POMETTO: Stir into flame the grace of the Eucharistic Congress
November 12, 2024
I did not attend the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis this summer. However, I did attend virtually from my home in Houston. My dad had been visiting that week, and we ended up watching almost the whole congress together on EWTN.
I have attended many big Catholic events in my life, so it was easy for me to imagine what it would have been like to be in Lucas Oil Stadium for the programs. As a virtual attendee, I got to enjoy all the programs without encountering the suffering of waiting in line for food or sweating in the summer heat during the outdoor Eucharistic procession.
There are many people who, like me, were not able to attend the congress this summer. From some of those folks, I’ve heard questions like “What’s the big deal, anyway?” or “I love the Eucharist, but why did we need a big event for it?” Others critiqued the event by saying that it is easy to love the Eucharist when you have all the grand lighting and music from the congress, but how many of those people will still love the Eucharist when they’re back home in the simplicity of their parish church?
To these objections, I respond that the National Eucharistic Congress this summer was a big deal! It started with the four routes of Eucharistic pilgrims who traveled from four corners of our country with the Eucharist to make a benediction-like cross over the nation. It continued with more than 60,000 people gathered in unity to adore our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Social media was overrun for those four days with beautiful images of all the priests, religious sisters and bishops who attended and exuded a deep, powerful joy. The Eucharistic Congress was an outpouring of grace upon our whole country, and that grace is needed for such a time as this! According to St. Paul, when we receive grace, we need to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have received” (2 Tim 1:6).
The Eucharistic Revival is a call to all Catholics to “stir into flame” the graces that have been outpoured upon our faithful through this event. Whether you attended the congress or not, we all have the ability to receive this grace and put it into action in our own lives.
How? First, I would encourage those who did not attend the congress this summer to take some time to view the talks available on YouTube. We have links for these sessions saved on our young adult website at .
Second, I would encourage you to make a sacrifice for the Eucharist. All 60,000 people who attended the congress this summer made sacrifices to be there. They sacrificed money needed for the registration fee; they sacrificed time away from work or other regular commitments; they sacrificed the inconvenience of traveling — families who drove miles with young children or long bus trips to hotels that were far away from the stadium, leaving little time for sleep. All of us can make a sacrifice for our Lord in the Eucharist. We can make a commitment to sign up for a regular hour of adoration, make it to Mass an extra time during the week, or invite a non-Catholic friend to join us for Mass on Sunday.
The grace of the Eucharistic Congress is available to all. I hope all Catholics take some time to accept those graces and make a sacrifice to increase our devotion to the Eucharist. The graces have been outpoured upon us, and I can’t wait to see how the Church comes alive as those graces are stirred into flame.
Learn more about the Eucharistic Revival.
Angela Pometto is the director of the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry.
(Photo by James Ramos/Herald)