The Eucharist and synodality are interconnected, said prelates attending the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall plenary assembly Nov. 13-16. Synodality, they said, ensures the faithful’s communication so the church can fulfill its Eucharistic mission.

The first public day of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Baltimore saw elections to important posts, while public presentations chiefly centered on synodality, the use of technology in the liturgy and advancing the cause for canonization of a champion of evangelizing through media.

This time of year offers us a prime opportunity for getting serious about our own personal revival in the Eucharist.

After almost a year of audience talks about “zeal for evangelization” and highlighting the example of saints and other exemplary men and women from around the world, Pope Francis said his last talks in the series would focus on four points from his 2013 apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel.”

The U.S. bishops voted Nov. 14 to support Father Isaac Hecker’s cause for canonization, which was initiated by the Paulists Fathers, the order Father Hecker founded, and launched in 2008 by the Archdiocese of New York.