National congress delves into the Eucharist as 'the greatest love story ever told'

Prelates and clergymen process following morning Mass at Lucas Oil Stadium July 18, 2024, during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) -- Hundreds of priests, around 100 bishops and several cardinals concelebrated the morning Mass in Lucas Oil Stadium July 18 -- a liturgy that kicked off the first full day of National Eucharistic Congress that had officially opened the evening prior 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,'" the cardinal continued.

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."

Following music from the Sarah Kroger Band, Catholic radio personality Katie Prejean McGrady emceed the morning's Encounter impact session in Lucas Oil Stadium. She interviewed two Sisters of Life, Sister Marie Veritas and Sister Mary Grace Langrell, who shared their love of the Eucharist, how Jesus' real presence in the Eucharist impacted their religious vocations and how encounters with the Eucharist have healed the people they serve.

"In the Eucharist, we find the greatest measure of our worth," Sister Mary Grace said. "The Eucharistic heart of Jesus is for every human heart."

Msgr. James Shea, president of the University of Mary and author of the book "From Christendom to Apostolic Mission," spoke about satisfaction and the Eucharist. "God has made us so that we are incomplete unless we are feeding on him," he said. "We are famished for God."

Dramatically tracing the story of salvation history, Msgr. Shea spoke about the failure, violence and division experienced by "humanity in a state of malnutrition" following Adam and Eve's partaking in the forbidden fruit. Amid their disobedience, God taught his people to trust him again, until he did something "beyond imagination," sending his Son Jesus to eat and drink among them, and to be their food.

"We will either feed on God or on something else, and whatever that something else is, it will always leave us hungry," Msgr. Shea said, inviting them to "eat and drink" of the Eucharist and then "rush out into a starving world and tell everybody we meet, 'Starving people, listen! We found where the food is!'"

At the same time as Mass was celebrated at the stadium, two other liturgies took place at the congress, including a Mass celebrated in Spanish by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston and concelebrated by multiple bishops and many priests. Following the Spanish Mass, hundreds of Latino Catholics participated in the Spanish-language impact session: Encuentro.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and Mabel Suarez, the Charismatic Renewal Representative Region 8 of the U.S. and Canada, focused their presentations on Jesus as the summit of encounter and the source of love. Bishop Flores spoke of the call to renew the spirit of mission and participation in today's world by living in the Lord's way.

"Jesus gave himself in his poverty to show that our poverty is the wealth of the church," he said. "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."

Following the bishop's teaching, Suarez, a psychologist specializing in pastoral care, urged people to let themselves be loved by Jesus, who "is in the Eucharist waiting to pour himself out in all his fullness."

To the Eucharist, she said, "we come with troubles … (and) desolations" yet "the Lord restores strength and encourages in mission." She reminded them they are all called to make known the living God in their lives so that more brothers and sisters "may encounter the Christ we have encountered."

At the Renewal impact session -- geared toward people who volunteer in ministries or serve as staff members -- speakers emphasized the importance of receiving first from Jesus Christ before trying to give.

"It's about you filling your cup. We want to give, give and give and don't take enough time to receive," emcee Mari Pablo of Evangelical Catholic and a presenter for Ascension Press on theology of the body and Catholic social teaching, told some 4,000 attendees.

"For the next few days, just receive and say to the Lord, 'Fill me up,'" she continued. "Give from your excess, not from your depletion."

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston reflected on what the Eucharist meant to the early church -- particularly the martyrs -- and noted that the dialogue prayed at the start of the Mass's Eucharistic prayer goes back to the church's earliest days.

"They took the Eucharist very seriously and very realistically because they knew they could die as martyrs," Cardinal DiNardo said. "The reality of the body and blood of Christ runs through the early days of the church. 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."

The day's Awaken impact session 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 relationship with Christ.

"If you're here for a hype Jesus concert then you've wasted your time," said emcee Oscar Rivera. "But if you're here to find Jesus -- Jesus the one who set the blind to see -- then you're in the right place."

"Our bodies and our souls long for something more than what the world has given us, and that something more is Jesus Christ," he added, calling on them to let the Holy Spirit work with them and be "the spark that ignites Lucas Oil Stadium."

That message was echoed by the main speaker of the youth session, Paul J. Kim, who emphasized the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus.

"Do you know things about Jesus or do you actually know Jesus, because there is a difference," Kim said. "Who is Jesus to you? Do you have a personal relationship with him?"

That's the goal the congress should have, Kim told the youth, reminding them to focus on getting to heaven with Jesus.

Father Leo Patalinghug, an award-winning chef and TV host who is a member of the Voluntas Dei (The Will of God) community of consecrated life, engaged children and parents in the first morning of the Cultivate impact session for families by talking about superheroes, what to do when drowning, and the four first moves of a ninja, and tying them all to the Eucharist and living lives of faith.

"My favorite superheroes are Yoda and hobbits -- because they're small, like me," he joked, referencing characters from Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. But Jesus also makes himself small in the Eucharist, the priest noted.

"He became small so he could enter into our busy lives, into our hearts," he said. "He puts himself into us so we can be saved from the inside out and live supernatural lives."

Father Patalinghug next shared that while the rescue holds that lifeguards use to save people from drowning are not comfortable, they do help get the person to safety.

"And that's what Jesus does," he said. "If we don't fight him, if we trust him, if we let him guide us, he will get us to the shore to safety, and that shore is heaven."

Last, the martial-arts-expert priest compared the four first moves he learned and compared them to prayer: First, come to attention -- put yourself in God's presence; next, bow -- give honor and praise to God; third, cross your arms and take a deep breath -- open your heart to God; and finally, stand in a relaxed stance -- rest in God.

With most of the congress's 1,200 registered bishops and priests in attendance at the Abide impact session for priests, speakers aimed to offer a retreat-like experience for the men in black.

The session emcee, Mother Gloria Therese, superior of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, expressed her sincere gratitude for how the clergy has supported the National Eucharistic Revival, saying, "What's happening in this nation is profoundly beautiful."

Scott Hahn, founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, provided a detailed reflection on the disciples' encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and he challenged attendees to renew an understanding of the close bond between Scripture and the Eucharist as Christ's presence in the church.

"What we need to do in these times is to rekindle Eucharistic amazement," he said.

Father Brian Welter, director of the Institute for the Institute for Priestly Formation, reflected on how the depth of prayer for priests allows Christ to live more fully in them and their own ministry. By offering their lives in prayer for their flock, Christ is in their midst. Father Welter held up St. John Paul II as an example of this, using the words of the late Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, who said that whenever he met the holy pope "there was always another person in the room."

Finally, the day's Empower track, focusing on practical tools for evangelization, began with words of welcome and encouragement from Deacon Larry and Andi Oney, and a powerful keynote from Father John Burns, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and founder of Friends of the Bridegroom, an apostolate dedicated to the renewal of the church through the renewal of women's religious life.

Following the theme of the Congress that day, looking at salvation history as "the greatest love story," Father Burns presented the image from Scripture of the church as a bride and Christ as the bridegroom.

In Revelation, he said, God gives them "the image of the wedding feast of the Lamb toward which all of creation is pointed."

He also referenced the Old Testament's presentation of God in search of a bride and John's Gospel calling Christ the Divine Bridegroom.

In Jewish custom of the time, Father Burns said, "when the bridegroom would go away, he would leave the bride in the care of his best friend" who would "help to remind the bride that she is promised" protecting her from false suitors, forgetfulness and engaging in worldly ways.

"All of the church has that role," he said, "being friends of the bridegroom, awakening the bride to her nature."

Another ancient Jewish custom, he continued, was a repetition of the betrothal feast, "in order to allow a stirring of love, an increase of fervor."

He called the Eucharist "the betrothal feast repeated across time" and "the ongoing memorial of Christ's sacrifice and the price he paid to win this bride."

Every Mass, he said, Christ's followers "look with love to the wedding feast."

More liturgies and breakout sessions were planned for the afternoon, with the nightly revival session, keynoted by well-known podcaster Father Mike Schmitz and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, set to begin at 7 p.m.