by Joe Bollig
joe.bollig@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — If the national Eucharistic Revival is to be successful, we’re going to have to “pour out and fill up,” just like Jesus did, said Deacon Dana Nearmyer.
It’s the act of “kenosis,” the “self-emptying” Jesus did to “fill up” with the will of God the Father.
“Kenosis” is the core mission of the church, said Deacon Nearmyer at the Eucharistic Amazement Leader Equipping Lunch on Jan. 26 in the Keleher Conference Center at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
“We fill up on goodness, we fill up on grace and we pour that out,” said Deacon Nearmyer, director of the archdiocesan office of evangelization and leader of the archdiocesan Eucharistic Amazement initiative.
“If the priests don’t care about the Eucharist, if the lay faithful don’t care about the Eucharist, then we’re sunk,” he added.
The event brought together more than 125 pastors, parish administrative staff and ministers, men and women religious, and members of various Catholic organizations to pray, brainstorm and learn how to access the many local and national resources they can use to launch the revival locally.
“The idea is not to just throw everything at you, but to really equip you as you go back and pray about this,” said Emily Lopez, lead consultant of the archdiocesan adult evangelization office.
“We are in the diocesan year of revival for the movement for Eucharistic Amazement. We have been working in tandem with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, using some of the materials they’ve shared, but knowing full well that things in the parish just don’t happen next week,” she said. “We wanted to give you the materials and all the resources that might help inform what you will consider doing in your parish. The things we give you are not meant to be a checklist; consider it more of a menu.”
The hope was that revival leaders will take the materials, prayerfully discern the culture of their parish or organization, consider what they are already doing concerning focusing on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and determine what new strategies make sense for them.
“Our office is here to help accompany you and provide resources,” said Lopez.
Among the materials distributed to the revival leaders was “Adore,” a prayer resource for eucharistic adoration; the “Eucharistic Amazement Parish & Organization Guide,” which gives an overview and “four pillars” of the revival to help people brainstorm ideas; and planning and timeline sheets. The materials are available in both English and Spanish.
The revival leaders were also encouraged to visit both the national revival website at: eucharisticrevival.org, and the local website at: archkck.org/eucharistic-revival.
All Catholics, not just the revival leaders, can access both.
The USCCB Eucharistic revival initiative is organized in three “years.” It officially began on the solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 19, 2022.
The diocesan year of eucharistic revival continues to June 2023. Next, comes the parish year of eucharistic revival from June 2023 to July 2024. Finally, the revival will culminate in the Year of Going Out on Mission from July 2024 to 2025.
There will be a National Eucharistic Congress from July 17-21, 2024, at the Lucas Oil Dome in Indianapolis. Approximately 80,000 people are expected to attend.
Four different cross-country eucharistic processions are planned, each beginning in different parts of the United States and converging in Indianapolis for the national congress.
“One of those is coming through the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and we don’t know where,” said Deacon Nearmyer. “It’s kind of scary. But Emily Lopez and I will have an hourlong conference call coming up where they’re going to brief us with what they think will happen.
“Let’s get our stuff together and really surround Jesus as he comes into Kansas, as he comes into our archdiocese. I think extraordinary things will happen.”
For those not interested in making the trip to Indianapolis, something closer to home is planned.
“There was an event on May 4, 1941, a national eucharistic conference that drew around 10,000 people,” said Lopez, pointing to a photo of the conference crowd between the Liberty Memorial and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and his leadership have a vision to recreate this experience in a bidiocesan way. They’ve invited us into conversation about this,” she said. “We are asking as you make plans for your parish to block off this date, Saturday, May 4, 2024. It is meant to be a local gathering [for the two dioceses].”
