Take and Eat:
Scripture, Theology, and Pastoral Practice for Eucharistic Renewal
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Augustine Institute Campus
16805 New Halls Ferry Road
Florissant, MO 63034
Join Augustine Institute faculty and your fellow lay leaders for a day-long workshop for Eucharistic Renewal. Sponsored by the MA Pastoral Theology program at the Augustine Institute and designed for lay pastoral leaders, this workshop will arm participants with theological knowledge and pastoral application on the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharistic liturgy to take back to their mission fields.
Schedule
8:45 A.M. | Check-In
9:15 A.M. | Welcome and Opening Prayer
9:30 A.M. | Session I: Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood: The Eucharist in John 6 with Dr. Michael Barber
10:30 A.M | Break
10:45 A.M | Session II: Thanksgiving for Creation, Redemption and Sanctification: Catechesis on the Eucharistic Economy with Dr. Sean Innerst
12:00 P.M | Holy Mass
12:30 P.M | Lunch
1:45 P.M | Workshop: Rekindling Eucharistic Faith: Pastoral Strategies for Better Participation in the Eucharistic Liturgy with Dr. Arielle Harms
3:00 P.M | Adjourn & Optional Reception
Session Descriptions
Dr. Michael P. Barber
Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood: The Eucharist in John 6
The Church speaks of the Eucharist as the panis angelicus, the “bread of angels.” The term comes from the Bible, where it is used for the miraculous bread given to the Israelites in the wilderness (Wisdom of Solomon 16:20). This presentation focuses on John 6, explaining how Jesus’s words and deeds in this chapter draws upon ancient Jewish expectations about the mysterious manna. The presentation, which distills the insights of contemporary biblical scholarship in an accessible and humorous style, demonstrates how meditating on this biblical imagery deepens our hunger for and love of the Eucharist.
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Dr. Sean Innerst
Thanksgiving for Creation, Redemption and Sanctification: Catechesis on the Eucharistic Economy
The Catechism tells us that in our liturgies the Church “re-lives the great events of salvation history” (CCC 1095). The Holy Mass is the premier example of this principle and in this catechesis we will see that the four elevations of the eucharistic species in the Mass re-present to us the whole of the economy of salvation, so that the Catechism can rightly say, our “Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father…for all his benefits…creation, redemption and sanctification” (CCC 1360).
Dr. Arielle Harms
Rekindling Eucharistic Faith: Pastoral Strategies for Better Participation in the Eucharistic Liturgy
This talk will help us to better understand the Eucharist and its place in the life of the Church. After presenting strategies for fostering, faith, devotion, and better participation in the Eucharist, there will be time for small group discussion to generate and share ideas and solutions for particular ministries and parish settings. Participants will come away with practical, actionable proposals to implement.
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About the Presenters
Dr. Michael Barber
Michael Patrick Barber is Professor of Sacred Scripture and Theology, teaching several classes on the Gospels and the epistles of Paul. He is the author of numerous publications on the books of the New Testament and most recently published,The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season. He has spoken at hundreds of parishes on the importance of Scripture in the life of a Christian and in the Church's mission of evangelization.
Dr. Barber and his wife, Kim, live in Florissant, MO with their six beautiful children.
Dr. Sean Innerst
Sean Innerst is a Professor of Theology and Catechetics and has been teaching theology, evangelization, and catechesis to graduate students, clergy, missionaries, and parish and diocesan leaders for decades. He has given hundreds of presentations, written many articles, and contributed to a number of books, primarily on the topics of evangelization, catechetical content and methodology, matrimony, and St. Augustine. He is the author of Ladder of Ascent, a two-year course on the Catechism of the Catholic used in a number of dioceses in the U.S.
Dr. Innerst and his wife, Kathy, live in Alton, Illionis and have raised five children.
Dr. Arielle Harms
Arielle Harms is the Director of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology program at the Augustine Institute, which is dedicated to the intellectual, spiritual, human, and pastoral formation of lay leaders serving the Church. As a Professor of Theology and Catechetics, Dr. Harms specializes in moral and sacramental theology, especially in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. Her published work on virtue, natural law, and the sacraments has appeared in several journal articles.
In addition to teaching theology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Dr. Harms has over 15 years of experience in parish ministry and religious education, building programs, designing curricula, and forming catechists.
Registration
This is a complimentary workshop for those employed by a parish or diocese. Sponsored by the MA Pastoral Theology program at the Augustine Institute, registration includes the workshops, parking, refreshments, and lunch.
