Upon my return from Indianapolis, many people have asked what the Eucharistic Congress was like. It was an extraordinary event! What a great gift to the Church in the United States. It was the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years. Jesus showed up in a powerful way among 60,000-plus people. The power of his Holy Spirit was palpable. The energy and enthusiasm of the attendees was amazing; all of us gathered to worship Jesus as the Body of Christ, seeking repentance in joy and hope.

We gathered as brothers and sisters in Christ, bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated religious, families, young and old, faithful of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, all united in our love of Jesus and his presence with us in the Blessed Sacrament. The crowd reflected the diversity of Catholic life in America. Masses were celebrated in English, Vietnamese and Spanish, with liturgies drawn from different sources, including the Syro-Malabar Catholic Rite. Forty-two pilgrims from the Diocese of Saginaw witnessed this historic moment in the life of the U.S. Catholic Church.

Each day of the Congress included many opportunities for personal transformation in a life-giving Catholic community. Each morning, following a Family Rosary and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, attendees participated in their preferred impact sessions for the morning and breakout sessions for the afternoon. We all gathered as one to experience powerful revival sessions in Lucas Oil Stadium each evening, consisting of dynamic emcees and musicians, along with powerful talks by keynote speakers.

At some point in the program each evening, Jesus entered the stadium, carried in a massive monstrance created specifically for the Congress. The Eucharist took center stage as the whole stadium fell silent to adore Christ our King. This was a powerful moment for the Body of Christ, giving all praise, glory and honor to the Lord Jesus present among us. For me, this was the most powerful part of the Eucharistic Congress: tens of thousands of people raising their voices in prayer and adoration as one Church, responding to the Lord’s call to holiness.

Saturday was highlighted by an extraordinary one-mile Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis beginning at the Indiana Convention Center and ending at the Indiana War Memorial, with more than 50,000 people lining the streets, adoring the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as he passed.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, in a closing prayer at the end of this procession, offered these words: “Jesus, we have experienced in these days together just a small taste of heaven. Show us, Lord, who we are. Let us be your body in the world; fill us with your Holy Spirit. Empower us to witness to you, to your love, to your goodness. Make us, Lord, your missionaries to every corner of our land.” And we, his disciples, are called to participate in the Lord’s mission.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, cardinal pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization and Pope Francis’ special envoy for the event, presided over the closing Mass, sending us out on mission, with these words:

“Jesus fulfills his mission by giving himself, his flesh, his presence to others as the Father wills it. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission. ... A Eucharistic people is a missionary and evangelizing people. Those who go out on mission are a ‘gift’ to the Church and to the world.”

“Mission is not just about work but also about the gift of oneself,” he said. “Where there is 'a lack or a weakening of missionary zeal,’” it could be that it is “partly due to a weakening in the appreciation of gifts and giftedness. When pessimism takes over, we see only darkness, failures, problems, things to complain about. We do not see gifts in persons and events. And those who do not see gifts in themselves and in others, they will not give gifts; they will not go on a mission.”

“Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus,” Cardinal Tagle added. “Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”

How do we do this? The Eucharistic Revival must lead all of us to become Eucharistic evangelists. Jesus is counting on us to be his witnesses and co-workers, to bring people back to Mass! We all know people who are no longer seen in our parishes on Sunday. They are family members, friends and acquaintances.

Speak to them a Eucharistic message: The Love you are looking for awaits you. His Real Presence is here, on our altars and in our tabernacles. This Love has a name: Jesus Christ! And he longs to share his love with them, personally and intimately. Jesus is waiting to welcome them back!

If every faith-filled Catholic in this country brought just one person back to Mass, we would experience the fruit of this Eucharistic Revival. “Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”

To relive the Eucharistic Congress or experience the Holy Spirit’s power during the NEC for the first time, you can watch videos here: tinyurl.com/yu2yvz93