Mercy On Line

       Anyone who has traveled by plane over the last month has surely had to deal with the daunting, almost never-ending lines through the security check points. Situations like that can easily lead a person to feel annoyed at the process, or get frustrated when the potential of missing their flights seems imminent. Having done a lot f traveling recently, I can surely understand those frustrations over the maze like journey.  Nevertheless, my recent participation at the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta helped to remind me that there are many things in life that require the virtue of patience.

        There were also long lines at the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta, Georgia held the weekend of June 3-4. I watched has many people waited on them for very long periods of time and not once did they get annoyed or frustrated. Why were they on line? To receive God’s mercy.  Hundreds in maze lines waited patiently to receive the sacrament of reconciliation after meeting Jesus in Adoration and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.  The theme of the Congress was in accord with the Jubilee Year of Mercy, “Be Merciful, Just as Your Father is Merciful”.  This theme and watching the intricacy of the lines for reconciliation move in the convention center helped to serve as a reminder that we must be patient to receive what God has for us. Whether it is to ensure safety for flying or to be given the grace of His mercy, having patience as we wait is a sign of our commitment and faith to let God work in our lives in His time.

   

     Br. Simon Song and I met ran the vocation booth offering opportunities for games, lively conversation, literature, and providing new souvenirs such as back packs and lanyards. Some of those who visited us came back as many as five times just to hang out. The family-like atmosphere created by the Eucharistic Congress made it that much easier for us to meet with and promote vocations. Many of those working in neighboring booths expressed their gratitude for all the effort and energy we shared with the youth.  

Encountering the Faith as a Community

           While many tend to travel to Florida for fun in the sun or the thrills of attractions such as Disney World and the Everglades, there is a growing number of Catholics who travel to Florida for a faith encounter. It is in those trips that many come to know Christ or to grow deeper in their faith through moments of fellowship, prayer, and Adoration. For the fourth consecutive year, thousands gathered at the Florida Eucharistic Congress for prayer, worship, keynote addresses, and breakout sessions that were geared for all who attended. Held on March 11-12 at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville, FL, the congress brought families together, religious men and women, and young people for a powerful two days which included some highlights like: a dramatic presentation of the Living Stations by the men and women of Comunita Cenacolo; and the presence of Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who delivered the main keynote address and presided at the liturgy.   

Br. Branden Gordon and I worked at the vocation booth in the exhibit hall with gaming, arts & crafts, and educating congress attendees about our Salesian life.  Besides the local Floridians, we met a host of people from our Salesian family that came from New Jersey & New York, California, Europe, and Central America.  They related joy-filled stories of being affiliated with our camps, schools, and experiences they had during the Don Bosco relic tour.
 

            The Eucharistic Congress in Jacksonville continues to shape Catholics communally through faith, education, and prayer. Seen in a Salesian context, the Florida Congress expressed the Oratorian criteria:  a home that builds the ecclesial family, an education grounded in the catechesis of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a lived faith encounter of the Passion of Christ through the Living Stations.

"I'll Be With You Always" E.C. Atlanta 2015

The 20^th annual Atlanta Eucharistic Congress took place from June 5-6 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, GA.  At its inception in 1996, Archbishop John Donoghue envisioned the event as a source of spiritual renewal while promoting vocations to the priesthood.   Later, Archbishop Wilton Gregory expanded the Congress to include vocations for single life, married couples, the diaconate, and consecrated religious. 

 

The exhibit halls opened on Friday afternoon to a crowd so eager for Christ and for fellowship, that the sheer joy of it could be felt instantly. Thousands gathered in the convention center and visited exhibits, breakout sessions, and got to meet with many people of our greater Church family. There was a welcoming Mass in the evening led by Bishop David Talley that concluded with a healing service. There seemed to be something there for everyone to enjoy and partake in. From games to adoration, from talks to music. There was even a young adult track which featured live music and a talk by Lino Rulli, who hosts “The Catholic Guy” from Sirius XM Satellite Radio.  That young adult gathering also had a holy hour of adoration and concluded with a reception.

Saturday’s program began with the procession of numerous groups carrying banners representing the diversity of parishes in the archdiocese of Atlanta as well as its unity.   As I watched on I couldn’t help but think that the procession was in many ways like a Mardi Gras parade as each colorful banner went by and the crowd cheered and applauded. And still, much in the same way that a Mardi Gras parade ends by bringing us all together around the solemnity of Ash Wednesday, the end of the procession gathered all of the participants into the packed convention center around the Body of Christ.   

 

We were all there, as one, united to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.  Bishop Robert Munch gave an exhortation during adoration that stressed how believers “need to be themselves, but must become the Body of Christ”. That was such a fitting sentiment seeing as we would be celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi in the Church on Sunday.

By the time we joined with Archbishop Gregory in the afternoon for the closing Mass, over 30,000 participants had participated in the two-day event. It was a blessing to see so many there embracing the diversity of the Church, The Word, the sacrament of reconciliation, and Eucharistic devotion as the Body of Christ.  Attending these conventions has become more than just a piece of the work that I do as I leave each one with a re-ignition for vocation I say yes to every day.

Come To The House Of The Lord

    March 13^th and 14th marked the fourth annual Eucharistic Congress in the Diocese of St. Augustine held at the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, Florida.  This event generated nearly 7000 participants who were all there to learn, grow, praise, and celebrate the Catholic faith and our love of Christ.  With the central theme of “Come To The House of the Lord”, the full house was influenced by the presence of Dr. Scott Hahn and also Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Cardinal Dolan, who was the keynote speaker and homilist on Saturday, left the crowd with many fruits of wisdom and faith to think about, as well as reminded us of the importance to always want to be near God. 

 
Br. Jhoni Chamorro and I ran a vocation booth that offered plenty of information about who we are as Salesians as well as a chance to play a few games which drew in the crowds, especially families and young people.  Novice Josh Sciullo’s parents, Mark and Jodi, and siblings Steven and Celine provided all the comforts of home to us while we were in Jacksonville, and for that we were extremely grateful. Still the greatest reward of our time with the Sciullos was to watch how engaged they were in helping us to promote vocational culture as they shared in the day and their experiences with others who stopped by the booth. They were able to share their witness of having a loved one who is discerning his vocation in our community to the many young men who came in contact with our Salesian contingent at the Congress.

          In the keynote address on Saturday morning, Cardinal Dolan spoke about the Mass as a meal, a family meal that we should really crave.  He shared a poignant story of a priest visited an ailing Alfred Hitchcock, the English film maker who was Catholic, as he approached his final days.  Cardinal Dolan shared how toward the end of the visit as they had finished sharing in their conversation, Mr. Hitchcock asked the priest, “Well did you bring me Holy Communion”? The crowd chuckled as Cardinal Dolan shared this story.  He would go on to illustrate that the craving that Mr. Hitchcock had is one that we should all have for the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. We should always remain hungry for Christ in our lives.   Cardinal Dolan also made the reference to Luke’s passage of the Emmaus disciples, who having recognized Jesus when breaking of bread, craved his presence so much that they ventured back to Jerusalem in order to inform the community of Jesus’ presence as their “bread and life”.  
As we meet Jesus by emptying ourselves of false cravings in the Lenten dance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, may we crave to meet Jesus in the Eucharist, who in this life-giving sacrament will bring us to partake in the meal-made-mystery that brings us life in the here and hereafter.  

          All in all, it was another successful and God-filled experience on the road. Being at the Eucharistic Congress was a great affirmation to the truth of the passage from Matthew’s gospel that says “wherever two or more are gathered in My name,  I am there among them.”