God Was Truly Present at the National Eucharistic Congress!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Mere words are not sufficient to fully express the phenomenal experience I had in attending the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, held from July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana! This was the first Eucharistic Congress held in the United States in more than 80 years! It brought together people of all ages, including families with small children, as well as folks from all different backgrounds. It was wonderful to see the large number of cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, and consecrated religious women in attendance. Even more encouraging was seeing that MANY of the priests and religious sisters were very young! I truly felt that the loving, holy Presence of Jesus Christ was not only palpable throughout those 5 days, but visible in the Blessed Sacrament and in the 60,000 people gathered there to praise and worship our God as one.
The congress events kicked off on the evening of Wednesday, the 17th, in Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts) with the culmination of the four Eucharistic processions that had originated in the four corners of the U.S. earlier this year. Symbolizing the unity of the Catholic Church in the U.S., these processions brought the love of Christ in the Eucharist wherever they marched. On this night in the stadium, I was able to witness the pilgrims from the Elizabeth Ann Seton procession, who had begun their journey in Connecticut and traveled through the Baltimore and D.C. regions, finally making their way to Indianapolis. (Some of you may have joined them in Baltimore, DC, or Emmittsburg.) Behind these pilgrims, Bishop Andrew Cozzens processed in with the Blessed Sacrament, commencing a time of Adoration and invoking God’s blessing upon the congress. Alternating song and prayer with silence, the crowd of 50,000+ became ONE body venerating Christ in the Eucharist. It was amazing! Following the time of Adoration, the Revival hosts--Fr. Josh Johnson, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Montse Alvarado—took the stage to serve as the M.C.s of the 5-day event, introducing the speakers, providing color commentary, and offering prayer. On this night, the keynote speakers were Cardinal Christophe Pierre (Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S.) and Sister Bethany Madonna. The Eucharistic Revival was underway!
From Thursday through Sunday, each day began in the football stadium with recitation of the rosary and a 2-hour Mass, with each Mass presided over by a different Catholic prelate, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NYC, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, Eastern Rite Bishops Joy Alapatt and Boris Gudziak, and Cardinal Luis Tagle, special papal envoy from Pope Francis. To join with 50-60,000 people, worshipping God and sharing the Eucharist at the Lord’s table was, needless to say, awe-inspiring!
Throughout the days, there were also workshops and breakout sessions to attend, each one pertaining to a different topic. In the sessions I attended, I had the pleasure of hearing talks by Scott Hahn, Fr. David Spitzer, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Mari Pablo, and several other well-known speakers.
In our fleeting off-times we could visit the Shroud of Turin Exhibit and the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit, but both were accessible only after waiting in VERY long lines requiring an inordinate investment of time. There was also a large Exhibit Hall with a variety of vendors and Catholic entities all showcasing their ministries and wares. We also had the opportunity to visit Christ in the Eucharist at the nearby 24-hour Adoration Chapel and to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation from one of the hundreds of priests hearing confessions.
Each evening, all 50-60,000 people would return to the football stadium to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament just as we had on the first night, singing classical hymns AND contemporary songs led by Spirit-filled musicians, and praying aloud or in silence. To hear over 50,000 people singing Tantum Ergo, or to see everyone in the crowd with their hands held high, as if reaching out to God to receive all the grace that He wanted to pour out, was an exceptionally moving, emotional experience!
Following Adoration each night, would come the talks by the guest speakers. And what a line-up of speakers! They included Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Sister Josephine Garrett, Gloria Purvis, Mother Olga, and even Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus in the Chosen series)--just to name a few. Each one gave a talk that was powerful and inspiring! The evening sessions always ended after 10 PM, but everyone would return to their hotels (or perhaps go out for a night cap) feeling tired, but spiritually fed.
Saturday afternoon was unique in that besides morning Mass, it also featured a 1-mile Eucharistic Procession from the stadium to the American Legion Mall (an outdoor park). Cardinals, bishops, priests, consecrated religious, and tens of thousands of pilgrims all walked in a procession behind the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Indianapolis. Interestingly, it was here that God chose to bestow a fun, little “God wink” on me. I was seated on a wall 8 ft. above the sidewalk, which was a perfect vantage point from which to watch the procession, and sometime after the Blessed Sacrament had passed by me, but before I jumped down to join the procession, I happened to look down at the pilgrims walking by and who should I see but our own Deacon Shiadrik Mokum! Of course I called out to him and we were astounded that here, amidst a crowd of tens of thousands of people, in a city one-third of the way across the country, the Lord ordained that he and I would run into each other! Amazingly, this also happened a second time in that the next morning at the football stadium, I could not find an available seat anywhere below the concourse level, so I headed to a higher level and randomly chose a section in which to look for a seat. There seated in that same obscure section of the stadium was Deacon Shiadrik! We hugged and marveled at the fact that God had allowed us to run into each other twice in less than 24 hours amidst the throng of 60,000 people in this faraway place!
On that same Sunday morning, following the rosary, we listened to energizing talks by Chris Stefanick and Mother Adela Galindo. Then came the Closing Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Tagle, the papal envoy sent by Pope Francis. What a beautiful, heartwarming celebration! I firmly believe that it was evident to everyone who attended the National Eucharistic Congress that throughout those past five days, we all had been graced by God’s holy presence, filled with His love, and empowered by His Holy Spirit!
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS:
THE NEXT STEP: Each of us is called to participate in the mission of the Church and to “Walk With One.” This simply means asking Jesus to reveal to us that one special person in our lives whom he longs to call home to his Church, and then agreeing to serve as a conduit of his grace by praying for and walking with that person on their journey back to the Church. Imagine what would be the result if the millions of U.S. Catholics all did this!
***MARK YOUR (FUTURE) CALENDARS FOR THE 11TH NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS BEING HELD IN 2033, the 2000th anniversary of the Redemption of the World!
TO VIEW VIDEOS OF THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS--INCLUDING TALKS BY THE SPEAKERS--GO TO Eucharisticrevival.org. or to YouTube.com.
Mere words are not sufficient to fully express the phenomenal experience I had in attending the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, held from July 17-21 in Indianapolis, Indiana! This was the first Eucharistic Congress held in the United States in more than 80 years! It brought together people of all ages, including families with small children, as well as folks from all different backgrounds. It was wonderful to see the large number of cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, and consecrated religious women in attendance. Even more encouraging was seeing that MANY of the priests and religious sisters were very young! I truly felt that the loving, holy Presence of Jesus Christ was not only palpable throughout those 5 days, but visible in the Blessed Sacrament and in the 60,000 people gathered there to praise and worship our God as one.
The congress events kicked off on the evening of Wednesday, the 17th, in Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts) with the culmination of the four Eucharistic processions that had originated in the four corners of the U.S. earlier this year. Symbolizing the unity of the Catholic Church in the U.S., these processions brought the love of Christ in the Eucharist wherever they marched. On this night in the stadium, I was able to witness the pilgrims from the Elizabeth Ann Seton procession, who had begun their journey in Connecticut and traveled through the Baltimore and D.C. regions, finally making their way to Indianapolis. (Some of you may have joined them in Baltimore, DC, or Emmittsburg.) Behind these pilgrims, Bishop Andrew Cozzens processed in with the Blessed Sacrament, commencing a time of Adoration and invoking God’s blessing upon the congress. Alternating song and prayer with silence, the crowd of 50,000+ became ONE body venerating Christ in the Eucharist. It was amazing! Following the time of Adoration, the Revival hosts--Fr. Josh Johnson, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Montse Alvarado—took the stage to serve as the M.C.s of the 5-day event, introducing the speakers, providing color commentary, and offering prayer. On this night, the keynote speakers were Cardinal Christophe Pierre (Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S.) and Sister Bethany Madonna. The Eucharistic Revival was underway!
From Thursday through Sunday, each day began in the football stadium with recitation of the rosary and a 2-hour Mass, with each Mass presided over by a different Catholic prelate, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NYC, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, Eastern Rite Bishops Joy Alapatt and Boris Gudziak, and Cardinal Luis Tagle, special papal envoy from Pope Francis. To join with 50-60,000 people, worshipping God and sharing the Eucharist at the Lord’s table was, needless to say, awe-inspiring!
Throughout the days, there were also workshops and breakout sessions to attend, each one pertaining to a different topic. In the sessions I attended, I had the pleasure of hearing talks by Scott Hahn, Fr. David Spitzer, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Mari Pablo, and several other well-known speakers.
In our fleeting off-times we could visit the Shroud of Turin Exhibit and the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit, but both were accessible only after waiting in VERY long lines requiring an inordinate investment of time. There was also a large Exhibit Hall with a variety of vendors and Catholic entities all showcasing their ministries and wares. We also had the opportunity to visit Christ in the Eucharist at the nearby 24-hour Adoration Chapel and to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation from one of the hundreds of priests hearing confessions.
Each evening, all 50-60,000 people would return to the football stadium to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament just as we had on the first night, singing classical hymns AND contemporary songs led by Spirit-filled musicians, and praying aloud or in silence. To hear over 50,000 people singing Tantum Ergo, or to see everyone in the crowd with their hands held high, as if reaching out to God to receive all the grace that He wanted to pour out, was an exceptionally moving, emotional experience!
Following Adoration each night, would come the talks by the guest speakers. And what a line-up of speakers! They included Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Sister Josephine Garrett, Gloria Purvis, Mother Olga, and even Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus in the Chosen series)--just to name a few. Each one gave a talk that was powerful and inspiring! The evening sessions always ended after 10 PM, but everyone would return to their hotels (or perhaps go out for a night cap) feeling tired, but spiritually fed.
Saturday afternoon was unique in that besides morning Mass, it also featured a 1-mile Eucharistic Procession from the stadium to the American Legion Mall (an outdoor park). Cardinals, bishops, priests, consecrated religious, and tens of thousands of pilgrims all walked in a procession behind the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Indianapolis. Interestingly, it was here that God chose to bestow a fun, little “God wink” on me. I was seated on a wall 8 ft. above the sidewalk, which was a perfect vantage point from which to watch the procession, and sometime after the Blessed Sacrament had passed by me, but before I jumped down to join the procession, I happened to look down at the pilgrims walking by and who should I see but our own Deacon Shiadrik Mokum! Of course I called out to him and we were astounded that here, amidst a crowd of tens of thousands of people, in a city one-third of the way across the country, the Lord ordained that he and I would run into each other! Amazingly, this also happened a second time in that the next morning at the football stadium, I could not find an available seat anywhere below the concourse level, so I headed to a higher level and randomly chose a section in which to look for a seat. There seated in that same obscure section of the stadium was Deacon Shiadrik! We hugged and marveled at the fact that God had allowed us to run into each other twice in less than 24 hours amidst the throng of 60,000 people in this faraway place!
On that same Sunday morning, following the rosary, we listened to energizing talks by Chris Stefanick and Mother Adela Galindo. Then came the Closing Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Tagle, the papal envoy sent by Pope Francis. What a beautiful, heartwarming celebration! I firmly believe that it was evident to everyone who attended the National Eucharistic Congress that throughout those past five days, we all had been graced by God’s holy presence, filled with His love, and empowered by His Holy Spirit!
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS:
- As one speaker said, even if we as a Church DO believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, we seem to have lost our sense of awe and wonder for it. We fail to recognize the GIFT that it is--Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist! This means we need to question ourselves: Are we going to Mass out of obligation (as a box to check)? Or do we attend Mass because we long to enter into the most intimate union with Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? We also need to spend more time encountering Christ in Adoration!
- True conversion requires repentance.
- Each one of us is loved by God with an everlasting love—despite our faults and weaknesses! Nothing, no sin, can ever separate us from His love. And we are called to bring this Love to everyone we encounter in our daily lives.
- THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE U.S. MUST BE UNIFIED! We all have a part to play to end the disunity caused by politics, race, age, gender, and anything else that may divide us.
THE NEXT STEP: Each of us is called to participate in the mission of the Church and to “Walk With One.” This simply means asking Jesus to reveal to us that one special person in our lives whom he longs to call home to his Church, and then agreeing to serve as a conduit of his grace by praying for and walking with that person on their journey back to the Church. Imagine what would be the result if the millions of U.S. Catholics all did this!
***MARK YOUR (FUTURE) CALENDARS FOR THE 11TH NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS BEING HELD IN 2033, the 2000th anniversary of the Redemption of the World!
TO VIEW VIDEOS OF THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS--INCLUDING TALKS BY THE SPEAKERS--GO TO Eucharisticrevival.org. or to YouTube.com.