by Bishop James Conley
Last week I attended the Fall General Assembly Meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It’s the first time since the pandemic began that bishops throughout the United States were able to gather together in person. It was a blessing to be able to pray, converse and spend time with my brother bishops once again. In addition, I was extremely pleased at what were able to accomplish at the meeting.
In particular, I am grateful that the bishops overwhelmingly approved the document “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church.” I thank and congratulate my colleague, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, Bishop of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, and the USCCB Committee on Doctrine which he chairs, for their fine work on this important document.
In 2019, the Pew Research Center published a survey stating that 70% of Catholics believe that the Eucharist is only a symbol; merely 30% believe that at Mass the bread and wine are changed substantially into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. While the accuracy of any poll is never certain, these numbers were disturbing to me and they indicate a crisis of faith when a central teaching of the Church is so misunderstood and unappreciated.
I believe that this document, “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” is a good response to some of the concerns we face in the United States in regard to the Holy Eucharist, providing a solid, catechetical text. While no document can exhaust the profound mystery of Eucharist, it’s an accessible, 30-page document with many points of reflection to aide our spiritual lives. This beautiful presentation on the Holy Eucharist will soon be available in print and online, and I strongly encourage you to read it.
The document states: “The Lord accompanies us in many ways, but none as profound as when we encounter him in the Eucharist. On our journey toward eternal life, Christ nourishes us with his very self.” Fundamentally, the Eucharist is Christ’s gift of himself, and we respond to that gift with our life of discipleship in giving of ourselves.
I’m grateful the document speaks very clearly and forcefully of the proper reception of Holy Communion. It is our duty as bishops to care for the salvation of souls, and bishops must properly inform Catholics about the worthy reception of Holy Communion.
First and foremost, a Catholic should not receive Holy Communion without being in the state of grace. As St. Paul says, “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 11: 27). Furthermore, the document speaks of those who reject certain moral and doctrinal teachings of the Church. That section states that “if a Catholic in his or her personal or professional life were knowingly and obstinately to reject the defined doctrines of the Church, or knowingly and obstinately to repudiate her definitive teaching on moral issues” they should not approach Holy Communion.
In addition to the lack of belief among Catholics in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist as demonstrated by the above-mentioned Pew study, the President of the United States and other public figures who claim to be devout Catholics hold positions clearly contrary to the Church’s teaching. This causes grave scandal and confusion throughout the Church in the United States. Their words and actions in public life need to be consistent and coherent with their faith.
In addition to this new teaching document on the Eucharist, the bishops of the United States want to continue to lead the People of God in a deeper, lasting, and transformative encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. As part of these efforts, Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Bishop-elect of Crookston, Minn., will lead the way in a two-year Eucharistic Revival project, focusing on the diocesan and parish level and culminating in a national Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024. The last national Eucharistic Congress in the United States was held in Philadelphia in 1976 and drew over a hundred thousand people.
Throughout my nine years as Bishop of Lincoln, I have written and spoken a great deal about the centrality of the Eucharist in our prayer and devotion as Catholics. This includes my 2017 pastoral letter on the Eucharist, “Love Made Visible,” which emphasized the fruits that Eucharistic Adoration brings to parishes. May this focus nationally and locally on the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist draw us closer to Jesus and may it truly revive our souls in the love of the Lord.
