By Dr. Karen Shadle

We have nearly completed the first year of the Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that is happening in Catholic churches all around the nation. According to the USCCB’s plan, the first year, which is drawing to a close, focused on diocesan-level initiatives around the Eucharist. The second year, which will begin on the feast of Corpus Christi – June, 11, 2023 – and conclude next summer, centers on the Eucharistic life of the parish. A National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July of 2024 kicks off the final year, which is about national and missionary efforts.

Whenever I am asked to speak or write about the Eucharistic Revival, I am quick to remind everyone that, despite what I just outlined, this is not a three-year project. This is a permanent refocusing of our efforts as a Church so that everything we do is centered on the Eucharist. The Church exists so that people can encounter Jesus, and we must always strive for that end, for as many people as possible, now and forever. These encounters must be meaningful, gripping, and beautiful. They can never be trite, banal, uninteresting. This takes sustained attention from all of us.

In my most recent column in The Record, I discussed the etymological meaning of the word “revival” – bringing back to life something which is dead or dying. Part of the work of the revival is to identify what is dead so that it can be effectively revived. We have clearly witnessed over a generation or two a loss of Eucharistic culture, that is, of Catholic culture, which has had devastating impact. Some of that impact is measurable – declining attendance at Mass and participation in the sacraments of the Church, and failure to understand or assent to core doctrines of our faith. Other effects are less measurable – homes, schools, and churches without much Catholic “personality,” watered-down traditions, and a general Catholic self-esteem problem.

In the Eucharistic Revival effort, there is good news. We are acknowledging the problem and attempting to turn it around, for good. We as a Church want to move from death to new life. In the coming months and years, you will see some specific opportunities to engage in the Revival – ways to make our homes, neighborhoods, schools, and churches more Eucharistic, places where Catholicism thrives and regularly fosters an encounter with Jesus.

During this second year of the Eucharistic Revival, resources will be made available to parishes to start their own grassroots initiatives – for example, to begin or to enhance existing Eucharistic Adoration, to have Eucharistic processions, to host Holy Hours, or to begin small fellowship and study groups. Our archdiocesan revival committee is collecting resources that we think are most useful at archlou.org/eucharistic-revival. The USCCB has just released a “parish playbook” for the Eucharistic Revival with lots of great ideas.

I close with an invitation to help kick off the Parish Year by participating in one of the most beautiful and public of Eucharistic devotions – the Corpus Christi Procession. All are welcome to join at the Cathedral on Sunday, June 11 for 5:30 p.m. Mass and then to take Jesus out of the church and into the streets of downtown Louisville. We will walk to the Belvedere and back, stopping along the way to pray, sing, and adore. As Pope Francis says, “The procession with the Blessed Sacrament…reminds us that we are called to go out and bring Jesus to others. To go out with enthusiasm, bringing Christ to those we meet in our daily lives.”

The Eucharist – Jesus’s enduring presence among us – is the very core of our faith. It is the very best tool we have for evangelization of the world. There is no better way to proclaim, “We are Catholic, we love being Catholic, and maybe you would too.”

Dr. Karen Shadle is the Director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of Louisville.