Last Sunday saw the beginning of the Eucharistic Renewal in the Catholic Church in the United States. As noted in this column last week, the initiative seeks to strengthen the embrace of the fact that in our Catholic faith, the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. 

 

That effort will require teaching and explanation. Bishops, priests and lay witnesses will all be making efforts to witness through convincing images and appeals in the Sacred Scriptures and from the faith that has united believers since the very time of Jesus among us.

 

However, as much as we need constantly to review and refresh the intellectual and teaching elements of our Eucharistic faith, any renewal must also move us to address our lived acceptance of the True Presence of Jesus. Since the Eucharist is Jesus making Himself personally present to us in this world, what external actions do we use to express our reverence and so demonstrate our belief?

 

I would suggest several special moments and actions that we might examine now at the beginning of our Eucharistic revival.

 

First, there is the time when we first arrive in church before Mass. This is an important moment because for many people it is an opportunity to prepare their minds and hearts for the Eucharist. If it is early in the morning, we might still not be fully entered into the day mentally and spiritually. And many times we arrive for Mass with our heads and hearts filled with worries, concerns or distractions.

 

To prepare for Mass and for the Eucharist, it is a good practice to arrive a few minutes early instead of just at the scheduled time. When entering the church, our first external gesture toward the Eucharist should be our genuflection before going into the pew. Of course for those who are not able to make that gesture, even a reverent pause and bow of the head toward the tabernacle would be a worthy substitute.

 

Whether it is touching our knee to the floor or the bow, the reverence of that gesture stirs up our faith and that of others who see us to join in those gestures. As we do so, we should fix our gaze on the tabernacle where Jesus is present. Internally there should be a specific prayer of adoration of Jesus as we genuflect or bow. To simply pray in our hearts, “Jesus, I adore you in the tabernacle,” begins to focus our faith on the Eucharist and on the Mass to come.

 

What should follow is to kneel (or again to sit reverently for those physically unable to kneel) and pray in silence before Mass. So often there is talking or other forms of distraction going on before Mass. Reverence for the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist should move us to use this time to talk to Him personally present in the Eucharist. 

 

Tell Jesus about your joys and your sorrows. Express sorrow for your sins. Thank Him for the gift of His Eucharistic presence. These prayers are an act of faith in the true meaning of the Eucharist.

 

A second moment for our external reverence is at the consecration. This is the moment when the priest speaks the words of Jesus, “This is my Body.” “This is my Blood.” Then the host and the chalice are raised and presented to us.

 

To express our belief that the bread has become His Body and the wine His Blood, we should externally focus our full attention for those few seconds when each one is elevated by the celebrant. Again, we should offer a silent but very personal prayer of welcome, of thanks, of adoration. Jesus is truly present. The National Eucharistic Revival is planned to be carried out over the next three years. But we don’t need to wait that long. External gestures like genuflection and reverence at the consecration will start our hearts down the road of faith. This is where we truly meet Jesus in the Eucharist.