Many of the pilgrims from the Diocese of Davenport pose for a photo during a break at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last week.
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
Dozens of Catholics from the Davenport Diocese were among the 50,000+ faithful whose hearts are burning within them after their encounter with Christ during the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis.
Austin Moore, a 28-year-old husband, father and member of St. John Parish in Houghton, captures that Road to Emmaus experience in his reflection on the first National Eucharistic Congress held in 83 years:
“All the speakers were united in calling for all Catholics to have an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, to revive the Gospel in our own hearts and then we must share that with others through evangelization, service, and love of neighbor,” Moore said. “I left with a lot of hope and peace about the future of the Church in America.”
“We still have many struggles and difficult decisions ahead of us, especially in the Diocese of Davenport, I’m sure,” Moore said. “However, the number of young priests, religious sisters and nuns, religious brothers, and seminarians that I met or saw were filled with an incredible amount of joy and were truly on fire for the Lord. I am much more conscious of praying for more vocations, and I hope that becomes more of a focused and regular prayer intention in our parishes.”
The congress “was a highlight of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative that the U.S. bishops launched in 2022 to increase understanding of and inspire deeper love for Jesus in the Eucharist.” The revival includes the bishops’ Walk with One initiative encouraging Catholics “to share their love of Jesus with someone who does not know him or who no longer practices the Catholic faith,” OSV News reported.
“The theme of connecting the presence of Christ in the Eucharist to everything else we need to do as Catholics was the reason for the Congress. It begins with our relationship with God but doesn’t stop there. We’re always on mission, we’re always sent out. We have to be in relationship with Christ so that we can be more effective witnesses of Christ in the world,” said Father Jeff Belger, priest director of the Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City.
A great sense of hope
“The closest thing I can compare this experience to was when I attended World Youth Day in 1993 and 2011,” said Father Thom Hennen, pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. “This was smaller, of course, but still at 50,000 people-plus attending, it was one of those moments when it dawns on a person just how not alone we are as Catholics. We are part of something much bigger, older, and wiser than ourselves.”
“I have also attended many National Catholic Youth Conferences, a couple of Steubenville conferences and Notre Dame Vision, but these had a different feel because they were much more youth-oriented. While there were many youth present and families at the National Eucharistic Congress, it was not explicitly tailored to youth (they did have a daily youth Mass and some more youth friendly events),” Father Hennen said. “It certainly felt like everyone there, of whatever age, was highly engaged — believing, active, practicing Catholics. It gave me great hope as I look ahead to, please God, many more years of ministry in the Church.”
He initially worried “that all of the emphasis would be on the concept of Christ’s abiding presence in the Eucharistic species (adoration, etc., which I believe is very important), but less emphasis on the Eucharist celebrated (the Mass) or on serving the same Christ present in the poor. Instead, I found a very holistic, well-balanced approach in all of the talks that I heard and in the images. There was a strong sense not only of the essential belief in the doctrine of the Eucharist but in striving to live eucharistic lives,” Father Hennen said.
A personal highlight for Father Rich Adam, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Bettendorf, “was being in procession with 1,500 priests on our way to Mass. All I could think of was Revelation 7:9:
“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.”
Pilgrims from Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City participate in praise and worship during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last week. They are, from right, Julia Roemen, Father David Paintsil, Alyssa Konz, Matthew King, James Allbright and Ian Udell. Father Paintsil is parochial administrator of St. Joseph Parish-Hills, St. Mary Parish-Lone Tree and St. Mary Parish-Nichols.
Reaching out
Her experience at the congress deeply moved Kim Cranston of Holy Family Parish-Holy Trinity, Richmond especially as she watched Cardinal Wilton Gregory consecrate the Eucharist during the Friday morning Mass. “I myself want people to see that my heart is not burdened because I trust the Lord has me. Not only me, but the whole world,” she said. (I want to) “share love, resist the urge to judge and simply show my joy in the Eucharist.”
Karen Brandt of Holy Family Parish-St. Mary, Riverside, said she felt overwhelmed with inspiration during the congress. “I take most of the inspiration from the 54,000 people around me! All sorts of Catholics — from babies to cardinals.” She described how her heart leapt for joy watching the procession in which the monstrance containing the Eucharist entered the huge arena. She hopes her deepened appreciation for Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist will “show me where I can be Jesus’ hands and feet” in her parish and the community.
More people needed
The congress, held at the Indiana Convention Center and adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium, began with an hour of eucharistic adoration, which Father Mike Snyder, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport, appreciated. “In the silence of eucharistic adoration is a great way to experience Christ,” he said. As a convert to Catholicism, he has enjoyed adoration for more than a decade. “We should help more people discover this wonderful practice.”
Father Snyder reflected on an observation by Bishop Andrew Cozzens, “who told us that the Gospel spreads more through fruitfulness than effectiveness. “We should evangelize in a way that produces individual fruits rather than trying to make large-scale change. This means that a lot more people need to be involved in evangelization in order to reach more people.”
“… We need to talk more about the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic Prayer in Mass. Most people understand Christ’s sacrifice for us, but don’t know about the opportunity for us to sacrifice something to God to enter into deeper fellowship with him,” Father Snyder said. “The ultimate sacrifice, the best gift we can give to God, is ourselves, and that is exactly what we do when we participate in the Mass. If someone thinks he or she is not getting enough out of Mass, that person should think about giving more in Mass.”
Father Hennen said his only regret “is that I did not purchase more tickets for my parish and fill a bus. I think when this was announced a couple of years ago we all had a lot a questions about what this might be and fears about buying a bunch of tickets we couldn’t use. Now that we know better what kind of experience this can be, I will be more prepared for the next one (2033).”
