Diocesan-wide Eucharistic Rally and Mass planned for July 9

Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2023

UTAH — A statewide rally celebrating the Eucharist will be the showcase of the diocesan stage of the three-year national Eucharistic  Revival called for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The bishops’ initiative was launched in 2022 “to inspire and prepare the People of God to be formed, healed, converted, united, and sent out to a hurting and hungry world through a renewed encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist – the source and summit of our Catholic faith,” according to the event web page. Each year of the revival is a different phase: diocesan, parish and national, culminating in a Eucharistic Congress in July 2024 in Indianapolis, Ind.  

For its part in the revival, during the past year, the Diocese of Salt Lake City has been sharing 15-minute reflections on the Eucharist and the Mass. These reflections have been read aloud at the Sunday Masses, published in this newspaper, and are available on the diocesan website. 

“The rally is going to be a big capstone to the reflections,” said Fr. Christopher Gray, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City, who is leading the diocesan Eucharistic Revival efforts. “The rally is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for all to come together as a diocese. … Historically, the last time there was an initiative like this in Utah was in the ’80s … so it is important that we all participate.” 

The rally, scheduled for July 9 at the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy, will be “a great opportunity to gather the whole Church together as a church,” Fr. Gray said.

The Catholic Church in Utah is culturally, ethnically and politically diverse, said Julie Boerio-Goates, one of the rally organizers, so “for me, July 9 is an opportunity to bring us together in the way that matters most to Catholics.”

At the rally, Boerio-Goates said she wants “to provide opportunities for everyone to grow in their understanding and love for the faith, and for us to come together as one community. I think of the old saying when I was growing up: ‘The family that prays together stays together.’ We are one diocesan family; here’s our chance to pray together that we may grow to understand each other and love one another.”

The rally also will be an opportunity for Catholics in Utah to say, “I am not alone,” said Matt Pauly, the rally chairperson, noting that “It’s easy in our faith life to get tunnel vision, to focus on our personal struggles, and lose sight that we are members of a larger community of faith.”

Fr. Gray agreed. As a church “we gather a lot, but we don’t have an opportunity, really, for all of us to be together in a visible way,” so the rally will be such an opportunity, he said.

The rally will begin with Morning Prayer, then a keynote address by Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, followed by other activities (see accompanying story). It will conclude with a Mass at 2 p.m. with Bishop Oscar A. Solis presiding. 

“I’ve never been a part of an event like this. Not only is it large and complicated, inviting all Catholics in Utah, but it is something that is deeply personal,” Pauly said.

All Catholics in Utah are invited to the rally and the Mass; Fr. Gray is hoping that at least 10,000 Catholics from throughout the state will attend.

“This is a moment when we can show ourselves to each other,” he said. “The Eucharist is very much a part of showing ourselves who we are. It is a spiritual reality that many things in our spiritual life become alive when we manifest it. By taking the invisible reality and making it visible in a concrete event, we are transcending those barriers that naturally exist.”

The morning’s events will include talks by Dr. Timothy O’Malley and Dr. José Antonio Medina, and activities for children and youth. 

“The day is going to be fun,” Pauly said. “There will be a large family zone with activities for all ages, a teen rally to inspire the youth, and Adoration for those looking for prayer time. ... The day will end with a Mass of thousands of Catholics coming together around the Lord’s table. The liturgy will try to represent the diversity of the Church in Utah, and show how we are all united in Christ.”

 The Mass will be the high point of the Eucharistic Revival Rally, Boerio-Goates said. 

“It will be bilingual in English and Spanish, with general intercessions delivered in several other languages,” she said, inviting people who attend to come dressed in ways that represent their home countries or their family heritage.  

Efforts are being made to have the rally be inclusive of and accessible to all. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided, and “we hope to have Braille handouts available … and hearing-assisted devices in lecture halls and the worship space for Mass,” Boerio-Goates said.

“I hope that people will come with open hearts and that as we join in the Communion procession to receive the Real Presence of Jesus, we will recognize that we are to be in communion with each other,” she added. “We are the Body of Christ… ¡Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo!”

The next step after the rally will be the Eucharistic Revival at the parish level, during which “pastors will invite their parishioners and staff to become even more truly and deeply Eucharistic communities through small groups, increased exploration of the sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic adoration, catechetical studies on the Real Presence of Christ, parish-sponsored processions, and other activities to enable deeper encounters with Our Lord in the Eucharist,” according to the national Eucharistic Revival web page.

For many months, Fr. Gray has been attending deanery meetings and speaking to the diocesan priests to encourage them to participate in the revival at the parish level, and “to see what they want to do for the parish stage, and I have been asking, ‘What have you been planning?’” he said.

Fr. Gray hopes that some priests will organize a parish mission or have extended hours for Adoration.

In addition, books on the Eucharist have been suggested.

For English speakers, Susan Northway, director of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, recommends Becoming a Eucharistic People by Timothy P. O’Malley, director of education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, who will be one of the speakers at the rally.

O’Malley writes in an accessible way, and the book, with its five chapters, is suitable for a study group, Northway said.

The book is available through Ave Maria Press; Northway’s office has a limited number available as well. For parishes that are interested, a couple of deacons and lay ecclesial ministers have volunteered to lead study groups. For information, contact Northway at 801-328-8641 ext. 326. 

For Spanish speakers, Fr. Gray recommends Eucaristía y vida Cristiana, by Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, available through Amazon or online at https://www.velasquez.com.co/LuisF/SANTA%20MISA/EBOOK-EUCARISTIA%20Y%20VIDA%20CRISTIANA.pdf.

“The reasons I like this book are that 1), It’s presented in relatively short reflections, with topics taken as Christ’s words in the Gospels and also real-life topics, like marriage and the domestic Church; and 2) it comes from the Year of the Eucharist (2004-2005), which is also where many of the Eucharistic Revival resources are taken from in general,” Fr. Gray said.