Christ the Cornerstone

Let’s begin the Eucharistic Revival’s parish year with enthusiasm

“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” (Jn 6:51).

This Sunday, June 11, is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).

This feast day is an important moment in the Church’s liturgical calendar because it calls our attention to one of the most sacred mysteries of our Catholic faith: the real presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We believe that Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, is truly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—in the bread and wine that we receive each time we go to holy Communion.

We call this the “Real Presence” of the Lord because it is so much more than a symbolic remembrance. It’s the real thing, the person of Jesus Christ, who is truly present in the sacred bread and wine that are transformed by the prayerful action of a priest who invokes the power of the Holy Spirit during Mass. Christ is present whenever Mass is celebrated, and he gives himself to us in the most intimate way imaginable each time we receive him in the Eucharist.

Corpus Christi celebrates this great mystery. It also provides us with opportunities to share this incomparable truth of our faith with others. The traditional Corpus Christi procession, in which the exposed Sacred Host is carried through city streets or the open countryside and culminates in a period of eucharistic adoration, is a great way to spread the good news that Christ is with us here and now and forever!

Last year on Corpus Christi, we inaugurated the diocesan phase of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival sponsored by the Catholic bishops of the United States. The year began with a special event on June 19, 2022, featuring two Masses at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, a festival of faith, family and service, and a eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis, culminating in a holy hour at St. John the Evangelist Church.

This year, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord will inaugurate the parish phase of the National Eucharistic Revival. According to Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, “This year promises to be the most impactful phase of this multi-year response to the Holy Spirit. For the Eucharistic Revival to be successful, parishes must fulfill their key role in boldly proclaiming the Gospel. With Pope Francis, we must understand that the parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” #28).

Resources for the participation of parishes in this phase of the National Eucharistic Revival are available at eucharisticrevivalindy.org, and every parish in central and southern Indiana has been strongly encouraged to participate in as many ways as possible given their circumstances. We are confident that the parishes of our archdiocese, which have proven to be so dynamic and resourceful in the face of many challenges, including the pandemic, economic crises and widespread social unrest, will rise to this occasion and help make the National Eucharistic Revival a great success here in southern and central Indiana.

Revival of the Catholic community’s reverent and enthusiastic participation in the Sunday Eucharist and in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is a top priority for the Church in the United States. We are committed to making a positive, hope-filled response to the negative statistics that have been widely publicized about Mass attendance and about many Catholics’ failure to understand the Church’s teaching about Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist.

My prayer is that all of us can join together and participate actively in this special moment in our Church’s life. On Corpus Christi this year, let’s begin the Eucharistic Revival’s parish year with great enthusiasm. And let’s pray together in the words of Pope Francis:

“For in the warmth of his presence, our lives change. Without him, everything would truly be gray. Adoring the Body and Blood of Christ, let us ask him with our heart: Lord, give me the daily bread to go forward. Lord, satisfy me with your presence!”

Christ gives us everything—his body and blood, soul and divinity—each time we receive him in holy Communion. What he asks in return is that we be true missionary disciples who minister to others through the lived experience of the Eucharist.

May the Eucharist give us the strength to serve others as Christ has sacrificed himself for us. †