An emotional evening with Mother Olga and Father Schmitz leads to a challenge and a scene that touched souls

Iraqi-born Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, speaks during the second revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress on July 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

By John Shaughnessy

Powerful emotions flowed through Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on the night of July 18, befitting the evening’s theme of “The Greatest Love Story.”

Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart regaled the 50,000 people at the National Eucharistic Congress with touching stories of “eucharistic miracles,” including the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of a mother and her daughter.

And Father Mike Schmitz, who has helped millions of Catholics reach a deeper understanding of their faith through his “The Bible in a Year” podcast, showed his mastery of Scripture, while also leaving a lasting impression with a startling challenge for everyone.

Both received standing ovations from the audience. Still, the most moving part of the night came at the end when nearly everyone in the stadium fell to their knees.

The lights in the stadium all focused on an altar, beaming on a gold monstrance that glowed as it contained the Blessed Sacrament. In a setting where sports teams and rock stars have been cheered at decibel-challenging levels, the reverence and awe that filled the stadium in that silent moment was far more powerful in its own way.

And later, when the 50,000 people poured their hearts into singing “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” together, there was a sense of being part of a moment that touched the soul.

The stories of eucharistic miracles that Mother Olga shared also left an emotional mark. She told the audience about two small children who defied the odds to live, crediting their continuing lives to their consumption of and exposure to the Eucharist respectively. Yet her most moving story may have been of a mother and her small daughter.

In her outreach to people in hospitals, Mother Olga met a woman who was in the last stages of her battle with cancer. As they talked, the woman shared that she was a mother of two. She also told Mother Olga that she had always dreamed of watching her daughter, who was then 6, walk down the aisle of a church on her wedding day—and that she knew she wouldn’t live to see that dream become a reality.

After listening to the woman, Mother Olga set into motion a plan to give her a different version of her dream.

She approached the Archdiocese of Boston for permission to allow the woman’s 6-year-old daughter to receive her first Communion early. When the archdiocese approved the plan, Mother Olga asked the mother for her wedding veil, part of which Mother Olga turned into a veil that fit the girl. Then she asked hospital officials for a leave for the mother, so she could attend Mass on Easter morning.

On that morning, the mother walked her daughter down the aisle toward her first Communion, toward the embrace of Jesus.

It was a moment touched by tears, pure joy, peace and love.

Several days later, the mother died.

Mother Olga told the audience, “In your own journey, in the journeys of your loved ones, whatever emptiness you have, go to the foot of the cross, go to Jesus, for he alone can fill every emptiness, every void in our lives.

“Our Lord is truly present, and he’s here in our midst, wherever you go.”

Father Schmitz followed Mother Olga, connecting the threads between scriptural passages involving Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, John the Baptist’s first encounter with Jesus, and the ultimate gift of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as the lamb of God.

“That action redeemed the world,” Father Schmitz told the crowd, which cheered in response.

They applauded again when he said that every time the Eucharist is celebrated in the Mass, “you get to be a part of the redemption of humanity. And every time that happens, the Father is glorified, the world is restored, the world is renewed.”

His sobering challenge to the 50,000 people also left a lasting mark.

It began when he said, “Sometimes our problem is ignorance, and what we need is knowledge. The road to knowledge is truth. And sometimes our problem is indifference. Sometimes, it’s ‘I don’t know.’ Too often, it’s ‘I don’t care.’

“Too often, us Catholics, we say we have the Real Presence. But our hearts are far from him. We know. We just don’t care.

“If the remedy for ignorance is to get knowledge, and the road to knowledge is truth, the remedy for indifference is love. And the road to love is repentance.”

He then focused on the National Eucharistic Revival.

“If this is going to be a real revival, here’s the reality. In the history of Christianity, you can never have a revival without repentance.

“What I need to do is, I need to repent.”

He then challenged people to look at their love of God and see if it still burns deeply.

“This is the question for every one of us to just ask: If I’ve lost my love for the Lord, my first love, my first fire, what are the fire extinguishers in my life?” he asked. “Sometimes, the fire extinguishers are big, big sins. But most often, it’s those small things that we settle for. It’s those small things that don’t snuff out our flame right away. It’s kind of like putting a cup over a little fire. It gets lower and lower, smaller and smaller.

“Here’s the invitation for all of us. Identify what are the fire extinguishers in your life. The Lord is present among us. I don’t need more knowledge. I need more love.

“Let us pray tonight to ‘give me that love.’ The road to love is repentance. I have to identify those fire extinguishers. I have to repent because I need love. So God, help me to love.”

Moments later, Father Schmitz left the stage, and the Eucharist was processed into the stadium.

Nearly everyone fell to their knees before Christ, a movement of reverence—and repentance. †

 

(See all of our coverage of the National Eucharistic Congress at www.archindy.org/congress.)