Meggan Monday: National Eucharistic Congress Recap
You may remember in June there was a very special pilgrimage here in South Mississippi, the Biloxi Diocese hosted a Eucharistic Pilgrimage and that was something that was happening all over the United States.
There were four pilgrimages that converged in Indianapolis last week for the National Eucharistic Congress, the first time that has happened in 83 years. This week, Meggan wanted to share a little bit more about that very special experience.
Bishop Louis Kihneman III said, “Three years ago, we voted to have a National Eucharistic Congress that we knew would be quite an undertaking to try to pull the whole country together in the United States. We also had some people from around the world come. An opportunity to have a real Bible of the Eucharist and the real presence of Jesus, that it really is his body and it’s really his blood and that is his gift to us as a church, but as a world.”
Director of Evangelization Ray Lacy said, “Just fills your cup in a way that really helps you recognize like, the Lord is calling us to something extraordinary. And in this, you know in this time, we need our Lord. And the truth about it is he’s there. And what I saw and kind of my line that I’ve used with most people on what did you see? I said I saw church fully alive.”
‘We, as the bishops, actually came together in prayer the day before we started in Indianapolis and prayed through the success of it but also talked about evangelization and how to continue to spread the word about Jesus Christ, and then the people began to arrive. That was a joy for pilgrimages that we had from the four corners of the United States where they walk with the Blessed Sacrament all the way across the country, north, south, east and west. Just beautiful, striking and deeply moving, especially when each of the groups came into the Lucas Oil Stadium and had their fellow Catholics greet them and there’s probably at that point could be 50,000 of us. We think at least 235 people, almost 250, which is for us as a small diocese, a missionary diocese is quite a lot of folks.”
“And when we encountered the body of Christ in that capacity, you’re in awe of what he can do and what he does. We miss it every day, all the time. But when we don’t miss it, we recognize what a gift and a blessing it truly is and that’s our everyday life is busy we get that but man when God is in the center revival occurs when God is in the center, we’re fully alive. John 10:10.”
“Just powerful, powerful chance to be in love with Jesus Christ as Roman Catholics and Christians and to share that love with one another. And given all the stuff that’s happening in the United States and the world, it was an opportunity for us to pray for unity and pray for peace in the world especially.”
