Updated June 30, 2021 to include comment from Michael Hichborn.
June 29, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Three quarters of U.S. bishops have voted in favor of a three-year national Eucharistic revival beginning next year, with the stated goal of renewing the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, spreading a fire of devotion for the Blessed Sacrament across the country.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, presented the plan for the Eucharistic movement to his fellow American bishops on Day 3 of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Virtual Plenary Assembly — the same Assembly which debated whether pro-abortion politicians like President Joe Biden should be allowed to receive Holy Communion, even though canon law is already clear on the matter (canon 915). A significant majority of the bishops voted in favor of drafting a “teaching” document on the Eucharist.
Cozzens said the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has been working diligently on the plan for Eucharistic revival since November. In an interview with EWTN, Cozzens said American bishops were discouraged by the result of a 2019 Pew Survey, which showed that just 31% of Catholics believe in the dogma of transubstantiation, which is the doctrine of the substantial change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass.
The renewal of Eucharistic devotion would lead to a “movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist — and sent out in mission for the true life of the world,” according to Cozzens. The movement would be especially timely because of the lack of sacramental life during the coronavirus crisis, Cozzens said. He did not mention that in many places, it was the bishops themselves who chose to cancel Masses and deny the sacraments to the faithful. Cozzens said that “the Church in America needs the healing and unity that flow from love for the Eucharist.”
The “Strategic Pillars” of the Eucharistic movement will be
-
to foster encounters with Jesus through kerygmatic proclamation and experiences of Eucharistic devotion;
-
to contemplate and proclaim the Doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist through the truth of our teaching, the beauty of our worship, and the goodness of a life of service;
-
to empower grassroots creativity by partnering with movements, apostolates, educational institutions, and parishes;
-
to reach the smallest unit: parish small groups and families;
-
to embrace and learn from rich intercultural Eucharistic traditions.
The movement will have three different stages, involving Catholics of every state of life and position in the Church. The “Diocesan Revival” stage, from July 2022 until June 2023, will focus on the formation of priests and other diocesan leaders. Diocesan Corpus Christi celebrations and days of adoration and confession will be organized.
The Parish Revival Stage, from July 2023 until June 2024, will focus on the education of parish small group leaders — those who will be Eucharistic missionaries, starting in their own parishes.
The third stage, held from July 2024 until mid-2025, will involve a National Eucharistic event and the sending out of the Eucharistic missionaries trained over the previous years of the movement. The National Eucharistic event has a historic precedent in the 28th International Eucharistic Congress, which was held in Chicago in 1926 and attracted as many as 1 million people.
Cozzens told his fellow bishops during the spring assembly that the plan has been met with great enthusiasm from various Catholic apostolates, educational institutions, publishers, and volunteers. The Knights of Columbus and Franciscan University of Steubenville are among a host of organizations which have offered support.
After presenting the means of funding for the movement, Cozzens told his fellow bishops that a Eucharistic revival would begin with the rekindling of the bishops’ own devotion to the “profound gift” of the Eucharist. He reminded them of the words of Jesus: “Abide in Me, without Me you can do nothing.”
The American bishops continue to deliberate on whether they should follow the Church’s teaching on denying Commuion to pro-abortion politicians.
“It’s good that the bishops are working to restore belief in the True presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but they will have to lead by example,” Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute, told LifeSiteNews. “Judas denied Christ’s Divinity, received Communion unworthily, and handed Our Lord over to His enemies. As long as bishops continue to hand our Lord in the Eucharist over to His enemies, very few will take this ‘Eucharistic Revival’ seriously.”
When asked his opinion on the claim wielded by some bishops, as well as members of the Democratic Party, that the bishops could be using the Eucharist as a so-called political weapon, Cozzens told EWTN: “This is really a pastoral matter for the bishops. Bishops are going to produce a teaching document. We are presenting this really as pastors who want people to get to Heaven. That’s our main goal. And so we’re going to teach.”
Despite Cozzens’ assurances that the bishops will “teach,” a Q&A released by the USCCB earlier this month clarified that the U.S. bishops will not be issuing any “national policy on withholding Communion from politicians. The intent is to present a clear understanding of the Church’s teachings to bring heightened awareness among the faithful of how the Eucharist can transform our lives and bring us closer to our creator and the life he wants for us.”
RELATED:
US bishops discuss need for ‘Eucharistic Revival’: A report and some practical suggestions