Three Pillars for The Eucharistic Year 2026
CRSHJ’s Chosen Texts for 2026
As the Canons Regular of the Sacred Heart of Jesus prepare to enter a year dedicated to the Eucharist, three books have been chosen as guiding lights: In Sinu Jesu, God Is Near Us, and This Is My Body. Each approaches the Eucharistic mystery from a different angle — contemplative, theological, and missionary — yet together they form a coherent vision of renewal. These works will shape the CRSHJ’s prayer, formation, and outreach throughout 2026.
1. In Sinu Jesu: The Eucharist as Intimacy and Healing
“When heart speaks to heart, the Church is renewed.”
Few contemporary spiritual writings have stirred priestly hearts as deeply as In Sinu Jesu. Written by an anonymous Benedictine monk, the book presents a journal of interior locutions received in Eucharistic adoration — words of Jesus and Our Lady addressed to a priest longing for renewal. Whether approached devotionally or discerningly, its impact is unmistakable: it has become a quiet catalyst for Eucharistic rediscovery across monastic and clerical communities.
At its core, In Sinu Jesu insists that authentic renewal begins not in programmes or strategies, but in the heart‑to‑heart encounter with Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharist is revealed not merely as a source of grace, but as the place where the weary, wounded, or distracted priest is restored. The book’s tone is tender, intimate, and deeply personal. Jesus is portrayed as longing for the presence of His priests, inviting them to rest in silence before His Eucharistic Heart.
The maternal presence of Our Lady threads through the text, softening its calls to reparation and fidelity. She appears as a gentle guide, leading the priest back to Eucharistic intimacy with a mother’s patience and clarity. The emphasis is never on severity, but on healing, availability, and the quiet joy of being loved.
For the CRSHJ, whose charism is rooted in the Sacred Heart, In Sinu Jesu provides the contemplative foundation for the Eucharistic Year. It calls us to rediscover silence, cultivate adoration, and allow the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to shape our ministry from within. Without this interior renewal, no external mission can bear lasting fruit.
2. God Is Near Us: The Eucharist as Mystery and Truth
“The Eucharist is the Church’s centre of gravity.”
If In Sinu Jesu speaks to the heart, Joseph Ratzinger’s God Is Near Us speaks to the mind — though never in a cold or abstract way. This collection of essays and homilies distils Ratzinger’s lifelong Eucharistic theology into a text that is both intellectually rigorous and spiritually luminous. It restores the awe, depth, and doctrinal clarity that the Eucharistic mystery deserves.
Ratzinger traces the Eucharist through Scripture, the early Church, and the liturgical tradition, showing how sacrifice, presence, and communion converge in Christ’s self‑offering. His reflections on the Real Presence are especially striking: adoration is not an optional devotion but the natural extension of the liturgy itself. If Christ is truly present, then reverence, silence, and wonder are not embellishments — they are the only reasonable response.
The book also offers a profound vision of the priesthood. The priest is not a mere functionary but one who stands within Christ’s own self‑gift, offering the sacrifice not as an outsider but as one drawn into the very heart of the Paschal Mystery. This vision resonates deeply with the CRSHJ’s commitment to formation, catechesis, and liturgical integrity.
God Is Near Us provides the theological backbone for the Eucharistic Year. It grounds devotion in truth, ensuring that Eucharistic fervour is not merely emotional but rooted in the Church’s faith. It invites us to think deeply, pray reverently, and celebrate the liturgy with renewed seriousness and joy.
3. This Is My Body: The Eucharist as Mission and Revival
“To receive the Body of Christ is to become the Body of Christ.”
Bishop Robert Barron’s This Is My Body completes the triptych by turning outward — from contemplation and doctrine to mission. Written as part of the wider Eucharistic Revival, the book is concise, accessible, and pastoral, yet it carries surprising theological weight. Barron’s gift is his ability to speak to ordinary Catholics without diluting the mystery.
He presents the Eucharist as Christ’s self‑gift made present — and this self‑gift becomes the pattern for Christian life. Communion is not a private moment of devotion; it is the beginning of mission. The Eucharist gathers us, transforms us, and sends us. This dynamic of “gathered and sent” aligns beautifully with the CRSHJ’s commitment to pastoral outreach and evangelisation.
Barron also emphasises the evangelising power of beauty. A liturgy celebrated with care, music that lifts the heart, and a church that reflects the glory of God — these are not luxuries but necessities for a world hungry for transcendence. Beauty evangelises because beauty reveals God.
For the CRSHJ, This Is My Body provides the outward‑facing dimension of the Eucharistic Year. It challenges us not only to adore and understand the Eucharist but to embody it — to become a community whose life, charity, and witness flow visibly from the altar.
Concluding Reflection:
A Eucharistic Triptych for Renewal
Contemplation. Truth. Mission. Three movements, one mystery.
By choosing In Sinu Jesu, God Is Near Us, and This Is My Body, the CRSHJ embraces a Eucharistic vision that is whole and balanced. These three works complement one another like panels of a triptych:
The Heart — In Sinu Jesu calls us to intimacy, healing, and silence before the Eucharistic Lord.
The Mind — God Is Near Us grounds us in the truth, depth, and doctrinal splendour of the Eucharist.
The Hands and Feet — This Is My Body sends us forth as Eucharistic witnesses in a world longing for God.
Together, they form the spiritual architecture of the 2026 Eucharistic Year — a year in which the CRSHJ seeks not only to honour the Eucharist, but to be transformed by it.
