Last year on the feast of Corpus Christi, the Catholic Church in the United States kicked off a multi-year effort to renew devotion to the Eucharist. The start of the National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Evangelization and Catechesis, coincided locally with the Eucharist-themed Year One of the Diocesan Golden Jubilee. The Arlington diocese held a Eucharistic symposium with Archbishop Charles J. Chaput in October 2022 as well as a 40 Hours Devotion at every parish.
The second year of the national revival begins June 11, the feast of Corpus Christi, and aims to foster Eucharistic devotion at the parish level. Pastors are invited to recruit a volunteer as a point person for the National Eucharistic Revival. The culminating event is the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, to be held in Indianapolis in July 2024. Registration is open for 80,000 Catholics to attend the congress, the first held in 83 years. After the congress until Pentecost of the following year is the year of mission, according to the website. “Having enkindled a missionary fire in the hearts of the American faithful, the Holy Spirit will send us out on mission to share the gift of our Eucharistic Lord.”
“My hope is that utilizing the National Eucharistic Revival to help us become more closely united to Jesus in the Eucharist, all of our parish and diocesan ministries will bear fruit in our communities as well as in each of us personally,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “The desire of every Christian is to be united with Christ — in this pilgrim journey, there is no better way to do that than receiving Jesus who is present in the Eucharist. I look forward to participating in this revival, as well as the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, with Catholics throughout the Diocese of Arlington.”
The revival suggests parishes begin embracing Eucharistic activities, such as encouraging parishioners to attend daily Mass, inviting fallen-away Catholics back to Mass and hosting Eucharistic talks or a Eucharistic procession.
Father Michael D. Weston, diocesan director of divine worship, believes Eucharistic events will increase respect for Christ in the Eucharist. “When you make a big deal out of (the Eucharist), which is what we want to do, naturally as people we say, ‘There must be something important about this.’ So you reflect on it, you think about it,” he said. “It brings greater awareness of the gift of the Eucharist for all of us and a stronger devotion to the greatest gift that God has given us — the gift of his very self in the most blessed sacrament.”
