The Fruits of the National Eucharistic Congress – The Eucharistic Revival Continues

Monday, July 22, 2024.  It is the day after my return from the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and I am convinced that I have just participated in a life-changing experience for myself personally and for the Catholic Church in the United States.   What a watershed of hope and joy! As some 55 thousand Catholics from across our nation converged in the heartland, we experienced torrents of grace pouring out upon us from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.  It was an encounter with the loving, merciful Heart of the Savior in the heartland.   The grace that flowed out there is meant for the entire country and, if do dare say, for the entire world.  

It was amazing to be united with such a huge number of Catholics gathered around the altar in Lucas Oil Stadium for the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass and then each evening to hear amazing talks and testimonies from inspiring and committed lay men and women, religious sisters, priests, bishops and then to end with Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.   The breakout sessions provided amazing formational encounters that helped participants to deepen their love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and their commitment to spreading His Gospel and revitalizing His Church.

During the days that we were at the Congress, we encountered the Lord Jesus in His Sacrifice, His Presence, His Body and Blood received, and then we were given the mission to go forth and bear Him into the world, to others who are in such need of Him. We were set forth to serve!

First, His Sacrifice. Each day we gathered at the altar and were immersed in what the Second Vatican Council calls the “source and the summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium #11). Christ’s Sacrifice made present on the altar is the dynamic outpouring of the love and mercy of the Father. There we were united with this tremendous act of love and deed of mercy receiving grace upon grace from the Pascal Mystery of the Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Second, His Eucharistic Presence. Directly across the street from the Convention Center where the breakout sessions were held is the Church of St. John the Evangelist. Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament continued there throughout the Congress. This church was completely packed with people at all times. Participants in the Congress felt drawn to be in the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus. We came before the Savior and were formed by the power of His love. At His feet we received the grace that strengthened our baptismal call to love Him above all else, to love one another as He taught us, and to go out and share His saving love with others in service and joy.

Third, His Body and Blood received.  Each day at Mass some 55 thousand of us received Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist.  We believe what St. Augustine said in his Easter Sermon # 227, “If we receive the Eucharist worthily, we become what we receive.”  That means that we are supposed to become more and more like Him so that we can witness to Him in the world.  When we receive Him in Holy Communion, we are more and more united to Him. We are bound to Him as the Head in His Mystical Body the Church and then to one another as members of that Body.  He makes this happen by giving us His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacrament of the Altar. Receiving Him at Mass is closest we will get to Him short of heaven. Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion gives us the strength and the impetus to go forth and serve others.

Fourth, at the end of the National Eucharistic Congress, we were given the mission by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle who preached at the closing Mass and Bishop Andrew Cozzens who gave remarks to go out and to share the tremendous gift of the Eucharistic Jesus with others by evangelizing them and serving them. It is what the Second Vatican Council taught, “The Most Blessed Eucharist contains the entire spiritual boon (treasure) of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch and Living Bread, by the action of the Holy Spirit through his very flesh vital and vitalizing, giving life to men whoare thus invited and encouraged to offer themselves, their labors and all created things, together with him. In this light, the Eucharist shows itself as the source and summit of the whole work of preaching the Gospel.” (Presbyterorum Odrinis #5)

The Congress was ingenious in its organization and execution. Participants said over and over again that the National Eucharistic Congress was a life-changing experience for them and that they could not wait to get home and revitalizing and renewing the Church in and through the Eucharistic Lord. 

So, my dear friends, get ready. The graces of the Congress will continue as the Eucharistic Revival touch the hearts of many in the Church and in the world.
 
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh