I want to feel refreshed, rested, and rejuvenated. It is a common experience we share. Think of what we do to experience it: spa days, coffee dates, self-help books, vacations. And, think of what we spend to achieve it! All because we long to have a full life, and be the best we can be.

I hear these same desires from my spiritual directees. They want to be fully alive; who God has created them to be. And with God as our source, he must be part of our fulfillment! Even when we have worldly options for refreshment, maybe you – like the women I accompany – still ache to be energized in the faith, by the Lord, through his Holy Catholic Church. They desire relationship. I long for relationship too, with the one who made me. I know he is the source of my refreshment! And when I am most refreshed, I, like the woman at the well, run to announce the good news – “I have found the one who will give me living water and who tells me I will never thirst again! You should go out and meet him!” 

I have experienced this renewal is possible (2 Corinthians 5:17). I know God is faithful (Psalm 100:5), and believe he desires to give all of us the grace to put the old aside and to embrace the new. To bring us refreshment, rejuvenation, and revival. 

Speaking of Revival…

You may recall, in February 2023, all eyes were on Asbury College, in Wilmore, Kentucky, as stories of “revival” spread. 

Christians from around the country made the trip to this little town to see what God was doing, maybe with the hope of being a part of it themselves. 

If you read and listen to the stories, you will hear about healings, repentance, conversion, and renewed conviction that Jesus is who he says he is.

The news coverage of this revival lasted a few weeks while the leadership of the college where this started, pastored the students through around-the-clock prayer meetings, spontaneous worship, preaching, and laying on of hands. Afterward, I was disappointed to not make the trip myself. 

Questions many people were asking: “What exactly is a revival?” “Why did it happen at Asbury?” “Why there and then?” “And why didn’t it happen in my school, or my parish, or my home?”

What is the Gift of Revival? 

Bishop Andrew Cozzens explains: “In a revival, the Holy Spirit calls people together, and it sets their hearts on fire. It brings about repentance, conversion, and a desire for holiness. And, a readiness to be a missionary; to be a witness!” 

There is actually a revival happening in the Catholic Church that is taking place in our parishes, schools, and by God’s grace will work its way into our homes. If you heard of Asbury… have you heard of the National Eucharistic Revival? 

The Asbury revival started organically, with a few students who felt called by God to remain in his presence in prayer. They chose not to leave. Others joined, and as word spread – that is what people most often gave as their reason for traveling and waiting in line for hours to go into the room where it all started – they wanted to experience the presence of God. 

Through the prayer of the U.S. bishops, the National Eucharistic Revival was launched in the Catholic Church in the United States as a three-year initiative to remind us of the ever-present opportunity for an intimate and life-giving relationship with Jesus, who is fully present in the Eucharist. 

How Can you Take Advantage of the Gift?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints” (CCC 1419). 

Just as there were healings, conversions, and new convictions in Asbury, the Lord is offering you the same through the Eucharistic Revival; he is healing, converting, and giving new life through his very own body and blood gifted to you in the Eucharist! For in receiving the Eucharist, a mystical reality takes place that through the body and blood of the Lord, in the appearance of the bread and wine, he gives you spiritual nourishment, and we become united to Him (John 6:56). 

Thus, “Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ” (CCC 1416).

So, if you are looking for new life, refreshment, and peace, you will want to take advantage of the gift Jesus is offering through the Eucharist and this Revival (what a gift that this is happening in our lifetime!). 

1. Online Learning Option: Free 

There are free online studies being made available by the National Eucharistic Revival leadership and staff. Over the past several months, I have been struck by the statistic that only 31% of Catholics believe in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I believe that this population of Catholics has had one advantage… the opportunity to be taught about the Eucharist. Education and formation are crucial to start with as we open ourselves up to the fullness of the gift Jesus is extending through the Revival. I invite you to go to the Eucharistic Revival website and sign up for Jesus and the Eucharist Study. 

2. Take Advantage of the Eucharistic-Centric Events

There are hundreds of events happening around the country – some probably in your parish and arch/diocese. I love this because these events provide you with not only resources and much needed community, but very importantly, the opportunity to hear the stories of other believers, and their witness of relationship with the Eucharistic Lord! It’s in listening and receiving these testimonies that we are opened and moved to “want what they have!” Often, these events culminate with Jesus being processed around  where you have the opportunity to be face to face with the Lord, receive him in word and flesh in the Mass, and receive his love, mercy, and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

3. Teach Others About the True Presence

Life is crazy full, but there’s always time to teach others about something as transformative and life changing as the Eucharist. What if this Revival did what a revival by definition is supposed to do? Move you out of yourself, to go out into the world, and share the good news! Perhaps, not only is God giving you the gift of the Revival, he is inviting you to pass on that gift to others by sharing the invitation that Christ wants to give you new life through his body and blood in the Eucharist. 

4. Holy Thursday: Pray for 1-Hour Before the Lord

This has been life-changing for me. In High School, I grew into a relationship with the Eucharistic Lord by simply spending time with him before the monstrance. My first memory of setting aside this time for intimacy with Jesus was on Holy Thursday. Significantly, it is on Holy Thursday that the Catholic Church celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. Following the Mass, keeping with Sacred Scripture: “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? (Matthew 26:40) Jesus is made available to adore on “altars of repose”. It is on this holy evening, through the invitation to spend time with Christ in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, that my faith grew. You have the same opportunity this Holy Thursday. I will join you as I have for the past twenty four years. If this blesses you, maybe make Eucharistic Adoration a new practice throughout the Easter season and beyond.

5. Meet Me at the National Eucharistic Revival Congress 

I have participated in a lot of conferences, both national and international events in the life of the Church. And even though I am an introvert, I am really looking forward to how God is going to use the Revival Congress for the good of his Church (that includes you!). This Revival is the first one in eighty-three years and it is expected to bring over 80,000 people. 

The Congress will host large talks and intimate breakout sessions that will speak into your spiritual life. The Sacraments will be available daily. You will also find hundreds of organizations and apostolates represented in the vendor halls. I am the most excited about the Revival Sessions that will happen at the end of each day in Lucas Oil Stadium. Each Revival Session will have a different theme, but the daily evening sessions will include worship and the proclamation of the Gospel. Will you be able to join me and thousands of others at the Eucharistic Congress this July 17-21, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana?

We all want to be renewed, refreshed, and especially fully alive in our relationships with Christ. We can find the vibrancy for which we long in the Eucharist – the source of our strength. With the Eucharistic Revival, we have the opportunity to invite Jesus to teach us the importance of the Eucharist – the source and summit of our Catholic faith – and to pass on the gift God so generously gives to us everyday in the Mass.