Parish stage of Eucharistic Revival now under way in the Diocese of Salt Lake City

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SALT LAKE CITY — Parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City are joining parishes across the United States as they engage in the second phase of the three-year Eucharistic Revival called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to “restore understanding and devotion to this great mystery here in the United States by helping us renew our worship of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist,” according to https://www.eucharisticrevival.org.

The first stage of the revival was at the diocesan level. For that stage, the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s efforts culminated in a rally and Mass that drew 10,000 Catholics from across Utah to the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy on July 9.

Now each parish is asked to continue this focus on the Eucharist. Each parish is unique in its makeup and needs, so “the parish stage of the Eucharistic revival is very much whatever you would like it to be,” said Fr. Christopher Gray, diocesan point person for the Eucharistic Revival and pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Park City.

“Every activity in your parish can be a Eucharistic Revival event,” Fr. Gray said. “It doesn’t have to be just liturgy. It can also be other things, too, like maybe a service project or maybe a catechetical series. All of this can be framed in the idea of Eucharistic Revival.”

A variety of resources are available from the USCCB and the diocese to help parishes with their Eucharistic Revival plans. Through these activities Church leaders hope that ordinary Catholics will “rekindle their belief in and understanding of the desire to love the Eucharist, but also be transformed as a people,” he said.

“The Eucharist is not just the mystery of the body and blood of our lord Christ, it is also very much the mystery of his people; and we as a local Church comprise, in a very real way, the Eucharistic assembly,” Fr.  Gray said. “We are the Body of Christ.”

“The Eucharistic Revival is important, has been important and continues to be important because the Eucharist is at the very center of our Catholic identity,” he added. “It is always something that is present in the Catholic mind of who we are, especially as we should grow in things like the feeling of gratitude. The Eucharist is right there as the expression of gratitude. The Eucharist is always important because it encapsulates who we are as the Body of Christ.”

The diocesan stage of the revival was a marvelous opportunity for Utah Catholics to come together and to see the Church present all at once, especially during the July 9 Eucharistic Rally, he said, “but the Eucharist will always be best experienced one on one. It is the most intimate relationship that a person can have with Jesus.”

The grassroots level of the revival should be the highlight of the experience, he said. “The more that we are able to interact with each other, the more the Eucharistic revival is actually here among us.”

The national Eucharistic revival website at https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/ provides many resources for parishes, including videos, podcasts, enrichment programs, small group study and materials for parish websites, Fr. Gray said. “There is an infinity of content that has been built up over the last couple of years and all of it is available.”