions regarding three concrete ways of following Jesus. What is our motive in giving alms? What is our disposition in prayer? What is the role that penance and fasting play in our lives?

On the one hand, is everything we do in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving focused on us and how good, faithful, and penitential we are? Or is what we do give glory, not to ourselves, but to God as a means in which we can more fully enter into the Mystery of our relationship to God in Jesus?

Specifically, as Eucharistic-focused people, what is our model and impetus? Each time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we first ask pardon and forgiveness, and we hear the Word of God proclaimed. Then we join ourselves to Jesus who invites us to be broken and poured out in the service of him in our sisters and brothers, especially those who are poor, abandoned, persecuted, lonely, the prisoner, the refugee, the homeless, and hungry.

Several decades ago, shortly after a peace treaty in El Salvador brokered the civil war, I made a pilgrimage to that country whose people had suffered so profoundly and for so long. I prayed at memorials where an archbishop, the faculty of Jesuits who advocated for justice, and Cleveland Ursuline Dorothy Kazel, and two Maryknoll Sisters, and a lay missionary who had selflessly and dangerously ministered to the poor, had truly been broken and whose blood was poured out. What does that call us to?

Patrick J. Riley
Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Let Us Pray:
Lord Jesus, you call us to be your presence in our own time and place. Give us an abundance of your grace to be willing to be broken in our attitudes of self-absorption and our willingness to pour ourselves out in the service of those most in need of your love and compassion. Amen.

06/16/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 16, 2026 Tuesday

Infants can’t talk, so they watch and imitate what anyone else does, unaware of consequences. Today we read that the earliest Israelites imitate those around themselves, and exercising free will, suffer the consequences of their choices…and wonder…why?

We learn by exploring what we get our hands on, by watching what others do, by trying different things to see if we like them, and by watching others’ successes and failures. These are simple steps in growing, and somehow, we learn what is and is not God’s way. And today we learn that Ahab listened, changed, and was rewarded… and that changing his life wasn’t easy.

What shock must have struck Mary and Joseph when Jesus said he wanted to be in his Father’s House! But he returned to Nazareth with them and learned about who he was to become, and then lived God’s will as the sacrificial Lamb.

We have recently completed our annual celebration of Lent; we have walked in spirit with Jesus up the hill to Calvary. We have recalled Jesus being the sacrificial Lamb, but only after giving us the Eucharist, the food of life for all time. We are now living the resurrection in real time, and we can truly absorb the miracle of this gift. How have we changed?

Today, we remember the change Ahab underwent, during which he lived a long and fruitful life and witnessed the difficulties his offspring suffered. And with us, Peter Julian has shared the tools of faith, showing the dynamics of God’s love being shared through our submission to God’s will in our own time.

Richard Kramer
Wickliffe, Ohio

Let Us Pray:
Pour forth we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts. That we, who have been blessed by our baptism and your grace, may be witnesses to your resurrection and the life you offer us. Let us share the abundant blessings you give us as you guide us on our journey. Amen.

06/15/2026

DAILY EUCHARISTIC REFLECTION
June 15, 2026, Monday

What is grace? John Stott, an English theologian, explains that grace is God loving us, coming to our rescue, and giving himself generously in and through Jesus Christ. One of my favorite Christian authors describes grace as another word for God’s source of strength and protection, not now and again but constantly and aggressively! What a wonderfully consoling concept. Whenever we make poor choices, God fixes our mess by showering us with his grace. As Saint Paul wrote (Galatians 2:20), “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Jesus has entered our lives; there is hope of everlasting life. Amazing Grace!

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, we are told not to receive the grace of God in vain. When we are grace-filled, we are responsible for doing something with it. That is the process of our sanctification. God opens the door, and we, his disciples, are called to carry on his mission actively. What have I done with his grace recently? Have I had any influence on his Church or on the people with whom I worship? If I give a thirsty man a drink of water and he pours it out, he has received it in vain. If I hear the word of God and reject it, I may be lost forever, because the grace of God was given to me in vain.

God’s gift to us is his omnipresent, everlasting grace. Saint Peter Julian Eymard wrote, “…..by all his graces, Jesus gives us something: his grace, his merits, his example.” (How to Get More Out of Holy Communion by Peter Julian Eymard).

Do you give yourself to God’s work in another’s life? How are you serving those around you?

Nancy MacRoberts
Houston, Texas

Let us pray:
O Heart of Jesus, infinitely generous Heart, be Thou praised and blessed forever! O, live and reign in me, my God! I desire not that Thou should have loved me in vain. (Saint Peter Julian Eymard)

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