The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Stewardship

Twelve Wicker Baskets

Bishop Andrew Cozzens is the Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston and currently Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, in virtue of which he is tasked by the bishops to spearhead the three-year National Eucharistic Revival. In this very theological episode, Bishop Cozzens explores how Christ’s gift of himself in the incarnation is perpetuated in his gift of self in the Eucharist. “The Eucharist is the heart of the Church, which means it is the heart of the disciple,” Bishop Cozzens explains. In the Eucharist, we receive “our greatest good,” namely Jesus himself, which inspires us to live as he lived. “How does Jesus live? Well, he gave himself away to us,” Bishop Cozzens states. “My response is, I need to give this back. I need to give myself back. And, of course, that’s what stewardship is. Stewardship is making a gift of my life.”

“Fewer people understand that the heart of the Eucharist is about receiving a gift and giving a gift,” the bishop noted, and it’s why the bishops are eager to lead the faithful into a deeper appreciation of this truth. All the sacrifices we make in our daily lives “become truly valuable as we unite them to Christ’s” in the Eucharist. The US bishops have noted a Eucharistic crisis in that many in our secular culture do not know they’ve been invited to the Banquet of the Lamb. Bishop Cozzens retraces the steps by which the US bishops came up with the plan for a Eucharistic National Revival, describes its structure and presents the aim of each of the revival’s three years. The National Eucharistic Congress scheduled for July 2024 in Indianapolis, is the first such congress in 83 years. By the revival, the bishops seek first to enflame Catholics’ Eucharistic faith so that, in turn, there starts a missionary fire – not a program – to burn away indifference, false idols, and selfishness in the heart. This will open the way to stewardship, generous giving and joy.

Guest: Bishop Andrew Cozzens
Title: Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston

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