Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • August 16, 2024 13 National congress delves into the Eucharist as ‘the greatest love story ever told’ BY OSV NEWS INDIANAPOLIS ( OSV News ) -- Hundreds of priests, around 100 bishops and several cardinals con- celebrated the morning Mass in Lucas Oil Stadium July 18 -- a lit- urgy that kicked off the first full day of National Eucharistic Congress that had officially opened the prior evening with a revival centered around a beautiful Holy Hour. “To recover the centrality of Sunday Mass as God’s people are fed with the Bread of Life has to be the resolve of this grand Eucharistic congress,” Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, the principal celebrant, said in the homily reflecting on Jesus’ “Bread of Life Discourse” in John 6. “As Pope Francis has repeated: ‘No Eucharist, no church,’” he said. Following the liturgy, the morning’s seven “impact sessions” -- specific tracks offered for three mornings during the congress -- took that message to heart as speakers encouraged the tens of thousands of congress-goers to enter more deeply into the day’s theme of understanding the Eucharist as “the greatest love story.” At the morning’s Encounter impact session in Lucas Oil Stadium emceed by Katie Prejean McGrady, Sister Mary Grace Langrell said, “In the Eucharist, we find the greatest measure of our worth,” adding, “The Eucharistic heart of Jesus is for every human heart.” Sister Marie Veritas brought home what Jesus’ real presence means for the life of the Catholic. “When we live a sacramental life, when we adore the Lord, when we pray, when we receive the sacra- ments, we become the stillness in the storm,” she said. “Because the same blood that healed the sick, and gave sight to the blind and raised the dead flows through your veins.” Following a Mass in Spanish, hundreds of Latino Catholics participated in the Spanish-language impact session, Encuentro , where Jesus as the sum- mit of encounter and the source of love was the focus. “The Lord asks us to be accessible to the most vulnerable, and not to hide so that no one will touch us. The Lord saved us through His being vulnerable and accessible,” said Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, inviting people to renew the spirit of mission and participation in today’s world by living in the Lord’s way. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston- Houston reflected on what the Eucharist meant to the early church -- particularly the martyrs -- noting the dialogue prayed at the start of the Mass’s Eucharistic prayer goes back to the church’s earliest days. “The next time you go to Mass and say, ‘We lift up our hearts,’ think of these martyrs, since we live in an age when there are still martyrs,” he said. The day’s Awaken impact ses- sion for youth began with a wake- up call, courtesy of the pulsating rock music that resounded through a hall of the Indiana Convention Center, which led hundreds of teens to rise to their feet, jumping, stomping and clapping to the lyrics that focused on a deeper relation- ship with Christ. “If you’re here for a hype Jesus concert then you’ve wasted your time,” emcee Oscar Rivera said. “But if you’re here to find Jesus -- Jesus the one who set the blind to see -- then you’re in the right place.” “Do you know things about Jesus or do you actu- ally know Jesus, because there is a difference,” said inspirational speaker and comedian Paul J. Kim, following Rivera. “Who is Jesus to you? Do you have a personal relationship with Him?” he asked, inviting the youth to live their lives with heaven as their final goal. Most of the congress’s 1,200 registered bishops and priests attended the Abide impact session for priests, where biblical scholar Scott Hahn exhorted them to renew their understanding of the close bond between Scripture and the Eucharist as Christ’s pres- ence in the church, and “rekindle Eucharistic amaze- ment.” The day’s Empower track, focusing on practical tools for evangelization, explored how ancient Jewish customs around marriage help explain salva- tion history as “the greatest love story.” Father John Burns, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and founder of the Friends of the Bridegroom apostolate, called the Eucharist “the betrothal feast repeated across time” and “the ongo- ing memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and the price He paid to win this bride.” In every Mass, he said, Christ’s followers “look with love to the wedding feast.” The afternoon saw congress participants join 18 smaller breakout sessions and other special events and liturgies. SEE NEC24 DAY 2 DAYTIME, PAGE 14 New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan celebrates morning Mass at Lucas Oil Sta- dium on July 18 during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. At left, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. OSV News Photo/Bob Roller