The Eucharist: God’s Greatest Gift
Deepening ‘a eucharistic heart’ guides Archbishop Thompson’s faith and his hopes for the Eucharistic Congress
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson elevates the Eucharist during a Mass on June 29, 2020, in SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. In describing the impact of the Eucharist, the archbishop says, “It’s Jesus at work here in the lives of people.” (File photo by Sean Gallagher)
By John Shaughnessy
Looking back across the years, Archbishop Charles C. Thompson remembers the moment as a pivotal time in his life.
Similar to most people at some point in their lives, the archbishop—then a young seminarian—was experiencing a moment of anxiety in which he knew he had to turn to God for help.
“I was very shy when I went to seminary,” the archbishop recalled about his early days at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad in the early 1980s. “I was supposed to read at Mass the next day for the first time in community, and I was very anxious.
“I just went and sat before the Blessed Sacrament for an hour that night. I remember saying, ‘God, if you want me to be a priest, you have to help me get over this fear.’ I just remember a peace came over me. And that’s what I’ve experienced over the years.”
The archbishop shared that story during a conversation with The Criterion about the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 17-21, a conversation in which he also talked extensively about the impact that the Eucharist and eucharistic adoration have had in his life and can have in people’s lives, including helping them draw others closer to Christ.
Here are key insights from that conversation.
The need for the Eucharist in our lives
“At confirmations, I sometimes remind people that we have the Indianapolis 500, and these cars zoom around the track. But they have to come in for pit stops. Because without the fuel, they can’t make it to the finish line,” the archbishop noted. “The Eucharist is our fuel.
“That’s why it’s not a mere symbol for us. That’s why it’s so important for us to understand that the Eucharist is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. This is what nourishes and sustains us to carry on the mission entrusted to us—to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to others. We don’t get to the finish line on our own without God’s grace and without the grace of the Eucharist.”
A recommendation for making the most of eucharistic adoration
“It’s a surrender,” Archbishop Thompson began. “For me, I think of John the Baptist, ‘I must decrease. He must increase’ [ Jn 3:30]. I have to surrender myself. Ultimately, we’re pouring out our hearts and our minds to Christ.
“I love the Emmaus story, how Jesus appears to the two disciples, and lets them pour out their hearts. Once they’ve emptied themselves, he now can speak to them, and they hear. How do we empty ourselves so we’re ready to be filled with his grace, his peace, his mercy, his wisdom—whatever we need to recognize God’s plan at work in our lives, even amidst the hardship and pain, the suffering and uncertainty? It’s being able to be silent and patient and let him speak to us.”
The importance of eucharistic adoration in his life
“Praying before the Blessed Sacrament has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” the archbishop said. “I remember moments in my life, whether in seminary, as a priest, as a bishop, that I take my concerns—whatever’s weighing on my heart or my mind—and sit before the Blessed Sacrament. How do I give it over to him?
“It’s not so much a power I feel as a peace, that I’m not alone in this. Christ takes it upon himself. Just as we share in the Eucharist, we share in the responsibilities and the challenges and the hopes and the fears and the concerns. I’ve had a great peace come over me very often. It’s pretty much a daily thing.”
His experience of celebrating Mass for the first time 37 years ago and now
“In some ways, the first time was almost surreal,” the archbishop said. “You know who you are as a human being. You know your faults and your weaknesses and your humanness. You see other priests that you admire as being holy men of God, men who seem so dedicated and faith-filled and spiritual. And all of a sudden, you’re now the one doing it. And you’re thinking, ‘How can this be? I’m not near to what those guys seem to be.’
“There are many ways to appear holy, but authentic holiness is when we’re in full communion with the will of God. I remind myself that it’s not how we feel or our own way of thinking, but how are we truly in communion, discerning the will of God. That’s what fills us, what’s lacking in us.
“So, as I’m consecrating the host, I’m reminded that—as the saints have said through the centuries—it’s not the merit of the man. It is God’s grace working through me, despite all the limitations of my humanity, that fills me as I consecrate the host. I knew that 37 years ago, and I think of it even today.”
The gift and the experience of sharing the Eucharist with the faithful
“The great thing for any priest, hopefully, is the reminder that something greater than ourselves is at work here, something much greater than anything I can conceive, let alone manufacture—that is, Christ himself,” Archbishop Thompson said. “It’s Jesus at work here in the lives of people. Jesus is being presented through my hands, but it’s Jesus that they take with them.
“As Jesus said at the Last Supper, ‘This is my body, this is my blood. Do this in memory of me’ [Lk 22:19-20]. He gave us that grace. He made that reality possible to us by his own institution of the Eucharist for all time, not just on that night. Obviously, that’s what gives meaning to Good Friday. When he dies on the cross, and blood and water flow from his side, it represents that what he did on Holy Thursday is now being given to us for all time, that it’s perpetuated throughout the course of salvation history.”
His hopes for the National Eucharistic Revival and Congress
In talking about his hopes, Archbishop Thompson emphasized a thought shared by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., who is the chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc.
“I love the words that Bishop Cozzens has used as a key focus of the revival and the Congress: ‘We are cultivating a eucharistic heart.’ What we want to do is cultivate a eucharistic heart in the people of God, within ourselves. The Eucharist derives from a Greek word that means to ‘give thanks.’ So, how are we as a people rooted in a deep awareness of gratitude—that all we are and all we have is a gift from God?
“Our life, our being, our dignity, everything about us, is rooted in God’s grace—having been created in God’s image, and having been given his Son and his passion, death and resurrection for our salvation.
“I like those words, ‘cultivating a eucharistic heart.’ That’s a good way to think of how this revival and congress will hopefully instill in us a deeper awareness of that eucharistic heart—as individuals, as families, as parishes, as dioceses, as a Church throughout the United States.”
Connecting the National Eucharistic Congress to the larger community
“One of the things we’ve talked about around here is how does this connect not just to Catholics but our larger community,” the archbishop said. “Every time we come to Mass, there is a transformative aspect to that. We really never leave the same as we came in. In opening ourselves to receiving grace through word and sacrament, we’re transformed. So, the eucharistic revival and congress is all about being transformed.
“We need to be open to encounter and conversion. Conversion is a lifelong process for all of us. And that conversion happens by our willingness to be open to encounter. To encounter, first and foremost, the person of Jesus Christ in word, sacrament and service. To encounter him in our relationships, whether it’s a stranger, someone we meet or a longtime friend, or someone with whom we work or for whom we work.
“So, there’s that transforming aspect of impacting our community and our world. It’s how will this lead to the deepening of our eucharistic heart. Our faith in the Eucharist should underlie how we go about transforming the world with the good news of Jesus. Our conversations have been about, ‘What will the community look like after the Eucharistic Congress? Will our community, our city, be any better off?’ ”
Connecting the congress to the mission of the universal Church
“As the host bishop, I’m part of the National Eucharistic Revival and Congress board,” the archbishop noted. “One of the things I’ve tried to keep before us is that the eucharistic revival and congress have to be connected with everything else about the Church.
“How is this connected to synodality? When Pope Francis talks about synodality, he always connects it to the Eucharist. We need to make sure we’re connecting the eucharistic revival and congress with synodality. And also with ‘Laudato Si’,’ care of creation, and all of our social justice teachings and all of our respect life principles. It all has to connect.”
Being involved in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and hosting the congress
Since the celebration of Pentecost on the weekend of May 18-19, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage has been making its way to Indianapolis along four routes—north, east, south and west—across the country.
Archbishop Thompson will take part in the St. Juan Diego route coming from the south on July 9, as a monstrance containing the Holy Eucharist is passed to him by Archbishop Shelton T. Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., the place where Archbishop Thompson grew up, was ordained a priest and served for 24 years before being named bishop of the Evansville Diocese in Indiana in 2011.
“They requested that I’d be on the Louisville side, since I’m a son of the Archdiocese of Louisville, and walk across the bridge with Archbishop Fabre from Louisville—where I came from, to where I am now,” said Archbishop Thompson, who has led the Church in central and southern Indiana since 2017. “I’m humbled that Louisville would want me to be involved like that. I’ve been gone from there 13 years. That connectedness is very important to me.”
After receiving the monstrance from Archbishop Fabre, Archbishop Thompson will lead a eucharistic procession to Jeffersonville, first for a planned prayer service with Archbishop Fabre at Big Four Park and then to St. Augustine Church in Jeffersonville.
On July 16, Archbishop Thompson will celebrate a noon Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis for the pilgrims who have traveled from the four points of the country. The congress begins the next day, on July 17.
“It’s an honor that the congress will be in Indianapolis,” the archbishop said. “A little overwhelming, too. We’re a little anxious. We want to make sure everything gets done well and represents the local Church and the local community well.” †
