Be inspired to take part in Eucharistic Revival

This month of June is a truly momentous and blessed month for our diocese and for the Church in the United States. On June 13, I will ordain five men to the sacred priesthood for service to Almighty God and His Church at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. It is not possible for me to stress enough how blessed and important ordinations to the priesthood are for our present and future.

Without priests we will not have Holy Mass so readily available to us for our sanctification; without priests we will not have the sacrament of penance so readily available to be cleansed of our sins and restored to God’s friendship and our place within His Body, the Church; without priests we will not have the opportunity to be anointed in times of sickness and as we lay dying. We simply cannot forget that the Lord Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood in His same action at the Last Supper, and He did so for our sake. He did so that we would never be without Him as the source and the summit of our lives as the fathers of the Second Vatican Council so correctly taught.

Less than a week later, Sunday, June 19, we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi and the beginning of our three-year Eucharistic Revival which the bishops of the United States have called for. The reason is distressing but also so necessary. A significant percentage of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist but see it as a nice symbol of His universal ministry. In other words, many receive Holy Communion with the wrong disposition and with something other than the true Catholic faith.

The aim of the bishops is to inspire 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.” It is my fervent hope and prayer that what we do in these three years will enkindle in the hearts and minds of all of us a deeper and living relationship with the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Year One begins this June 19, 2022, and extends to June 11, 2023, and will be the “Diocesan Year” of the Eucharistic Revival. I will inaugurate this first year with the celebration of Holy Mass and a Eucharistic Procession after Mass. I invite all of you to come to the Cathedral for this Mass and procession and begin this grace-filled time with Our Lord. Please watch the Dakota Catholic Action and our diocesan website for more information about other Eucharistic celebrations during this first year.

Year Two begins on June 11, 2023, and extends to July 17, 2024, and will be the “Parish Year” of the Eucharistic Revival. All our parishes will be encouraged to celebrate with their own Eucharistic Processions especially on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. All parishes will be encouraged to schedule regular times for Eucharistic Adoration and to celebrate Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament frequently. Parishes should have a mission preached during this year on a Eucharistic theme.

Year Three begins on July 17, 2024, and extends to Pentecost Sunday 2025, and is the year of “Going Out.” In other words, taking our Eucharistic joyful faith to others, especially those who are lapsed Catholics, and let them know Jesus wants them back in His life.

This will be a wonderful experience for all of us and the only requirement for you and for me is that we examine our own relationship with Jesus and allow Him to cleanse and expand our hearts to better know, love and serve Him. Please make the time in your lives to do this as your eternity depends on it.