The Reason For Revival

An encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist changed my life forever at 21 years old. I was raised Catholic. I received all my sacraments, but for some reason this was the first time in my life I understood that Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity existed within that little sliver of unleavened bread. How did I miss that before? In all the CCD classes and sacramental prep courses, how had I not come to understand that the Eucharist was really Jesus? 

I know that I’m not the only one who’s had an experience like this. A 2019 study by PEW Research Center revealed there are nearly 70% of Catholics in the U.S. that don’t believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. That’s two-thirds of our Church! How did we get here? And what can we do to change a culture that has forgotten or has never known that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ? 

In 2022, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched The National Eucharistic Revival. This initiative was begun to reignite a devotion to the Eucharist and an understanding of the Church’s teachings. But what can we do here, in our local Church? What does “revival” look like on the bayous of South Louisiana? 

Our diocese is rich with Catholic culture and devotion that spans back to the first settlers of this area. The Mass and the Eucharist have been a priority since the very beginning. In our 39 church parishes across the diocese, there is a total of 139 Sunday Masses and at least a dozen Perpetual Adoration Chapels where our people can receive and adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. However, our Adoration Chapels have trouble scheduling adorers to be with Jesus 24/7, and there’s an entire generation missing from the pews. What can we do? 

It’s time for a revival. It’s time for each of us to reengage and devote ourselves once again to Christ and His Church. If we want to see a revival, to see the young people alive in their faith, if we want those who are lost to come back to Mass and to the sacraments, then we too must have hearts of conversion. This Easter, let’s recommit to Sunday Mass, let’s sign up for an hour or two of Adoration at our local perpetual Adoration chapel, let’s talk to others about the way spending time in front of the Eucharist is transforming our lives. This is not a hopeless generation. We are a people filled with hope and we can start a revival right here at home. 

My life changed forever because one person shared the truth of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist with me almost 10 years ago. Since then, I became a Catholic missionary, moved to south Louisiana, and have been working for the Church ever since. I’ve seen countless lives completely transformed in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I’ve witnessed the lost coming home and people who had never known Christ be welcomed into the Catholic Church. Not because of a national initiative, but because people like me and you spent time in Mass and Adoration praying that it would be so and sharing the Gospel with courage. May we, as one diocesan family, recommit ourselves to living lives devoted to the Eucharist, allowing Him to change us, so that we go out and change the world.