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May 2, 2023By Mary Lim
How many times in our lives are we brought to our knees out of desperation, desolation, brokenness, despair, or defeat? And in those times, how hard do you pray, “God, please, just be with me. Show me that you are here in this with me. Reassure me, show me a sign, please.”
When a loved one dies; when we witness violence, war, and death in the world; when we or someone we know receives a terminal diagnosis or a bad prognosis; when we battle so hard in advocacy for something good, like an end to abortion, and it is a painstaking, bitter-sweet victory to see restrictions increase if only by a few weeks into pregnancy – in those times, and in many countless others, tears fill our eyes as we grasp at hope, and we look for any sign that God is there, too.
In those times, oh how wonderful it is to be Catholic and to have a real, true, tangible sign that, yes, God is with us! Jesus gave us himself in the Eucharist, to give us the grace to endure and overcome all the trials of life.
Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the breaking of the bread, and he instituted the order of the priesthood, so that he could continue to give himself to us in the Eucharist – not a symbol of himself, not something to remember him by, but his TRUE presence.
At this year’s 2023 Annual Convocation for Priests in the Diocese of Tucson on April 24th and 25th, Fr. Paul Turner presented to our priests about how to make the most of the National Eucharistic Revival in their own parishes here in our Diocese.
One of the greatest gifts that we the faithful receive from the vocation of the priesthood is that, only through them, do we have access to Jesus in the Eucharist.
Fr. Paul Turner is the pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri, and the director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph. He holds a doctorate in sacred theology from Sant’Anselmo in Rome, and he is a consultor for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. (paulturner.org)
This year, Fr. Turner spoke with the priests about concelebration, which is when more than one ordained priest is celebrating the Mass together; and he spoke about Eucharistic Adoration, its purpose, and Adoration ceremonies.
It was an excellent refresher for the priests, and an important reminder to them that, though they may be intimately familiar with the mystery and miracle of the Eucharist on a daily basis, their parishioners may not be. The priests received several resources and reviewed the key points of both concelebration and Adoration, so that both they and we may derive more meaning from their role in the Mass.
During this time of the National Eucharistic Revival, the Church wants to remind each of her members that Jesus is truly here with each of us, that he wants to console us, and that he knows our joys and our sorrows.
There are nationwide and local in-person and online events, presentations, and workshops to guide the faithful in nurturing their relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. At the end of the Revival, Catholics from all over the country will gather in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 17th to 21st for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, where all will “encounter the living Jesus Christ, experience profound renewal, and be sent out on mission for the life of the world.”
Thanks to Fr. Paul Turner, the priests of the Diocese of Tucson now have a new library of resources to refer to in their celebration of the Eucharist, and a newly-fanned fire for bringing Jesus to the faithful in the ways that only their vocation allows them to do. Ask the priests at your parish how you can participate in the Eucharistic Revival in your own community!
There are three ways that the movement invites us to get involved in the Eucharistic Revival: by becoming a prayer partner, by sharing a testimony, or by becoming a Eucharistic missionary. If any of those three things sound intriguing to you, talk to your pastor about getting started, and visit the National Eucharistic Revival website to sign up for their newsletter.