Psalm 117
“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his mercy toward us; and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord!”
So, I’m going to apologize up front for being that “annoying, crazy” Catholic person for this blog (LOL!) because I have just returned from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and WOW! Just WOW! There are not enough words or the even the right words to capture what happened this past week(end) but I’m going to try ….
To give a little back story, if you have not heard, the 10th National Eucharistic Congress was held in Indianapolis, IN on July 17-21, 2024. The last one of this kind was held 83 years ago! For sake of time, I’m not going to give you all the specific details, etc. (you can read more about it on the website 10th National Eucharistic Congress – Official Website) but what I did want to share has to do with the focus of this Psalm verse and this movement.
Yes, the National Eucharistic Congress was more than an event, conference, or mountain top experience. It was a movement. It was a movement in the hearts of anyone who heard just a part of any one of the many talks or who witnessed any one of the events which happened in Indy, either in person or on TV, social media, etc. It was a movement in unity as one Church towards our One, True God, present in the Eucharist.
I have been asked by several people since coming home, what was my one favorite take-away? (which btw is really hard to do with so many awesome moments! I encourage you to check out some of them on YouTube, EWTN or Relevant Radio. I know I am going to watch more because there is still so much that I missed!) But, anyhow, back to my favorite take-away….
It would be the sense of unity and the universal call to worship…as One Church! It can be so easy to feel isolated, even when sitting next to members of our own parish in our own churches. The routine can often cause us to lose sight of why we show up for mass and WHO we are showing up for. We are made to worship Him, not ourselves, and in worshipping Him we are united, and healing begins. When we give to Him ourselves, we receive more of ourselves. As I sat in a stadium surrounded by over 50,000 people, ranging in age from 8 months old to 80 + years old, young, old, male, female, families, religious, single people, all from every corner of our country, speaking multiple languages and from multiple backgrounds, I was reminded we are One Church! We are all broken in many ways, but we are all called together by One Father who loves us, wants to heal our wounds and live in communion with us, personally and as a part of a family. Hearing this one family sing in unison, praising The One who saves us and seeing this one family all bow down (and kneel on concrete) worshipping, in unison, The One who has saved us with His body and blood was completely overwhelming. It was truly a glimpse of heaven on earth. A glimpse of what God wants for us and our good and His Church.
I had someone else ask me what would be one word that I would use to describe the NEC (another tough question btw) and I would have to say “perspective.” Maybe not the word you would think of right away, but the NEC provided perspective on so many things on so many levels.
It gave me the perspective that we are ALL His children. We have all been hurt and wounded in a number of way but we are also all redeemed in and through Him. It gave me the perspective that we ALL need each other in more ways than we know. We need community and we need HIM, more than we think we do. It gave me the perspective that the Holy Spirit is alive. He is not dead. He is living, breathing, working, and moving in us all, all the time. He was in Indy those days but more importantly He is with us now in every day in those who were there and in those who were not. We just need the perspective to open our eyes and see Him and listen for Him and be a reflection of Him to each other.
So, it was a movement that has only just begun, and I truly pray it is a movement that keeps going. Seeds were planted and now it is time to water them and share the fruits with everyone.
Let your joy be so evident that it makes people ask why? And you can say it is because of His true presence among us and in us, because of the Eucharist!
Praise Him all peoples for His mercy! His faithfulness does endure forever!
Lifting You in Prayer & Trusting in His Care,
Christine