Unity, healing and mission

The National Eucharistic Congress

On July 17, I boarded a bus along with 200 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to attend the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. My brother bishops and I had decided to hold this National Eucharistic Congress back in 2021 as part of the three-year Eucharistic Revival. 

At the time, it was hard to imagine what it would look like. It was going to be the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in more than 80 years. The event we witnessed in Indianapolis surpassed all expectations! It was a powerful and joyful celebration of the richness of our Catholic faith and of the vitality of the Church in our nation. 

On the first night, thousands of attendees dropped to their knees in adoration as representatives of the four national pilgrimage routes, who had traversed the country, converged in Lucas Oil Stadium bearing the Eucharist from the four corners of our nation. And it was before the Blessed Sacrament that Bishop Andrew Cozzens prayed for healing and renewal. 

Throughout the congress, speakers from around the world testified to the significance of the Eucharistic Mystery in their lives and in the life of the Church. 

Finally, on Sunday, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the papal delegate, celebrated Mass at Lucas Oil Stadium with 60,000 in attendance, including nearly 1,000 priests and several hundred of my brother bishops.

Several themes ran throughout the Congress, but I want to highlight three that surfaced with notable clarity: unity, healing and mission.

In a nation and world splintered by politics, economics and ideologies, the Eucharist is the center and source of unity for the Church and the world. Our faith in the presence of Jesus Christ dwelling among us sacramentally unites us in a radical way. 

Bishop Cozzens emphasized this unity when he stated, “What’s beautiful is we are united here with our bishops. It was the bishops who called us together.” 

Perhaps most palpable was the unity we experienced in the milelong Eucharistic Procession on Saturday afternoon on the streets of downtown Indianapolis. 

I was walking with dozens of my brother bishops and hundreds of priests and religious women and men. The streets were lined with tens of thousands of faithful Catholics. We sang together, we prayed together and we walked together, unified in our Eucharistic faith. 

Together, we adored Jesus, present in the Eucharist, atop the altar above the Indiana War Memorial. I will never forget that moment when Bishop Cozzens raised up the monstrance for benediction. It was a moment of profound significance in which Jesus blessed the whole American Church, united together in adoration.

The Eucharist, while it unites, also heals. The past six years have been challenging for the Church in the United States. Abuse scandals, COVID and provocative voices in the American ecclesiastical and political landscape have all contributed to wounded and broken spirits. 

But, as Saint Paul reminds us, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. The Eucharist, with its restorative power, calls for repentance and brings healing while offering comfort and reassurance in these challenging times. 

The Eucharist is healing because it calls for repentance and brings solace. It was beautiful to see lines of people returning to the sacrament of confession throughout the congress. 

Thousands of people a day were encountering the Lord's mercy in that sacrament, then receiving Him at Mass and kneeling before Him in adoration. These are sacramental reminders that God remains with us, calling us to repentance and loving us despite our weaknesses. Father Mike Schmitz reminded us, "You can never have a revival without repentance." 

Finally, the Eucharist leads to mission. Cardinal Tagle summarized this missionary dimension of the Eucharist in his homily for the conclusion of the congress. "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." 

The Eucharist is not simply for us who receive. It is not just for those of us who behold and adore Jesus. It is given to be shared. What we have received as a gift we must give as a gift! It is food and nourishment for the mission.

Mission is the fruit of an authentic and enduring Eucharistic revival. Indeed, the mission has begun: it brings a revival of Eucharistic amazement rekindling faith in the hearts of many who have fallen away from their first love. 

The "walk with one" initiative (eucharisticrevival.org/walk-with-one) is a practical way for us all to engage in the mission that the Lord has set before us. 

I encourage each of us to pray, asking God who he wants us to accompany on their journey home to the Church. Imagine the impact of our accompaniment as we lead others to an encounter with the living God in the Eucharist!

As I reflect on my own experience of these grace-filled days of the Eucharistic Congress, it is evident that it has profoundly impacted all who participated, whether in person or united through prayer. 

The congress powerfully demonstrated the unifying, healing and missionary elements of the Eucharist, leaving a lasting imprint on individuals, families and the Church in America. As we internalize the congress's messages of unity, healing and mission, it is up to us to actively carry forward this spirit of revival. 

Let us wholeheartedly embrace the call to mission and fervently accompany others on their journey to encounter the living God in the Eucharist, fully convinced that through this sacred encounter, lives can be transformed and faith can be reignited.