Gulf Pine Catholic

6 Gulf Pine Catholic • August 2, 2024 228-539-9800 www.RiemannFamily.com Gulfport Pass Christian West Jackson County Biloxi Long Beach Hancock County “The reverence was just awe-inspiring, and that’s something I would like to take back to our parish,” Deacon Robb Caputo of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, told OSV News . The nightly revival sessions created a sensory experience of awe around the Eucharistic Lord, as tens of thousands prayed in silent contemplation before the Eucharist on the altar -- illuminated in the dark stadium by spotlights. Adoring Jesus in the stadium, concluding with Benediction, was the pin- nacle movement of each evening. Keynote speakers and testimonies helped keep people’s eyes fixed on Jesus’ personal love for them and His desire to be close to them. One such nightly revival, focused on healing, indicated the problem with Catholic belief in the Eucharist -- was more about the heart than the head, and needed Catholics to repent of their indifference to Jesus. “Knowledge can make us great, but only love can make a saint,” said Father Mike Schmitz, the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, priest known for chart-topping podcasts “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year.” Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, who survived four wars in the Middle East, recounted how in the midst of her own person- al suffering she heard Jesus say in her heart: “That even on the cross and through the cross, we can still choose to love.” Jonathan Roumie, the actor famous for his por- trayal of Jesus in the hit miniseries “The Chosen,” told the audience at the final revival night July 20 after reading Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse from John 6, “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.” Congress organizers also made intentional efforts to be inclusive of families and those with disabili- ties, particularly those with sensory disorders, so they could also experience the congress and partici- pate fully in the experience. Murielle and Dominic Blanchard of Gallup, New Mexico, navigated the congress with six children aged eight and under, including 20-month twins, and a baby on the way. They said the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium was key for them, because it provided both formation for their older children and had space for the twins to play. Throughout the congress, the historic and stately St. John’s Catholic Church across from the Indiana Convention Center’s main entrance fulfilled its role as a spiritual hub. A steady flow of pilgrims came and went from the main church during 24-hour ado- ration throughout the congress. It had times for silence as well as times geared toward families, where children were invited to get close to the Eucharist, put a flower in a vase near the mon- strance, and just adore as beautiful, simple melodies lifted up the packed church in prayer. More than 1,200 religious sisters and brothers, 1,170 priests, 630 deacons, 610 seminarians, and 200 bishops participated in the congress, according to congress organizers. At a press conference July 19, Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez said he had never seen anything like the congress, as a non-papal event, in his 35 years of priesthood. “You can sense the energy of what’s happening here, which is touching hearts,” he said, adding the experience was making him think about how to respond to the need for the church’s sacraments to be more accessible. The highlight came July 20 as tens of thousands of Catholics followed behind the truck-pulled, flow- er-rimmed float carrying the Blessed Sacrament accompanied by Bishop Cozzens and Indianapolis Archbishop Charles C. Thompson. They walked ten blocks from the convention center through down- town Indianapolis to the Indiana War Memorial Plaza for what Bishop Cozzens said “might be the largest Eucharistic procession in the country in decades.” Nancy Leuhrmann of Cincinnati told OSV News the experience, which culminated in Eucharistic adoration and Benediction at the plaza, was “really wonderful, seeing all the people just quiet, reverent and joyful.” Leuhrmann said the security presence didn’t have much to do and she noted the officers thanked the crowd for making their jobs easy. At the sending-forth Mass July 21, Pope Francis’ special envoy to the congress, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, delivered a homily with warmth, joy and humor that made participants both laugh and feel inspired as he told them, “A Eucharistic people is a missionary and evangelizing people.” “We should not keep Jesus to ourselves,” he said, exhorting them not to use their time in church to escape others, but to “share Jesus’ tender love” with “the weary, the hungry and suffering ... the lost, con- fused and weak.” “Go and share Jesus’ gift of reconciliation and peace to those who are divided,” he said, emphasiz- ing, “Let us proclaim Jesus joyfully and zealously for the life of the world!” Bishop Cozzens revealed there would be another National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in 2025 from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, and possibly an earlier National Eucharistic Congress than 2033. But he invited people to take this experience of the congress and -- echoing Cardinal Tagle’s call for Eucharistic “missionary conversion” -- join the con- gress’s “Walk with One” initiative. “Commit yourself to walking with one person,” he said. “Commit yourself to becoming a Eucharistic missionary, someone who lives deeply a Eucharistic life, and having received that gift, allows themselves to be given as a gift.” Peter Jesserer Smith is national news editor for OSV News. Staff from OSV News, The Criterion and Simone Orendain contributed to this report. NEC24 Full Congress Wrap From page 1 Pray for all those who are suffering from the results of hurricanes, earthquakes, and war, especially Ukraine and Israel. Pray for peace on earth!