REVIVAL IN OUR CHURCH

 

There is an emphasis today in our church on the Eucharist and many are calling it a “revival”.

Our Catholic Bishops are concerned (and it certainly is my experience of the many people who come to visit us) that many Catholics do not understand what the church teaches about the Eucharist. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center in 2019, only one third of U.S. Catholics believed in transubstantiation.

This shows that the central doctrine of sacramental theology is widely misunderstood. And I wonder in many cases if it is just  a lack of faith?  "How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."  (St. John Chrysostom)

I am appalled at what is so often taught in RCIA  programs.  We all know that for decades the emphasis has been on more social reforms and outreach. Yet 25 years ago the Holy Father urged for better education of our Catholic youth.

"I urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value of Eucharistic adoration and devotion. How will young people be able to know the Lord if they are not introduced to the mystery of his presence? Like the young Samuel, by learning the words of the prayer of the heart, they will be closer to the Lord who will accompany them in their spiritual and human growth, and in the missionary witness which they must give throughout their life".  (Pope St. John Paul II's 1996 letter to the Bishop of Liege on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the first celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi)

So, the Catholic bishops have inaugurated a three-year program to foster a nationwide “movement of Catholics across the United States which is meant to heal, convert, reform, and unify the Church and the world by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.

And rather than criticize what has gone on in the past, they  will stress the rich, life-giving gift of the Body of Christ. In the words of Pope Francis in “The Joy of the Gospel,” the Eucharist is “not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

" Our world is hurting and we  all need healing, yet many of us are separated from the very source of our strength. Our church, too, is hurting and in need of healing and hope. Can’t we all seek it in the very gift Jesus gave to the people of God?" (From the website for the National Eucharistic Revival)

I recommend that all go to the website as they offer very good meditations. https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/