That the People in Our Land Might Encounter Jesus in a Living and Personal Way in the Most Holy Eucharist
In late 2019, a Pew Study indicated what many had long suspected. Few Catholics, approximately 30 percent, fully believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This stark reality inspired the Bishops of the United States to action. More than an event or a program, they envisioned a true Revival to rediscover the source and summit of our Faith through a deep commitment of prayer, pilgrimage, and worship on the part of the entire Church in the United States.
The Bishops of the United States are calling for a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They believe that God wants to see a movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist—and sent out on mission “for the life of the world.”
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
These powerful words from the prophet of Ezekiel cut to the heart of what it means to experience a revival. To “revive” means “to return to life.” For many, the initial Eucharistic amazement that is experienced when receiving the Blessed Sacrament for the first time has become dim. Joy-filled expectation has been replaced with routine. For many a living and personal relationship with Jesus seems impossible. For others, such a relationship has become dulled or suffocated by other concerns.
Whether you’re a Catholic with a Eucharistic devotion spanning 50 years, someone who has drifted away from the faith, or a person who has never stepped foot in a Catholic Church, you are welcome here. This revival is a time to discover or renew a relationship with Jesus by encountering Him in the Blessed Sacrament, where He is always present and always seeking an encounter with you. We hope you join us on this journey.
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived;
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true
St. Thomas Aquinas (attr.), Adoro te devote; tr. Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Visit the National Eucharistic Revival Website
“This presence is called ‘real’ not to exclude the idea that the others are ‘real’ too, but rather to indicate presence par excellence, because it is substantial and through it Christ becomes present whole and entire, God and man.”
(Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei, 39)
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." John 6:51
Eucharist - The term early Christians used to refer to their worship gatherings where they listened to God's word and offered thanks by presenting bread and wine to fulfill the command of Jesus to "do this in memory of me." In this celebration, also known as Mass, Jesus transforms the bread and wine into his Body and Blood so that the people of God can be united with him and each other. Along with the entire celebration, these transformed elements are also called the Eucharist.
Blessed Sacrament - A term used to refer to the consecrated bread and wine, now become the Body and Blood of Christ. The Blessed Sacrament is often reserved in tabernacles, reverent receptacles in Catholic churches, so that Christ can be adored there and so the Eucharist can later be brought to the sick and dying.
Transubstantiation - A classic theological term used to describe how the innermost reality of the bread and wine offered at Mass are transformed into the presence of Jesus, even when the appearance of bread and wine remain.
True/Real Presence - A phrase used to emphasize the sacramental presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Though Jesus is present in his Word in the Bible, in His people, in the poor, and other places, He is most especially present in the Eucharist. "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (John 6:54-55).