AURIESVILLE, N.Y. (OSV News) — The goal of the National Eucharistic Revival and local components such as the New York State Eucharistic Congress — to restore devotion to the Real Presence and its mystery of love — is a “game-changer” for individuals and the world, as Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany put it.
“Jesus changes lives,” he said in his homily at the New York state event’s concluding Mass Oct. 22. “Everyone who comes into Jesus’ presence is somehow transformed by that. If we bear the presence of Christ, yes, my brothers and sisters, we will change the world because God wants to save the world through us.”
The Diocese of Albany, teaming with the Archdiocese of New York and the state’s six other dioceses, hosted the congress Oct. 20-22 at the historic Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville. It drew over 11,000 Catholics.
Highlights
The congress highlighted both the immensity and the intimacy of a relationship with Jesus, found truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. The 40-hour schedule included liturgies as well as nationally known speakers, an expansive and solemn Eucharistic procession that wound through the shrine’s autumn-colored grounds, inspirational music, abundant opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharistic adoration in the quiet night hours.
More than 300 priests, deacons and seminarians were part of the opening Mass on Oct. 21, with Bishop Terry R. LaValley of Ogdensburg as principal celebrant and a total of 17 bishops concelebrating.
The assembly of pilgrims from across the state filled the shrine’s coliseum. Their faces and voices reflected the diversity of the global Church. The many Spanish-speaking participants heard their language during Mass and keynote talks, and various translations were provided, partly with help from a smartphone app.
“I loved the intertwining of Spanish and English and making sure there was that representation,” commented Joliz Claudio, who was part of a student group from St. John’s University in the New York City borough of Queens, told The Evangelist, newspaper of the Albany Diocese.
Another St. John’s student, Nick Salerno, said the congress offered encouragement. “Sometimes being a Catholic can feel very lonely.” Surrounded by thousands of people, “you feel the community, and you’re not alone.” He also appreciated “the power of a very reverent Mass. There was so much love that went into that.”
Collections of young adults and all age groups came representing schools, parishes and a number of religious orders. They traveled via cars, vans and approximately 100 chartered buses. Vast parking lots offered regular shuttle service to the shrine. Plenty of families brought their young children.
Keynote speakers
Tents dotted the hillside, with vendors offering food and Catholic materials. In one tent, the Catholic station on SiriusXM Radio interviewed congress keynoters.
Speakers included Mother Clare Matthiass, general servant (superior) of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal; noted philosopher and author Peter Kreeft; Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of New York; and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York was unable to attend but he welcomed the pilgrims on video.
“Our Lord loves us so much that he chooses to remain with us in the Holy Eucharist,” he said. “I pray that through this Eucharistic congress, many will come to better know, love and serve him by strengthening our love and faith in this wonderful gift of his Real Presence.”
Bishop Espallat delivered his remarks to the faithful in his signature charismatic style. The Dominican-American prelate spoke in Spanish with simultaneous translation in English. His talk was on: “Adoration: Fulfilling Our Vocation to Love” (“Adoración: Cumpliendo Nuestra Vocación de Amor”).
“Adoration is completing our vocation of love,” Bishop Espaillat said, instructing his listeners to repeat, “All that I do has a purpose — all that I do has a purpose. Things are not that difficult; we are the ones who complicate the situation.”
He noted the significance of ignoring the deceits of the Devil, “who is a liar,” and seeking the graces of God, the teachings of the faith, such as the lessons in the Catechism of the Church. He cited verses from the Bible and parts of the catechism to make his points.
“Brothers and sisters, how many people, how many youths today, live a life that is disorganized and without purpose?” the bishop said. “There are many people who live lives that are disorganized and without purpose. … And so I would like to propose that our purpose here on earth is to adore and praise the Lord! Amen?”
“Amen!” the many faithful responded — and they repeated after him, “My purpose is to adore and praise the Lord — my purpose is to adore and praise the Lord.”
Heart of a father
In a keynote titled “The Eucharistic Heart of a Father,” Kelly, of the Knights of Columbus, outlined how the modern crisis of the family can only be remedied if fathers believe in Jesus and intentionally meet him in the Eucharist.
“The lack of strong, principled, Catholic men is undermining marriages and pushing children away from the Faith,” the supreme Knight said. “To be blunt, the family is faltering, and society is feeling the effects. … If we hope to raise up a new generation of Christ-centered men, we must renew our love for Christ in the Eucharist.”
As a father of three young girls, Kelly said he is personally concerned about the crisis of fatherhood and its impact on children. He expressed concern that at least a quarter of American children are growing up without a father in their home — and many more are growing up with a father who is physically present but emotionally absent.
“The consequences could hardly be more clear, or more devastating,” he said. “A bad father is a major cause of increased poverty, crime, substance abuse, suicide and so many other heartbreaking outcomes. And as more families break apart, and more children grow up without a father in the home, the cycle repeats itself. … Why is this happening? What is to blame? And most of all, how can we reverse this trend and rebuild the family?”
The answer to these questions, he said, lies in the connection between faith and family.
“The family is at the heart of our faith. And it’s essential to our understanding of God,” he said, adding that fathers, in particular, play an essential role in the faith formation of their children, revealing to them the love of God the Father. And to do that, he said, they need Christ in the Eucharist.
Personal transformation
At the closing Sunday Mass, Bishop Scharfenberger said some activities of the congress had immediate impact: “I know there already have been lives that have been profoundly changed during our time here, and I thank God for that.”
But personal transformation “is not limited to what happens at one time and one place,” he added. Receiving the love of Jesus in his sacramental presence “makes us into what we consume.”
We must take that love “into our hearts” and out to the world after discerning our personal gifts, our individual vocations, Bishop Scharfenberger said. God is the savior, not us, but we have work to do. “He has chosen us — clay vessels, mortal human beings, sinners though we may be.”
Bearer of Christ
Bishop LaValley of Ogdensburg put it this way in his homily a day earlier: Consuming Jesus in the Eucharist, “I must become a bearer of that life, of the power I have received at the Lord’s table.”
The call for building relationships on earth and in heaven, through our families and the church, was amplified at the Auriesville gathering. “A goal of the Eucharistic Revival is to form, to inspire, missionary disciples filled with the love of God and neighbor that comes from an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist,” Bishop LaValley said.
Building a “mission-mindedness,” spending time with Jesus and learning discipleship from the saints, one can find love in everyday encounters with all the individuals we meet, he said.
Bishop LaValley cited the persevering love that Father Isaac Jogues demonstrated for the Mohawk people as an inspiration for mission-mindedness, despite the risks. Father Jogues and two other Jesuit missionaries, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, were among the North American Martyrs of the 1640s who are remembered at the Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine. Also remembered is St. Kateri Tekakwitha, who was born at the shrine site in 1656.
William Schmitt writes for The Evangelist, newspaper of the Diocese of Albany. Contributing to this story was Armando Machado, who is on the staff of The Good Newsroom, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York.
| On pilgrimage to congress, Catholics reach out to communities with Christ’s love |
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By William Schmitt (OSV News) — Days before over 11,000 Catholics gathered for the New York State Eucharistic Congress, about three dozen pilgrims from the Diocese of Albany, New York, assembled to briefly transform the scenic Empire State Trail from a hiking and bicycling route into a path of pilgrimage. Previewing the congress goal to deepen devotion to Jesus as really present in the Blessed Sacrament, this crew walked 57 miles to share their faith in tangible ways, visiting parishes for Eucharistic adoration, meals and overnight accommodations. They helped communities focus on two destinations — ultimately heaven, and the Oct. 20-22 congress at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville. Their journey began Oct. 17 with morning Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany celebrated by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, who also gave the group a special blessing. The group conducted the last six-mile leg of the journey Oct. 20, from Amsterdam to Auriesville, as a Eucharistic procession, with members of the Sisters of Life preceding Jesus in the monstrance. They concluded with Mass in the shrine’s Kateri Chapel. During their days on a road less traveled, those walking were able to view neighborhoods, nature’s panoramas, autumn leaves and the waterways of the Mohawk Valley, evoking historic times of martyred missionaries and the “Lily of the Mohawks,” St. Kateri Tekakwitha. “It’s wonderful to spend time in God’s creation and to see New York in this way,” said Andrea Reno, one of the pilgrims, an avid hiker and a teacher at St. Pius X School in Loudonville. “We’re passing things I drive right by, but see from a different perspective.” “I’m enjoying the sense of community and camaraderie,” she told The Evangelist, Albany’s diocesan newspaper, while the group paused Oct. 18 to meet with other local Catholics at Lions Park in Niskayuna, near Lock 7 of the Erie Canal. She reached into her backpack for a booklet with pages written by students ages 5 and 6, as well as adult colleagues. “I’m bringing their prayers with me and praying for their intentions.” Father Stephen Yusko, one of the two priests who planned and led the pilgrimage, showed a rosary he was using. Each bead was a rolled-up piece of paper bearing the prayer of one of his students. Father Daniel Quinn, the group’s other leader, said the parishes extending their hospitality included St. Ann Maronite Catholic Church and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, both in Watervliet. “It’s nice because the whole community is uniting,” Father Yusko added. “People who can’t do the walk are still participating in it. Father Yusko is the parochial vicar at St. Madeleine Sophie and St. Gabriel the Archangel, both in Schenectady, and Father Quinn is the pastor at Church of the Blessed Sacrament and the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Americas, both in Albany. The idea for a pilgrimage arose a while ago when the two priests, both ordained in the Diocese of Albany, discussed their respective inspirations from the Camino de Santiago in Spain — an iconic, expansive journey leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. “We realized we could create something like that pilgrim experience in our own diocese,” Father Yusko said. The Camino attracts many people who are “just searching,” he noted, much like young adults in America who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” The time is right for pilgrimages like the “Way of Martyrs,” Father Yusko added, because so many people are suffering from depression and anxiety. “I just think people are yearning for God, and God is always yearning for us to go to him. This is an outward expression of that, which is a beautiful thing.” Catholics need to reach out to society with Christ’s love, he said. “I mean, we’re all pilgrims, right? We’re all journeying home to heaven.” |
