Diocesan faithful attend congress

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator
          
Among the 60,000 attendees of the National Eucharistic Congress held July 17 to 21 in Indianapolis were parishioners from the Diocese of Sioux City.

Some diocesan parishioners made the journey to Indiana as part of the Holy Moments bus trip that left from Sioux City and picked up passengers in other parts of the diocese as it headed east. Other parishioners made the trip independently, traveling with family members or friends.

Intense experience
           
Many noted the event was so profound, it was hard to describe the experience.
            
Mary Lehr of Sioux City Sacred Heart Parish, one of five organizers of the bus trip, believes it could be summed up as “the veil was removed” between heaven and earth. God opened it up “and showed us what the church is supposed to look like. Watching that was overwhelming.”
            
“When people start talking about it, they start tearing up. That’s how intense it was,” she said, noting that even Bishop Andrew Cozzens teared up as the congress ended. Lehr found it to be very unifying for the church - what came through was “one voice” can change the world.
            
Denise Wunn and Debra Wunn Bode

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After hearing about the congress last year, Denise Wunn of Milford St. Joseph Parish and her sister Debra Wunn Bode started making plans to attend. As their plans developed and knowing there was going to be a national pilgrimage coming from the four corners of the country, they opted to make their own mini pilgrimage enroute to Indianapolis. The sisters stopped at St. Francis Xavier Basilica in Dyersville and had a two-day visit at the motherhouse with the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque.              
Their mini pilgrimage set the tone for the congress, which Wunn said exceeded expectations.
            
“It was an amazing experience to see the reverence of all the attendees – 60,000 people in the stadium – all reverently adoring the Lord in the biggest monstrance I have ever seen in my life,” she said. A few minutes later, they would have a praise band “where everyone was jumping onto their feet, shouting and having a great time. It was interesting to see that mix of reverence and strong enthusiasm for taking the love of God into the world.”  
            
Father Dan Rupp, pastor at Immaculate Conception in Cherokee and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Holstein, was one of the organizers of the Holy Moments bus trip and was one of three priests and two deacons on the bus.
            
“It was phenomenal, everything was top shelf – off the charts - from the liturgies to the music and talks,” he said. “I have yet to hear anyone say it was just a good time. Everyone says it was unbelievable. It was life-changing for people.”
            
Witnessing the faith
            
Father Brian Feller, pastor of Our Lady of the Plains of Lake City, also took part in the Holy Moments bus trip.
            
He, too, was amazed to see 60,000 people joined together as a representation of the Catholic Church in the United States but also “an expression of our sharing in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ who gives himself for the life of the world.” The priest expressed gratitude for the witness of faith demonstrated by those attending and the many lay women and men who presented throughout the congress.
            
“What I witnessed made me think about how the joint effort of lay women and men with consecrated religious, priests, deacons and bishops really shows that the Catholic community can walk together (synodally) as the Body of Christ in a unified act of self-gift to the father and to the world,” said Father Feller. “This thought came to me as I reverenced the altar of God surrounded by a stadium of believers at the closing Mass. We are all here in worship of the father and to share Christ with the world.”
            
Lisa Claeys of Sioux City Sacred Heart Parish described the congress as “wonderfully overwhelming. I was so moved that sometimes I was crying with love for the Lord and sometimes just filled with joy. It was almost too large to explain. I felt the Spirit moving throughout the whole stadium.” 
            
Mass and eucharistic adoration that were held daily made a huge impact as the thousands gathered together in prayer. Claeys, who also commented on the reverence of the crowd, noted she not only felt the Lord’s presence but it was as if she could feel the presence of everyone’s guardian angels in attendance.
            
With hundreds of seminarians, priests and bishops attending, Father Rupp noted the procession at Mass on the final day took 30 minutes to get to the altar. 
            
Spirit moves
            
“I’ve never felt anything more moving in my entire life,” Claeys said. “I know it was the Spirit in the room, present for all of us.”
            
The congress included several talks every day by well-known Catholic speakers. 
Lehr noted all of the speakers had such passion and were so good that some attendees would comment, “I don’t know how we will beat yesterday.” She recalled that many speakers called them into action, stressing that there were 70 million Catholics in the country and if each one would accompany one person on their faith journey it would change the world.
            
“That might be idealistic, but why not try? We can go out and make a difference,” she said, adding the congress brought back hope. 
            
Wunn found Bishop Robert Barron’s talk on the state of our culture to be very impactful with its many divisions.
           
“Bishop Barron noted the positive energy at the congress. He challenged everyone to take the love of Christ, the love of the Eucharist out into the culture. We can change the culture if we as Catholics demonstrate love of neighbor and love of Jesus,” said the Milford parishioner, who noted the very next day Chris Stefanik also called on the attendees to take the message of the congress out into the world to make a change. Stefanik had mentioned that two-thirds of God’s name is go – “go out into the world.”
           
 Another presentation that stood out to Wunn was by Msgr. James Shea. While for the most part this country does not lack for food, he mentioned there is a real spiritual hunger in today’s society that can be filled by Christ.
            
In addition to talks from well-known bishops, priests and religious sisters, Father Rupp said every big name in the Catholic world was there from Tim Gray to Edward Sri and Matthew Maher. Even Matthew Kelly, author of the book Holy Moments was there, and the Holy Moments bus group were able to have their photo taken with the speaker.
            
“Even Jonathan Roumie who played Jesus in The Chosen was there. He came out wearing a white t-shirt with a phrase from author Flannery O’Connor that said, ‘If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.’ The place just erupted and a couple of people on the bus ordered shirts like that before we even got home,” said Father Rupp, who noted deep talks on the biblical nature of the Eucharist drove the message home.
            
The congress, noted Claeys, filled her to the brim. She finds it sad that not all people – even some Catholics included – do not see what a gift the Eucharist is. She expressed appreciation for donors who made the Holy Moments bus trip available at an affordable price.
            
“The Holy Spirit was very, very strong at the congress,” said Lehr. “I don’t see how anyone who was there did not come out changed. We were so blessed to be a part of it.”
            
Back in the diocese, Father Feller said he is excited to help people “live in the Pascal Mystery of Jesus’ self-giving love and to share his love with the world as one Body in Christ.”