Mass for Pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to the National Eucharistic Congress 2024

 
Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles 
 
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
Indianapolis, Indiana 
July 18, 2024 
 
My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹
 
It is a joy to celebrate the Holy Eucharist with all of you this afternoon during this time at the National Eucharistic Congress. I hope that you are enjoying Congress. It’s been good, no?
 
Do you think we should have it every year? Maybe we can have something in Los Angeles next year.
 
So for us coming here is such a joy because we have come as pilgrims of the Eucharist. We have come as children of God, to worship the Father in spirit and truth.
 
And I think we have been walking with Jesus, on this journey of renewal, this journey of Eucharistic revival.
 
It’s been a number of years and we have in every diocese and in every parish different celebrations and it’s beautiful that we come together to be with Jesus in a special way during these days.
 
And as we hear in our Gospel today, when they were on their journey Jesus fed his disciples when they were hungry.
 
But Jesus knows that the human heart hungers, not for bread alone; we hunger for something greater. We hunger for the living bread, the bread that comes down from heaven.
 
Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, not only the nourishment we need every day, but also the bread of life, the bread of the angels, the Word of God and the Body of Christ.²
 
We hear this Gospel today as we near the conclusion of this spiritual journey that we’ve been on for the past three years.
 
But the Eucharistic Revival, as we were talking about, does not end here, in this event here in Indianapolis. This revival is a part of something much bigger.
 
Jesus promised that we shall see greater things, and surely we do!³ And this revival is part of a great movement of the Spirit in our times, a new thirst for holiness, for truth, for a love that is pure and beautiful and everlasting.

During these past three years, we have renewed our Eucharistic wonder, the awe and adoration that we feel in the presence of this great sacrament of God’s love. Now, we must go forward and share this Eucharistic wonder with our neighbors.

Our Eucharistic revival must lead us now to a new Eucharistic evangelization!

Jesus is counting on us — all of us — to be his witnesses and co-workers, to proclaim the great mystery of faith until he comes again!

Jesus is counting on us to bring people back to the Church! We need to bring people back to Mass! We cannot approach the altar without wanting to bring others with us.
 
And we need to help our neighbors to see that the Love they are looking for is true and real, that he is already here, that he has a name, Jesus Christ!
 
The amazing truth is that, as we have been reflecting on these few days, is that Jesus is alive and real in our world. He said that he would be with us until the end of the age, and so he is!
 
He comes now to our altars, he dwells now in our tabernacles!
 
Through the Eucharist, Jesus wants to fill this world through his holiness, to fill this world with his glory. And bring to us the joy and beauty of knowing that God loves each one of us personally.
 
This is the beautiful promise of our faith, this is what makes being Catholic so exciting!

 We are walking with Jesus, just like those first disciples. We have his words burning in our hearts, just as they did, and as they did, we know him in the breaking of the bread.⁴
 
So today let us especially ask the Lord to increase our faith and courage, that we might boldly proclaim the mystery of his love in our times.
 
May Holy Mary, the Blessed Mother, help us to live more deeply from the Body and Blood of her Son.
 
May Our Lady help us to lead many others to this holy altar, where they might taste and see the goodness of God.
 
1. Readings (Friday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time): Isa. 38:1–6, 21–22, 7–8; Matt. 12:1–8.