Archbishop celebrates Mass of Thanksgiving for eucharistic congress and encourages the faithful to build on its impact

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson delivers a homily during a Sept. 18 Mass of Thanksgiving in SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Mike Krokos

The National Eucharistic Congress (NEC), held in Indianapolis in July, was a “special moment of unity, grace, celebration and renewal for the Church” that had a “profound unifying effect,” and it is up to the faithful to move forward, building on its impact, said Archbishop Charles C. Thompson.

“In worship and adoration, we allowed ourselves to be captivated by the sacramental presence of divine love in our midst … . We surrendered ourselves to the transforming grace of the real presence of Jesus Christ, the living Word giving himself to us in the Eucharist,” the archbishop noted to the approximately 200 people in attendance at a Sept. 18 Mass of Thanksgiving for the NEC at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.

“As Cardinal [Luis Antonio] Tagle [Pope Francis’ special envoy to the congress] stated so beautifully in the closing liturgy at the congress, as we have been given such a profound gift, we must be gift to others. Remember, he said, ‘Be gift, not a burden,’ ” said Archbishop Thompson.

If we are to be a gift to others, the archbishop continued in his homily, “we must embrace Jesus for who he is rather than who we or the world want to make him out to be.

“This requires that we not merely know about him but encounter the person of Jesus—and have a personal relationship with him—through prayer, Scripture, sacramental grace, humility, faith seeking understanding, Church teaching and Christ-centered service.”

Calling it “an incredible moment in the life of the Church,” the archbishop said that during a recent National Eucharistic Revival board meeting, it was shared that all 50 states and multiple countries were represented at the July 17-21 congress.

“This is having an international impact. Other countries are reaching out to us, wanting to know how to do this, the way it was done here in the United States,” he noted. “It’s had that kind of an impact.”

‘Empowered me to move forward’

Women kneel in prayer during a Mass of Thanksgiving for the National Eucharistic Congress on Sept. 18. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

Jeff and Nora Grasser of St. Louis de Montfort Parish in Fishers, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, were among those who attended the Sept. 18 liturgy.

Nora also participated in all four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which converged on Indianapolis for the congress. She finished her journey by taking part in the western St. Junipero Route that came through Terre Haute.

During the congress, the Grasser’s had several houseguests, including a priest from the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, a French journalist and several others.

“When we finished the week [of the congress], there was a sense of letdown—but also fulfillment,” Nora said. “This to me [the liturgy], was a finishing.”

Jeff agreed.

“For me, this offers a kind of closure,” he said. “It was such a phenomenal, historical event.”

The couple hopes the seeds planted in their lives through the congress bear fruit.

“To me, it opens up a little easier path to pray with people, having had that time with adoration with 50,000 people,” Nora said. “It’s just kind of empowered me to move forward.”

Jeff concurred, adding, “I think God’s working on me. Hopefully, there will be more to come from my story as well.”

‘The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist’

Eucharistic adoration was an integral part of the congress, as each night participants filled Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to reverently pray with our Lord.

“In eucharistic adoration, remember we began with that monstrance Pope Francis had blessed—with the body, blood, soul and divinity, the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist—reminding us that we’re all here gathered from all over the country and beyond,” Archbishop Thompson said, “not for any other personality, but for the person of Jesus Christ, and our focus on him makes it clear of what we’re to be about as his witnesses and his disciples.”

‘They were part of what you were part of’

Maureen Bogard and Mary Duffey, both members of Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Beech Grove, took part in the congress—Bogard as an attendee and Duffey as a volunteer. Both said their faith was strengthened by the experience.

Bogard, who said she “felt God calling me to come,” was glad she took part.

“The unity of the Catholic Church, you felt it there. No matter who you talked to, they were part of what you were part of,” she said, “and I felt totally changed by it … feeling part of a large Catholic Church.”

As a result of the congress, Bogard said she has hopes to reach out to people she “knows are Catholic, but don’t really practice their faith.

“My goal is to bring people into the Church for the love of God,” she noted.

As a volunteer, Duffey reflected on the patience shown by attendees who waited in line for hours during registration on the first day of the congress.

“They were all so wonderful and so patient,” she noted. “They would tell us about their two- or three-hour waits, but they were still positive and so happy.”

Duffey, who is an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at her parish and at an area hospital, said as a result of the congress she wants to reach out more in her ministry to share “that piece of heaven” with others.

‘Proclaiming the kingdom of God at hand’

In our call to missionary discipleship, Jesus “beckons us to go forth in joy and hope,” encouraging “others to a personal encounter with him and proclaiming the kingdom of God at hand,” Archbishop Thompson said.

• “Many transforming graces and blessings will continue to flow from the National Eucharistic Congress, especially as we continue to focus on the pillars of the National Eucharistic Renewal that continue,” the archbishop noted, including:
• “Continuing to enhance a personal encounter with Jesus and one another”;
• “To reinvigorate worship, to know what it means to be a community of believers, a community who worships together”;
• “Deepening formation, understanding what it means to belong to the body of Christ, to belong to something greater than ourselves”;
• “Missionary sending, how we go forth to take that experience, that gift, and bring that gift to the world to transform the world, a world in such desperate need of hope.”