At International Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Cozzens shares fruits of U.S. Eucharistic Congress

Quito, Ecuador, Sep 10, 2024 / 18:08 pm

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, who is in Quito, Ecuador, for the International Eucharistic Congress, shared several “surprising” fruits of the recent National Eucharistic Congress, the first the U.S. has held in 83 years.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Cozzens said the blessings flowing from the July event in Indianapolis exceeded all expectations.

“People experience this love of Jesus. And this love that comes when the entire Church is gathered to adore and love Jesus. In those moments, the blessings of God that come to us are great and change us,” said the prelate, who served as chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress.

Cozzens made reference to stories of profound healing and renewal, including couples who after the congress want to pray more every day, “priests who were thinking of leaving their ministry and who changed during this Eucharistic Congress,” or “bishops who normally experience burdensome and difficult things in their lives and who feel the courage that only comes from Jesus.”

Cozzens emphasized that when the “Church gathers and congregates around the Eucharist, Jesus wants to bring us many blessings.”

“It was a moment that changed our Church in the United States, and that is why I am here.”

Secularization: the challenge of our time

Cozzens identified secularization as one of the biggest challenges facing the Church today. He described it as a worldview in which people live as if “the world were all there is and God is not real.”

However, he reminded Catholics that “the sacraments are the strongest way in which God enters the world and wants to enter our lives.”

“But many people do not know that they need this encounter and think there is no benefit in this encounter,” he lamented.

Faced with this challenge, the prelate called on the faithful to be witnesses of the transforming power of Christ: “All of us who know that this encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist is important have the responsibility to witness to this reality in the world today.”

‘Jesus wants to change us and convert us in the Eucharist’

The bishop of Crookston also elaborated on Christ’s desire to transform man’s heart of stone into a heart of flesh through the Eucharist. “Jesus wants to change us and convert us in the Eucharist,” he said with conviction.

He highlighted how this encounter with Christ not only changes people individually but also has a social impact: “When we experience this love of Jesus for each one of us, it changes me. And when I change, I can experience the fraternity [that exists] in the world.”

“The heart is the part of us that makes the blood circulate, and that is what love is like,” Cozzens commented, noting that the main message of the Quito congress is that Christians must be “the heart of the world.”

“It’s not only human fraternity that is going to [be the agent of] love; it is the love of Christ that can heal the world,” he added.

Three keys to a deeper encounter with the Eucharist

Finally, Cozzens gave three recommendations to Catholics to deepen their relationship with the Eucharist and more fully experience its fruits. 

“First, go to confession,” he advised, explaining that confession purifies the heart and prepares it to receive the grace of the Eucharist.

Secondly, he invited the faithful to attend Mass not only on Sundays but also during the week. “The more you experience, the more your love will grow,” he said.

And third, he urged Catholics to spend time in Eucharistic adoration. “We need that time in silence with Jesus to speak heart to heart,” he said, noting that adoration is an opportunity for an intimate dialogue with the Lord.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.