by Joseph Nangle, OFM
Pax Christi USA 2023 Teacher of Peace
The national Eucharistic Congress, which took place in Indianapolis from Wednesday to Sunday last week, was the first since 1941 and the 10th in the history of the United States Catholic Church. (One wonders why 83 years have elapsed between these two congresses.) In any case, this year was a perfect, even urgent, moment for this traditional Catholic event. The New York Times said it was “brought back in response to American Bishops’ dismay that Catholics have been drifting from the ritual at the core of each Mass.” This is only partially true.
In 2019, a disputed Pew Research study claimed that only one-third of adult Catholics in the United States believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. However accurate, this datum sent shock waves through the Catholic world and surely was a motivation for the institutional Church in our country finally to call for a Eucharistic Congress.
The COVID epidemic, with its complete shutdown of churches during those bleak months of 2020 and 2021, took the Eucharist away from us. The virtual Masses via Zoom helped maintain some sense of gathering around the Eucharistic table, but admittedly they never were the same. Recently the return to actual communal participation in the Lord’s Supper has been slow, often out of the realization that COVID is still very much with us.
The prophetic initiative of Pope Francis in calling for a four-year synodal process in the Catholic world almost by definition demanded a renewed appreciation for the absolute centrality of the Holy Eucharist for us. A new catechesis on this incredible gift from the Lord needed to accompany Francis’ placing the future life of the People of God into their/our hands.
The Congress agenda laid out a “blizzard” of Eucharistic events: Masses, processions with the Blessed Sacrament, holy hours, keynote speakers, revival meetings and “breakout sessions” indicating the participatory dimension of the event.
The themes for each of the four days offered insights into the flow of the Congress:
- Wednesday arrival: “From The Four Corners”
- Thursday: “The Greatest Love Story”
- Friday: “Into Gethsemane”
- Saturday: “This Is My Body”
- Sunday closure: “To The Ends of the Earth”
The Congress ended on a note of continuation: calls for the participants to go forth as missionaries and plans for future congresses.
This is part of an ongoing desire in the Church for a Eucharistic revival. In a recent talk to the U.S. bishops, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Holy See’s representative to this country, said: “The Eucharistic encounter with the Risen Lord affords a new personal and ecclesial experience…” He went on to cite the “wounds of the Church” which call for this renewed encounter: “The scandal of abuse and of failed oversight, the plague of indifference toward the poor and suffering, skepticism toward God and religion in a secularized society, and an agitating temptation toward polarization and division even among those of us who are committed to Christ and His Church.”
Pope Francis himself has consistently joined the Church’s current historic synodal process with the Eucharist. In his Lenten message this year he wrote: “There is no better time than now to make a decision about communitarian worship at the table of the Lord.”
Finally, back to the Eucharistic Congress. One participant noted the strong presence there of Latino Catholics. He reflected that many of them must surely have been undocumented, given the disarray of our national immigration policies. But, he remarked, that all these sisters and brothers were “at the table” – no questions asked.
Then the priest went on to describe the event taking place in Milwaukee during those days, the Republican National Convention. Video clips showed people there holding signs reading “Mass Deportation Now” and chanting slogans like “send them back.” He wondered how many Catholics might have been holding those signs and chanting those slogans.
Joe Nangle OFM is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and the 2023 Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace. As a member of the Assisi Community in Washington, D.C., he is dedicated to simple living and social change. Joe also serves as the Pastoral Associate for the Latino community at Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington, Virginia.
Only the clergy assume the Communion Host is central to the spiritual life of the average Catholic. The whole display of the Congress was to emphasize the need for the ordained celibate clergy.
Father Nangle, the problems, and there are many, of our Church are of OUR own creation and to a large extent created by “the keepers of the faith “. Many created as a result of the infallibility clause of the Magisterium. This has resulted in a detachment of the Laity from their responsibility for their Church and eventual alienation. As Jesus reminded his apostles, if you aspire to lead you must serve the least among you. Power has corrupted the Magisterium and have in fact lost their sheep their only responsibility. Please forgive me and pray for me. 🙏🙏🙏
Do the bishops really believe the Communion Host is the center & focus of the spiritual life of the average Catholic?
There exists a deep division in the Catholic Church today. We see it among Catholics who dislike Francis and hold high his immediate predecessors.while also holding a strong right wing political orientation. These people hold to the letter of the orthodox word while Francis sees the human side to most situations. Those who see new possibilities for the divine repository within us move to that understanding and gently put aside teachings about Eucharist which carries its own problems in a scientific age. I do wonder if bishops see this. If they do the situation won’t be solved by hammering square pegs into ground holes. Spiritual beliefs evolve.