Gulf Pine Catholic

20 Gulf Pine Catholic • August 16, 2024 Day 4 of national congress begins with historic liturgy, casts vision for church’s future BY OSV NEWS INDIANAPOLIS ( OSV News ) -- At Lucas Oil Stadium, Day 4 of the National Eucharistic Congress, began with a liturgy -- and a story -- from the church that St. Thomas the Apostle planted in India. Tens of thousands of Catholics filled the stadium July 20 to cele- brate together a Holy Qurbana , the Eucharistic liturgy of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the Catholic Church’s 23 Eastern-rite churches, celebrated by Bishop Joy Alappatt of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago. The bishop explained that the Qurbana , which he cele- brated in English with some hymns in the original Syriac lan- guage “originated from the time of St. Thomas the Apostle ... who came to India in AD 52, and because of his mission work we got a Catholic community in India.” Ukrainian Catholic Arch-bishop Borys A. Gudziak of Philadelphia, who concelebrated the Holy Qurbana , told the thousands gathered that just as St. Thomas went forth to bring the Gospel to India, they too are called to share the Good News far and wide. He said, “Just think -- 20,000 years from now, somebody might say ... if we receive the (Holy Spirit), ‘Around the year 2,000, things really started going (for the church). People strengthened by the body and blood of the Lord, receiving the Holy Spirit, went out with the Good News.’” Congress-goers joined in what organizers said may be the largest Eastern-rite liturgical celebration in the history of North America on a day dedicated to the theme “This Is My Body.” Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, told reporters later that morning that they wanted participants to experience the con- gress’s theme of unity amid the church’s “beautiful diversity.” “The Catholic Church is a universal church. It speaks every language on earth. We’re the most diverse organization in the whole world, because every culture and every language celebrates the Eucharist differently,” he said. For most attendees who were familiar with the Mass -- the Latin Church’s form of Eucharistic litur- gy -- this was their first experience of the Holy Qurbana and gave them a deeper appreciation for Jesus’ gift of Himself in the Eucharist. “I felt like it just had everything that we believe, the Bible and Scripture all sort of wrapped from one end to the other,” Theodore Kuczek, an attorney from a northern suburb of Chicago, who said pray- ing the different form of Eucharistic liturgy both felt familiar and emotionally stirring. “It was just very, very moving. The closing prayer ... had us meditate on how joyful this was and to enjoy it now, because who knows if we’ll have it again.” During the morning’s youth Mass, Indianapolis Archbishop Charles C. Thompson spoke candidly to the young people about the impact that each one can make, even to the suffering. “We don’t know the wounds people carry. We see some on the outside. The deepest wounds often are on the inside. We don’t know the lives we’re touch- ing,” he said. “But every time you ... offer a smile, open a door, sit with a sick friend, say hello to a stranger -- we never know the difference we’re making,” he said. “You never know how God is using us.” He told the young people the church needed them as committed disciples of Jesus, and that their witness was a source of inspiration. “It’s so important for us to keep in mind that the young people in our church are not the future of the church. You’re the young church now, and we need your energy,” he said. “We need your gifts now.” In the Encounter impact session, theologian Edward Sri unpacked the scriptural context of a few parts of the Mass. He acknowledged that many Catholics might feel like “robots,” going through the motions of Mass without understanding what they say or why. Drawing on the wedding at Cana and scenes in Revelation, he explained that Mass is a wedding feast, and “every time you go to Mass, you’re getting a wedding invita- tion.” Sri encouraged attendees to keep the “fire” they’ve experi- enced at the congress through community with other committed Catholics and being attentive to their rela- tionship with people in their lives, especially their families. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, an interna- tional speaker and author who spoke immediately after Sri, urged attendees to not shy away from their call to evangelize those around them by focusing on Jesus’ love. “We have to remember, people may meet Jesus for the very first time when they meet you,” he said. “Filled with word and sacrament, you become His witness in the world, and that’s their first encounter with Jesus.” Following the Mass in Spanish with Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, close to 2,000 Latino Catholics participated in the last Encuentro session of the congress. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of New York discussed how to become missionary disciples through accompanying, listening, teaching and send- ing. He exhorted the audience to cheer for the risen Christ and not let this moment pass them by. “We are here to light a fire, Amen?” he said. “So, we don’t return to our homes being the same.” Theologian Dora Tobar Mensbrugghe gave a presentation about the life of the disciple of Jesus and how a Eucharistic disciple is also a missionary. “To be a disciple is not to be ‘knowers’ or ‘repeaters’ of His teachings, as beautiful as they are,” she said. “It is not about being mere admirers of the person of Christ.” SEE NEC24 DAY 4 DAYTIME. PAGE 21 Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis greets congress-goers following the final Youth Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress July 20. OSV News photo/Gretchen R. Crowe