by Bishop James Conley
Pope St. John Paul II once wrote, “True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and in social and political involvement.”
Every time we carry our Lord, truly present body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament, beyond our church walls and into the streets in a Eucharistic procession, this is precisely what we are doing. We are proclaiming to all the world that Jesus is Lord – of everything!
A Eucharistic procession, like the many that took place throughout the state of Nebraska last week as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, demonstrates in a very public way that we, as Catholics, believe that Jesus remains alive and risen in the Holy Eucharist. Not a sign of Jesus. Not an image of Jesus. Not a symbol of Jesus. But the Lord Jesus himself. We claim the world for Christ.
Let there be no doubt that this is the same Jesus who walked the streets of Jerusalem, the same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth and called his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.
This is the same Jesus who taught the multitudes and who healed the sick and suffering. The same Jesus who suffered a cruel and bitter passion, died on a cross to save us from our sins, and who rose triumphantly on the third day. And this is the same Jesus who met the disciples on the road to Emmaus on the evening of the resurrection, and revealed himself in the breaking of the bread. We bring this same Jesus to the world in every Eucharistic procession. As believers, we are confident that the graces of the Holy Eucharist will draw others to himself.
Beginning May 18 in San Francisco, on the western route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, known as the St. Junípero Serra route, nine “perpetual pilgrims,” comprised of young adults and two Franciscan Friars, started accompanying our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, day and night, through the urban and rural communities of the western United States. For the past four weeks, from California, through Nevada and Oregon, through Utah and Colorado, these perpetual pilgrims have been traveling with Our Eucharistic Lord – on foot and in a uniquely outfitted van, equipped with a tabernacle and monstrance securely mounted on the console – claiming the world for Christ.
Our Lord and the “perpetual pilgrims” entered the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln this month. On Sunday, June 16, I was privileged to join Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt, Bishop of the Grand Island Diocese, in North Platte for Mass at McDaid Elementary School, as we carried Jesus through the streets of North Platte to St. Patrick’s parish church. Then on Wednesday, after stops in Lexington, Holdrege, Hastings and Grand Island, I met Bishop Hanefeldt again, halfway across a bridge over the Platte River, 2 miles north of Doniphan on the border of our two dioceses, where he handed me the monstrance.
Accompanied by a group of my priests and the lay faithful, we carried our Lord into Doniphan and St. Ann Church for some extended adoration time.
On Thursday, at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Father Xavier, CFR, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York City, preached at the beginning of all-night Eucharistic Adoration. He said Nebraska is sometimes referred to as a “flyover state.” This is because most people end up flying over Nebraska as they make their way to other destinations. But this past week, Jesus chose to pass straight through the center of our state, from the Colorado border to the Iowa border, in a solemn Eucharistic procession. And the people turned out in fine Cornhusker fashion.
After hosting our Lord and His entourage at the Cathedral, we concluded all night adoration with a Mass on Friday morning to a packed Cathedral, followed by a procession from the Cathedral to the John XXIII Diocesan Center, where the Cathedral parishioners sponsored a delicious brunch for all.
We then traveled by car to the Cloisters on the Platte, a retreat center just over the border into the Archdiocese of Omaha. There we processed with our Lord 5 miles to the Shrine of the Holy Family, high atop the bluff overlooking the Platte River valley, where I handed off the monstrance to Archbishop Lucas of the Omaha Archdiocese.
From Omaha, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will travel to Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis and into Indianapolis July 16, where the procession will be joined by the other three processional routes from the north, south and east, in a grand procession into Lucas Oil Stadium, the home field of the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts in downtown Indianapolis. This will begin the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, the first one in over 80 years. We are privileged to be taking over 200 pilgrims from the Lincoln Diocese to Indianapolis next month, including the winners of our own Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage challenge.
Last week was indeed a very beautiful and historic week for the state of Nebraska. As St. John Paul II reminded us, the Lord became incarnate so that he could enter into the very heart of the world. We are so blessed that He chose Nebraska, not to fly over, but to pass through our midst. I have no doubt that we will be reaping graces for years to come. I just found out this week that we had the 17th young man apply for the seminary from our Catholic Diocese of Lincoln. May this be just the beginning of a true Eucharistic Revival in our diocese, our nation and our world!
