As the Mission Year of the National Eucharistic Revival kicks off, I am grateful for both the gift of the Eucharist and the gift of the priesthood through which Jesus makes himself present in the Eucharist. As a priest myself, it is truly humbling to serve God and his people in the celebration of Mass and join with them in the adoration and praise of the Father. Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist.”1
We are tremendously blessed with the ministry of our priests and the vocations we have, and I cannot express enough the deep gratitude I have for my brother priests in the Archdiocese of Denver who assist me in this ministry. The relationship between the Eucharist and the priesthood is built upon the virtue of charity, which when possessed, results in holiness. As a priest for 48 years, this has become clear to me. The most important aspect of my priesthood is my ongoing growth in love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to live in that communion of love and serve as Christ served.
In April, Pope Francis made this point in addressing seminarians. He said, “Love, the first love, is what has called us all here, and keeping it alive is our principal obligation.”2 Sometimes, when people hear that the foundational anchor of my mission as Archbishop is to foster holiness among the priests, they interpret it to mean that the priests are not “holy enough.” In no way do I suggest that. As disciples, every baptized person has received the “first love” Pope Francis mentions, and as priests, we must grow in that authentic love, deepen it and let it transform us so we can shepherd the People of God. That is holiness. Holiness is not a destination as much as it is a journey and a universal call, as Vatican II reminds us.
In its simplest form, this is ultimately the goal of the Eucharistic Revival. We encounter our first love through the proclamation of the Gospel. The Mass is about celebrating the content of the Gospel in Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. The Eucharist is the memorial of these events. When we have the opportunity to offer our lives to the Father as Jesus did, and then receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are able to grow, deepen and be transformed by our first love.
Priests are not only called to fulfill the role of celebrant in the liturgies where these graces are given but their whole lives are expected to be conformed to this message. When priests are ordained, these words are spoken to them: “Understand what you will do, imitate what you will celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”3 For the priest, the mystery of the Eucharist becomes his entire life. It is for this reason that his constant pursuit of charity and holiness is so vitally important; he is called to give his life as Jesus gave his life, seeking only the will of the Father.
Interestingly, the Eucharistic Revival is concluding not with a holiness year, but a mission year. The transformation and growth in holiness must lead to the mission of sharing Jesus and the Gospel with others. Pope Francis encouraged our nation in its efforts in the Revival, saying, “In the Eucharist, we encounter the one who gave everything for us, who sacrificed himself in order to give us life, who loved us to the end. We become credible witnesses to the joy and transforming beauty of the Gospel only when we recognize that the love we celebrate in this sacrament cannot be kept to ourselves but demands to be shared with all.”4
Jesus gave the Church the priesthood to make himself present to us in the Eucharist, to nourish us with his love, to increase our love for others and, importantly, to send us on mission. Let us not take these for granted. The revival we long for depends first on God’s sovereign will but will come about through the ministry of those priests he has called to be conformed to himself.
When priests are passionately in love with Jesus Christ, surrendering all to him, they will lead the faithful in the same pattern of life so they can be on mission in their families, the workplace, society and the world. The Eucharist nourishes all of us in this pattern of life. I encourage you to pray for the holiness of your priests, that they may fall more in love with Jesus each day and be on mission with him and with you, to bring the message of the Gospel to a world that so desperately needs it!
1. Pope St. John Paul II, Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination, New York, 1996, pp. 77–78.↩
2. Pope Francis, “Address to seminarians and formators”, April 4, 2024.↩
3. Rites of Ordination of a Bishop, of Priests, and of Deacons, §135.↩
4. Pope Francis, “Meeting with the National Eucharistic Congress Committee”, June 19, 2023.↩
