Richard Sasso
From July 17 to July 21, I traveled with approximately 60,000 other Roman Catholics to Indianapolis to celebrate the 83rd National Eucharistic Congress. When I arrived, I had no idea what to expect. What exactly is the National Eucharistic Congress? What will you do there? Who will you meet there? The event featured a star-studded lineup of speakers from the U.S. Catholic community, ranging from cardinals to prominent laypeople. I knew there would be a lot of wisdom to be imparted by church leaders. Who would stand out? I wondered.
In the end, the most visible figure was Jesus Christ, present in body, blood, soul and divinity. He was present in every moment of the event, in every corner of the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. He appeared in Eucharistic Adoration every night, seated in the most magnificent golden monstrance I have ever seen. If the motivation for the bishops to start the Eucharistic Revival was a widespread lack of faith in the presence of Christ among Catholics, no such lack of faith was found at the National Eucharistic Congress. The image of more than 60,000 Catholics kneeling in adoration is indelibly etched in my mind. The event was a spiritual marathon, from the first opening session on Wednesday night to the closing Mass on Sunday morning.
The Ignatian spirit invites us to see God in everything, which is often difficult in this broken and fallen world. But in the National Eucharistic Congress, this is not difficult: Jesus is everywhere you look and in everyone you see.
One powerful example was Father John See’s very moving talk on spiritual hunger and satisfaction. Father See spoke about our hunger for material food that is only temporarily satisfied. We also have a spiritual hunger, a hunger that can only be satisfied by God. He declared that Holy Communion is the only food that has the satisfaction of “an infinite score.”
He ended his speech with a powerful warning: “Faithful Catholics, for God. We should start living instead. from “Lord, Your Body and Blood are the source of our life, our energy and our joy. So eat and drink here every day to your heart’s content, and then go out into the hungry world and say to everyone you meet, to the hungry, ‘We have found a place where there is food. We have found a place where there is food.'” As the crowd rose to their feet and gave thunderous applause, Father Thea disappeared, and I knew where to find God and what to do next.
We found Christ in the sacrament, we found Jesus as the healer of our hearts. In one revival session called “Into Gethsemane,” we were invited to find Jesus in our broken hearts. Sister Miriam James Hydland said, “The Lord is not asking you to figure out your life. He is not asking you to fix your life. He is not asking you to be loved. He is only inviting you to be loved.” How do we find Jesus? In healing love.
I encountered Jesus again in an unexpected place: I saw two nuns ministering to a homeless man living under a railroad bridge between the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. They gave him no money, but they gave him food, spiritual and physical sustenance. One nun held his hand, but it was clear that he was a man most people would not want to touch.
The care shown by these women isn’t the only example of pilgrims serving others: “The Eucharistic Congress has partnered with the Million Meals Movement to pack 360,000 meals to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need. The packing events are fun, hands-on activities that will empower participants to make a tangible difference in the fight against hunger,” the conference’s website states.
Christ can be found in all the arts. Musicians performed on multiple stages in a variety of styles, from contemporary Christian worship to Gregorian chant. Books and artwork of all kinds were for sale, and artists created their works in makeshift studios in the middle of the exhibit hall. Actor Jonathan Roomy, who plays Jesus on the TV show “The Chosen,” spoke at the event.
Having become the face of Jesus to many, Roomie spoke about how the experience has impacted him: “Playing Jesus Christ will surpass anything I do. This is the greatest honor, not just of my career, but of my life for sure, and I can only be grateful to God for the opportunity to use the talents he has given me to serve Him and impact the world and culture. Glory to God.” He may only be “Jesus on TV,” but he is leading people to the real Jesus. Find God in everything, including streaming services.
Attendees had the opportunity to see liturgies in different languages and various rites of the Church, one of which was an Eastern Rite liturgy. The entire service was sung in a dark room lit only by candlelight. I spotted Jesus again in the beautiful icons of Jesus and his mother surrounding the altar. Communion was performed under both species, with the faithful tilting their heads back and eating the sacrament of bread and wine with a spoon.
I also attended a Syro-Malabar liturgy known as the Qurbana, a beautiful and elaborate ritual of the Church founded in India by the Apostle Thomas himself. But the sermon at this service was delivered by a Ukrainian bishop, who reminded us of the hundreds of people dying every day in the Ukrainian war and implored us to pray to the Prince of Peace to end this terrible war.
Finally, on the final night of the event, Bishop Robert Barron gave the keynote address. He urged the audience to reject the false temptations of power, pleasure, fame, and wealth. Instead, he called on the laity to become spiritual athletes. He shared with the audience the words of Dorothy Day, who argued that all baptized believers can and should live by the codes of poverty, charity, and obedience, and in so doing, respond to God’s call, Jesus’ call, to become who we are meant to be.
And, repeating a line often attributed to Ignatius of Loyola, the bishop said, “And we will set the world on fire.”
Richard Sasso I teach high school English and Spanish outside of Chicago, Illinois, and am a freelance writer, teachers union activist, immigrant advocate, and author of Becoming Italian.
