CV NEWS FEED // Bishop Andrew Cozzens prayed for unity and healing before the Blessed Sacrament with thousands of Catholics from across the country who converged for the National Eucharistic Congress’ opening event on July 17 in Indianapolis.
Before those attending heard from any of the headlining speakers, emcees, or the personal representative of Pope Francis at the Congress, the whole crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium, led by Bishop Cozzens, prayed in adoration before the Eucharistic Lord.
“Lord, we’ve gathered here in Indianapolis for You,” Bishop Cozzens prayed. “We’ve gathered here to give You thanks, to give You praise, to hold You up, because You have told us that when You are lifted up, You will draw people to Yourself.”
“We desire unity, Lord, we pray for our world which is in need, so much in need of peace,” he continued. “We pray for our country, Lord, we ask that through us a spirit of healing and peace would reign in our country.”
Minutes before Bishop Cozzens’ prayer, perpetual pilgrims from all four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage triumphantly entered the stadium bearing images of the patron saints of their respective routes. They then placed the images around the adoration altar facing towards the north, south, east and west.
All four routes have spent the last 65 days tracing a massive sign of the cross over the United States as they traveled a collective 6,500 miles to Indianapolis from Minnesota, Texas, California, and Connecticut, bringing Jesus in the Eucharist to countless people across the nation.
“For the last 65 days we’ve brought Your living presence across this land,” Bishop Cozzens prayed:
From the east, from the west, from the north, and from the south, we visited large cathedrals and small churches; we had large processions in cities and small processions in prisons; we visited nursing homes, homeless shelters; Lord, we tried to share with everyone we met along the way Your unspeakable love.
Bishop Cozzens prayed for war-torn areas of the world, especially Ukraine and the Holy Land. He also asked for spiritual renewal for each person gathered in Indianapolis for the Congress, trusting in the Lord to fulfill the desires of all.
“We know we ask for much, Lord,” Bishop Cozzens prayed. “We know that we are broken, and our world is broken, but we know that You have conquered sin and death and have given us Yourself as a foretaste of heaven. We know, God, that You are able to accomplish far more than we ask or imagine by the power of the Eucharist.”
He also quoted an exhortation from Pope Francis, which the Pontiff gave to the organizers of the Congress on the same day that he blessed the monstrance that Bishop Cozzens prayed before at the opening event.
“In the Eucharist, we encounter the one who gave everything for us, Who sacrificed Himself in order to give us life, who loved us to the end,” Pope Francis said at the time. “We become credible witnesses to the joy and transforming beauty of the gospel, only when we recognize that the love we celebrate in this Sacrament cannot be kept to ourselves but demands to be shared with all.”
Bishop Cozzens also prayed that everyone at the Congress would be filled with a missionary spirit.
“Let our hearts burn with a desire to share Your goodness, Your love with everyone, especially the most vulnerable, those most in need of your mercy,” he prayed. “Lord, we have come here because we want revival, a Eucharistic revival … We know that this revival has to begin with us, and so we are gathered here … Come with the fire of the Holy Spirit and revive us.”
