By Daniel McQuillan, Rhode Island Catholic Correspondant
The Rhode Island Catholic continues its series on the Eucharist for the second phase of the National Eucharistic Revival, speaking with Father Dominic Verner, O.P., an assistant professor of Theology at Providence College. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an M.A. in philosophical studies from Mount St. Mary’s University, Father Verner entered the Order of Preachers and was ordained to the priesthood in 2016. He has an S.T.L. from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and a Ph.D. in moral theology/Christian ethics from the University of Notre Dame.
When did you first come to recognize Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist?
I’m not sure I can pinpoint when it was that I first came to recognize the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist. I recall going to Mass with my dad and my siblings, and even as a young kid I was always struck by his kneeling in prayer before Mass. We were blessed to attend a parish with a 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration chapel and a strong Eucharistic devotion. Our pastor frequently preached the importance of the Eucharist and Christ’s Real Presence. While my faith developed gradually, I do think attending praise and worship adoration in my youth provided an opportunity for a deepening of my faith in the Eucharist. My parish hosted a high school retreat every year that was centered around a Eucharistic procession and Eucharistic prayer vigil. I recall experiencing a profound peace and consolation kneeling before the Lord in adoration on that retreat.
How has your understanding and belief in the Eucharist changed over the course of your priesthood?
I wouldn’t say that my understanding and belief in the Eucharist has changed, but I would say that over the course of my priesthood, I have been blessed to witness more and more effects of the Eucharist in the lives of the faithful. I have witnessed remarkable conversions and special graces received in Eucharistic adoration, and these experiences have made me bold in encouraging Eucharistic adoration to all who are seeking the Lord. I am so grateful to God to be able to accompany people as they discover the Lord in the Eucharist.
As a college chaplain and professor, what do you think young people most need to hear and know about the Eucharist?
I think instruction is important, but I think more than anything young people need an experience of the Lord in the Eucharist. I believe this experience of the Lord’s presence in the Eucharist is available to those who humbly place themselves in his presence and ask him to reveal himself to their heart. Our Lord is actually eager to reveal himself. Seek and ye shall find.
What from the Dominican tradition do you think can enhance the faithful’s devotion to the Eucharist?
At the invitation of the Pope, our Dominican brother St. Thomas Aquinas composed the Mass and Office for the then newly instituted feast of Corpus Christi. He composed several hymns for the feast, and to this day we sing stanzas from these hymns at Eucharistic exposition and benediction (“O Salutaris” from St. Thomas’s hymn “Verbum Supernum” and “Tantum Ergo” from the hymn “Pange Lingua”). Thomas actually composed five Eucharistic hymns: Lauda Sion, Pange Lingua, Sacris Solemniis, Verbum Supernum and the Adoro Te Devote. I highly recommend finding good English translations of these hymns and praying with them in adoration. They always nourish my devotion to the Eucharist.
