Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:51-58)
We Catholics are quarreling among ourselves. In late 2019, a Pew Study indicated few Catholics, approximately 30 percent, fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Consequently, the Church began a Eucharistic Revival in June 2022 at which time the following announcement was made:
(begin) This stark reality [70% do not fully believe] inspired the Bishops of the United States to action. More than an event or a program, they envisioned a true Revival to rediscover the source and summit of our Faith through a deep commitment of prayer, pilgrimage, and worship on the part of the entire Church in the United States.
The advent of the pandemic only accelerated these plans, revealing their urgency and importance. Too many Catholics still have not returned to Mass to celebrate the central mystery of the Church.
Taking its title from the Bread of Life discourse in John’s Gospel, “My flesh for the life of the world/Mi carne para la vida del mundo,” the Eucharistic Revival is not a step-by-step plan or a series of meetings; it is a grassroots call and a challenge for every Catholic across the United States to rekindle the fire of love and devotion for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Over three years, every Catholic diocese, parish, school, apostolate, and family is invited to be a part of renewing the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
This Revival launches on the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 19, 2022. Over the next three years, dioceses will host Eucharistic Congresses and processions. Parishes will increase or begin Eucharistic Adoration. There will be a revival of faithful adherence to the liturgical norms in all their richness – the ars celebrandi. Families and friends will gather in small groups to learn and pray together. Filled with the flame of charity from the reception of Jesus in the Eucharist, missionary disciples will go to the margins, recognizing the mystery of Jesus’ presence in the poor.
All of this will culminate in the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in almost fifty years. From July 17-21, 2024, thousands of Catholics will journey on pilgrimage to Indianapolis to personally encounter Jesus in the Eucharist and be sent back out into their parishes and communities. (from: eucharisticrevival.org) (end)
Seventy percent do not believe, according to the Pew survey. I suspect the Church’s primary challenge will be to enkindle in the young a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. To enkindle is to set on fire. Setting the young on fire will involve far more than having them accept the claim: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” It’s a mystical claim diminished by those who consecrate having disrespected what they do at the altar by what they have done in their private lives, that is, sexual abuse of minors. The young are well aware of our Church's foul record on this crime against Christ.
Even Bishop Barron who has championed the Eucharistic Revival has admitted in his publication “Letter to a Suffering Church (2019): “It [sexual abuse] has corroded Catholic credibility so completely that the Church’s work in evangelization, catechesis, preaching, outreach to the poor, recruitment of vocations, and education has been crippled.”
To his credit, Barron has published another booklet entitled: “This Is My Body: A Call to Eucharistic Revival” (2023). Will it help rekindle a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist? Time will tell.
However, I take issue with the title of his last Chapter: “If it’s a symbol, to hell with it.” He quotes Catholic Flannery O’Connor’s 1950 statement. This sentiment is unfair to those (70%) who doubt. Again, the Church needs to do a far better job explaining the real presence, and bishops, priests, and deacons must do a far better job living and acting as if the real presence has affected them.
I do like Barron's concluding paragraph that reads: “This is why I tell people to be very careful when they approach the Eucharist. Were the elements simply symbols – inventions of our own spiritual creativity and desire – they would pose no particular threat. But since they are the power and presence of God, they will change the one who consumes them. When the communicant says “Amen” and receives the proferred host and chalice, he’d [she’d] better be prepared to live an eternal life.”
When we receive, it would be useful to hear more than “The Body of Christ.” I’d like to dovetail that claim with “You are the Body of Christ.” That’s surely true.
Deacon David Pierce
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