The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. GC 588.3

Chicagoland

Local events for National Eucharistic Revival underway

By Joyce Duriga | Editor
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

A eucharistic procession heads down the steps of Holy Name Cathedral after Mass on June 18, 2022, to kickoff the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival. An outdoor procession around the cathedral followed the Mass, concluding with Benediction. Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic

The National Eucharistic Revival is in its diocesan phase, so in March, each vicariate will host afternoon or evening prayer services at which the episcopal vicars will offer reflections on the Eucharist.

“This is the time for the vicariate bishops to meet with as many people as possible from the vicariate to speak about the importance of the Eucharist, the importance of the pope’s letter ‘Desiderio Desideravi’ that he wrote on eucharistic formation and also to have an important encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist,” said Bishop Robert Lombardo, vicar for Vicariate III and a member of the organizing committee for the National Eucharistic Revival.

The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.
Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin. Intemperance dethrones reason; sensual indulgence, strife, and bloodshed follow. Satan delights in war, for it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another, for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God. GC 588.3 – GC 589.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

These services will prepare people for a large gathering scheduled for Sept. 25 with Cardinal Cupich, he said.

The National Eucharistic Revival began June 19, 2022, on the feast of Corpus Christi, and culminates with the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024. Along the way, there will be parish, diocesan and regional events to increase Catholics’ understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The archdiocese is currently in the diocesan part of the revival, with initiatives such as eucharistic adoration and processions, the development of parish teams of revival leaders and conferences on the Eucharist.

Also of interest…Eucharistic Revival vicariate services

Beginning with the feast of Corpus Christi in June, the revival will move to the parish level. The following June, it will reach a peak with a eucharistic congress in Indianapolis in 2024, the first to be held in the United States since one took place in 1976 in Philadelphia. It is expected to draw at least 80,000 participants from across the country. Tickets for the national gathering went on sale Feb. 15.

Notwithstanding the widespread declension of faith and piety, there are true followers of Christ in these churches. Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world. GC 464.1

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops established the revival in response to a 2019 a study by the Pew Research Center that reported that only a third of Catholics believe the Eucharist is really the Body and Blood of Christ.

Bishop Lombardo said parishes can begin to plan now for what they can do for the parish-level year starting in June.

“That’s an opportunity for a parish to think about what they can do to form their people into what the people is asking us in his letter — a community that encounters Jesus in the Eucharist,” he said. “The pope is exhorting the church to do eucharistic formation geared toward helping people encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. That’s exactly what the USCCB is hoping to do through the Eucharistic Revival — to encourage people and help people encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.”

One challenge the church in the United States faces is that many of its members think Mass is boring, he said.

“We have to figure out how it is that we can educate our people and provide the opportunity — set the stage for them — to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, in the Mass,” he said.

An opportunity to introduce youth to the Eucharist is slated for the weekend of June 23-25, when the archdiocese will sponsor a Bread of Life retreat at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein.

“In a sense, it’s an intentional catechetical build up for the young people to really get to know who Jesus is, get a sense of ‘OK, what is it really in my life that kind of prevents me from having a personal relationship with him?’ … And then an opportunity for a very powerful, deep encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, both in adoration and at Mass,” said Franciscan of the Eucharist of Chicago Sister Alicia Torres. Sister Alicia is also on the executive team for the National Eucharistic Revival.

In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists—the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia. GC 583.1

Young people today are open to experiencing Jesus in the Eucharist, said Kambra French, director of mission effectiveness at Carmel Catholic High School, who is a lead retreat organizer with Sister Alicia.

“I’ve worked with young people for over 20 years, and I feel like I can honestly say there has always been a hunger from young people for Our Lord. I know that this is a common, repeated phrase but since the effects of the pandemic really took hold of them, I see that hunger so much more clearly on display,” French said. “They are searching.”

While there is much about today’s world that can bring young people down, there is much to hope for, she said.

“I see it on a daily basis at Carmel Catholic. There’s a deep openness and a deep receptivity to learn and to experience and encounter Our Lord. I think that, providentially, this retreat comes at a really good time,” French said.

For more information about local revival efforts, visit eucharisticrevivalchicago.org. Visit the national revival at eucharisticrevival.org.

Pope’s visit to the DRC will bring a new breath of air to the Congolese people. The visit of Pope Francis to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR), which will take place at the end of January, will revive peace efforts for those who seek peace for the Congolese people, says the ambassador of the DCR to the Holy See, His Excellency Deogratias Ndagano Mangokube.Jan 20, 2023DRC Ambassador Deogratias Ndagano Mangokube flanked by wife and daughter with Congolese officials (31. 10. 2022). (Vatican Media)

Stanislas Kambashi, SJ
The visit of Pope Francis to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR), which will take place at the end of January, will revive peace efforts for those who seek peace for the Congolese people, says the ambassador of the DCR to the Holy See, His Excellency Deogratias Ndagano Mangokube.

Speaking after Pope Francis’ address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, His Excellency Deogratias Ndagano Mangokube told that Pope Francis’ visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo from January 31 will be “a revival and a new breath of air in the life of the Congolese,” he said.

The Congolese diplomat first expressed his appreciation to Pope Francis for his constant closeness to the suffering Congolese people who have endured years of armed conflict perpetuated by armed gangs, especially in the eastern region of the country.The Pope, in his annual keynote discourse to the diplomats, “addressed some of the ills that plague the world while wishing that this new year would be a year of innovation for peace in this world where division and wars seem to multiply,” said the ambassador.

The words that touched the Congolese ambassador the most in the Pope’s address were: “I will, at last, be able to go to the DRC …” When the Pope said those words, Ambassador Ndagano felt particularly moved.”The expectations of the Congolese people are enormous. Their joy is immense. Pope Francis’ arrival in Congo is being prepared for in every locality of the country, not only at the level of the Church or in the capital city, but literally, everyone in the country is preparing for this visit,” said the Congolese envoy.The DRC yearns for peace and he hopes that this Apostolic visit will encourage all those who work for peace in the country with energy to do even more, said the Congolese ambassador. He reassured that the meeting of the Pope with victims of the armed conflicts in the eastern region of the country has been taken care of and would constitute one of the highlights of the Pope’s visit to the DRC. The Pope will meet the victims in Kinshasa.–Vatican News