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The National Eucharistic Revival is a three-year initiative sponsored by the Bishops of the United States of America with the purpose to inspire and prepare the Faithful to be formed for a renewed encounter and appreciation of our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist – the Sacrament of His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Revival officially launched in June 2022, and its milestone event will be a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana, from July 17-21, 2024. At that time, the Church will gather for the first National Eucharistic Congress in almost fifty years, where approximately 80,000 Catholics are anticipated to draw close to Jesus in the Eucharist by way of a pilgrimage to Indianapolis. Saint Paschal Baylon, Patron of All Eucharistic Congresses, pray for us!
According to a Gallup Poll of 519 American Catholics, 18 years or older, conducted from December 10, 1991, to January 19, 1992, only 30% believe that they receive in Holy Communion the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ! This is shocking! According to statistics from the article Index of Catholicism's Decline by Pat Buchanan, who cites Kenneth C. Jones's Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II, a shocking number - 70% - of Catholics between the ages of 18-44 do not believe in the Real Presence! We must work to increase belief and devotion to our Eucharistic Lord!! The same statistics illustrate annulments increased from 338 in 1968 to 50,000 in 2002. Also, teaching nuns, ordinations, seminarians, and Catholic marriages all declined. Let us work to counter these alarming statistics.
In addition to more Holy Hours, more reverent reception of the Most Holy Eucharist, and more devout Masses, we can work to restore Eucharistic love and devotion by better learning the Church's teachings on the Holy Eucharist. At CatechismClass.com, we go beyond virtually all other programs in teaching the intricacies needed in our day and age. For instance, we teach the importance of Thanksgiving after Holy Communion.
It is not enough to simply receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion and return to our pews as if nothing has happened. We must constantly live with gratitude in our hearts, especially in the 15 minutes after receiving Communion when the Lord’s Real Presence is still within our bodies.
Pope St. Pius X gives the reason behind the necessity of thanksgiving after having received Our Divine Savior: “Since the sacraments of the New Law ... produce a greater effect in proportion as the dispositions of the recipient are better, therefore, one should take care that Holy Communion be...followed by an appropriate thanksgiving, according to each one’s strength, circumstances, and duties.”
Priests use a book called the Roman Ritual, which gives directions to priests and faithful alike concerning how to correctly receive the Sacraments. And it includes this important part on the Act of Thanksgiving After Holy Communion:
“Moreover, the communicants should be warned not to leave church right after receiving, nor to engage in idle conversation nor to violate custody of the eyes, and neither to begin at once the reading of prayers from a book nor to expectorate, lest the Sacred Species fall from the mouth. “Rather, as befits devotion they should spend some time in mental prayer, thanking God for this singular favor and at the same time for the Savior’s sacred Passion, in memory of which this mystery is celebrated and consummated
Thus, after Holy Communion, we need to speak with Our Lord personally and reflect on the depth of His love for us.
Pope Pius XII in his encyclical on the Sacred Liturgy published in 1947 similarly said:
“Such personal colloquies are very necessary that we may all enjoy more fully the supernatural treasures that are contained in the Eucharist and, according to our means, share them with others, so that Christ Our Lord may exert the greatest possible influence on the souls of all”.
The Holy Father continued:
“When the Mass is over...the person who has received Holy Communion is not thereby freed from his duty of thanksgiving; rather it is most becoming that, when the Mass is finished, the person who has received the Eucharist should recollect himself, and in intimate union with the Divine Master hold loving and fruitful converse with Him. Hence they have departed from the straight way of truth who, adhering to the letter rather than the sense, assert and teach that when the Mass has ended, no such thanksgiving should be added, not only because the Mass is itself a thanksgiving, but also because this pertains to a private and personal act of piety and not to the good of the community.”
Therefore, the necessity of making Acts of Thanksgiving is not just for us as individuals, but also for the good of the Church. And this allows us to perform our duties of charity towards our fellow men.
We are happy to make available the following resources for those wishing to better learn the Church's teachings on the Eucharist, like the neglected importance of Thanksgiving after Holy Communion. The following resources are highly recommended for this time: