Participants reflect on the congress, the procession and the road ahead

Maddox, left, Fraser, Markham, Lindsay and Hannah Hay of Colleyville, Texas, enjoy a performance by Catholic recording artist Matt Maher on July 20 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the National Eucharistic Congress. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Mike Krokos and Sean Gallagher

Like thousands of others, Tina Zimmerman was eager to take part in the eucharistic procession on July 20.

“I can’t wait to see this many faithful Catholics worshipping the Eucharist, walking down the streets of Indianapolis. It will be amazing!”

A member of St. Louis de Montfort Parish in Fishers, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, Zimmerman and her husband John planned to join a group from their parish. Tina said the energy that has been evident during the National Eucharistic Congress is something she hopes will continue.

“If we can harness this energy and take it forth from when we leave this revival and take it back to our parishes, … gosh, we can change the nation. I think if this many people stay on fire, and just love the Lord and one another … I think we can take the world by storm.”

A day later, that is what Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., who led the organizing of the congress, invited attendees to do after Communion at the closing Mass on July 21 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

He announced that the congress was launching a “Walk with One” initiative in which Catholics are invited to commit to reach out to another person to bring him or her closer to Christ and the Church.

“What would happen if each of you thought of one person you know who is currently away from the faith and you decided to pray for them, to befriend them and then to invite them to take one more step closer to Jesus and his Church,” Bishop Cozzens asked. “What would happen if 70 million Catholics did that?

“And so, my question for you is, will you do it? Will you do it?”

Lindsay Hay, her husband Fraser and their two sons and daughter who travelled from their home in Colleyville, Texas, to attend the congress, were moved in spending time with tens of thousands of Catholics in Indianapolis to accept that invitation.

Lindsay noted that “the congress has deepened our love of Jesus in the Eucharist. It has helped open our eyes to his presence with us and in others, for we each are tabernacles of Jesus. It has helped ignite our faith and challenge us to be more intentional disciples.

“We each hope to walk with one by sharing the gift we receive of Jesus in the Eucharist with others.”

While participating in adoration in Lucas Oil Stadium on the first three nights of the congress, Zimmerman said “the reverence and the presence of the Holy Spirit” have been evident.

“You know that everybody in the stadium is feeling it,” she said, “giving honor and glory to God as you see them processing with Jesus present in the Eucharist. It just warms my heart. I think God must be pouring out his blessings upon people who have come and sacrificed to praise and honor him.”

‘I want to portray to others that Jesus is real’

Sporting a “Team Cozzens” T-shirt, Lisa Roberts of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., offered words of praise for Bishop Cozzens before the procession.

“He’s a wonderful bishop, very instrumental in making this happen,” she said of Bishop Cozzens, chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., who has also played a pivotal role in the three-year National Eucharistic Revival.

About 200 pilgrims from the Crookston Diocese made the journey to Indianapolis, including 60 youths.

Roberts was looking forward to the procession “because I want to portray to others that Jesus is real, that we believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, and we want to share his love with others,” she said.

Reflecting on the first three days of the Congress, Roberts said she will leave with new goals for her life: “to repent, to draw closer to Jesus, to share the faith with others, to love others and embrace them as children of God.”

‘The magnitude of the Eucharist’

Frank Richardson of St. Ignatius Parish in Baltimore said he was amazed at the congress of “the magnitude of the Eucharist and all the people gathered, the clergy and the laity from everywhere. It was overwhelming to see a whole town made Catholic.”

Alina Miller, 21, of Clarksville, Tenn., attended the congress with members of her family and other young adults from her parish. She described the event as “heaven on steroids.”

“The Eucharist is Jesus,” she said. “That’s the closest we’re going to get to heaven until we are in heaven. It was very good and a lot to take in. I think I’m going to process this for many years to come.”

‘Process with the Lord on the streets of America’

Despite wearing clerics in an afternoon that got warmer by the minute, Atlanta archdiocesan seminarian Austin Thomas beamed as he waited to participate in the eucharistic procession.

“All of the Atlanta seminarians will be processing with all of the pilgrims from Atlanta,” which numbered about 500, explained Thomas, who is in formation at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.

The seminarian believed the procession would offer a powerful witness of faith.

He added the congress is only the beginning.

“This is just the start, this isn’t the finish line. When we go back to our home parishes, that is where the real mission begins,” he said. “It’s very easy to worship with all of these people, but it’s your relationship with the Lord, it’s the encounter you had here … now you bring it back home … and continue to fall deeply in love with the Lord.” †

 

(See all of our coverage of the National Eucharistic Congress at www.archindy.org/congress.)