Detroit pilgrims pledge to continue to pray, reflect on the power of the Eucharist in their everyday lives after historic congress
DETROIT — Detroit-area pilgrims returned from the five-day National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis feeling inspired and renewed in their commitment to strengthen their faith lives and share the beauty of the faith and the Eucharist with others.
Nearly 300 Detroit-area pilgrims bused to the congress together, joining tens of thousands of others from across the United States and even abroad. Other local Catholics traveled separately, either alone or with their own families, to experience the revival.
For their 25th wedding anniversary, Ariane Fisher and her husband traveled with two of their seven children to the congress and camped 30 minutes outside of the city. Their oldest, 16, attended the congress with their parish youth group from the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak.
Fisher said she walked away from the historic event feeling loved.
“I felt that I was chosen and I was loved, and that I was with 50,000 other people who were chosen and loved, too,” Fisher told Detroit Catholic.
As they drove home from the congress Sunday afternoon, Fisher said they talked about its impact on their family, the extent of which she believes they won't know for some time.
“It (made me) want to revitalize my personal prayer life, and we are really mulling that (as a family),” Fisher explained. “Something that was stressed in the last talk (of the congress) was to go home, process everything, and think about it. We were trying to pray about what this means for our family prayer and our identity as Catholics. We did not come to a quick decision … we want to really reflect this week.”
Kyle Skoumal, a FOCUS missionary who has served in Detroit Campus Catholic Ministry at Our Lady of the Rosary in Detroit for the past five years, said he was struck by the congress’s perpetual focus on Jesus in the Eucharist.
“We had adoration every night, and on the first night, having Jesus process in was very important; it was the first thing we did," Skoumal said. "It was (like) saying, ‘We could have one of these really popular speakers come up on stage right off the bat and get everyone excited, but we are going to start with the most important thing and have Jesus come right away and start this with prayer.’”
Skoumal says while he has attended many large-scale Catholic conferences, he was moved that this one entirely prioritized the Eucharist.
“This one stood out to me because there is a sense of urgency that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our life, and we have a responsibility to take that good news to everyone that we know,” Skoumal said. “I was deeply moved by the presence of the 200 cardinals and bishops and 2,000 priests and seeing that this is the priority of the Church right now.”
For 20-year-old Andreya Vo, who attended the congress along with other college students from Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry, the sense of community with thousands of other Catholics from across the country was striking, as was the constant availability of Eucharistic adoration throughout the congress.
“I am so familiar with the people in my parish just talking about the Eucharist and exposing me to the faith, but I thought it was so inspiring that all these other people would want to share this same journey,” Vo said. “I feel inspired. We saw a lot of amazing talks that ranged on a variety of different topics, but at the end of the day, they always came back down to the Eucharist and why it is so important.”
After the conference, Vo says she feels further convicted in the importance of the Eucharist.
“I think that the Eucharist is what sets our faith apart,” Vo said. “We are so firm in the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus; that is the reason why we go to Mass and what inspires us to be good in our faith because we know Jesus dwells in us. It is important that we seek him.”
Vo, who joined the Church last year, said she feels called to share her faith more openly with others.
“I realized that I am not very public with my faith, especially within my own family. I am the only practicing Catholic within my family, and sometimes I let that identity be separate, and I don’t talk about it very much because, in my mind, I think that no one else is Catholic, so no one else really understands,” Vo explained. “But after this congress, I realized what Jesus means when he says that you need to be disciples and make disciples of all nations — that we’re not meant to just hold our faith inside, but rather spread the Gospel with everybody else.
"Moving forward, I realize the importance of being able to share this faith and share the importance of the Eucharist and why we value it so much, and I can see myself sharing this with my family later on, inviting people to Mass, or other events that my parish holds so they can be exposed as well,” she added.
When she saw the vast crowd gathered at the congress, Madeline Kujansuu, a parishioner and youth group member at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn who attended the Congress with the archdiocesan youth delegation, which included dozens of representatives from nine parishes, said she was "in awe of the gift of community."
"We are one body of Christ," Kujansuu said. "I noticed Jesus led me to a joy only God gives us. I found myself just smiling while looking at the crowds, which motivated me to bring that same joy to every encounter I have moving forward into the secular world."
DéLiana Webb from Corpus Christi Parish in Detroit said her experience makes her want to encourage other young people to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus by telling them about the Eucharist.
"I can also tell them about all the things we did and experienced (at the congress), Webb said. "I wouldn’t tell them to go just to have fun playing around, but to see and learn something new and that their sins are forgiven so that they can come back home free and forgiven."
Charlie Murray, also a member of Divine Child's youth group, said it was eye-opening to see the "young church" represented among the thousands gathered.
"It showed me that I am not alone," Murray explained. "There was one quote that I noticed that was a recurring theme: 'You guys (the youth) are not the church of the future. You are the church of today.' It is up to us to go and spread the word to transform the world. We play a significant role in modern Church history and how we need to shape the Church back to Jesus Christ."
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