By Joe Kraemer, SJ
In July, I was one of a dozen Jesuits representing the Society of Jesus at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Over the course of five days, surrounded by more than 55,000 fellow Catholics on fire for their faith, we shared in a powerful rejuvenation, a once-in-a-generation event for everyone, like me, blessed to attend.
Perhaps it was because the Congress had not met in 83 years, but the faith vibe in the air the entire week was electric! Young folks proudly wore their school colors, parish families assembled in imaginative T-shirts made for the occasion, and various groups waved hand-designed flags to announce who they were. At every turn, there were special events and guest speakers who wowed us with absorbing presentations. While the days were fast-moving, I kept getting slowed down in unexpected ways by chance encounters, unplanned confessions or some interesting new way of looking at some faith idea or topic.
“As breath is to the body,” the peace activist Martha Hennessy told us one evening, “prayer is to the soul.” I went to bed one night praying my daily Examen with a question inspirational speaker Fr. Mike Schmitz posed to us: “If you feel like you’ve lost the fire of your first love, maybe ask yourself: What are the fire extinguishers in my life?”
And as a fairly new priest myself, it struck me in a meaningful way when the acclaimed evangelist Bishop Robert Barron offered up a thought from the English theologian Ronald Knox that had stayed with him: The one commandment we as Catholics consistently obey is “Do this in memory.” Jesus gave his disciples this instruction clearly at the Last Supper, and we’ve understood that we must follow that commandment. The Congress provided us with many opportunities to do just that!
We prayed with and over lay folks who visited us at our vocations booth from all over the country and the world; with high school and college students and young seminarians; sisters and deacons; diocesan priests and priests from other religious orders. With all these new friends—and some familiar faces, too—we began our days with Mass together, either in Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts!) or the convention center.
“Normal” Masses, Byzantine and Eastern Rite (Syro-Malabar Qurbãnã) Masses, and traditional Latin Masses all offered opportunities to experience something new while honoring that essential call of Christ to remember him. We concluded our busy days with Eucharistic adoration every evening and a revolving crew of outstanding speakers, from Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart to Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the hit series “The Chosen,” to His Eminence Antonio Luis Cardinal Tagle, who presided over the final Mass on Sunday morning.
A highlight of the week was participating in a Eucharistic procession through the streets of downtown Indianapolis with tens of thousands of other Catholics. We numbered 1,500 priests, seminarians, cardinals, and bishops, and 1,200 religious sisters, along with more families and friends than we could hope to count. The future of our Catholic Church never felt more vibrant and alive in Christ!
It was a gift to meet so many people who expressed to us the ways in which Jesuits and lay partners have accompanied them through the years, opening up the light of Jesus to them, educating and uplifting, restoring and reviving, and always reminding them that God is here with us—in all things. The spirit of Ignatius felt strong in and beyond our Jesuit booth!
One sign at the Congress said, “Revival Can’t Stay Here!” In that regard, I have no worry: The great gift of Jesus awaits us every time we approach the altar to receive him in the Eucharist.
Ordained in 2022, Fr. Joe Kraemer, SJ, serves as a vocation promoter for the Jesuits West Province.
