On June 19, 2025, Catholics will celebrate Corpus Christi, a feast dedicated to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Established in 1264 by Pope Urban IV, Corpus Christi invites the faithful to adore Christ through Mass, processions, and adoration. This feast comes at a critical time for the U.S. Church, where belief in the Real Presence is faltering, partly due to a flawed 2019 Pew Research survey. Additionally, a growing number of bishops are deterring the faithful from receiving Communion on the tongue while kneeling. This trend, described by Cardinal Robert Sarah as a “diabolical attack” on Eucharistic faith, risks alienating vulnerable Catholics on the brink of leaving the Church.
The Flawed 2019 Pew Research Survey
If you are fortunate enough to have a pastor that recognizes Thursday – the actual feast day of Corpus Christi – praise God! However, now in the U.S., The Feast of Corpus Christi, is most often celebrated the Sunday (June 22) after Trinity Sunday. This feast honors the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life. Its origins lie in the 13th-century visions of St. Juliana of Liège and the Miracle of Bolsena, where a host bled, proving to all the transubstantiation—when the bread and wine become Christ’s true body and blood. We long to adore our Eucharistic Lord as we sing St. Thomas Aquinas’s hymn, “Tantum Ergo.
Belief in the Real Presence is under siege. A 2019 Pew Research study, widely cited as showing only one-third of U.S. Catholics believe in transubstantiation, was deeply flawed: 82% of its 1,800 respondents attended Mass only sporadically, making their disbelief unsurprising. Unfortunately, this skewed data from the 2019 Pew Survey prompted the USCCB to launch the National Eucharistic Revival, focusing on engaged Catholics misses those who rarely attend Mass or are vulnerable to leaving due to declining reverence. Meanwhile, bishops discouraging reverent practices like kneeling and tongue reception further erode faith, deepening the crisis.
The 2024 National Eucharistic Congress: A Misdirected Effort
The 10th National Eucharistic Congress, held July 17–21, 2024, in Indianapolis, was a historic event, drawing an estimated 50,000–60,000 Catholics for Masses, adoration, and talks. The first such congress in 83 years, it was the centerpiece of the USCCB’s Eucharistic Revival, spurred by the flawed 2019 Pew study. The event featured large-scale liturgies, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis, and speakers like Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Fr. Mike Schmitz, who emphasized repentance and the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Organizers hailed it as a “new Pentecost,” with plans for a 2025 pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and a potential 2033 congress.
Despite profound moments like 60,000 processing with the Blessed Sacrament, the congress’s impact on restoring belief in the Real Presence is questionable. Its $28 million cost targeted highly engaged Catholics, missing non-attending or vulnerable Catholics. The Real Presence Coalition’s analysis reveals the Pew survey’s skewed sample led to a misdiagnosis of the crisis. Critics argue the Revival should target those at risk of leaving due to irreverent practices. Funds would have been better spent on returning churches to their former beauty, installing kneelers, restoring music to the pre happy-clappy days, and catechesis. They need outreach to the fallen away Catholics. The congress needs to return to tradition, as the faithful yearn for an authentic encounter with our Eucharistic Lord – they are not coming to Mass to be entertained.
The Real Presence Coalition Survey: Catholic Faithful Speak
In July 2024, the Real Presence Coalition (RPC) conducted the largest survey of U.S. Catholics ever, with nearly 16,000 responses (80% completion rate) from highly engaged Catholics across every diocese. Unlike the flawed 2019 Pew study, this survey targeted committed Catholics to identify the root causes of disbelief in the Real Presence. The findings, released in October 2024, were striking: 58% of respondents identified receiving Communion in the hand while standing as the primary reason for the loss of faith in the Eucharist.
The survey conducted with Public Opinion Strategies revealed a strong desire for traditional practices. Respondents recommended encouraging Communion on the tongue while kneeling, improving catechesis on transubstantiation, and eliminating extraordinary ministers of Communion. They cited irreverent clergy behavior, casual attitudes toward the tabernacle, and scandals like Communion given to public sinners as contributing to disbelief. Over 71% ranked “homosexuality in the priesthood” as a major factor, alongside modern liturgical practices like contemporary music and the removal of altar rails. The RPC’s open letter to U.S. bishops urged a refocus on non-attending and vulnerable Catholics, emphasizing the Latin maxim lex orandi, lex credenda (“the law of prayer is the law of belief”). The survey highlights that irreverence, particularly the discouragement of traditional practices, is pushing Catholics away from the Church and disbelief of the Real Presence, underscoring the need for a Revival that reaches those on the margins. Critics caution against oversimplifying the results, noting that Communion in the hand may be a symptom, not the cause, of diminished reverence, tied to broader issues like poor catechesis or secular influences. However, the survey underscores a grassroots call for greater solemnity, especially among younger Catholics drawn to the Traditional Latin Mass, where kneeling and tongue reception are normative.
Bishops’ War on Reverent Practices
The RPC survey’s findings amplify concerns about a growing trend: an increasing number of bishops have declared war on Eucharistic reverence. They are deterring the faithful from receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue. Bishops are also preventing priests from celebrating Mass ad orientem, facing East to symbolize Christ the Sun of Justice and how he overcomes darkness. Facing East is also done in anticipation of Christ’s second coming – Christ will return from the East.
Cardinal Robert Sarah described this movement as a “diabolical attack” on belief in the Eucharist. Church law, including Redemptionis Sacramentum and Canon 912, affirms that communicants cannot be denied Communion for kneeling or receiving on the tongue. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal permits reception in the hand but does not prohibit kneeling. Despite these protections, many bishops issue guidelines discouraging these practices, often citing U.S. norms favoring standing or concerns like uniformity:
- Cardinal Blase Cupich (Chicago): Emphasized standing as the normative posture, claiming kneeling “disrupts the flow.” Some parishes discourage kneeling and tongue reception, though not banning them.
- Bishop David Martin (Joliet, Illinois): Promoted standing, creating tensions in parishes where reverent practices are discouraged, despite canonical protections.
- Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre (Louisville, Kentucky): Issued guidelines on May 14, 2025, stating standing is the “normative” posture, requiring clergy to instruct parishioners by June 22.
- Bishop Mark E. Brennan (Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia): Encouraged standing for Communion. Parishes interpret this as discouraging kneeling.
- Archbishop Paul D. Etienne (Seattle): Promoted standing as the preferred posture. Some parishes discourage kneeling.
- Bishop John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv. (Lexington, Kentucky): Expressed preference for standing, aligning with post-Vatican II reforms, drawing criticism from those who view kneeling as essential.
- Bishop Michael Martin, O.F.M. (Charlotte, North Carolina): In a leaked May 2025 draft letter, denounced kneeling as “absurd” and proposed banning altar rails and kneelers. Parishioners at a Confirmation Mass resisted by kneeling en masse.
- Bishop Oscar Solis along with many other bishops required communion in the hand during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Incidents occurred throughout the U.S. being denied Communion on the tongue while kneeling.
If your bishop has issued a public notice discouraging kneeling or expressing a preference for standing for communion we would like to know – it is important to discern how widespread the war on Eucharistic reverence has gone.
If that is not enough, we have bishops in rapid fire closing down TLM parishes and denying priests the ability to celebrate Mass ad orientum – the latest of which is Archbishop Weisenburger from Detroit.
Thank God we have bishops like Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (San Francisco), who promotes kneeling and tongue reception as acts of reverence, citing Cardinal Francis Arinze’s call to “kneel or crawl” before Christ. The RPC survey suggests that this growing trend of discouraging traditional practices may exacerbate disbelief, particularly among vulnerable Catholics considering leaving the Church due to perceived irreverence. Many see these episcopal actions as diabolical, echoing Cardinal Sarah’s warning that diminishing Eucharistic reverence undermines faith itself.
Yet isn’t Christ coming to share with the world that the Eucharist is indeed the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ? These recent Eucharistic miracles are most needed for the unbelievers.
Jesus is Sending us a Message with Eucharistic Miracles
Amid these challenges, Eucharistic miracles continue to affirm the Real Presence, offering divine signs to bolster faith. Recent cases, verified by scientific analysis, include:
- Legnica, Poland (2013): On Christmas Day, a host dropped during Communion developed a red spot, later identified as human heart tissue in agony by forensic studies. The Vatican recognized this as a supernatural event in 2016, and the host is venerated locally.
- Sokółka, Poland (2008): A dropped host formed a red clot, confirmed as human heart tissue. Documented in Blessed Carlo Acutis’s “Eucharistic Miracles” exhibit, it draws pilgrims annually.
- Tixtla, Mexico (2006): A bleeding host revealed human blood (type AB) and cardiac tissue, with no natural explanation after 2010 studies.
Two additional cases, one recognized and one under investigation, further illuminate the mystery of the Eucharist:
- Vilakkannur, India (2013): On November 15, 2013, during Mass at Christ the King Church in Kerala, a consecrated host displayed the face of Jesus, radiant and unmistakable. After a 12-year investigation, including scientific studies at Christ University in Bangalore, the Vatican recognized this as a Eucharistic miracle in May 2025, declaring it free of foreign substances and affirming its role in deepening faith.
- Chumukedima, Nagaland, India (March 2024):On Palm Sunday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, a host taken home by a non-Catholic and returned to Fr. Johnson Vadakkapurathan was placed in water to dissolve. After several days, it remained intact with a blood-like substance oozing from it, described by some as pulsating due to its vivid appearance. Bishop James Thoppil of Kohima took custody for investigation, which is ongoing with no official Church ruling yet. This case has stirred local devotion, especially amid reported Christian persecution in the region.
These miracles, echoing the 8th-century Lanciano miracle, reinforce the doctrine of transubstantiation, offering hope to a Church grappling with disbelief.
Path Forward for Corpus Christi
As we approach the Feast of Corpus Christi 2025, we must become more vocal with our bishops about the urgent need for reverent liturgical practices. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi — what we pray shapes what we believe.
We must ask ourselves: why would any bishop dissuade—
- A Catholic from kneeling before our Lord?
- A Catholic priest from celebrating the Mass ad orientem?
- Parishes from installing kneelers?
- The return of the tabernacle to the center of the altar?
Yes, it is beautiful to witness priests and faithful marching across the country in Eucharistic processions—but the true test lies within their own dioceses. What will bishops do to restore reverence before the Blessed Sacrament? What exactly are they afraid of? Catholics behaving reverently before the Lord?
Pray for those bishops who would rather conform to norms and superficial unity, even if it leads souls away from belief in the Real Presence. The RPC survey made it clear—16,000 voices formed a roadmap. If bishops truly desire to be synodal, this is their moment to act.
And perhaps it’s time we hold accountable those who actively undermine Eucharistic reverence. Their actions amount to a diabolical assault. Yes—Cupich, Fabre, Martin, and others like them. The Church needs courageous leadership. It’s time for the new sheriff to take action.
As Blessed Carlo Acutis—canonized in September 2025—reminded us: “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.” This Corpus Christi, may we walk that highway with steadfast faith, defending our sacred right to adore Christ reverently in the Blessed Sacrament, and calling for a revival that touches the souls who need it most.