Musicians lead the participants of the July 17-21, 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in praise and worship during the Friday evening session at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. RILEY GREIF | WKC
Sent on mission!
BY DR. JEFF ANDRINI, OFFICE OF EVANGELIZATION AND DISCIPLESHIP
Year three of the National Eucharistic Revival “Sent on Mission” is well underway. It comes to a close on Pentecost, Sunday, June 8, 2025 and the Church will never be the same. Something shifted at the Eucharistic Congress in July. We heard from priests, religious and lay leaders about a variety of Catholic topics, challenges and the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our worship, Adoration, the sacraments and a powerful encounter with God’s living presence led to a profound unity and peace – and something shifted. We are in a new season of hope!
As the Congress ended, the final message was to “Go in peace” and to live the mission of your baptism. Every baptized Catholic is called to allow themselves to be encountered by Christ and once we experience this, we are never the same. The scriptures come alive. Our desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, and to worship him in Adoration and to spend time every day in communion with the Trinity in our daily prayer, all lead to a deeper personal relationship with the living God, and we are never the same.
While the early Church was persecuted in so many obvious ways, they were touched by the Holy Spirit and felt empowered to live lives of holiness and community with other Christians. Their fear was real, but their friendship with God was more real and intimate. They knew they were loved. They knew the good news of God’s presence and plan in their daily lives, and they wanted to share this truth with the world. It happened in very practical ways. They befriended enemies. They cared for those in need. They shared their experiences of God and witnessed to a life of joy and peace, that they did not have before becoming a Christian.
Today, as Catholics, we must understand that we are not spectators in our faith. It is not simply that it is a good thing to help others, it needs to be that we have been touched by the Holy Spirit, that we are being transformed more and more into God’s heart, because we know how close God is to us and we feel this intimate love and it spills over into all the relationships in our lives.
To be sent on mission, is to be baptized into the Christian faith, not as a spectator, but as disciple of Jesus, becoming his very presence in the world today. We are called to become little Christs. Of course we are not worthy, but in Christ, we are made worthy, and the mission is to love the world and all that is in it.
Come Holy Spirit and help all Catholics to experience the power, intimate presence and unconditional love that you share with us. Renew your Church and equip us with the mission of love and service to this beautiful world you created.
Be open to a daily encounter with Christ and have a wonderful Advent!
Peace,
Jeff
Dr. Jeff Andrini is the director of the Office of Evangelization and Discipleship, and can be reached at [email protected].
Originally printed in the December 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
