Thousands gathered at Our Lady’s Shrine, in Knock, over the weekend for the National Eucharistic Congress, when over 40 workshops and talks were delivered on the theme ‘Christ, our Hope’.
While reflecting on the fruits of the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress, the national congress also served as spiritual preparation for next year’s international gathering, to be held in the Philippines in January.
Among those attending were a large number of pilgrims from the Derry Diocese, on their annual pilgrimage to the Shrine with Bishop Donal McKeown, and Legionnaires from all over the country for the Legion of Mary’s annual pilgrimage.
With the Church preparing for the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Eamon Martin encouraged those attending the congress to reflect on how married people can be supported in being “visible signs of hope in the Church and in the world, through their own gift of themselves to one another and to their children”.
He also felt that it was a good opportunity for reflection on two themes recently highlighted by Pope Francis – care for the earth and living in the mercy of God.
As Saturday’s key speaker, Archbishop Eamon spoke about the Church looking on the “life-giving union of a woman and man in marriage, open to the gift of children from God”, as ‘Good News’ for the world today.
In a reflection about handing on the faith, Archbishop Eamonn Martin remarked that the challenge facing the forthcoming Synod on the Family would be “to find ways of remaining completely faithful to the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family while at the same time reaching out in a compassionate and merciful way to those whose home and family situations are very different”.
Opportunities
He suggested a parish- or pastoral-area-based approach to preparing for the sacrament of marriage, including “prayer, catechesis and practical advice for couples and opportunities for marriage support in the early years”; and prayer guidance for couples and young parents.
The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, giving the Sunday homily in the basilica, highlighted the many signs of hope he had seen since he arrived in 2012, including “the dynamism of movements such as Youth 2000, Net Ministries, Pure in Heart, the Legion of Mary, Couples for Christ, Rise of the Roses, and so many others”.
He went on to quote Pope John Paul II as saying, in his Knock homily 36 years ago, that “the task of renewal in Christ is never finished. Every generation, with its own mentality and characteristics, is like a new continent to be won for Christ.”
Bishop Kevin Doran, main organiser of the congress, delivered a talk on ‘Opening our hearts to hope’ as he reflected on the forthcoming Year of Mercy.
Encounter
Speaking about the Sacrament of Reconciliation as being “that personal encounter with Christ when we are welcomed with open arms”, the Bishop of Elphin said: “That is what this Jubilee of Mercy is all about and I hope that we can each receive that mercy and be instrumental in helping others to receive it also.”
Prof. Eamonn Conway considered Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’ and warned against taking a “pick and mix”, consumer-type approach to it instead of allowing ourselves “to be challenged by it in its entirety”.
He remarked: “Pope Francis wants us to think of those powerless ones out of sight and mind now, from babies in the womb to endangered tribes, and generations yet to come, who will judge us for our blindness and forgetfulness.”
The Congress also had a youth and children’s programme, with Fr John Harris, OP, giving a talk on ‘Forming young disciples through the Eucharist’, during which he said: “What the Church in Ireland needs most of all is the witness of the power of Christ who changes our lives…we must bring people to meet him and there is no more real place to meet Jesus than in the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist.”
