Litany of woes couldn’t stop Eucharist celebration from being a success

By Karen Oddi

The clown wasn’t there and no one even came close to getting a balloon animal dog or giraffe. There was no face-painting or games for the kids. The artistically crafted displays from 20 archdiocesan ministries and groups stayed stored in the first-aid room at Victory Field in Indianapolis and the evangelization handouts for visitors would be saved for another time and place.

The Catholic band, Grace on Demand had all of its equipment in place, but the young musicians did not have a chance to show their talent and share their faith with the public. The eucharistic witnesses were cancelled and the parade of banners was washed out.

The cadré of 50 volunteers was cut to a team of six or seven. The master of ceremonies, meteorologist Kevin Gregory of WRTV Channel 6 in Indianapolis, was able to focus on the weather, and there was plenty of that. The rainfall from tropical storm Arlene dumped three inches of rain on Indianapolis.

Under most circumstances, given the litany of woes and pitfalls I have cited, a big event such as “The Year of the Eucharist: Celebrating the body of Christ” that the archdiocese had planned on June 12 would be considered a failure.
But that wasn’t the case at all.

The celebration was a great success, precisely because we were truly celebrating the Body of Christ. As Catholics, we are people of hope who find consolation in our faith when times are difficult and our plans go awry.

As evangelizing Catholics, we are called to form ourselves in faith and continually grow together in passion for what we believe and practice. When the rains came and drowned out the “extras” we had planned to reflect our commitment to service and friendship, we still had the Eucharist, the very core of our faith to make the day complete.

The children and adults who came from parishes near and far throughout the archdiocese were visibly passionate about their faith as they gathered at St. John the Evangelist Church for silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and participation in the eucharistic service and Benediction.

I especially want to commend the parents and parish leaders who brought children to participate in the small procession of first communicants.

We had planned for many more children at Victory Field, but the 50 children who came to St. John Church made me proud to be a religious educator. Some were in their pews for nearly two hours and all were very reverent and quiet—quite a feat for 7- and 8-year-olds. Their presence truly enhanced the procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the tabernacle.

I also want to commend the parish Disciples in Mission leaders who came to the celebration. Your zeal for evangelization has blessed the archdiocese for five years, and the celebration could only have enhanced your enthusiasm as you continue to “Go and Make Disciples.”

Your work is what the Body of Christ is about. I thank you for making it visible.

(Karen Oddi is the evangelization coordinator for the archdiocese.) †