Bishop Andrew Cozzens speaks at Assembly of Catholic Professionals luncheon

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who is leading the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, provided an overview of the effort during remarks at the November gathering of the Assembly of Catholic Professionals.

Cozzens, from the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. The pinnacle of the revival will be the 10th National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of Catholics.

“As I have said many times and will continue to say, with the Eucharistic Revival we are trying to start a fire, not a program,” Cozzens said. The revival “is not the answer to all our problems, but it is something good and the Holy Spirit is using it to strengthen our faith.”

He said the revival is about two things: encountering Christ alive and mission.

Essential elements of the encounter, Cozzens said, are realizing that Jesus is God, realizing we are sinners, understanding we are infinitely loved and knowing we are invited to follow him in a new life. 

“I hope you can see that our teaching on the presence of Jesus in the eucharist and the presence of his sacrifice is one of the key ways to facilitate this encounter,” Cozzens said.

The Eucharistic Revival, he said, is about providing opportunities to encounter Christ so Catholics can then “be healed, converted, formed and sent on mission. … We are trying to help the Church make the missionary conversion she needs to make.”

The luncheon on Nov. 2 was the final one of 2023. The Assembly of Catholic Professionals seeks to build a network of Catholic leaders in an atmosphere of fellowship and faith. The group meets quarterly at the Petroleum Club for networking, lunch and talks by guest speakers.

For information about joining, visit cfook.org/acp or call (405) 709-2745.