Welcome to the Revival!
Belief in the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist is waning among professed Catholics, and the U.S. bishops are trying to do something about it.
According to a 2019 Pew Research Center study, roughly two-thirds of U.S. Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine at Mass become Christ’s body and blood during the consecration — a core dogma of the Catholic faith and the “source and summit” of the church’s life, according to the catechism.
In response, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is initiating a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, culminating in the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States since 1975. The congress will take place in Indianapolis in July of 2024.
On June 19, the feast of Corpus Christi, the National Eucharistic Revival will be launched with eucharistic processions taking place in archdioceses and dioceses around the country. What follows is three years of diving deeper into the meaning of the Eucharist through catechesis, liturgical celebrations and prayer.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens explains in his YouTube address “Welcome to the National Eucharistic Revival” that the U.S. Bishops “want everyone to encounter the love of Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist, and experience the life changing effects of that love. We want to see a movement of Catholics across the United States that are healed, converted, formed and unified by an encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and then sent out on mission for the life of the world.”
The revival website, www.eucharisticrevival.org, offers the faithful an opportunity to get involved. Revival prayer partners join the army of spiritual warriors by fasting, praying and offering penance for its success. You can share your testimony of how Christ’s presence in the Eucharist touched your life. Testimonies will be posted for others to read and be encouraged. The third opportunity offered is for everyone to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as he leads this revival. What tangible thing is the Holy Spirit calling you to do for our parish and community? Ideas will be posted. This revival is a grassroots movement...the power lies in the response of the faithful.
Www.eucharisticrevival.org also offers educational and inspirational resources to help us learn more about the reality of Jesus in the Eucharist and fall more deeply in love with him. Bishop Andrew Cozzens presents a free course “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.” Resources will continually be added to the website. Sign up for the Heart of the Revival Newsletter on the website to keep up with new resources and information.
Like and follow the Facebook page found here for quick links to videos and blogposts and daily inspiration.
The revival will end on July 21st, 2024 with a Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be an historic gathering of Catholics of all ages coming together to worship the Eucharistic Lord with expectant faith. We pray the Holy Spirit will enkindle a missionary fire in the heart of our nation as we reconsecrate ourselves to the source and summit of our faith.