July 13, 2024 // Diocese
Panel Highlights the Eucharistic Mission of the Church
“Transform All Things Through the Eucharist”
“We are called this year to restore all things in Christ through the Eucharistic Lord,” said Timothy O’Malley, Director of the Center for Liturgy at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, at a panel discussion at the University of Notre Dame on Friday, July 5. O’Malley was joined on the panel by Katherine Angullo, Director of the Thriving in Ministry Program at the McGrath Institute. They are consultants to the National Eucharistic Revival organizing committee and have worked with 60 dioceses across the country to prepare for the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis taking place July 17–21.
In his remarks, O’Malley drew upon a talk delivered by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, at the 2002 Eucharistic Congress in Italy. He invited the audience to consider five aspects of transformation as they look ahead to the coming year of mission.

Provided by the McGrath Institute for Church Life
Newly named CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., Jason Shanks, speaks at the podium during a panel discussion about the Eucharist on Friday, July 5, at the University of Notre Dame, that included Timothy O’Malley, Director of the Center for Liturgy at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and Katherine Angullo, Director of the Thriving in Ministry Program at the McGrath Institute.
The first transformation is that of the Last Supper, as Jesus took bread and wine and transformed them into His Body and Blood, giving it to His disciples, and to the world, as gift. “This is one that the Eucharistic Revival has been particularly careful to attend to,” said O’Malley. “At the heart of the Eucharistic mystery, the gift of the body and blood is the sacrifice of Christ pro nobis, for us.”
The transformation of violence into love is the second, and for Ratzinger, the essential transformation. “Jesus transforms from within men’s act of violence against Him to an act of self-giving love for these men.” This is, according to O’Malley, the real significance of the True Presence of Jesus. “Eucharistic presence matters because it’s connected to the Resurrected Christ. From those Eucharistic elements comes forth the presence of the Resurrected Lord.” His sacrifice is offered and given for the life of the world, made present for us in the Mass.
The transformation of bread and wine into Body and Blood is God’s invitation to enter into His “economy of gift.” The bread and wine is itself already a gift from God, one that we offer back to Him in the Eucharist, which then transforms us into the body of Christ. O’Malley illustrated the apparent absurdity of God’s economy of gift by drawing a parallel to his children asking for money to buy Christmas gifts for him. “Thank you for this soap, which you bought with my money, but because you gave it to me, I will cherish it!”
The transformation of individuals into the Body of Christ is the fourth transformation. “The Church comes into existence through this gift, through the Eucharist. We are meant to enter into God’s gift not as individuals, but together, in our parishes.” The unity and solidarity to which we are called comes through our shared reception of the Eucharist. “The Church is born not ultimately from strategic plans, evangelization strategies, or mission statements, but from the Eucharist.”
The final transformation is the renewal of the entire cosmos. This is not something added on as an afterthought to Eucharistic piety, but it is essential to the mission of the Church. “It is Eucharistic through and through to fight against an ideological politics, which participates in the throwaway culture so often mentioned by Pope Francis,” said O’Malley. “The life of the unborn, the migrant, the prisoner, and the elderly are sacred. To care for such persons is a consequence of the Eucharist. To develop a politics defined by higher ends, that is a Eucharistic mission.”
O’Malley suggested that a robust dedication to this Eucharistic mission includes fostering family life, setting up houses of hospitality where the homeless or forgotten are welcomed and supported, developing Catholic schools where disciples are formed and wisdom is inculcated, and welcoming into our parishes the disabled and those who suffer with mental illness.
O’Malley concluded his portion of the panel with the words of Cardinal Ratzinger. “The Eucharist is a process of transformation in which we become involved in God’s power to transform hatred and violence, in God’s power to transform the world. Therefore we pray that the Lord will help us celebrate the Eucharist in this way, to live it. Therefore we pray that He will transform us, and the world together with us, into the new Jerusalem. Amen.”
In her remarks, Angullo shared stories illustrating various gifts that she has experienced during her work with dioceses across the country during the last three years of Eucharistic Revival. She described a joyful gathering hosted by the Diocese of Raleigh, where 6,000 of the faithful joined for Mass in the largest event in the history of the diocese. “You could see people from one parish seeing parishioners from across the diocese and saying, ‘We are in this together! This is what unifies us!’ In front of Jesus Christ, there is no division. We all look at Him with a single love, the love we share.”
Angullo related a story told at a revival retreat by a priest who found himself distracted by noise from the congregation during his daily Mass, but then experienced a change of heart through an interaction with the mother of four fidgety children. “I bring them to Mass every day so that they can see Jesus,” she told the priest when asked why she brought her little ones. Since learning that, the priest said that he has taken special care to elevate the Host to ensure that her children can see the Eucharistic Lord clearly.
In Oakland, California, which has been beset by civil and social unrest, the Eucharistic Revival is bringing a renewed hope, said Angullo. She shared how the local bishop invited not just his fellow Catholics, but also the mayor and the police department to take part in the celebrations. “This revival is not just for our faith, but for our city,” she quoted the bishop as saying.
Concluding her remarks, Angullo referenced the pilgrimage that took place earlier in the day from South Bend’s St. Therese, Little Flower Parish to Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart, connecting it with the wider National Eucharistic Revival. “You are part of one piece of this big month of beautiful moments of revival that are happening. What else are you going to do to make sure that this comes alive? Not only in your own life, but will you be generous enough to share with the people around you?”
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