Road to Revival vs. Road to Revulsion

A week before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics insulted and outraged Christians throughout the world with its demeaning and blasphemous derision of the Last Supper, more than 60,000 Catholics gathered in Indianapolis to celebrate the very gift Jesus gave us on that Holy Thursday so long ago, the Blessed Eucharist.

Photo credit: Josh Applegate

Highlights

By Fr. Denis Wilde, OSA
8/7/2024 (3 months ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Revival, Eucharist, Eucharistic, conference, pilgrimage

The events at the Tenth National Eucharistic Conference 2024 poured out hope and love for a culture sorely in need of both and available to all believers who approach with a pure heart in a state of grace.

The Congress was preceded by four pilgrimages that thousands of the faithful undertook by foot. 

The Marian route began at the source of the Mississippi River in Northern Minnesota, continuing through Minneapolis/St. Paul; Green Bay, Wisconsin, home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the first and only approved Marian apparition site in the US; then on to Chicago and into Indiana by way of Notre Dame University. 

A northeastern pilgrimage that began in Brownsville, Texas had St. Juan Diego along as intercessor. The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton route drew easterners along routes traveled by early pioneers, from New Haven, Connecticut, through New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, then back through western Pennsylvania and Ohio. 

The longest trek was undertaken in the name of St. Junipero Serra, apostle to California, and took participants 2,200 miles eastward through Nevada, Oregon, Idaho,  Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois before finally crossing the Indiana border. A special Mass on July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel brought walkers from all four pilgrimages together to celebrate completion of a treks that showed Olympic valor themselves.

I joined all of them in spirit and in prayer, but I set out to the Congress by car, stopping to pick up my longtime friend, Villanova alumnus and pro-life champion Jack Ames, for 30 years the leader of Defend Life in Baltimore. We had plenty to share as we headed west, including the blessings and challenges that followed the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Along the way we attended a noon Mass at St. Patrick Church in Columbus, Ohio, home to the national shrine of St. Margaret of Costello, a medieval woman who was born deformed and then abused by those who should have loved and cared for her. Her life of holiness set a great example for the pro-life movement, which understands that every human being, no matter the physical challenges they face, has a God-given right to life.

As we arrived in Indianapolis, a huge sign arched across a major north-south Blvd read, "THESE ROADS LEAD TO REVIVAL." The  joy in that city was palpable as thousands of people assembled from all over the country - and beyond -  gathered ten thick along the curb awaiting a procession of priests - 1,500 deacons, priests and bishops alone! - religious congregations, first communicants, religious sisters in their colorful habits and, most importantly, the Blessed Eucharist, housed  in a monstrance and carried by a white wagon.

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Several hours later, Holy Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament would be celebrated and proclaimed throughout all of downtown Indy, culminating at the steps of the revered multi-storied war memorial.  How fitting that the Blessed Eucharist was prominently displayed where one remembers the men and women who gave up their lives for their country, as Jesus gave up His life for our Redemption.

What a powerful way to celebrate His Presence with us in the heart of the secular city!

The Congress was the culmination of a three-year Eucharistic Revival undertaken by the Catholic Church. Over five days, pilgrims attended presentations, liturgies, sacramental confession in the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts football team, and the nearby Indiana Convention Center. At St. John the Evangelist Church, the doors were open for ongoing Eucharistic Exposition from Wednesday to Sunday. A Sunday morning liturgy in the covered stadium was the climax of it all.  Watching from a third-tier stadium balcony the 20-minute procession that brought a constant stream of priests, sisters, deacons and bishops into the venue brought tears to my eyes.

In his closing homily, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines - the special envoy of Pope Francis - expressed the hope that the Indianapolis event would lead to a "conversion through the Eucharist."

I share that hope, and pray that our nation and our world will be filled with the ever-abiding presence of the Lord of the Universe around and within us. "THESE ROADS LEAD TO REVIVAL" was the sign that welcomed us to Indianapolis. Now it†s up to us to bring that revival to the streets back home and around the nation.

Fr. Denis Wilde, OSA, Ph.D., is the associate chaplain for Priests for Life. A concert pianist, he was formerly an associate professor of music at Villanova University.