“We must share what we’ve received,” Bishop Edward Malesic told those attending his Oct. 4 presentation at the First Friday Club of Greater Akron.
He discussed the three-year National Eucharistic Revival and the recently concluded 10th National Eucharistic Congress. A delegation of 250 people represented the diverse faithful from the Diocese of Cleveland at the congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The bishop focused on three primary issues: where we’ve been, the National Eucharistic Congress and where we’re going during the Mission Year of the revival, its third and final year.
The revival opened on Corpus Christi in 2022, with a Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, a Eucharistic procession to St. Peter Church in downtown Cleveland led by Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost and adoration.
The first year of the revival was the Diocesan Year, followed by the Parish Year and finally the Mission Year.
During the Diocesan Year, videos were created sharing what the Eucharist means to priests, seminarians and other members of the faithful. There also were special billboards scattered throughout the eight-county diocese sharing quotes about the Eucharist.
“The idea was to put our Catholic faith on display,” the bishop said. In addition, it was an opportunity to connect with those who have fallen away from the Church as well as to help non-Catholics learn about the Eucharist. Bishop Woost also did a series of videos explaining various parts of the Mass.
“The Eucharist is powerful,” Bishop Malesic said. But it must be shared. The more we go out, the more we can share. “And there is a lot to tell and share,” he added.
The diocesan revival team wrote a prayer that was translated into more than a dozen languages and featured in another video.
A variety of events to help focus on the Eucharist were offered during the Diocesan Year. Parishes were asked to identify a point person to help coordinate their events. Four ballpark Masses – three of which were rained out and moved indoors – took place that year, also. The fourth and final ballpark Mass was celebrated June 24 in Canal Park in Akron. A Eucharistic procession to nearby St. Bernard Church followed.
“We also had a very successful series of intergenerational XLTs (adoration events),” the bishop said. These events paired high schoolers and parish youth groups with residents of several nursing homes in the diocese.
A highlight of the year was a youth rally and Mass celebrated by the bishop Nov. 1, 2023 at Cleveland’s Public Hall. All 20 high schools in the diocese were invited to participate. “About 3,000 teens were there. It was absolutely incredible,” the bishop said, adding his hope the event will take place every other year.
The Eucharistic Congress was preceded by pilgrimages from four areas of the country as they walked with the Blessed Sacrament and converged in Indianapolis. One young woman from the diocese was part of the group that walked from Texas to Indianapolis.
Both Bishop Malesic and Bishop Woost attended the congress. “It exceeded my expectations,” the bishop said. “It reminded us that we’re part of something so much bigger than all of us.” He shared short video with highlights of the congress.
Emphasizing the importance of sharing the Eucharist, the bishop said Jesus isn’t just the savior for us, “he came to be the savior of the world, for everyone.”
Everyone is a Eucharistic disciple, the bishop said.
He also talked about the document created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Year of Mission. It has four pillars that we should follow: encourage people to encounter the Eucharist, embrace our true identity as beloved sons and daughters of Christ, encourage Eucharistic missionaries to be renewed through the Eucharist and encourage those who have encountered Christ to go out on mission.
“The Church is missionary by its very nature,” the bishop added. “What’s your mission? Go forth and spread the Gospel of the Lord.”
Patricia Minrovic, president of the Christ Child Society of Akron, will address the First Friday Club of Greater Akron on “Taking Care of God’s Children” at its lunchtime program Nov. 1 at Our Lady of Cedars, 507 S. Cleveland Massillon Road, Fairlawn. Doors open at 11 a.m. Cost is $25 for lunch and the program, which begins at noon. Click here for information or to make a reservation.