By Catherine Alva, Wyoming Catholic College
Of the ten most common addictive substances, Patrick Kennedy had been addicted to three of them: methamphetamine, cannabis, and opiates in between. Patrick’s pursuit of the highs provided by consuming such drugs in turn consumed decades of his life. It was only when Patrick turned from unnatural and deathly buzzes to a life-giving supernatural substance that his entire world was altered. In his own words, “The first time I truly experienced the Real Presence of Jesus Christ—my Savior—in the Eucharist, I was euphoric.” (1) One has to wonder: if Patrick had found fulfillment in the Eucharist sooner, how different would his life have been? And how many other souls are lost and searching for fulfillment? Council Fathers, as you gather to study the most pressing needs of the Catholic Church today, I encourage you to focus on one as the most important need and with the most transformative power, to passionately respond to Christ’s call to “Feed my sheep.”
Consider how many Catholic parents today work diligently to provide their children with the best of everything. They rush to and from soccer games, music lessons, doctor appointments, and oversee their children’s food intake to ensure healthy bodies and healthy minds. Yet, in a loving attempt to feed their children’s minds and bodies, many neglect the most important food of all: the Eucharist. Council Fathers, like Patrick, too many of the children of your Church unknowingly suffer from spiritual malnourishment. A 2019 study found that only 3 in 10 American Catholics believe the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. (2) Such a significant majority in the United States, and world over, does not know that Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist is their most important meal of the day, or at least on Sundays. Stories like Patrick’s shed light on the Eucharist’s ability to transform lives, cultures and, in turn, the world if even only the un-catechized Catholics understood and yearned for the Eucharist. I urge you to begin with catechizing and offering the Eucharist with a pressing love for humanity. Christ’s own appeal is so simple and clear He made it in just three words: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15).
To further examine the issue of sacramental malnutrition, it’s necessary to first look at the spiritual hunger present among Catholics, second, how grace encompasses the solution to these issues and, finally, practical applications of how to spread grace amongst Catholics.
The Sacraments are the major focal point that distinguish the Catholic Church from the estimated 45,000 denominations (3) of Christianity manufactured across history. In the early Church, the Sacraments kept the Church alive despite intense persecution from the Roman Empire. And as we know from the martyrs then and now, they are worth dying for. Today, sacraments continue to feed the souls of persecuted Christians in Gaza, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere. These Christians did not sacrifice their lives because of a “dainty symbol” or a “piece of bread” but as St. Justin the Martyr explained, “not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus Christ.” (4) What a stark contrast to the 3 in 10 modern-day American Catholics who objectify the Body and Blood of Jesus as “a nice symbol.”
As the presence of practicing Catholics throughout the world dwindles, particularly in the West, seventy-two percent of U.S Catholics fail to attend Sunday Mass. One should call into question, “Why?” (5) They join the throngs who say, clearly because they don’t understand the Mass or the Eucharist, “I don’t get anything out of it.” In short, if Catholics believe they’re receiving nothing but a sermon and a piece of bread, why should they go? Or why not just watch the Mass online? Lack of proper Eucharistic catechesis has reduced Our Lord to such in the eyes of most Catholics today. Thus it is no surprise that Evangelicalism is making waves in traditionally Catholic countries like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, the Philippines and more, because if people do not understand why Mass is obligatory and why it is life-giving they opt for a more “social” option. Yet, even with all the world’s sloth and superficiality, young people today are not satisfied with the insubstantial. We crave the true, beautiful and real, all of which are the transcendent characteristics of our Lord, all present in the tabernacle where He awaits us. The worldwide surge of young people entering the Church on Easter of 2025 proves this yearning. And the power of sacramental grace is shown through the restored lives of so many, most dramatically in those who overcame addiction or deep wounds. Yet it is also shown in the peaceful yet equally profound lives of thriving Catholics in all walks of life. All this grace falls into place when we attend the Holy Mass and Eucharistic adoration. Let’s look at another story of a life and marriage restored.
Krista Wells (6) turned to alcohol in her efforts to nurse a long-time negative childhood pain and the associated shame. Despite how this affected her marriage and young children, she drowned her negative thoughts in red wine every evening until she dropped into bed. After years of anguish and her husband’s prompting toward recovery, Krista eventually pursued it. Yet relying only on natural means, solutions that trained the body but not the soul, she could never quite turn the corner to freedom. It was only when she hotly pursued supernatural means—daily reception of the Eucharist and hours spent in Eucharistic adoration—she recovered not only from addiction but perhaps even demonic obsession. Without the Eucharist, boosted by frequent Confession and many Rosaries, Krista’s efforts on the human level had always fallen short. Her only hope and greatest success came from Jesus in the Eucharist. How did Krista heal and her family find new hope? A good priest responded to Christ’s call to “feed my sheep” and taught her about the Eucharist. Krista was guided to pursue grace and everything fell into place.
Alcoholism reduced Krista’s humanity and further starved her soul, whereas Christ offered His own humanity and self for Krista’s healing in the humble form of bread, just as He did for Patrick and does for you, me, and all who come to Him. If the acceptance and understanding of grace through Christ in the Eucharist can provide freedom from one of the most crippling addictions, think of the power it has to fight destructive ideologies, despair, and vice in the world. If every addict in the world found what they were seeking—fulfillment—in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the world might know hardship but not hunger. How is the process of Eucharist revival possible?
As you know, the Church fathers who came before you have already laid the foundation for Eucharistic revival. The tools are ready and waiting for the Church fathers of today to pick them up and build, assisted by the lay people responding to the call to evangelize. You need only to follow and implement the precepts of the Church and those provided in the Second Vatican Council, reverencing the Eucharist as the source and summit of our worship. (7) For example, the United States bishops have implemented a three-year Eucharistic revival and various dioceses have seen spikes in welcoming Catholics into the Church on Easter. (8) I propose this mindset be implemented the world over and, importantly, without an end date, so it can continue to deepen and transform Catholics who desperately need a genuine understanding of the Eucharist, who desperately seek and deserve grace, hope, healing, joy and connection only offered by Christ’s physical presence. Due to the high attendance of people at parishes that do offer Eucharistic adoration and make Mass available daily, I am convinced when more parishes offer the same they will see the same response; it is only natural because we humans were made by and for God. We need God. As St. Augustine reminds us, the world offers everything except salvation. (9) Many people do not take advantage of our Lord’s presence because we fail to make Him accessible, and only the Church can offer that. One of the reasons my family has remained faithfully Catholic and receive catechesis is because the sacraments are readily available in our parish: there are over thirty heavily attended Masses weekly, confession at every Mass, and perpetual Eucharistic adoration has been available now for nearly 50 years. Our Lady of Peace Church and Shrine, once nearly shut down for lack of parishioners, began to offer the Eucharist and became one of the busiest churches in the world in an otherwise spiritually starved community: Silicon Valley. When Christ is made available in the Eucharist, people respond! We give Christ the opportunity to transform lives when we make Him accessible. It is time for the Church worldwide to reclaim that reliability, availability, and dependence on the Eucharist. I also encourage you to call upon bishops to continue the recently-revived Eucharist processions around the world which expose Our Lord to the public and invite them to follow. His offering was made to all when He stated, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26) and “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). Requiring the Eucharist be at the center of the church sanctuary and not in a chapel off to the side is key if we wish to make it the center of our own lives. It is not a museum piece, it is the living Christ.
Sin thrives where grace is void. I am confident that if you increase grace in the world through increased Eucharistic catechesis and availability, the many solutions you seek for your other pastorly concerns will naturally fall into place. The Eucharist isn’t merely a symbol of our salvation but Love Himself. Addicts, children, students, religious, business people, parents, and all people need God. Those who are deeply entrenched in sin to the point of no escape need the option to go to confession and consistently receive the Eucharist to have God’s grace, a supernatural strength, to order their lives and find hope, healing and joy. Those who already lead ordered lives can only encounter fulfillment and the great adventure of life in Christ once they add the Eucharist to their weekly priorities. We hungry, yearning Catholics need priests, encouraged by their bishops, to be confident and so passionate for souls they preach and teach and reach out to the body of Christ with the Body of Christ, dying to themselves—as did the apostles and martyrs of the Church—to bring humanity back to life. As Venerable Fulton Sheen said, “The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host.” (10) The greatest source of love parents can feed their children, and themselves, is the Eucharist. We are totally dependent on our spiritual fathers in the Church to provide this meal. It is a guarantee to make an ordinary life extraordinary and revive our Church. It is, feeding thy sheep.
Footnotes
1 Christian Gina,“Catholic Ministry Places Eucharist at Heart of Addiction Recovery.” Home | New Outlook, 2023. news.diocesetucson.org/news/catholic-ministry-places-eucharist-at-heart-of-addiction-recovery. Accessed 11 July 2025.
2 Smith A. Gregory, “Just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their church that Eucharist is body, blood of Christ” Pew Research Center, August 5, 2019.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/08/05/transubstantiation-eucharist-u-s-catholics/
3 Dr. Todd M. Johnson. “Christianity Is Fragmented – Why?” Gordon Conwell, 6 Nov. 2019,
www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/christianity-is-fragmented-why/.
4 Hemsworth, William. “10 Early Church Quotes about the Eucharist – EpicPew.” EpicPew, 6 Apr. 2021.
epicpew.com/10-early-church-quotes-about-the-eucharist/. Accessed 11 July 2025.
5 Schiffer, Kathy. “Shocker: 72% of Catholics Don’t Go to Sunday Mass?” NCR, National Catholic Register, 4 May 2024. www.ncregister.com/blog/schiffer-sunday-mass-shocker. Accessed 7/11/2025
6 Wells, Kevin. The Hermit. Ignatius Press, 2 Sept. 2024.
7 “Vatican II and the Eucharist.” Www.therealpresence.org. www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/vat/a4.html. Accessed 11 July 2025.
8 McDonald, Matthew. “Welcome Home: Many Dioceses See Sharp Growth in Converts to Catholic Faith This Easter.” NCR, National Catholic Register, 17 Apr. 2025. https://www.ncregister.com/news/easter-2025-new-catholics-by-the-numbers
9 Perna, Tom. “The Words of Saint Augustine of Hippo.” TOM PERNA, 28 Aug. 2013,
tomperna.org/2013/08/28/the-words-of-saint-augustine-of-hippo/. Accessed 12 July 2025.
10 Sheen Fulton, “The Greatest Love Story of All Time Is Contained in a Tiny White Host – My Catholic Prayers.” Mycatholicprayers.com, 2025. mycatholicprayers.com/quotes/the-greatest-love-story-of-all-time-is-contained-in-a-tiny-white-host/.
This essay followed the prompt: You are a representative at the Third Vatican Council and have 1,500-2,500 words to explain an issue that you believe needs utmost attention in the Church today. What will you say to the Council Fathers?