Vacation’s End, Northern Lights, and a New Catechetical Year

I will have returned from vacation this past Tuesday evening if all goes well, ending another wonderful vacation at St. Catherine.  

The second week of vacation met with wonderfully cool temperatures, in the forties at night and upper sixties in the day. Campfires felt great and fishing continued to be wonderful.  Since I was here during the Perseids meteor shower at its peak last Sunday night, I stayed up later.  I was not only treated to half a dozen meteors, but a vacation first--at least while I was awake to see--the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights.  They were spectacular as the green light pulsed not only in the north but above my head.

A New Year with Lots Happening
 While vacation was a joy, it is also a pleasure to be back as parish life kicks back into gear for another catechetical year.  Please watch the bulletin for information about Stewardship Weeks led by staff member Meg Anderson, several weeks of preaching on Evangelization spearheaded by Deacon Royce and an updating of our parishes’ census data shepherded by staff member Ginny Hans.  Thanks for your active participation in all those endeavors!!

Reflections on the Eucharist
Thanks again to staff members who contributed reflections on the Eucharist and please continue to read Meg Anderson’s extended reflection below that began in my column last week.
Sincerely and with Love in Christ,
Fr. Pat
 
Eucharistic Congress Reflection (Part 2)
By Meg Anderson, Director of Stewardship & Outreach
 
Hope and Vulnerability
I surrender my life to Jesus not out of fear but with the hope that He has a better plan for me and for all of us. This hope never disappoints! As I grow closer to Jesus, He reveals my shortcomings and showers me with His boundless love, grace, and patience. There is joy in admitting unworthiness, which humbles me and strengthens my trust in Him.
Jesus also continues to teach me the importance of vulnerability in sharing with others. I struggle with this, but I’ve learned that sharing our struggles, confessing brokenness, praying for one another, and representing Christ helps others experience His incredible love and mercy!

I am constantly attentive to those who are Jesus’ presence in my life and am deeply blessed! He is everywhere! I am reminded of this prayer: "Lord, help me to see You in the lives of those closest to me. Help me to rejoice in Your presence and to grow in love of others and of You as I see You at work in their lives."

The Eucharist as a Source of Peace
Attending both weekday and weekend Masses, the Eucharist is my source of peace and healing. Being fully present and focused on Him grounds me for each new day. During the National Eucharistic Congress, receiving the Eucharist each morning was a powerful reminder of how Jesus comes to us in both grand and simple ways. Sharing this sacred moment with thousands of others was a deeply moving experience. Yet, despite the grandeur of the Congress, the Eucharist remains unchanged. We receive the same precious gift at every Mass, whether at the National Eucharistic Congress or right here at our Crescent Parishes, and that is truly beautiful!

Highlights from the Congress
This leads me to our time at the National Eucharistic Congress.  The Congress, the first in 83 years, brought us together to worship Our Lord through beautiful liturgies and Eucharistic adoration. We participated in revival sessions, breakout events, and an incredible Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.

Wednesday evening marked the Congress’s opening session at Lucas Oil Stadium.  The evening started with the pilgrimage group from each route - Diego, Seton, Serra, and Marian- as they processed in with an image of their patron saints.  Our route that processed through the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was the Seton route.  Bishop Andrew Cozzens processed in with Jesus and all 60,000 pilgrims (including 2,000+ Bishops, Cardinals, priests, Sisters, and religious) dropped to their knees to fill the stadium and our country with praise! One employee shared with me that he had never seen so many at Lucas Oil Stadium for a non-sporting event.

Bishop Cozzens then led us all in a beautiful prayer for the healing and unity of our nation and our world.  This message was lovingly reinforced through gentle words of our papal nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre. 

There were a few additional notes I wrote down from this evening: “Accompany people in their wounds to help them experience God’s love in the Eucharist,” “Adoration is a relationship,” and “Live the Eucharistic Revival by reverencing others.”

On Thursday evening at Lucas Oil Stadium, Mother Olga shared four powerful stories of modern-day “Eucharistic Miracles” of healing that Jesus worked for the poor and suffering souls in our midst. On Friday, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and the host of the beloved Ascension podcasts The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year, reminded us that the problem of indifference to the Eucharist in our day and age is not always a matter of lack of knowledge but rather that we have lost our first love. He said, “knowledge can make you great, only love can make you a saint.” Fr. Mike challenged each of us to walk the way of repentance in our own hearts for it is the only way to greater love and it is the only way to true revival. His talk led us directly into an hour of Adoration in the stadium as he encouraged us to reflect on the fire extinguishers in our own life that have cooled the fire of our first love. 

Afterwards, Sr. Josephine, from the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth also shared about her own struggles and woundedness which continues to lead her to rely on Jesus and his steadfast promises. There was a strong theme in the talks of the last two nights: a revival involves a love for the Eucharist AND our personal repentance for losing our “first love.” Sister Josephine challenged us to repent in the spirit of joy and hope because God is a good Father who keeps his promises. The evening ended with a procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament throughout the stadium and music by Vigil Project.

A Public Witness of Faith 
After an Eastern Rite Mass in the morning on Saturday followed by breakout sessions in the afternoon, that same crowd of 60,000 took part in the most public witness of faith in the United States in decades outside of papal visits and walked a mile-long Eucharistic procession throughout the streets of downtown Indianapolis.  At the very front of the procession were children dressed in white dresses and suits, who had recently received their first Communion. They carried baskets of rose petals, spreading them on the ground ahead of the Eucharist.  When the Eucharistic procession reached the Indiana War Memorial, the Eucharist sat atop the steps and people began to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. An announcement over the loudspeaker encouraged everyone to pray for all those who have died or who will die that day. As people made their way into the park, many knelt on the grass or the sidewalks as a soprano sang “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent.” 

That evening as we gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium once again, Jonathan Roumie, known for his portrayal of Jesus in The Chosen, read from a portion of the Gospel that had not been included in the series.  He gave his reflections in a shirt that he designed himself featuring the famous quote, “If it’s a symbol, to hell with it,” from Catholic author Flannery O’Connor, who gave that response after someone referred to the Eucharist as merely a symbol. The back of his shirt quoted John 6:53, with keywords in bold: “AMEN, AMEN, I say to you, unless you EAT the flesh of the Son of Man and DRINK his blood, you do not have LIFE within you.”

He shared with us that he had spent the last week filming the Last Supper scene for “The Chosen.” He said this had caused him a lot of anxiety. “As a Catholic, I understand the weight,” he said, of depicting the institution of the Eucharist that night.  The Eucharist for me is my grounding.  It is His heart within me, he said.”

In the final congress keynote, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and founder of Word on Fire, urged the audience to leave the stadium with “the light of Christ” to change society. It’s the job of the laity to bring the light of Christ to the secular world, he said.  “Your Christianity is not for you.  Christianity is not a self-help program, something designed just to make us feel better about ourselves.  Your Christianity is for the world.”
Bishop Barron quoted St. Catherine of Siena’s words: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

Eucharistic adoration powerfully ended the evening, with Bishop David Toups of Beaumont, Texas, processing with the Eucharist to the central altar on the floor. He knelt before the Eucharistic Lord in the monstrance blessed by Pope Francis, for 40 minutes, with stretches of silence that flowed into worship songs from Matt Maher and Sarah Kroger.  I’ve been asked by quite a few to pick a highlight, a favorite moment from the Congress, and I would have to say it was these moments of prayer when the entirety of Lucas Oil Stadium fell to their knees in Adoration of Christ in the Eucharist.  This is when I shed many tears and it was these moments where it truly felt like heaven!

The Sleeping Giant
Each day Cari and I also attended different breakout sessions after morning Masses.  These breakout sessions and special events sought to empower all with the tools to live out their faith.  I attended a breakout session on Saturday about the “Sleeping Giant” of the church where all were encouraged to get to know the Latino Catholics in their parish, be inclusive, and work to involve them to meet their specific needs and leverage their specific gifts.  Deacon Charlie Echeverry, a Catholic speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur in Los Angeles shared with us that 42% of U.S. Catholics are Latino (however young Latinos are the No. 1 group also leaving the Church) — and successfully engaging them will “actually achieve that great goal of bringing the Catholic Church to every corner in this country.” This session had me prayerfully reflecting and giving thanks for our vibrant Latin American community at Holy Trinity.

City of God
I must also mention the Exhibition Hall, which was a vibrant showcase of Catholic apostolates, ministries, products, schools, healthcare companies, and more. It truly felt like the City of God under one roof. It was here that Cari and I met Cincinnati artist Holly Schapker. Many of Holly’s incredible paintings can be found at the Holy Spirit Center. Her most recent work, "Jesus - Hope of Life," is featured in the sanctuary at Church of the Resurrection.

Next Spring and Summer of 2033?
A Eucharistic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles is being planned for spring 2025, Bishop Cozzens announced.  Congress organizers had also been considering holding an 11th National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, the “Year of Redemption,” 2,000 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they’re now discerning organizing an event sooner.  Wherever and whenever the next Congress will be, God willing, I will be there and I highly encourage all of you to attend!

Year 3 / Mission
The National Eucharistic Revival now begins its third year, the Year of Mission. We are not to keep the gift of the Holy Eucharist to ourselves. We are called to be Eucharistic missionaries in the world. We are called to live Eucharistic lives, transformed by the love of Jesus!  Through our words and actions, may we draw others to the living presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!

I will see you all in the Eucharist!

With Gratitude and Blessings,
Meg Anderson
Director of Stewardship & Outreach