First off, Mother’s Day Blessings to all of our mothers, grandmothers, & those who have been mother’s to us. We remember in our prayers too all those mothers who’ve lost children, those who’ve suffered miscarriages, & all those who long to be mothers, but either can’t or haven’t been able to.

  At our last Parish Council meeting, we talked about our plans for the upcoming parish year of the Eucharistic Revival. Which brings to mind another question that I was asked recently, “What is the Eucharistic Revival?” I wanted to answer both those questions, sharing with you a brief bit about what the Eucharistic Revival is & what some of the initial thoughts for plans for our parishes are. I say parishes, because the Eucharist is the central belief of our Catholic faith no matter what particular church building we may worship in, so our Councils have discussed ways that we might be able to individually & together deepen our belief in & our love & devotion for the Eucharist. Rather than putting together a longer column, this may be a two-part column that resumes next week.

  First, what is & why is there a need for a Eucharistic Revival? Before sharing what we might be doing for the Revival, why is there even a need for one in the first place? The basic premise of the Revival, which is happening throughout the entire United States & not just here in the Diocese of Cleveland, is to reawaken us to the reality of the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This ireality is, unfortunately, believed by only 31% of Catholics. For many, the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a belief that has grown dim over the years. We probably all know people who have walked away from the practice of their faith, people who no longer come to Mass or who only come on an infrequent basis. Even for those who consider themselves faithful Catholics, the Eucharist has become a routine part of our faith & we can lose sight of its mystery & its beauty.

  This revival, which began last year on the Diocesan level & will conclude in 2024 with a National Eucharistic Congress is meant to be a time for all of us to reawaken & strengthen our faith & our belief in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. How are we going to look to do that here at St. Patrick & St. Vincent de Paul? I’ll share some more thoughts on that with you in next week’s column.