Pilgrims pray during a July 19, 2024, Encounter impact session at Lucas Oil Stadium during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — “Sweet anointing, cleansing love, merciful healer, unending love.”

Tony Meléndez sang to his guitar, telling the audience gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium July 19 for the National Eucharistic Congress’ Encounter session that Jesus can heal them. And he was living proof.

The 62-year-old guitarist, who was born without arms and with a clubbed foot, talked about his life and how God used for his glory the differences that had caused his mother to cry for her baby after his birth. The seven surgeries that were required to correct his foot physically optimized his ability to play the guitar with his feet, he said. Meléndez showed a video of playing in 1987 for Pope St. John Paul II, who kissed him and told him to share his gift with the world. He has since played in 45 countries.

The third day of the national congress, held July 17-21 in Indianapolis, had as its theme “Into Gethsemane” — and it saw wide encouragement for congress-goers to experience healing in the Eucharist and then to bring Jesus’ healing to others.

“Healed people heal people,” Mary Healy, a Scripture professor at Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary, said. She spoke about Jesus’ healings in Scripture and shared powerful examples of people living today who have been healed of serious medical conditions through prayer.

What Jesus did 2,000 years ago “he is still doing now, today, and he wants us to know it, and he wants us to experience it,” she said, adding, “the Lord wants his church to be healed people, set free, made whole, so that we can go out and be his instruments of healing.”

The Cultivate impact session for families focused on healing through the sacraments.

“Healing is an ongoing encounter with God’s love that brings us into wholeness and communion,” Bob Schuchts, author and founder of the Tallahassee, Florida-based John Paul II Healing Center.

“Think about the little girl that Jesus brought back to life,” he said. “Think how joyful her parents were and how their faith in God might have been restored.”

He encouraged children to “believe everything in the Bible, including the healings.”

“Every time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we can say, ‘Jesus, heal this part of me that’s dead inside; this part that’s grieving; heal this relationship I have,’ and he answers those prayers,” Schuchts said. “If he’s really truly present, is there anything he can’t do now that he did back then?”

It might happen as a miracle, or it might happen over time — such as for Schuchts and his siblings decades after their parents’ divorce.

“When you lose the love in families, hearts get broken,” he said, adding it was only after returning to the sacraments that he and his family experienced healing and peace.

Before a crowd of about 5,000, Mari Pablo of Evangelical Catholic reflected on the difficulties of living out the faith and helping others to do so in ministry at the Renewal impact session.

“Being Catholic doesn’t mean that you don’t suffer or have struggles,” she said. “We’re the religion that has crucifixes everywhere. But the story doesn’t end there. He conquered death and the grave. I know suffering, pain, death and healing are hard. But we’re created for so much more. We’re created for heaven.”

At the Awake youth impact session, more than 1,000 teenagers raised their voices in song to God and heard a message of healing for their hearts.

“My soul needs a friend, so I’ll run to the Father,” they sang along to the popular Matt Maher worship song.

“You are here turning lives around. You are here healing every heart. I worship you. I worship you.”

Catholic motivational speaker Jackie Francois Angel, in her presentation, told the youth that God “loves us so deeply, but unfortunately so many of us don’t know how good we are. So many of us don’t think we’re good enough.”

“God’s love is unconditional. He proved his love for us. And while we are all sinners, Christ died for us. He doesn’t stop loving us when we do bad things. He loves us in spite of that,” Angel said. “He loves all of us because he created us. We don’t earn God’s love, which also means we can’t lose God’s love. God’s love is unconditional.”

The clergy Abide impact session continued with a focus on forming men and women as Eucharistic missionaries and laying the groundwork for them to bear fruit as evangelizers in an increasingly secularized culture. Pastors were encouraged to build a culture in their parishes and dioceses in which the families in their flocks can be formed and equipped to live and share the Gospel in a new “apostolic age.”

Nearly 2,000 Latino Catholics joined the morning Mass in Spanish attended by Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, and then heard the Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio preach on how the Eucharist, as Christ’s medicine, heals “our inability to love” and gives us hope.

“Through our full, conscious and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration, we are transformed in God’s love,” he said, and we are “empowered to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which are, as Pope Francis reminds us, the protocol on which we will be judged.”

Thousands of Catholics gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium at the early morning Mass in English heard Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington reflect on St. John’s words: “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”

He reflected that while theologians and scholars have focused on Christ’s presence in the Eucharist historically, it is often “the uncomplicated faith of ordinary people that serves as an assurance of the wonder of this gift.”

He emphasized that believing in Jesus’s real presence in the Eucharist “must also prompt our equally important active response to that presence in charity, in each of our lives offered in 
service and with care for others.”

Congress-goers that day had an opportunity to live out “the determined pursuit of social justice and the genuine compassionate outreach toward the poor and the neglected” Cardinal Gregory said comes from a belief in the Real Presence, by joining in packing several hundred thousand meals that afternoon for Indianapolis’ people suffering from hunger and homelessness. Many participants walking around the surrounding area of the congress could see people in poverty sleeping under highways or asking for help to get a meal.

In fact, the day saw a powerful testimony to the power of belief in the Real Presence and radical commitment to the Gospel at the Empower session from Martha Hennessy, the granddaughter of Servant of God Dorothy Day.

Hennessy, who remains active in the Catholic Worker movement at the Maryhouse Catholic Worker community in New York City, said that her grandmother’s devotion to the Eucharist stays with the movement “as we continue to practice corporal and spiritual works of mercy as Jesus gave of himself to us.”

Hennessy noted her grandmother’s practice upon receiving the Eucharist in holy Communion was to remain silent for 20 minutes after “to allow herself to absorb the presence of God within her before returning to her work.”

She shared comments from Day about her devotion to the Eucharist, such as this one: “Scripture, on the one hand, and the Eucharist, the Word made flesh, on the other, have in them that strength which no power on Earth can withstand.”

Hennessy also shared Day’s reflection that “our need to worship, to praise, to give thanksgiving makes us return to the Mass daily. The Mass begins our day. It is our food, drink, our delight, our refreshment, our courage, our life.”

After the morning sessions concluded, the expo hall in the Indiana Convention Center was packed at lunchtime for a performance of the three-piece Dominican friar band, The Hillbilly Thomists. People sang, danced and clapped along to the friars’ much-anticipated performance, which had been delayed a day due to travel difficulties.

Philip and Melissa Smaldino, from Yorktown, Indiana, who are expecting their seventh child in October, watched the band from the sidelines along with their six little ones.

“My wife and I came back to Christ in the Catholic Church about 10 years ago, and Eucharistic adoration and confession were really important for that,” Philip Smaldino told OSV News. The couple said they especially enjoyed the periods of Eucharistic adoration, both at Lucas Oil Stadium in the evenings and also the “absolutely packed” family holy hour at St. John the Evangelist Church, where the children got to bring Christ flowers.

“Our hope is we grow in our faith and devotion to Christ and the Eucharist through it all,” he said. “Melissa and I, but especially the kids, too.”

At the midmorning press conference at the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel, reporters learned that the mass disruption in flights due to a software glitch was not expected to impact attendance. With tens of thousands already participating in the congress, what congress organizers did note, however, was that many participants with one-day passes were now changing their registration for the full five-days after experiencing one day of the congress.

“I’ve been a priest 35 years, 12 years a bishop. And other than a papal visit … I don’t remember an event like this,” Archbishop Perez said.

“You can sense the energy, right?” he added. “You can sense the energy of what’s happening here, which is touching hearts.”

 

 

Father Mike Schmitz, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minn., as well as the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, speaks during the July 18, 2024, second revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — On the second night of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 18, close to 50,000 Catholics prayed together, listened to touching personal testimonies and were invited to reflect on how to turn away from those obstacles dampening the fire of their love for Jesus Christ.

But while Father Mike Schmitz and Mother Mary Olga of the Sacred Heart moved participants with their inspiring keynote exhortations — the last word was given to the Eucharistic Lord. In the darkness of the stadium, with only beams of white light illuminating the Blessed Sacrament, people prayed and contemplated before Jesus, while the air resonated with Latin chants set to Eastern-styled melodies.

The keynotes given by Father Schmitz and Mother Mary Olga helped prepare congress-goers for this transcendent night of revival centered around Eucharistic adoration.

“Knowledge can make us great, but only love can make a saint,” Father Schmitz said. Father Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, who also hosts chart-topping podcasts “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year,” was a much-anticipated speaker, with several attendees telling OSV News earlier in the week that they were especially eager to see him in person. As Patrick Kelly, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, introduced him the audience stood and cheered.

“You know this love story already, but what if you didn’t?” asked Father Schmitz, as he began what can only be called a Scripture studies class. Opening a worn Bible, he read from Luke 24 about the two travelers on the road to Emmaus who did not recognize Jesus and were mourning his loss in Jerusalem. He recounted how Jesus explained the ways Scripture pointed to him as the Messiah, beginning with God making the world good, and human beings breaking their bond with God through sin, and their need to somehow restore that relationship.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross reconciled humankind and God, Father Schmitz said, and at Mass, Catholics participate in that moment on Calvary.

While one aim of the National Eucharistic Revival is to bring people from ignorance to knowledge, Father Schmitz suggested that the deeper problem is indifference — and the remedy required repentance.

“Too often we say, ‘We have the real presence,’ but our hearts are far from him. Too often, we just don’t care,” Father Schmitz said, speaking rapidly and with characteristic energy.

The remedy to indifference is love, he said, and the road to love is repentance.

For her part, Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, the founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, moved people to tears with her touching keynote as she shared stories of Eucharistic miracles of love and healing amid suffering.

She began by sharing her own experience of being healed by Jesus in her own suffering as a survivor of four wars in the Middle East. She experienced abuse in her home and recalled as a teenager having to bury people slain by war.

“All these years of suffering led me to the foot of the cross, because I thought the one who had suffered so much will understand my suffering,” she said. “As I was kneeling at the foot of the cross, crying my heart to Jesus to help me bear the crosses of my own life, I encountered the pierced heart of Jesus — and that’s what I heard in my heart on that day: That even on the cross and through the cross, we can still choose to love.”

Mother Olga shared the story of a little boy named Quinn who was fighting cancer when she met him in her ministry at age 4. She felt Jesus say to her “give me to him” with such intensity that she received special permission for Quinn to receive his first holy Communion despite his young age. The doctors were surprised when he suffered few side effects during his radiation treatment, but Mother Olga knew that the Lord was with Quinn amid the treatment.

“His whole life became around the Eucharist,” she said, adding today he is free from cancer.

She concluded by reminding those gathered that Jesus is always with them “whether in big processions like we have encountered here” or “in hospitals, NICUs, nursing homes, prisons, recovery centers.”

The two keynote speakers were preceded by two testimonials, the first from pro-life activist Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, who shared how her life was transformed after an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. After becoming Catholic and asking the Lord for him to “use (her) to do something to save lives,” Rose started the pro-life organization Live Action at age 15, which reaches millions of people each month, according to its website.

After marrying her husband six years ago and having three children — one of whom was sleeping backstage — the mission of life has become her family mission, Rose said.

“We pray together, not just for an end to abortion, but we pray for our children, that they may grow big and strong and healthy, that they may become saints, and that they may help lead many souls to heaven,” she said.

Also present were Ken and Mary Ann Duppong, who raised six children with faith as the core of their lives.

They shared their love story with the audience, explaining how they felt called to move back to their home state of North Dakota for the sake of their family and began deepening their faith. Mary Ann Duppong talked about how they started praying the family rosary when Ken Duppong’s mother got sick, developed a devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and consecrated their family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The love for Jesus they instilled in their children had a great impact on their daughter, Michelle Christine Duppong, who loved the Eucharist immensely and became a FOCUS missionary. Before passing away in 2014 amid a battle with cancer, she “consecrated her suffering to those who needed to encounter the love in the Eucharist,” shared emcee Montse Alvarado of EWTN. In June 2022, Bishop David Kagan of Bismark, North Dakota, announced his intention to formally open the diocesan phase of investigation into Michelle Duppong’s life, a preliminary step toward her potential canonization.

When asked for advice for families who want to raise their children in the faith, Ken and Mary Ann Duppong encouraged them to pray a lot and remember that children watch everything their parents do.

“I tell people that your example for your children is a real big influence,” Ken Duppong said. “If you use bad language, they will use bad language. If you go to Mass, they see you do that. They will do that in the future. … And that is probably the best thing you can do is give them a good example of what to do.”

The words certainly resonated with the many parents in the stadium that night, who were recognized that night for the sacrifice and dedication it took to bring their families to the congress in Indianapolis.

Daniel Cabrera of Camby, Indiana, told OSV News the revival evening’s speakers were good — but the experience of Eucharistic adoration was “totally awesome.” So much so, he said, that he wept.

“I’m not even considering myself worthy of being here,” he said. “It’s totally a privilege to be here.”

Cabrera and his wife, Maria Hernandez, are attending the July 17-21 congress with their six children, ages 3 to 17.

Cabrera said he experienced “that silence that only allows you to be with God on a personal level, like no other silence in the world.”

He said, “That silence says a lot, because it’s a direct communication to your soul.”

 

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) – Absolute silence filled Lucas Oil Stadium as tens of thousands of people dropped to their knees to adore Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as the long-anticipated National Eucharistic Congress officially got underway on the evening of July 17 in Indianapolis.

More than 100 spotlights trained on a large, golden monstrance on an altar in the center of the stadium as a powerful holy hour – which took place before any talks, music or greeting by the evening’s three emcees – began the congress’s first revival night filled with prayer, powerful speakers and praise-and-worship music.

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., swings a censer in front of the altar during adoration at the opening revival night of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis July 17, 2024. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

Just before Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota – the driving episcopal force behind the congress – walked onto the floor carrying the monstrance, the 30 perpetual pilgrims who had walked the four National Eucharistic Pilgrimage routes entered the stadium. Carrying icons of each route’s respective patron saints – St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Blessed Virgin Mary – the pilgrims took the final steps that officially completed their eight-week journey from points north, south, east and west across the U.S. to the July 17-21 congress in Indiana’s capital city.

After a time of silent prayer and praise and worship, Bishop Cozzens knelt for a second time in front of the monstrance.

“Lord, we wanted to give you the first words of our National Eucharistic Congress,” he said. Kneeling before Jesus in the Eucharist, Bishop Cozzens recounted how the National Eucharistic Revival — launched in 2022 — has led Catholics to gather to study, teach and pray with the Eucharist, spending countless hours in adoration and small groups, and in parish and diocesan initiatives.

“Lord, we made a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for you,” he prayed. “For the last 65 days we brought your living presence across this land, across the East, West, North and South. We visited large churches and small churches. We had large processions in cities and small processions in prisons. We visited nursing homes and homeless shelters. Lord, we tried to share with everyone we met along the way your unspeakable love.”

He said the pilgrimage prayed for the country and the church and brought those prayers to the congress. He thanked Jesus for the miracles the pilgrims saw along the way: conversion, people return to the faith, physical and spiritual healings.

“We hope to see more,” he said.

He told Jesus that the tens of thousands of Catholics in the stadium had gathered there to give him thanks and praise and to be changed into “missionary disciples, people filled with the joy of the Gospel, people so grateful for the salvation you purchased for us.”

He prayed for deeper conversion for individuals, peace in wartorn countries, those affected by abuse, and unity in both the country and the church. Bishop Cozzens invited attendees to share in silence their own desires with Jesus, and then asked them to pray that the Lord would also reveal his desires for them.

“Jesus, I trust in you,” he prayed, and the stadium resounded as people echoed his prayer.

“Lord, we have come here because we want a revival, a Eucharistic revival, and we want every Catholic to realize that you are alive in the Eucharist, and to encounter your love,” he said. “And Lord, we know that this revival, it has to begin with us.”

After the holy hour concluded and Bishop Cozzens processed out with the Eucharist, the revival’s emcees then took the stage: Father Joshua Johnson, vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Montse Alvarado, president of EWTN News – who greeted the attendees in Spanish and English – and Sister Miriam James Heidland, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. The three talked about their own personal experiences with the Eucharist and what the congress meant to them before introducing the other speakers that evening.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., was the night’s keynote speaker. He opened with the reflection that “perhaps our main prayer for this Eucharistic congress should be this: that we as a church may grow in our unity so that we become more fruitful in our mission.”

He invited those present to reflect on the basic question of “what is Eucharistic revival?” and “how will we know that we are experiencing Eucharistic revival?”

Revival is “always accompanied by sacramental devotion,” he said, but it “must extend beyond devotional practices as well.”

“When we are truly revived by the Eucharist,” he said, “then our encounter with Christ’s real presence in the sacrament opens us to an encounter with him in the rest of our life. This means seeing him everywhere we go.”

He reminded those gathered that Christ “is also present in our encounters with people from whom we would otherwise consider ourselves divided” including “people from a different economic class or race, people who challenge our way of thinking.”

Living “a truly Eucharistic life,” he emphasized, means that adoration “spills over in our daily life, a life of relating to others, our way of seeing others.”

He encouraged those gathered to use their time in adoration over the week of the Eucharistic Congress to ask the Lord to reveal the places where they are resistant to surrendering to his will.

“He is the only one who can lead us to new life,” he concluded, “by following him, we can become true apostles of his Kingdom.”

Sister Bethany Madonna, local superior of the new Phoenix mission of the Sisters of Life, talked about how Jesus, crucified and risen, “wants to reveal himself” and bring his grace because of his love for each person.

“God knows you. God loves you. And chooses you … He has entrusted you with a mission that he has entrusted to no one else,” she said.

She said that Jesus “knows that we are hungry for love, and he chooses to give himself to us as food and drink.”

“We have this unquenchable thirst to be loved that no one and nothing can ever satisfy” but God, she explained.

Sister Bethany Madonna reminded people that when fear or failure can prevent them from drawing close to God’s love, “Jesus redeems everything.”

She shared the testimony of a woman who was terrified to go to confession because of two abortions she had when she was younger. She lived in shame and silence for 29 years, and when she made the appointment for the sacrament of reconciliation and drove to see the priest, she heard a whisper saying, “You don’t have to do it,” and, “This is too difficult … turn back.”

Praying Hail Marys all the way, she got to confession in tears; and after listening to her, the priest made the motion of picking up a lamb and said, “All of heaven rejoices … welcome home.”

Sister Bethany Madonna said that when the woman received Communion the next day, she said that “my life would be a ‘yes’ to God.”

The opening revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress already had a profound effect on participants who spoke with OSV News.

Belen Munoz, 18, of Rosa Park, New Jersey, said it was “encouraging” to see so many Catholics gathered for the congress.

“Growing up in a secular community, it’s a totally different experience,” she said. “Getting just a taste of what we’re encountering here is amazing, and I can’t wait for the rest of the week.”

“Tonight just showed me that Jesus is just so alive in the Eucharist and that it’s just so obvious that he’s working through so many people,” said Molly Quinn, 18, from Naperville, Illinois. She added the experience “just made me realize that we’re not alone in this world and there are so many people who are searching for Christ like I am.”

“I’ve been having a rough patch in my life and so coming here to this and seeing how God can work through everyone is truly inspiring and powerful and makes me feel revived personally,” added 18-year-old Michelle Jurec, also from Naperville. “I can’t wait for the rest of the days.”

Lotty Cantrelle, 63, a nurse from Lockport, Louisiana, stood and sang to a praise and worship song near the end of the evening. She said her pastor “volun-told” her to come to the congress — but after experiencing the opening revival session, “I know that my priest knew I needed this,” she said.

“A person’s heart would have to be made of stone not to be changed by that,” she said, noting Sister Bethany Madonna’s words about trusting Jesus.

“That gave me a lot of comfort,” she said. “I think this is a journey to my healing and to becoming my former self, who used to be more joyful. So I am ready.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Envy is poison, and when envy and individualism prevail over communion, life becomes difficult, Pope Francis said.

“When we are content with what is necessary, even with little, with God’s help we are able to go forward and get along, sharing what there is, everyone renouncing something and supporting each other,” he said before praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square July 14.

Pope Francis speaks to visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus at the Vatican July 14, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Mark (6:7-13) about the mission of the twelve disciples in which Jesus sent them out “two by two” and told them “to take nothing for the journey” but only what was necessary.

“We do not proclaim the Gospel alone,” the pope said. The Gospel “is proclaimed together, as a community, and to do this it is important to know how to preserve sobriety,” that is, moderation and temperance in all things.

“The superfluous enslaves you,” he said. In order to be free, it is enough to have “what we need to live in a dignified way and to contribute actively to the mission.”

It is important to know “how to be sober in the use of things, sharing resources, capacities and gifts, and doing without the superfluous,” he said.

It also means “to be sober in thoughts, to be sober in feelings, abandoning our preconceived ideas and abandoning the inflexibility that, like pointless baggage, weighs us down and hinders the journey, instead fostering discussion and listening and thus making witness more effective,” he said.

A family or a community living in moderation creates “an environment rich in love, in which it is easier to open oneself to faith and the newness of the Gospel, and from which one starts out better, one starts out more serene,” he said.

“Envy is something lethal, a poison,” he said. If only material things count, if one does not listen, if individualism and envy prevail, “the air becomes heavy, life becomes difficult, and encounters become an occasion of restlessness, sadness and discouragement, rather than an occasion of joy.”

Pope Francis said communion, harmony and sobriety are “indispensable values for a church to be missionary at all levels.”

EXTON, Pa. (OSV News) – “The Bible in 10 Minutes,” a new viral video offering by Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension, earned 358,000 views in just 24 hours, according to a July 10 news release from Exton-based Ascension, a multimedia Catholic network and a leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content.

The audience response makes this Father Schmitz’s most “viral video ever, more than doubling his previous one-day record of 160,000 views set with his 2022 review of ‘The Sound of Freedom,'” the release said.

Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minn., and a popular speaker and author, is seen in this undated photo. “The Bible in 10 Minutes” video earned 358,000 views in just 24 hours, making it the most viral Father Schmitz video of all time, according to Ascension press. (OSV News photo, courtesy Ascension)

Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, has gained a national following for, among other things, his popular “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts from Ascension.

He will be a featured keynote speaker during the National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21 in Indianapolis. Father Schmitz and Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder and servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, are scheduled to address the congress’s July 18 evening revival session 7-9:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Father Schmitz begins his new video, seated on screen. “The Bible is amazing,” he says, “but sometimes confusing and hard to read. … We’d like to read it, but without a map, it’s easy to get lost. There is a narrative throughout the Bible that tells a single story. The story of God’s plan for our salvation. Once we understand that story, we can understand the context of every book of the Bible. So, here’s the story in less than 10 minutes.”

In addition to Father Schmitz, a team of Ascension employees spent months on the production of “The Bible in 10 Minutes,” according to the release. The video’s animation was developed in collaboration with Coronation Media.

“We would love to make more videos like this that impart the truths of the faith in such a beauty-forward manner,” senior video producer Sean Boyd remarked. “It’s up to our audience to help us fund more videos and make it possible!”

“The Bible in 10 Minutes” can be found on the “Ascension Presents” YouTube channel.

(OSV News) – Catholic leaders called for peace and unity in the hours after former President Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet and a spectator was killed July 13 in an assassination attempt during the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The Holy See expressed “concern about last night’s episode of violence, which wounds people and democracy, causing suffering and death” in a July 14 statement in Italian. The Holy See is “united in the prayer of the U.S. bishops for America, for the victims, and for peace in the country, so that the motives of the violent may never prevail,” according to Catholic News Service.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures, with blood on his face, is assisted by guards after shots were fired during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. A local prosecutor says the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead. (OSV News photo/Brendan McDermid, Reuters)

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, posted a statement on social media saying, “The attempt on the life of former President Trump, the tragic loss of life of an innocent bystander and the wounding of others gives us all reason to pause and reflect upon the divisions in our land. Pray for the victims of this tragedy, an end to violence and for God’s peace.”

During his homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Sunday, July 14, Bishop Bambera expanded on his thoughts.

“I would be remiss if I failed to speak with you of this moment in our history as a nation and a people,” he told parishioners at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

“This is not a political statement in support of the Republican candidate for president. It is not a moment to point fingers. It is not a time to engage in the dreadful social media posts that have emerged in the hours since this tragic event. No – this is a moment that demands that all of us reflect upon who and what we have become in the polarized, divided and angry world in which we find ourselves as a people.”

Pointing to Amos in the first reading of the day and the disciples in the Gospel passage – Bishop Bambera said we must all pray for the grace to embrace the mission of Jesus even if we feel ill equipped to do so.

“We are not responsible for pulling a trigger and taking lives. But we are responsible to set aside hatred, to embrace discourse with respect and to work to build a world of justice, mercy, forgiveness and peace. Nor can we side step our responsibility as Christians. As followers of Jesus, we have all been called to build God’s kingdom, to work for peace, to respect human life in all shapes and forms, regardless of what we believe, how we live, where we come from and what we don’t have,” Bishop Bambera continued.

On July 14, Trump thanked “everyone for your thoughts and prayers, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” on his social media platform Truth Social.

“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed,” he continued. “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. I truly love our County, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin.”

Just 48 hours after the attempted assassination, Trump appeared at the first night of the Republican National Convention July 15 in Milwaukee.

That spectator killed has been identified as Corey Comperatore, a firefighter from western Pennsylvania who was among the thousands attending Saturday’s rally.

On Facebook July 13, Father Kevin Fazio, pastor All Saints Parish in Butler – a Catholic parish with five churches, one of which is located across from where the rally took place – wrote to parishioners that “We are shocked and saddened by the tragic shooting and act of violence that occurred at the Farm Show grounds on Saturday, July 13.”

“There are feelings of fear, hurt, anger, and sorrow in our community right now,” he wrote. “As Christians, we need to remember that during times of darkness, we are called to reflect the light of Christ. May we continue to pray for peace in our world, in our country, and right here at home. Our prayers to God today for everyone involved in, and all of the victims of this violent act, their families, and friends. God our Father, watch over us. Jesus our Savior, heal us. Holy Spirit, guide us.”

Bishops, including Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, which includes Butler, issued statements July 13 calling for prayers and peace.

“We are grateful for the swift actions of the Secret Service and our local first responders,” Bishop Zubik said. “Let us join together in prayer for the health and safety of all, for healing and peace, and for an end to this climate of violence in our world. May God guide and protect us all.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, posted July 13, “I would like to offer prayers for President Trump and all those who were injured at the rally in Pennsylvania. We must turn from the path of violence. May the Lord bless our troubled nation.”

The same day, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston lamented that “our nation has once again witnessed another deadly and tragic shooting today” and joined in prayer for the families of those killed and the recovery of Trump and the injure
“As a nation, we must come to grips with the incessant violence that has too often become the norm. It must stop,” he continued in his social media post. “We must find peaceful ways to resolve our differences & avoid all political violence.”

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia also prayed for consolation for “those mourning the loss of a loved one” and for a swift recovery for Trump and those injured.

“Americans must join in solidarity to condemn today’s act of political violence and violence in all forms,” he said in a multipart message on X. “Working together, we can resolve our differences through peaceful dialogue and conquer the sin of hatred.”

SCRANTON – Like many other devotees, Leo Maxfield started attending the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann with his family as a young boy.

“My grandmother brought me up everyday at 5:30 p.m.,” Maxfield said. “We always had to sit in the very back of the tent and as a little kid I couldn’t see anything.”

As a teenager, Maxfield began volunteering in the monastery kitchen during the Novena and since 2011 has been coordinating ushers for the annual 10-days of prayer and devotion.

This year, as devotees mark the remarkable centennial anniversary of the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann, Maxfield helped to organize a “100th Anniversary Archives and Photo Display Gallery” that is open to the public and located in Saint Gabriel’s Room off the lower church.

With the Solemn Novena now underway, the gallery is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“The Passionists had an archive closet/area in the monastery where they’ve kept photos, newspaper articles and booklets from the last 100 years. We took all that stuff, we sorted through it, and put together a wonderful display that starts with the Passionists coming to Scranton and the founder of the Novena, Father John Joseph Endler, in 1924, and it goes all the way through the decades to the modern day,” Maxfield said.

With more than 300 photos, 200 newspaper articles and numerous videos featured, many of the first people who have toured the display have been reminded of the impact the Novena has had on northeastern Pennsylvania.

“It really is a beautiful display and a beautiful reminder of just how far we’ve come,” Maxfield stated. “Anybody that sees it will really fall in love with the Novena all over again.”

This year’s Novena began on July 17 and will run through July 26, the Feast Day of Saint Ann and Saint Joachim. The sacred tradition has been a beacon of faith and hope for countless believers over the last 100 years, offering solace and spiritual guidance through prayer and reflection.

“You walk around and see these people and they’re so deep in prayer. You can tell some of them are hurting and waiting for answers. It is such a faith-filled time,” Sue Yanchik, a parishioner of Saint Ann Basilica Parish, said.

Yanchik has been attending the Novena since moving to Scranton in 1985. She is touched by how many people attend the 4:30 a.m. Mass on the Feast Day of Saint Ann each year.

“People are just walking around the grounds in the dark with just candlelight and the streetlights. It’s just beautiful,” she added.

This year’s milestone anniversary not only honors the enduring legacy of Saint Ann but continues to be a testament to the power of prayer and communal devotion.

For a century, the Novena has provided spiritual strength and healing to those in need, fostering a sense of unity and faith among believers of all backgrounds.

“Everyone comes to the Novena with intentions, with needs, with concerns about health, about family, about friends, about our town, and they are looking for Saint Ann’s guidance and support,” Very Reverend Richard W. Burke, C.P., Rector, Saint Ann’s Monastery, said.

The Solemn Novena to Saint Ann began somewhat organically in 1924, shortly after the Passionists arrived in West Scranton in the early 1900s at the invitation of Bishop Michael J. Hoban.

As part of their tradition, the Passionists prayed weekly to Saint Ann, whom their monastery was named, because they chose the property on the Feast of Mary’s birthday.

As the laity found out about the weekly prayers – they asked to participate.
“Father John Joseph (Endler) began meeting with them in a very small parlor room in the monastery and within a few months there were too many people. They wouldn’t fit anymore. The rest of the monastery was cloistered at the time, so we pitched a tent out in the yard and we had prayers in the tent for the people when they came every week,” Father Richard explained.

It was Father John Joseph Endler who suggested doing the first Novena to Saint Ann in preparation for her Feast Day in 1924.

“He planned it and put it into practice and in 1924 we had our first Solemn Novena to Saint Ann that culminated in the celebration of her Feast Day and for the next 100 years we’ve been doing it,” Father Richard added.

Throughout its history, the Novena has witnessed many testimonials of healings, answered prayers and renewed faith. While many Scranton natives attend the Novena annually, it also draws people from across the entire region who are drawn by the belief that Saint Ann, known as the patroness of mothers, grandmothers and homemakers, intercedes to her grandson, Jesus Christ, on their behalf.

This year, the theme for the 100th anniversary of the Novena centers around “Gratefulness to God for 100 Years of Blessings.”

“Our Novena preachers are going to reflect on how gratitude calls us to a deeper faith, how gratitude invites us to live in hope, how gratitude helps us to adopt the heart and mind of Christ a little bit more in our lives,” Father Richard explained.
With the centennial Novena celebration underway, many say its longevity is a testament to the enduring power of faith and the comfort found in communal prayer.

“The people are so faithful and especially generation after generation after generation they come back,” Anthony Cicco of Saint Ann Basilica Parish, said. “For me, it is the atmosphere. It was sitting out there with my family, my mom, grandmother, and my sister especially, and coming up day after day and seeing how everyone just enjoyed being here so much.”

FAIRMOUNT SPRINGS– The faithful of Saint Martha’s Church will gather on Sunday, July 28, 2024, to celebrate a momentous day in the history of their faith community – a century of faith and service.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving at 11:00 a.m. and a dinner will follow in the church hall.

“A lot of thought has gone into planning this Mass. We are pleased that Bishop Bambera is coming. Concelebrating with him will be our new administrator, two former pastors, and the first priest ordained from our church,” parishioner Raphael Micca said. “Our 20-voice choir has been working hard on music for the Mass, which will include hymns in English, Latin and Polish.”

Parishioners of Saint Martha’s Church in Fairmount Springs will celebrate a Centennial Mass on Sunday, July 28, 2024.

Volunteers who are helping to organize the centennial activities say many former parishioners who moved out of the area are planning to return for the celebration. They feel it will be like a big family reunion.

“We have sold 161 tickets for the dinner. There are people coming from New York and outside the area because they used to go to this church, and they remember it and how it was built. Some people are in their 90s that are coming. It is truly amazing,” parishioner Bonnie Zultevicz explained.

Towards the end of 1922, a small number of Catholic families of Polish descent settled in the Fairmount Springs area and asked Bishop Michael Hoban for permission to build a church. Approval was given in 1923, but the cost was not to exceed $3,500, and the church was to be a mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Lake Silkworth.

Land was donated for the new church and three families mortgaged their farms to finance its construction. A simple structure was built by the summer of 1924 and the church was completed the following year. Prior to the church being built, the faithful gathered for Mass in private homes.

By the 1950s, the community had outgrown its original space. A new Saint Martha’s Church was constructed about a mile away on land belonging to two parishioners who sold the parcel to the church for $500. The cornerstone was laid in 1959 and the new church was dedicated on Aug. 14, 1960. In 1966, Saint Martha’s welcomed its first resident pastor, and a rectory was built.

“My grandparents were one of the founding families of this church. Saint Martha’s Church, to me, stands out as a beacon shining God’s light in this community,” parishioner Mike Mecca explained. “Saint Martha’s Church is not just a building. It is the central location where I, with the community members, gather to worship God.”

As a part of Saint Martha’s 100th anniversary, parishioners are creating a Centennial Book that will include more of the church’s history through photographs, interviews, and newspaper articles.

“Many of the people within these walls have been a consistent presence, offering unwavering support through life’s highs and lows, serving as a reminder of God’s love and peace,” parishioner Amanda Matysik added. “Such tight-knit communities are irreplacable, and the significance of Saint Martha’s in my life, and that of my family, cannot be overstated.”

Besides the centennial Mass and dinner, other events to mark the church’s 100th anniversary have also been taking place. A ‘Family Day Picnic’ was held in June and two parishioners recently refurbished the cross and sign at the old cemetery – the site of the original Sant Martha’s Church – and the final resting place of many church founders.

One of the things that many parishioners appreciate is that activities are intergenerational.

“These past 100 years have brought countless souls to greater love and union with Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, most especially by means of the Sacraments and Prayer/Worship,” parishioner Rebecca A. Micca stated. “In these days of dwindling faith and de-moralization of societies, we need God’s presence among us, not just within us living lives of grace, but in our churches, which are symbols of the ‘heavenly Jerusalem’ and places of communal worship.”

SCRANTON – Many families in the Diocese of Scranton continue to suffer the loss of loved ones who have died as a result of violent or tragic death.

In response, the Diocese of Scranton is offering the annual Mass in remembrance of victims of violent or tragic death; particularly for persons who have died through murder, suicide, or accidental death.

The Mass will be a way for family and friends to remember and celebrate the lives of these victims and to stand together surrounded in God’s love.

The Mass of Remembrance will be taking place this year on Thursday, July 25, at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter, 315 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton.

The Books of Remembrance will not be available to search for a name, but instead will be placed near the altar.

CTV: Catholic Television will broadcast the Mass live for those unable to attend in person.

Parishioners are encouraged to register the name of their loved one for entry into the Book of Remembrance. An online registration form is available on dioceseofscranton.org. Registration is also available by calling the Diocesan Office for Parish Life at (570) 207-2213.

WEST PITTSTON – As the calendar turned to July, several parishes that have been engaged in the Vision 2030 Pastoral Planning Process officially came together to form new communities of faith.

The changes all come after months, and in some cases, years of hard work, discussion, and consultation with parishioners.

CORPUS CHRISTI PARISH

In Luzerne County, Saint Barbara Parish, Exeter, consolidated with Corpus Christi Parish, West Pittston, on July 1, 2024. The new parish has retained the name Corpus Christi Parish.

All three worship sites of the newly consolidated parish, Immaculate Conception Church, West Pittston; Saint Anthony of Padua Church, Exeter; and Church of the Holy Redeemer, Falls, remain open.

Saint Barbara Parish and Corpus Christi Parish first came together in a linkage in May 2022 under the leadership of Monsignor John Sempa.

From the very first day working together, Msgr. Sempa said parishioners recognized the important fact that they are all neighbors who share the same faith. He says the people quickly worked together to combine ministries and make each other feel welcome and comfortable.

Those efforts paved the way for the two parishes to consolidate on July 1, 2024.

“First of all, people are good. That is the key thing. I think our Parish Pastoral Council, led by Attorney Joe Burke, did a wonderful job working with the Finance committees of both parishes. They were assisted by the three amazing ladies who work in our office, our two deacons and Fr. Michael, our Assistant Pastor,” Msgr. Sempa said. “Even before we became one, everything was working together very well. Even before the official declaration, we were one before then, everybody thought it was a no-brainer.”

The newly formed Corpus Christi Parish has wasted no time in working together on its ‘back-to-school calendar of giving,’ which is collecting school supplies, hygiene products and snacks for kids in Pre-K through high school during the month of July.

“A whole lot of wonderful things are going on. We look forward to expanding things and doing the best we can and making sure everyone knows they are needed and welcome,” Msgr. Sempa added.

CHRIST THE KING PARISH

In Lackawanna County, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Jermyn, consolidated with Christ the King Parish, Archbald, on July 1, 2024. The new parish has retained the name Christ the King Parish.

All three worship sites of the newly consolidated parish, Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Archbald; Sacred Heart of Mary Church, Jermyn; and Saint Mary of Czestochowa Church, Eynon, remain open.

Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish and Christ the King Parish first came together in a linkage in October 2023 under the leadership of Father Ryan Glenn.
Father Ryan said many parishioners are embracing the new identity of the consolidated parish and many recognized the need for change because of a diminishing number of priests.

“I am a huge proponent of transparency and communication. Between two town hall meetings, bulletin articles, preaching about it from time to time, it all came together for a smooth transition,” Father Ryan explained. “I think providing information to our people on the priority drivers of demographics and finances, along with the fact that we had a transition team and formed a new Parish Pastoral Council with membership from all three of our sites, it all came together naturally.”

On the weekend of July 26-28, Christ the King Parish will hold its annual parish picnic. Father Ryan says parishioners from all three sites are stepping up and volunteering.

“We share one mission. We’re excited because we just composed a new mission statement and it’s really appropriate for all of us living in the valley,” Father Ryan stated. “It’s to proclaim the Gospel, to worship the Lord and to serve the needy, to serve those who go without and it is best when we do it together, it is best when we pool our resources together and we can better accomplish the mission that the Lord has given us!”

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY PARISH

In the city of Carbondale, the two Catholic parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Rose of Lima officially came together to form a new parish on July 1. The newly consolidated parish is now named Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.

Both Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and Saint Rose of Lima Church remain open for worship.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and Saint Rose of Lima Parish initially came together in a linkage under the leadership of one pastor in 2009. The process of consolidation began in fall 2021 with discussions revolving around priority drivers that included declining Mass attendance, a shrinking number of priests in the diocese, finances, and infrastructure concerns.

“The Vision 2030 Process really did help us lay out the priority drivers and examine things. We share so many similarities. We’re able to go to school together, we’re able to shop together, we’re able to have parties together – why can’t we pray together as well? I think it has been an opportunity for us to embrace the gift of the Eucharist as the source and summit of our lives and to share in the great call of Jesus to be His disciple,” Father Seth Wasnock, pastor, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, said.

Because of plenty of data, and help from the Holy Spirit, Father Wasnock said many parishioners began to see change was needed.

“Our current situation in the city and throughout the diocese has changed over the years. It’s not the same – not that it is good or bad – it’s just different. How do we respond to that different situation and how do we make it work for the people today,” he explained.

On the first weekend of the new Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Father Wasnock blessed an image of Our Lady of the Rosary at both churches.

“We asked Our Lady to watch over us as the perfect disciple moving forward as our new chapter of faith unfolds here in Carbondale,” Father Wasnock added. “The thousand-mile journey begins with one step, and we are making that step together with Christ by our side to help us and strengthen us.”