Before the National Eucharistic Congress…
It is July 16th, 2024. I somehow find myself in the chapel of a church soon to be closed due to the shortage of priests and the bankruptcy of the diocese. It is quiet. Very quiet. I am sitting on the floor before the alter and the tabernacle. No one is there. Just me and Jesus.
On the outside, it would appear this was the calm before the storm: a moment of quiet before the others arrived. Some time alone before setting out on a journey to meet 60,000 other pilgrims. On the inside though, it was all raging waves waiting to be stilled: Jesus sleeping in the boat: me begging Him to wake up.
Finding Peace…
It was no secret I had a lot going on both internally and externally. Things that needed to be recognized, healed, sanctified. But it wasn’t just me. In fact, the church and world as a whole has had a lot going on. Calling this a time of revival seemed ironic in the midst of such turmoil and devastation. Yet here I was, surrounded by it all, gazing towards Jesus.
I began to feel a certain kind of unexplainable peace as I sat there. It wasn’t that any of the things had gone away or calmed down. Rather, I had become more aware of who was with me in the storm. It was this awareness that became the true fruit of the Eucharistic Congress. It is the reason I do believe Revival is possible. I firmly believe that it is happening now.
Reflecting on the National Eucharistic Congress
To try to summarize everything I learned and experience during the congress would be nearly impossible. You’d be reading through this post for hours. So I won’t do that. But I will leave links to my favorite talk as well at the NEC website & social medias so you can get a feel for what it was like 🙂
Many more blog posts exploring specific moments/incites from the week will be coming soon so keep a look out! I’ll be sharing a sneak peak list of the blog posts I have planned in my next letter. So if you’re not a part of the Letters List yet, make sure to fill out the form below so you can be added!
