‘The Church is young’ – Catholic World Report

Indianapolis, Indiana, July 22, 2024 / 5:52 PM (CNA).

The 10th National Eucharistic Congress concluded Sunday in Indianapolis with a clear call to participants to share with others the love and joy of the Catholic faith they have just experienced.

For the many parents who brought their young children to the historic July 17-21 gathering in Indianapolis, the convention was an inspiring affirmation that the Catholic Church is alive and well and that other families across the country are working hard to raise their children in the faith.

The McKenzie family – Brendan and Laura and their eight children – traveled to the convention from Evansville, Indiana, a few hours south of Indianapolis, on the Kentucky border.

Brendan said he hopes that seeing the large numbers of priests and religious present at the conference will be a kind of “normalizing” experience for his older children, exposing his children to these kinds of vocations as a possibility for their lives.

Brendan said he appreciated the efforts of the organizers to involve the children in the event and make it a fun and memorable experience.

“The musicians and presenters did a great job interacting with the children, getting them dancing and singing, which was good for the little kids,” said Brendan.

“I think the speakers help to strengthen the belief and make it more real and personal for the children. I also think the environment has been very conducive, allowing the children to participate and not feel like a burden. Even the speakers have been very good at welcoming the noise of the children, to put the parents at ease.”

The congress offered numerous opportunities for Eucharistic adoration and Mass, as well as workshops and educational sessions.

Numerous families attended a family-focused session Saturday hosted by Damon and Melanie Owens, Catholic speakers from Philadelphia and parents of eight children. The Owenses said that early in their marriage, it was difficult to find other families who shared their values.

Damon and Melanie spoke about the “communal dimension of marriage” and the importance of Catholic couples with children seeking out other like-minded families to “live with.” They encouraged the families in attendance to make building community around them a priority.

“Marriage is not private — our family life is not meant to be private. It’s personal, but it’s not private,” Damon Owens said. “I want to encourage you and urge you to honor that, to revere that, and to lean on that as well, to do the hard work of coming even closer together.”

Paolo and Jessica Laorden of Mishawaka, Indiana, near South Bend, attended the lecture with their five children. The Laordens said the Owenses’ talk about the importance of finding like-minded families resonated with them, especially because their family dynamic is different from many of their peers — Jessica is a family doctor, while Paolo is a stay-at-home dad to their five children.

The talk, and the experience of seeing so many other families at the conference, reminded Jessica that “there is no perfect Catholic family and we are meant to share what we have, to support each other and find support, to depend on others instead of digging in,” she said.

Paolo saw the conference as their “family vacation” for the summer and said a highlight was the opportunity to take their children to say “good morning” and “good night” to Jesus in the adoration chapel each day of the conference.

“They did everything they could to make the family conference happen… we were very nervous about how we were going to make this happen,” Jessica added.

Paolo said he and Jessica want to make a conscious effort to continue taking their children to Eucharistic adoration when they return home. Many churches in their hometown offer adoration, and “we want to do it again, on a more regular basis … even if it’s just for a few minutes, or an hour.”

“We want to make sure that when we come back home, we take everything home with us and be a living being for the environment,” he said.

Frannie and Alec Moen drove four hours from Wildwood, Missouri, to attend the convention with their seven children. Frannie said that while everyone they met was helpful and friendly, the experience was challenging: It was a chore to get the kids and stroller from one place to another, and it was terrifying to keep the kids from getting lost in the crowds.

“But we trusted that God had us there for a reason, and that he would help us keep an eye on them. It felt like a pilgrimage,” Frannie said.

Seeing the diversity of the church and the large numbers of priests and religious “made a huge impression” on her children, especially during the Eucharistic procession on Saturday. Frannie also mentioned a special moment when one of her daughters, who has a “unique Catholic name and sometimes feels insecure about it,” met a religious sister with the same name who gave her a special handmade rosary.

“I think every five minutes someone stopped to thank us for what we did and for bringing our families,” Frannie said.

“We feel a deeper intimacy with Jesus in the Eucharist after going there. We go to him every day and we feel like he saw our loneliness and discouragement in this world and drew us to a place where we could be restored and sent back on mission to raise these children in the faith. It’s hard, but we were reminded that it’s worth it… The Church is young!”

Peter and Naomi Atkinson, who came from Chicago with their two young children, said the conference organizers did a good job of making the event family-friendly. Although they were unable to attend any of the evening sessions because of their children’s bedtimes, Naomi said the facilities to make families — and especially mothers with young children — feel comfortable at the conference were “great” overall. She said the space provided for breastfeeding mothers was especially appreciated.

“It’s really encouraging to see the other families who have brought their children here. The fact is that there are so many families who are in the same boat as us and are trying to make the same sacrifices to raise their children with a deep love of the faith,” Peter said.

“As Catholics, we don’t believe individually. We believe as a community. I think it’s really important that our families see the strength, diversity and unity of faith,” he continued.

“I think it’s really important that parents receive that together with other parents, and that children see their parents receive that, and that they see other children being formed in those communities as well.”