Have you ever witnessed history being made right before your eyes, and been fully aware that it was happening? Not just the kind of “I was there,” nostalgia that comes with the clarity of hindsight, but to be in the moment, fully aware that from this moment on, the world will never be the same? Last July 17-21 I had just such an experience at the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Those days in Indiana, history was being made, and the Church in the United States will never be the same again.
So, what was so historic about the event? For starters, this was the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States since 1941. The Bishops of the United States acted in concert to gather the faithful around the most central mystery of our faith and worship. As wonderful as the World Youth Days and other international events organized by Rome are, they came from outside. This was a home-grown response of our Bishops, as pastors of the local Church, to gather the faithful of our country in adoration of our Eucharistic Lord.
Secondly, the Eucharistic Congress was preceded by something truly historic in nature. We all know that in the days leading up to the Congress, four different sets of pilgrims from four different corners of the country set out on foot, bringing the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic procession to the convention center. What I didn’t know was that this was the first time in history that there has been a cross-country Eucharistic procession.
Read that again. Never before in the history of the world – not just of the United States, but of the world – has there been a cross-country Eucharistic procession.
What does that mean? It means that the American Bishops, with the spiritual authority that has been given to them, effectively brought about a consecration of our entire nation to the Eucharistic heart of Christ, which was culminated in Indianapolis. That’s powerful.
But perhaps most importantly, this Eucharistic Congress was historic in the atmosphere being lived there. I can honestly say, I have never seen the Church more alive.
It was alive through its diversity and its unity. Over the course of those days we witnessed liturgies in English and Latin, Spanish and Vietnamese, Roman rite and Syro-Malabar rite. There were Catholics from Europe, Catholics from Africa, Catholics from the Philippines, Catholics from Latin America, Catholics from the Middle East and yes, even a sizeable representation of Catholics from the United States! Something of the breadth of the Catholic Church was represented there, and far from being a cause of division, each group represented a unique enrichment for the whole.
More than 50,000 people united in music ranging from Praise & Worship, to Gregorian Chant, to Polyphony, to Byzantine, to the songs mom and dad used to sing at Sunday Mass.
And then there were the religious. There were the Congregations I knew, the ones I didn’t, and the ones that I’m not even sure God knows about. Priests heard Confessions, and nuns created clusters of joy.
In the middle of it all was Regnum Christi. We got known as “the guys who let you pin prayer intentions on their cross.” Walking around the booths, it occurred to me how different things would have looked without the existence of Regnum Christi. Aside from the Cheshire booth, the Regnum Christi booth, and the explicitly RC-apostolate booths such as Divine Mercy University and Catholic World Mission were several other noteworthy apostolates which wouldn’t exist today were it not for RC. That’s the beauty of our Movement. We exist for the Church.
These days, Christ showed the world a Church which is attractive, confident and very much alive. The seeds of renewal are visible everywhere. To paraphrase one of the bishops, “When John Paul II announced the springtime of the Church, I never expected to live to see it. But here it is before our eyes.”
History is being made. The Church is alive.
