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We often repeat that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. What happens when this source and summit has been rejected by a majority of Catholics? We received a wakeup call from the 2019 Pew survey on Eucharistic belief, or lack thereof, among Catholics (with only 31% affirming transubstantiation), and ever since we have been scrambling about what to do. The U.S. bishops have initiated a multiyear Eucharistic revival, which began this last summer and will culminate next July in the first Eucharistic Congress in our country since 1926. The revival provides us with a great opportunity for renewal of faith and practice, but we also need to address the root cause of the crisis.
Should we have been surprised by the Pew survey? An overwhelming majority of Catholics do not attend Mass regularly. I suppose if Catholics believed in the Real Presence, they would make more of an effort to go to Mass to receive it. For decades, the Church offered abysmal catechesis — a problem that has been rectified somewhat in the last 20 years, at least in terms of the quality of content offered. The crisis goes beyond instruction, however, needing a deeper and more holistic approach to catechesis. We learn from what we see more than what we hear. Have we been acting like Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? Do we act like the Incarnate God has made himself present to us when we are at Mass, or do we act more like we are receiving a piece of bread? It’s an important question for each of us to ask as we enter into a revival of our Eucharistic life.
Continued below.
denvercatholic.org
Should we have been surprised by the Pew survey? An overwhelming majority of Catholics do not attend Mass regularly. I suppose if Catholics believed in the Real Presence, they would make more of an effort to go to Mass to receive it. For decades, the Church offered abysmal catechesis — a problem that has been rectified somewhat in the last 20 years, at least in terms of the quality of content offered. The crisis goes beyond instruction, however, needing a deeper and more holistic approach to catechesis. We learn from what we see more than what we hear. Have we been acting like Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? Do we act like the Incarnate God has made himself present to us when we are at Mass, or do we act more like we are receiving a piece of bread? It’s an important question for each of us to ask as we enter into a revival of our Eucharistic life.
Continued below.
Can the Eucharist save civilization?
We often repeat that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. What happens when this source and summit has been rejected by a majority of Catholics? We received a wakeup call from
denvercatholic.org
