Dearly beloved in Christ,

As we continue in the “Year of Prayer” declared by the Holy Father in January 2024 in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, there is a renewed call on all of us to rediscover the importance of prayer in our lives as Christians.

The ongoing three year Eucharistic Revival, 2022 to 2025, provided an enriching summer for me this year as I was privileged to attend and participate National Eucharistic Congress held in Indianapolis. It was an event and encounter filled with God’s grace. It came with a greater assurance that the Catholic Church is very much alive and active here in the United States. The faith, energy and enthusiasm of the people of God was remarkable.

As Catholics, we continue to affirm the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The Eucharist being the source and summit of the Christian life, continues to speak to us about the love of God for us expressed in Christ’s self-giving of himself for us.

At the National Eucharistic Congress, Jesus blessed the United States with his Real Presence in the shape of a cross forming a giant Benediction over our whole nation. Lives were changed, hearts were ignited, and this powerful witness of Eucharistic faith continues to bear fruit in communities across the country

The Eucharistic Revival movement has become an act of faith:

• Faith that Jesus desires to reveal himself more deeply in the Eucharist.
• Faith that he has the power to heal, restore, and unify his people.
• Faith that when the Lord extends an invitation, he will fulfill his promise.
• Faith that when we prepare tinder, he will set it ablaze with his love.
• Faith that when we gather in his name, he will show up.

God showed up in power: lavishing his love upon his people, pouring out his holy fire, filling us with hope, and igniting a zeal for his Kingdom that has already propelled our Church into a new season of apostolic mission.

These days more than ever, as a Church in mission, we are being commissioned in a special way to go out to spread the Good News, bringing Jesus to the margins and inviting the lost sheep back home to the Father’s house. No matter what role you play in the Church today, you are specially invited to participate in this wonderful movement of the Holy Spirit in our Church.

So, whether you are still praying about who the Lord wants you to accompany in this third year of mission or you have already identified how God is inviting you to act as a Eucharistic missionary, it is important you know this is a journey that is led by Jesus. So be open to the Lord and be ready to “walk with one”

God bless you,

Fr. Andrew C. Ibegbulem, OSA