Meeting God in the Upper Room: Three Moments to Change Your Life

Recalling his own Holy Land pilgrimage experience, Monsignor Peter Vaghi explores three significant events in the life of the early Church that can be traced back to the Upper Room in Jerusalem: the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, the post-resurrection appearances of Christ to his followers, and the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles at Pentecost.In Meeting God in the Upper Room, Monsignor Vaghi captures the various integral ways in which we continue in our day to meet the Risen Lord—in the sacraments; in our prayer lives; in our profession of Easter faith; in our works of charity and service; in our devotion to Mary, Mother of the Church and our Mother; in the experience of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; in the call to evangelize and our efforts to evangelize in our own day—in our homes, workplaces, places of leisure, in our travel. All of these make up the rich and continued spiritual legacy of that Upper Room and what happened there.

Book signing to follow event.

Monsignor Peter J. Vaghi

Monsignor Peter J. Vaghi is pastor of the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington. He received seminary and theological training at the Pontifical North American College and Gregorian University, both in Rome. Msgr. Vaghi was designated “Prelate of Honor” by St. John Paul II in 1995, and has served since 1987 as chaplain of the John Carroll Society, a group of professional men and women in service of the Archbishop of Washington. He is the author of Encountering Jesus in Word, Sacraments, and Works of Charity as well as the Pillars of Faith series. He has also written articles for America, Priest, and Our Sunday Visitor and contributed to two collections of writings on priestly spirituality: Behold Your Mother and Born of the Eucharist.

Reviews

“Like many of you, I always await Msgr. Vaghi’s next book…. Sure enough, this one’s another winner, as he takes us to where it all began, the Upper Room, the scene of the Last Supper and Pentecost. This work inspires the kind of meditation encouraged by St. Ignatius and his son, Pope Francis, as we prayerfully imagine ourselves in a biblical scene.”

—Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, archbishop of New York

“Msgr. Peter Vaghi’s journey into ‘the most important room in Christendom’ is a journey into the heart of the Church and the heart of Jesus. Along the way, Monsignor Vaghi offers practical wisdom for modern disciples. Meeting God in the Upper Room is contemporary spiritual writing at its finest.”

—Matt Malone, SJ, editor-in-chief of America magazine

“As each follower of Jesus recognizes the call to be an evangelizing disciple, we take on the responsibility of renewing our faith, of standing firm in the conviction of its truth and finally of sharing it. Msgr. Vaghi provides guidance and support for all three of those elements in the life of the Christian today who truly wants to take on the mission that came to life in the Upper Room. We should all be grateful to Monsignor Vaghi for offering us this opportunity to spiritually visit the Upper Room and draw strength and inspiration from our encounter with God in that sacred space.”

—Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C