“Encountering Jesus in the Eucharist should be like touching Heaven, and that should change the way we live here on earth!”
Matthew Kelly
The Catholic bishops of the United States have launched a eucharistic revival over the next three years. Pope Francis has made a singular contribution to that effort with the release of his powerful and theologically rich apostolic letter on the liturgical formation of the People of God, “Desiderio Desideravi” (“I have earnestly desired”).
He tells us that his aim is to “invite the whole Church to rediscover, to safeguard, and to live the truth and power of the Christian celebration” as a means to more fully appreciating “the beauty of the Christian celebration and its necessary consequences for the life of the Church.” This too must be the aim of our eucharistic revival. A central principle in that rediscovery is that in the ritual passed on to us from those disciples at the Last Supper, we encounter the crucified and risen Lord and are invited to participate in the Paschal Mystery by sharing in his work of saving the world. This engaging encounter by which the risen Lord invites us to share in his saving work is the core of our eucharistic faith, for, as the Holy Father observes: “The Christian faith is either an encounter with Him alive or it does not exist.”
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