I reconnected with Catholicism about a year and a half ago, and the winding path that brought me back to the Church could be the subject for another article. Let’s just say that almost exactly two years ago I was in my home country, Brazil, not only becoming a member of an ayahuasca-based religion, but participating in the production of the hallucinogenic brew itself.
After an incredibly long break (basically since my First Communion), I received the Eucharist for the first time two Easter Vigil Masses ago. It felt as if a miracle had occurred after that Mass, as I understood the ways of the Church—all of a sudden her teachings made sense to me, including those more challenging to my modern mind.
This past Easter Vigil I was confirmed. At around that same time, I started helping with Children’s Liturgy on Sundays, a ministry I suggested so my eight-year-old son would stop complaining about going to church. Next thing I know, I’m being invited to attend the National Eucharistic Congress with other catechists in my parish, a trip generously provided through the Solidarity Fund of the National Eucharistic Congress. What a wild ride!
A wild—yet very holy—ride is also the best way to define our trip to the National Eucharistic Congress. Our group consisted of Catholics from various Chicagoland parishes, all connected through the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels.
Our hotel, though very comfortable, was located one hour away from Indianapolis. Considering we left the hotel at 6:15 am and arrived back at around 11 pm, and that a Rosary was prayed both ways with the help of a microphone, it is safe to assume most of us didn’t get much sleep. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,” prescribes Isaiah 30:15. Though there wasn’t much rest or quietness during our trip, at least we did find an opportunity for plenty of repentance provided by a huge room filled with around one hundred priests, all available for confession at the Indiana Convention Center!
In fact, confession was the first thing we did, encouraged by the delightful Sr. Jane Nabakaawa, who along with Sr. Bernadette Nabaggala and Sr. Magdalene Takyala formed a “holy triad” that blessed our group with their enjoyable company and sweet prayers.
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The magnitude of the opening ceremonies in Lucas Oil Stadium was awe-inspiring: the gigantic stage, the powerful sound system, the vast crowd of about 50,000 attendees, and, last but not least, the four-foot-tall monstrance blessed by Pope Francis, displaying a radiant seven-inch Host.
Perpetual Pilgrims from the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage converging from the four corners of the country kicked off the evening, followed by a series of dramatic graphics about Jesus splashed across colossal screens, setting the tone for a spectacle of epic proportions. Then quietly came the glorious monstrance, carried by Bishop Andrew Cozzens. Talk about an entrance worthy of a king! We spent the first hour of this first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in 83 years on our knees, in the presence of our King, Jesus!
Each day started with Family Rosary Across America, led by Fr. Rocky of Relevant Radio, followed by the center of each day: Mass, which included a long procession of priests and bishops. Dressed in white albs and stoles, they seemed like a celestial army appointed to bring us to the Lord—and so they did when it was time as, one by one, each spread across the arena to distribute Holy Communion.
It is amazing how they turned a football stadium into a sacred place, evoking as much reverence as a beautiful Catholic church. I will say I missed the padded kneelers in the pews, but thankfully they were selling some foamy ones at the gift shops spread throughout the event! The music was excellent and seamlessly went from traditional to modern without compromising quality. Kudos to music directors Dave and Lauren Moore, from the Catholic Music Initiative.
The organizers really seemed to have thought of everything—I was so impressed at how every detail was considered, from the convenient app filled with useful information to the way events were distributed across space and time. Though it was so incredibly crowded both at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center, lines moved fairly smoothly, and there was an atmosphere of peace. I guess that’s the beauty of being Catholic: we truly know how to party!
Whoever says women don’t have a prominent place in the Catholic Church was proven categorically wrong by the high number of female speakers, which included many religious sisters such as Sr. Bethany Madonna, Sr. Josephine Garrett, and our very own Sr. Alicia Torres from the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels in Chicago. The sisters offstage also stole the show with their diverse habits and sunny dispositions, drawing admirers and warm reactions wherever they passed. As I previously said, the sisters accompanying our group made our trip so much more special, and Sr. Stephanie Baliga, seen in passing hard at work at the event, was the one responsible for my reversion. So yes… SISTERTIME! GO SISTERS!!!
Other highlights included the unexpected Syro Malabar Holy Qurbana, with its sinuous hymns and musical readings; the sublime Eucharistic procession in downtown Indianapolis, which culminated in a truly cinematic adoration at the Indiana War Memorial in the midst of 60,000 people; the various vendors at the expo hall, who shared so many valuable Catholic resources; the rockstar moment when Fr. Mike Schmitz popped up onstage; and, of course, the many other wonderful speakers who graced us with their wisdom.
One of my favorites was Cardinal Luis Tagle during the closing Mass homily on Sunday. In it, he urged us to share with the world the blessings we receive in the Eucharist: “The gift we have received, we should give as a gift. [...] Go and share Jesus’ tender love with the weary, the hungry, and the suffering. [...] Go and share Jesus’ shepherd’s caress to the lost, confused, and weak. [...] Go and share Jesus’ gift of reconciliation and peace to those who are divided,” Cardinal Tagle said. “In his letter to me, Pope Francis expressed the hope, and I quote, ‘that the participants of the Congress, fully aware of the universal gifts they received from heavenly food, may impart them to others.’” Cardinal Tagle appealed to our missionary zeal and encouraged us to see gifts instead of problems in people and situations life presents to us. He ended his homily exhorting churchgoers to go out into the world once Mass ends, instead of staying back to “have coffee with Monsignor.” Previously that morning, Catholic communicator Chris Stefanick pointed out that the two first letters in God are G and O, thus conveying a similar sentiment: we are being sent on mission when the Mass ends!
It is truly in everyday life that we can put into practice what we learn at church, and it’s not always easy. During this congress, I had varying degrees of success being a good Christian. First, a win: as I’d been long hesitant to do, I finally talked at length with a homeless person, encouraged by my conversation with the charitable folks from Christ in the City, a street outreach organization that had a booth at the expo hall. Pro tip: start by introducing yourself, offer a handshake, and take it from there. The homeless gentleman I talked to said that he’d experienced a lot of peace and stillness when the Eucharistic Procession stopped by him, and that he loved all the structure in the practice of the Catholic faith. Covered with two different rosaries the nuns had gifted him, he asked me to help him pray. I have the impression he is a Catholic in the making. It was also very special supporting Rachel, our bus driver, through her grief with the many Rosaries our group prayed for her and her eldest son, who had just passed away a day before.
One of the times I wasn’t so proud of myself was right when our bus arrived back in Chicago and dropped us off in Pilsen, in the church parking lot where we’d left our cars. Raring to go home and see my son and husband, I started stowing my luggage in our family’s spare car—an old vehicle without a functioning A/C. It was a hot day, and I just wanted to start the car, roll the windows down, and drive away. All of a sudden this young lady in our group stormed into my passenger seat, thinking that I was someone else who’d offered her a ride. I was confused and annoyed. To make matters worse, not only did I not have A/C, the GPS in my phone mysteriously stopped working.
The young lady innocently asked me if I was hungry and would like to eat at a nearby taco festival before dropping her off, and I was almost outraged at such a proposal. I think she was in between renting different apartments, and her confusion as to where she wanted me to drive her made matters even worse. I got to a point where I couldn’t disguise my frustration, and she told me she felt bad. In the end, I finally dropped her off at the taco festival and then headed back home, displeased that my trip had ended on that note, and wondering what God was trying to tell me.
It seems that some of our biggest lessons come from moments of regret, and that was one of those moments. Once I started thinking more deeply about what happened, Cardinal Tagle’s voice kept echoing in my brain: “gifts, gifts”… I love tacos. I love that neighborhood. The young lady, who is discerning to be a nun, was so sweet. We could have had the best time, eating tacos and rejoicing in the memories of our trip. Who knows what other gifts could have blossomed from that encounter that never happened. That’s when I finally understood what God was trying to tell me. It was a gift too.
