Two ways of developing the vision and practice of faith among Catholic Christians have been occurring simultaneously this year: the Universal Church’s Synod on Synodality, the first session of which just concluded in Rome last week; and the National Eucharistic Revival, the middle year of a three-year process launched in 2022 by the American Bishops.
I talked about the Synod in my September 17th blog. Today I offer a few thoughts about the Eucharist and why the American Bishops feel such a revival is valuable. In some parts of the country, not as many people celebrate Eucharist weekly as used to. One factor that influenced this new time is, of course, COVID-19. For the better part of two years, Masses were cancelled as part of the way to contain COVID. People got out of the habit of weekly worship. But in fact, the pews had already begun to empty before then. Other activities began to take precedence in people’s lives. The valuing of Eucharist diminished, maybe not in theory but certainly in practice.
It’s an important thing to help believers return to the weekly celebration of Eucharist, as the source and summit of our lives, so here are some thoughts to consider as you and I hopefully resume coming to the Table, because “You, Lord, are the center of our lives.”
These thoughts about Eucharist come not from today’s bishops, but from a letter to the Diocese that Bishop Matthew Clark wrote in 1996. He reminded us that “The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is crucial to our understanding of our Christian identity…God’s people gather to hear the Word, to offer themselves with the gifts of bread and wine, to remember the mighty acts of God in Jesus Christ and in so doing, to join themselves to Jesus Christ, the perfect offering. We gather at table and then go forth to live what has been said and done.”
Moreover, Bishop Clark said, “We are called to be alive to the reality that we are not just individuals standing before God, but rather a community of people brought together as the Body of Christ.”
Somehow, this eludes us and it will take work to draw us together again to savor and to treasure our common Table and recognize our need to be there.
We begin with ourselves. Are we there weekly or not? If we meditate on these thoughts from Bishop Clark and resolve to come and see, we might recall what a gift it is to be there – to be a home with other believers who are struggling with life’s complex issue even as we are.
Then we invite someone else to come. An invitation might be rejected, but try again or with someone else. Afterwards, together, name the blessings of the moment. (This is not the time to critique the homily, although you might want to do that at another time.) This is the time to taste, savor. Did you watch other people at prayer? Did the fragrance of candles, flowers and incense touch something in you? Did the power of the Holy Spirit stir something in you?
Come again to the Table for as Bishop Clark reminded us: “Sunday Eucharist is the core of our life. Nothing can equal it.”
~ Sister Joan Sobala
