The National Eucharistic Revival

Next Sunday begins the second phase of a three year National Eucharistic Revival in our Church. Perhaps you are surprised that we are already one year into this revival?! So let’s step back a moment and see what this is all about (and why I am writing this column in our bulletin). In 2019 a survey done by the Pew Research Center found that of those who responded and described themselves as Catholics, only one third said they personally believed the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Jesus at Mass (the rest believed it was only symbolic). The bishops of the United States felt that something needed to be done to help more people align with a core Catholic tenet of our faith, and to help all of us become closer to Jesus through the Eucharist. And so this three-year program was devised.

Year One (the “diocesan year”) began on the feast of Corpus Christi last year. Each diocese in the U.S. was asked to design certain programs to begin to help the faithful on their journey to a better appreciation of the Eucharist. And now, next Sunday, we enter probably the most important phase: the year of the parish. Every parish in our diocese will have a liaison to work with Auxiliary Bishop Andrzej Zglejszewski (I’m honored to have been asked). There will be many special events ahead for our parish that you’ll hear about. And Fr. Antony has asked me to write a column in the bulletin each week on some aspect of the Eucharist.

So, over the next year, I’ll be sharing information about the Eucharist from various perspectives: theology, liturgy, catechism, Church history, practice, and much more. Please see elsewhere in this bulletin information about a very special event taking place next Sunday, a Eucharistic Procession, and make every effort to try to participate – you won’t regret it.

If you have any questions or comments on material that is presented in these columns, or suggestions for future topics, you can contact me at a special email address: eucharist@stmli.org. Let’s get ready for a very important and faith-filled year ahead!