Column: Reflections From the 10th National Eucharistic Congress

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." John 6:5

Greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. On the four Sundays in August this year we are privileged to hear the well-known ‘Bread of Life’ discourse from the Gospel of John. Christ’s words at the synagogue in Capernaum contain some of the most important teaching in all of Scripture. It is here, listening to the words of Jesus carefully, that the Church finds the foundation for her consistent belief that Jesus is present, body, blood, soul and divinity, in the Holy Eucharist. Today’s Gospel also offers a wonderful segue for me to briefly share a little bit about the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. 

Just in case you are not aware, the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress was a five-day gathering of Catholics from the United States who came together in Indianapolis (July 17-21) with the purpose of worshiping Jesus through the Eucharist and deepening their understanding and devotion to the sacrament. The congress also provided venues for study and teaching about the Eucharist while making tremendous efforts to promote unity within the Church. The last National Eucharistic Congress took place 83 years ago in St. Paul at the MN Fairgrounds. It’s fair to say that it has been a while since the Church has seen a similar gathering in the United States. Attendees included 60,000 Catholics, 200 bishops, 1200 priests, 600 deacons, 600 seminarians and 1200 consecrated religious. 

I would compare the 10th National Eucharistic Congress to a steroid infused Steubenville Youth Conference for adults with the vibe of a World Youth Day. If you joined in the local Eucharistic procession from St. Albert to St. Michael on May 24 then you participated in the National Eucharistic Congress in a direct way. That procession event, that included Mass with Archbishop Hebda, was one stop on the Northern route of the four Eucharistic processions that took place across the United States coming from North, South, East, and West. 

Although the Eucharistic Congress is now a memory, you can continue to participate by watching the great presentations that took place at the congress. I recommend going to YouTube and searching on the EWTN platform as they have most of the congress talks posted. There are several themes that stood out to me over the course of these five important days in the life of the Church in the United States. I would summarize them as follows: Unity, Repentance, Healing, and Mission. Let me share some of the key quotations from the speakers that reflect these primary ideas.

On Unity: Cardinal Christophe Pierre — “What a gift! What a gift it is, that we can be united as a Church through our Holy Father. At the same time, what brings us together in this congress – the Holy Eucharist – is also an immense gift for unity. As St. John Paul II said, ‘The Eucharist is the sacrament and the source of the unity of the Church.’”

On Repentance: Sister Bethany Madonna — “The love of God has been poured into our hearts and it’s the kindness of God that leads us to life-giving repentance.” Sister Josephine Garrett — “He who made the promise is true and so we can be people who repent with courage and joy. What a contradiction to be people who say ‘I’m broken and I’m sinful, and I’m joyful and I’m hopeful.’ What would the world do with a pilgrim people like that?” Father Mike Schmitz — “You can never have a revival without repentance.”

On Healing: Jonathan Roumie — “The Eucharist for me is healing. The Eucharist for me is peace. The Eucharist for me is my grounding. The Eucharist for me is his heart within me.”

On Mission: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle — “Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus … Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.” Bishop Andrew Cozzens — “Brothers and sisters, we believe that God desires to renew his Church and that this renewal will happen through you. And that in renewing his Church, he will renew the world.” Bishop Robert Barron — “Your Christianity is not for you. Christianity is not a self-help program, something designed just to make us feel better ourselves. Your Christianity is for the world.”