National Eucharistic Congress: A call to transfiguration
Monday, August 12, 2024
*Angelique Ruhi-Lopez
“Master, it is good that we are here.”
These are not just the words of St. Peter at the Transfiguration of Jesus, but also the words echoed by so many who attended or spoke at the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC) in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024 and saw Jesus truly present there.
And I, like Peter, wanted to set up tents and just stay there at the Congress with Him, watching His dazzling majesty at the nightly adoration sessions, where close to 60,000 people in Lucas Oil Stadium fell to their knees in reverent prayer.
I have previously struggled to focus during adoration, sometimes making mental to do lists during my embarrassingly rushed and infrequent stops into a tiny Blessed Sacrament chapel while the King of Kings gazed back at me patiently. But at the NEC’s powerful nightly adoration, I felt seen. I felt known. I felt heard. I felt loved. I felt like it was just Jesus and me, chatting it up in a football stadium despite being surrounded by thousands of people doing the same thing. I still get chills just thinking about it.
But alas, I couldn’t set up camp there in Indy, and neither could anyone else. We all had to return home to our regularly scheduled programming, where we are challenged amidst our busy lives to continue to obey our Father when at the Transfiguration he said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”
Since returning home from the NEC, I am trying to do just that: listen. Listen to Him amidst the distractions and noise. Listen to Him when there are demands and frustrations. Listen to the powerful messages from the speakers at the NEC and share those messages in our archdiocese. Listen to His still, small voice beckoning me to sit in His presence and just be.
As we enter this next phase of our three-year National Eucharistic Revival, the Year of Mission, we are invited to a four-pillared approach to continue to spread the message of the true presence of the Eucharist: 1) Eucharistic Encounter, including maintaining an active prayer, adoration and sacramental life; 2) Eucharistic Identity, allowing the Eucharist and the love of the Father to transform our hearts and minds; 3) Eucharistic Life, in which we join in Christ’s self-offering and allow His love to pour out from us to others; and 4) Eucharistic Mission, answering the call to evangelize and boldly spread the Good News of Christ’s Eucharistic love and mercy.
This call to become Eucharistic Missionaries is not just for those who were fortunate enough to attend the NEC. Unlike the apostles at the Transfiguration, whom Jesus charged not to share with anyone what they saw until the Son of Man had risen from the dead, Jesus Christ IS risen; He is alive and remains with us in the Eucharist. As Catholics, we are blessed to have Jesus present in every tabernacle but He’s there for us all. It’s our job to make sure everyone knows that.
As I write this on August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration, I am reminded that we must all come down from that mountaintop experience and find Jesus in our churches, in our cities, in our homes, in our hearts - and allow the Eucharistic Lord to transfigure us - and the world.
