The U.S. Catholic Church’s three-year eucharistic revival about to get underway is an effort to remind, reteach and reinvigorate faith in the Eucharist, says Father Robert Hughes, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese.
“This is a three-year focus on the Eucharist, but it goes beyond three years,” he said. “Faith is something that carries us to the gates of heaven, we hope, and receiving the Bread of Angels is what makes us worthy of going to heaven. So the Eucharist is not an option – it’s essential to our salvation.”
The National Eucharistic Revival begins June 19, the feast of Corpus Christi, and culminates with the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. Along the way, there will be diocesan, regional and parish events to increase Catholics’ understanding of the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
In the Diocese of Camden, the Eucharistic Revival will kick off June 18 with a candlelight procession with the Blessed Sacrament on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Beginning at 8 p.m. at the Boardwalk and Tennessee Avenue, Bishop Dennis Sullivan will lead nearly 1,000 faithful from across the Diocese in a three-quarter mile procession to Kennedy Plaza. Along the way, there will be two stops – each an opportunity for Eucharist Adoration as well as short liturgies that reinforce belief in the Eucharist. To celebrate the diversity within the Diocese of Camden, the Asian-Pacific community will lead the first site’s prayer, with the second service entrusted to the Latino community. At Kennedy Plaza, Bishop Sullivan will lead benediction and provide an exhortation on the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John: “My flesh for the life of the world.”
In the event of rain, all will gather at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Parish of Saint Monica, on Pacific Avenue at Tennessee Avenue.
The U.S. bishops approved plans for the National Eucharistic Revival last November during their fall general assembly in Baltimore. Discussions for a revival began shortly after the results of a 2019 Pew survey showed just 30% of Catholics understand the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In the Pew survey, 69% of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the bread and wine used at Mass are not Jesus, but instead “symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.”
The results struck a nerve with many U.S. bishops, who saw a catechetical crisis in this lack of fundamental understanding about the Eucharist.
“I don’t think there is any intention not to believe. But sometimes the more familiar we become with things, the less we sometimes consider their importance,” Father Hughes said.
“I think the most simple answer to, ‘Is this the Body and Blood of Christ,’ are the words that are spoken. Jesus in the Gospel tells us, ‘This is my Body. This is my Blood.’ It’s not a symbol. It actually is his Body and Blood,” he continued. “Every time we go to Mass, Jesus makes himself available to us in that way, by his choice. It’s not like, ‘I’m going to send you a box of chocolates that represent me. I’m giving you myself.’ He chooses to give himself to us every time we go to the Eucharist.
“Unfortunately, we don’t think of it that way. We think of it as, ‘This [the Eucharist] just reminds me of him, like a photograph reminds me of people who have gone before.’ It’s not. It’s completely different because by his power as God, Jesus is really present.”
With the theme “My flesh for the life of the world,” the first year of the Eucharistic Revival will include the development of parish and diocesan teams and conferences on the Eucharist across the nation. In the Diocese of Camden, planned events and initiatives include lecture series, teaching Masses, novenas and more.
The following year, there will be regional revival events, including a diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Camden. In 2024, there will be a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, the first to be held since one took place in 1976 in Philadelphia. It is expected to draw at least 80,000 from across the country.
With pastors in the Diocese of Camden being encouraged to each send 10 parishioners to officially represent the parish in the Atlantic City procession, Father Hughes emphasizes three points concerning the Eucharistic Revival: Know. Love. Serve.
“You know a person; you love a person; you serve a person,” he said. “People have to have a relationship with Jesus in order to be open to receiving Jesus through the Eucharist.”
Catholic News Service contributed to this report.
For more information, visit eucharisticrevivalsouthjersey.org
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