The Eucharist rests on a paten at the altar in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington, Del., May 27, 2021. On June 19, 2022, the feast of Corpus Christi, archdioceses and dioceses across the U.S. will hold eucharistic processions to launch the U.S. bishops’ three-year National Eucharistic Revival. (CNS photo/Chaz Muth)
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Every Sunday at Mass we are invited to sit at the table of the Lord and behold the mystery of the bread and wine being consecrated and transformed into the real presence of the body and blood of Christ. For many Catholics, this tenet of our faith has simply become symbolic.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
This past Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi, and our U.S. bishops launched a National Eucharistic Revival to restore and renew our faith. This effort will culminate in a pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024 in Indianapolis. The goal of the congress is to form and send forth more than 80,000 eucharistic missionaries.
It is the mission of the Catholic Church to foster renewal by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and form a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.
The Diocese of Honolulu will be hosting several events that will focus on the Eucharist.
In alignment with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, it is following five pillars of the eucharistic revival in the hopes of creating ways for people to refocus on “the real presence.”
These are:
- “Foster encounters with Jesus through kerygmatic proclamation and experiences of eucharistic devotion.”
- “Contemplate and proclaim the doctrine of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist through the truth of our teaching, beauty of our worship, and goodness of our accompaniment of persons in poverty and those who are vulnerable.”
- “Empower grassroots creativity by partnering with movements, apostolates, parishes and educational institutions.”
- “Reach the smallest unit: parish small groups and families.”
- “Embrace and learn from the various, rich, intercultural eucharistic traditions.”
Websites have been established to share information and make resources available to help promote the revival and recruit missionaries: EucharisticRevival.org and Eucharist.Formed.org.
Join the movement to renew the relationship we have with Christ in our hearts, minds and homes. Offer a daily prayer during the revival to discern becoming a eucharistic missionary.
Here is one you might use, taken from the Catholic parishes of Penticton in British Columbia, Canada: “It is a gift for me to be called to share my faith, to be a witness. And when I look upon the Chalice of His Blood, I can only in the silence of my prayer proclaim, ‘I believe you are truly present, body, blood soul and divinity. You are my Lord and my God.’”
Hayes-Peirce is a Catholic social media consultant based in California
