Christ the Cornerstone
Let us grow closer to Jesus through the Eucharist on First Fridays
(En Espanol)
Friday, November 6, is a “First Friday,” a special day in the Church’s year. On First Fridays, Catholics are invited to draw closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to encounter him in our prayer, our reception of the sacraments (especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist), and in our self-sacrificing love for our sisters and brothers, especially those who are most in need of our help.
Pope Leo XIV has emphasized devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a source of compassion, mercy and renewal for a suffering world. The Sacred Heart of Jesus symbolizes Christ’s compassionate humanity and the overflowing of divine love that he shares with all of us, sisters and brothers in God’s family.
Fridays are traditionally associated with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Friday is also the day of the week that recalls Christ’s Passion and death. As a result, although Fridays are considered days of fasting, abstinence and penance, a First Friday can be a time of both reparation and sorrow for our sins, and a day when we rejoice in the power of divine love and goodness.
First Friday devotions are often intensely personal, but they are never completely private or closed off from the community of faith. Christ’s love always calls us outside of ourselves to love and serve others because it compels us to see his face in everyone, especially “the least of his brothers and sisters” (Mt 25:40).
First Fridays are centered on prayer, penance and the Holy Eucharist. They are intended to deepen our love for Christ and to transform us into his likeness. This devotion brings peace, healing, growth in virtue, and a deeper imitation of Christ, who is always “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29).
Our transformation from selfish individuals to women and men for others is made possible because the Eucharist is our spiritual food—the Body and Blood of Christ—that sustains us as missionary disciples of Jesus. The Eucharist nourishes our souls, heals our wounds, and then sends us out to proclaim the Good News to others.
In July 2024, our archdiocese was privileged to host the 10th National Eucharistic Congress which welcomed more than 60,000 people from across the United States, marking the return of the national Congress tradition to the United States after more than 80 years. In 2029, the National Eucharistic Congress will once again open its doors to Catholics from across the nation to come together around the Holy Eucharist.
As reported in The Criterion, the 2029 Congress will not simply re-create the experience of 2024. Instead, it will build upon what God has already begun through the National Eucharistic Revival.
This revival has been extraordinarily fruitful—both before and after the 2024 Congress. Reports attest to renewed participation in Eucharistic adoration and Confession, greater reverence at Mass, increased confidence among clergy in preaching about the Real Presence, and growth in parish evangelization and service.
New adoration chapels have opened, local Eucharistic initiatives have flourished, seminarian enrollment has grown, religious vocations have been born and increasing numbers of people have entered the Church through the Order of Christian Initiation (OCIA). The 2029 Congress will seek to build upon these fruits and invite the Church into an even deeper encounter with Christ and a renewed commitment to mission.
It is a great joy and honor for our archdiocese to once again host the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. The gathering in 2024 was a powerful reminder that, while we come from different parishes, dioceses and walks of life, we are united as one Body of Christ.
Additional details about dates, registration, programming and opportunities to participate in the 2029 Congress will be announced later, but as we look to the next Eucharistic Congress, let us pray that this gathering will strengthen our bonds of communion and reinvigorate us in our baptismal call to go forth and spread the mission of the Gospel.
As we prepare for the 11th National Eucharistic Congress, we do well to keep before us the continued outpouring of graces and blessings stemming from the National Eucharistic Revival that continues to bear fruit throughout the Church.
On this First Friday, let’s ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us grow closer to her Divine Son by our active participation in the Holy Eucharist and by our reverent adoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Let us pray that Mary, Mother of the Church, will continue to direct and sustain our steps, so that each day we may conform our hearts more closely to that of Christ, the supreme and eternal Shepherd, and grow closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. †