DISCIPLE: Eucharistic Revival Here at Home

November 14, 2024

by Jim Thorp

This article appears in the Fall 2024 edition of the DISCIPLE newsletter. If you are not receiving DISCIPLE in your mailbox, contact the parish office at 763-497-2745 to register as a parishioner or update your contact information.

This past summer, US Catholics saw cross-country Eucharistic processions, large crowds praising the Lord in major cities and small towns like ours, and a massive gathering of the Catholic faithful in Indianapolis for the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years. Father Brian Park and Director of Evangelization and Formation Bob Swift reflect on the Eucharistic Revival and its impact here at home.

Let’s start with how we got here. What were the US bishops trying to accomplish with the Eucharistic Revival?

Father Park: The background is the 2019 Pew Research Center survey that showed only 31 percent of Catholics believe in the Church teaching that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Mass attendance among Catholics was already low, and then COVID hit, and the faithful were excused from their Sunday obligation. Most parishes have not rebounded: Once you tell people who are already on the fence about importance of Sunday Mass that they can take a few months off, what’s the motivation to come back?

So the bishops saw a need for renewal of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the “source and summit” of our faith. Bishop Andrew Cozzens [formerly of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, now bishop of the Diocese of Crookston] became the chair of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis and was charged with leading a three-year revival, which began in 2022 and continues through 2025.

Bob Swift: But you know, I’ve always felt like I was reintroducing people to the Eucharist. It’s hard for a lot of people because the modern, Western mind struggles with supernatural realities. When we say that this bread and this wine becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus, many people just can't make that leap. To believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a great act of faith, because, as St. Thomas Aquinas said, we can't perceive it through the natural means of taste, touch, and smell.

My mind was blown when I learned that many Catholics don't go to Mass, because, for me, the Eucharist absolutely changed my life and relationship to God. The Eucharist is why I became a Catholic.

One of the beautiful pieces was the Eucharistic Pilgrimage converging in Indianapolis. The northern route passed through Albertville to St. Michael. What’s your perspective on those processions and the witness they encourage?

Bob: Honestly, I was nervous when I got to St. Albert that afternoon. I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to find a place to park, but it was easy. There were only 35 or 40 people in the church, and I thought, “Oh no. It’s Memorial Day weekend, and people aren’t coming.” We sat in front for Adoration, and, afterward, it was great to see so many people behind us in the church and waiting outside for the procession.

Father: It was great—we had hundreds of people in the procession from St. Albert to St. Michael and a good 500-600 people here for Mass with the pilgrims and Archbishop Hebda. And I know that participation in Saint Paul was very strong. We definitely drew attention—people stopped to watch and wonder what was going on or kneel in their front yards or along the sidewalk. Processions like these are a great, entry-level way to witness to our Catholic faith and set a strong example for our kids.

Then, in July, we had the Eucharistic Congress itself. Bob, you were blessed to go—talk to us a little about the importance of that event.

Bob: I think they did a great job of framing the congress as a movement: This is your mission; you are going back to your community to promote the Real Presence and devotion to the Eucharist.

How do you measure that impact? Only a few people from St. Michael went, and no one came who wasn't already on board. But it provided an opportunity to examine our own hearts and get reenergized for the mission of the Church. I'm getting formation emails, so it feels like I'm still engaged with it.

It also wasn’t just lay people who were at this Congress. There were over 1,200 priests and hundreds of bishops, deacons, seminarians, and consecrated religious. That will have a tremendous impact on the Church. I’ve never been around so many religious except at a World Youth Day! The halls were sometimes so packed it was hard to move. It was awesome! I thought, “This is what Christianity is—you can try to contain it, but it goes out into the world.”

A lot of the content is available online for people who weren’t able to attend, and I highly recommend checking it out. There were well-known speakers like Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Dr. Scott Hahn, and Dr. Tim Gray, as well as speakers I've never heard of before: Sister Bethany Madonna, Sister Josephine Garrett, and an American art history professor who works in Rome. It was great to hear perspectives from people I have never heard of before.

We also had Adoration, of course, with praise and worship music one night. I think they were trying to bring together the wings of liturgy and music and exposing people to the broadness of the church.

There was also an Eastern Rite Mass that you could go to each day. I tried to go but couldn’t get in—people were exploding out of the doors!

Father: My emphasis throughout the Eucharistic Revival has been the ancient principle of lex orandi, lex credendi—“the law of prayer is the law of belief”—which means how we pray affects how we believe. I continue to argue that one of the reasons we see low Mass attendance and lack of belief in the Eucharist is that some of the changes to the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council didn’t have the impact we hoped. I think it shows humility to recognize when a change hasn't produced the fruit that was intended.

That’s what I mean by lex orandi, lex credendi: You can tell people that Jesus is present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Holy Eucharist until you're blue in the face. But if the way the Church handles, celebrates, and distributes the Eucharist is casual, then how is it different than any other piece of bread?

So, to that end: People have the option to kneel to receive Holy Communion if they so choose, and lots of people at St. Michael choose that option. As pastor, I need to think about how to make Holy Communion flow in a smooth way for everyone. Having people line up more horizontally [left to right] near a particular kneeler instead of vertically [front to back] allows them to kneel or stand and gives them a moment to pause and reflect before Jesus comes to them. It’s not as rushed: Oh, I’m next! I gotta bow, receive, get out of the way for the person behind me! It’s no longer like a fast-food line. I can remind myself that I’m about to receive God in the Blessed Sacrament…and then Jesus comes to me. It’s a beautiful thing.

You’ve made other changes, too—are they also to increase reverence at the Mass?

Father: Absolutely! We put a stronger emphasis on how our extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and readers dress for Sunday Mass. As a priest, if I’m going to help distribute Holy Communion but not celebrating Mass, I still wear a cassock, and surplice and a stole, because what I’m doing is sacred. It’s no different for a lay person: You're doing something sacred, and you should dress accordingly.

We are also gradually switching to all-male altar servers and encouraging boys to get involved at a younger age. This change is more tightly tied to promoting vocations to the priesthood, but also touches on reverence for the Eucharist.

Countless vocation stories and studies show that altar service is one of the best ways to recruit future priests. Boys and girls are just different: Girls are often more naturally drawn to pious practices—prayer, rosaries, dressing up for Mass, and showing affection toward God and the saints. Boys, on the other hand, tend to need some kind of mission—a task and a team. There is something about helping the priest at the Mass that enables boys to dress up and enter into the liturgy in a way that speaks to the masculine heart.

We’re also encouraging all servers, including our new junior servers, to vest at every Mass, process in with us, and bear torches during the Eucharistic Prayer. Anytime an army of servers processes forward at the beginning of Mass, it gets everyone’s attention and elevates what we're about to do!

WANT TO LEARN MORE? If you would like to experience the Eucharistic Congress in a deeper way, check out the free content on EWTN’s YouTube Playlist or visit the National Eucharistic Congress webpage for more exclusive content.