By S.L. Hansen
for the Register
Laura Beccera and her daughters Emily and Stephanie
Cristo Rey Parish, Lincoln
After completing the Lincoln Diocese’s Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage, Laura Becerra saw the National Eucharistic Congress as the culmination of that pilgrimage. Laura had been to such congresses when she lived in Mexico, so she wanted to live this experience. She was happy to learn that multiple parts of the Congress were offered in Spanish.
“My mother wants us to love God more,” Emily said. Smiling, Laura nodded in agreement.
Blake Gigax
Holy Family Parish, Palisade
Blake Gigax whistled as he strolled to the bus Saturday morning for the fourth day of the Congress, despite feeling a little homesick for his hometown of Hayes Center, population 225.
Words failed to express the extraordinary experience of participating in Mass and Eucharistic adoration with tens of thousands of other faithful Catholics.
“Sometimes in Hayes Center, you can feel like you’re the only Catholic in the world,” he said. “But here….”
Pat Heineman
St. Mary Parish, Wallace
When Pat Heineman heard about the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC), she was eager to participate. “There’s nothing more special to me than the Holy Eucharist,” she said. Years ago, Pat attended a retreat on the Eucharist. She returned so inspired, she successfully lobbied for monthly Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at her home parish. She was one of the first 10 finishers of the Lincoln Diocese’s Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage.
Shortly before the NEC opening session, she said, “I hope it changes all of us and that we bring it home to everybody else.”
William Thorn
St. Mary Parish, David City
William Thorn came to the NEC to be part of a historic moment. Noting that it had been more than eight decades since the last Congress, he said, “This one is important. It is both historic in time and historic in the situation in the Church today with so many people not believing in the Real Presence.”
By Saturday afternoon, he was enthusiastic about what comes next.
“The whole notion of revival is to fan the flames among people who will go back to their parishes and to their families and tell the story of what they experienced.”
Ashton Kotus
St. Joseph Parish, Beatrice
Ashton Kotus speculated she was the last person to sign up, but attending the Congress was something that had been in the back of her mind all along. “I just had a really rough school year,” the sixth-grade teacher admitted. “I was looking for something to shake me back up and make me focus on Jesus again instead of the stress of the world.”
By Friday, she had had some really powerful experiences. “I think it will just keep coming. It’ll just be slow waves,” she said. “It feels more life changing when it’s slow.”
