Filled with Christ, Eucharistic pilgrims return to the diocese

Olivia Olvera, front left, and the group she organized to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. (courtesy photo)

It was a road trip for the ages. Olivia Olvera, who is the youth and family ministry director of St. Mary Parish in Graham, organized 44 Catholics from her parish community plus family and friends to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

After the five-day event, Olvera and the 50,000 faithful who attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis returned to their homes and parishes early this week.

Olvera spoke with the North Texas Catholic from the interstate in Illinois, about four hours into a 15-hour drive back home.

Of all the terrific speakers and priests at workshops, Masses, and keynotes, Olvera was most impressed with the silence.

“Saturday night, the last [Eucharistic] Adoration we had — just the sheer silence. Just seeing everyone in complete silence in that whole stadium really filled my heart. Jesus is present among us,” she described.

Lessons from the conference that she wants to incorporate into her faith walk include the need for repentance, the call to accompany others in their journey of faith, and the mission to share the Gospel.

“One of the things they kept focusing on is what we receive for free, we should freely give. If you have the joy and the hope and the faith that Jesus is the truth, then you are more than willing to share that freely with anyone,” she said.

Olvera and her traveling companions, who ranged in age from four to 67, already have two plans to implement at their parish. This Thursday evening, at the regular faith formation after Mass, the pilgrims plan to attend and share their testimonies with their fellow parishioners who stayed home.

The second idea is to carry out a long-held dream of having a Eucharistic procession in Graham on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ next year.

“I pray that we will now have a lot of people who are more than willing to help facilitate those things. I think, at least among the people in my community, we will set a precedent to be stronger and more effective in passing on the truth about the Eucharist,” she added.

Hunger and thirst

The centrality of the Eucharist to the Catholic faith was evident to Steve and Shari Mleziva from St. Martin de Porres Parish in Prosper.

He saw many indications that “the Body of Christ hungers and thirsts for the Body of Christ.”

For example, after Adoration on Friday evening, a priest slowly processed through the stadium with the monstrance containing Jesus in the Eucharist.

Two women crawled out and touched the priest’s garment, bringing to mind the Gospel story of the hemorrhaging woman touching the garment of Christ. “I felt like it wasn’t for them,” Mleziva said. “They were representative of everyone there that needs some sort of healing.”

Mleziva, who is in formation to become a permanent deacon, described the preparation and participation of attendees at Mass as “unbelievable.”

For Shari, “the biggest takeaway was we should not keep Jesus to ourselves. If we keep Him to ourselves, that’s not evangelization. That’s not discipleship. So we need to share His love and the compassion that we receive from Jesus and share it with our neighbor, share it with our parish, share it with everyone that we meet.”

A beautiful unity

As Deacon Steve Dixon of Holy Redeemer Parish in Aledo distributed holy Communion in Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, “I witnessed a unity in the Church. You could feel it … everyone was there, and everyone was unified in our belief and our worship. Our Catholicity. I saw unity around the Eucharistic Christ that was just beautiful,” he recalled.

Catholics from every state and 17 countries, speaking over 40 languages, attended the Congress, which was the 10th National Eucharistic Congress and the first in 83 years.

Like Olvera, he found Eucharistic Adoration a transcendent moment. “At Holy Redeemer, we have Adoration on Wednesday evenings and it’s completely quiet. It’s very peaceful. But to witness 50,000 people being quiet and peaceful and silent in the presence of Jesus Christ, it was almost overwhelming.

“To see 50,000 people kneel and silently adore Christ, it's one of the most touching things I've ever seen in my life. And I hope I hold it in my heart forever.”

Dcn. Dixon and his wife, Cheryl, also recalled Saturday’s Eucharistic Procession through the streets of downtown lined seven or eight people deep. “To see the smiling faces and the singing and the praise and the people who were crying — it was just a joyous occasion,” he said.

The deacon hopes his reflections on the experience will influence his homilies.  

“We are sent out with the gift of the Eucharist within us. And now we have to go outside and share that gift with others. My prayer is that our belief and our awareness and our Adoration and our worship of the Eucharist will fully bear fruit,” he said.

As the Congress concluded, Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., asked the crowd if an 11th National Eucharistic Congress should be planned.

After the roars of the crowd subsided, he said another Congress may be planned for 2033 — 2,000 years after the Resurrection of Christ — or even sooner.