2024-6-14-eEdition

JUNE 14, 2024 THE CATHOLIC WEEK PAGE 15 ByMARIAWIERING OSV News As a Eucharistic procession made its way May 28 through Victoria,Texas, a 20-something man sitting on the side of a street caught Charlie McCullough's attention.McCullough stopped to talk with him, explaining what was going on:The procession was part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage en route to Indianap- olis for the National Eucharistic Congress, and the Eucharist they were walking behind is really, truly Jesus. "He had grown up in the Protestant faith and had never seen a Eucharistic procession before, and was at a time in life where he was asking a lot of big questions about what is the reason I exist for, what's the purpose of life, all these things," McCullough, one of six perpet- ual pilgrims on the pilgrimage's southern St. Juan Diego route, recalled May 29. "We talked briefly and I kept walking." About five blocks later,Mc- Cullough looked over his shoul- der and saw the man running after the procession. He caught up to McCullough and asked if they could talk more. "He told me that that morning was the first time he had tried to pray in years. He opened his Bible, and he didn't know if the Lord had heard him. And when we walked by — when Jesus Christ walked by — he knew something was different. And he knew that he wanted to follow the Lord, and he had so many questions about how and what he wants to do, and there was this zeal welling up in his heart," McCullough said. "I just got to pray with him and encourage him." "At the end of our conver- sation, he goes, 'I know this sounds crazy, but I want to go all the way to Indianapolis,'" he said. McCullough, a fellow Texan, thinks it's unlikely the man will follow the pilgrimage to Indianapolis, "but I pray that he follows the Lord the rest of his life," he said. "He had a very profound experience, and the Lord stirred his heart through a simple encounter there, and it was very beautiful." McCullough shared that encounter on a May 29 media call that included pilgrims from all four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which began May 18-19 in California, Connecticut,Minnesota and Texas.Ten days into their jour- neys, the 23 perpetual pilgrims were in the Diocese of Victoria; the Diocese of Boise, Idaho; the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; and the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey. Their second week included already iconic events -- such as when Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York blessed the city with the Eucharist from a boat near the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor May 27 — and hidden moments — like when a man got out of a truck in the middle of Oregon, far away from any towns, and genuflected as the Eucharistic caravan passed. "It was just a moment driv- ing by, but he had gone out that distance to make sure he knew he would be by Jesus," said Chas Firestone East, a perpetual pilgrim from Virginia journey- ing on the western St. Junipero Serra Route. The pilgrims shared other stories of encounter and conver- sion: On the California side of Lake Tahoe, a photographer for a secular news outlet -- amazed by the masses of people turning out for processions -- told the perpetual pilgrims that he was inspired to learn more about the Eucharist and plans to begin the process for becoming Catholic. Meanwhile, a woman who isn't able to walk with the pilgrims has been joining each proces- sion along the St. Juan Diego Route since Brownsville,Texas, on a retrofitted tricycle. Also in Texas, some perpetual pilgrims helped bandage a woman's wounded leg at a homeless shelter, and then the woman — whose name is Hope — asked the pilgrims to pray with her. "It was just a beautiful mo- ment to see Jesus ... getting to see him inside the person that we en- counter," said Shayla Elm, a Juan Diego Route perpetual pilgrim originally fromNorth Dakota. GLORIA’S RELIABLE SITTING SERVICE “Someone You Can Rely On” GLORIA LOCKETT, OWNER 251-622-2487 THERE IS A "PLETHORA" OF BENEFITS THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE WHEN DOING BUSINESS WITH US INCLUDING: Q MEDICATION ASSISTANCE & ADMINISTRATION Q GROOMING AND DRESSING Q MEAL PREPARATION Q HOUSE KEEPING Q BED AND LINENS CHANGED Q OUTINGS AND ACTIVITIES Q ALL SITTERS HAVE BEENTESTED FOR COVID-19 Q ALL SITTERS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED SERVING MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES AND OTHER SURROUNDING AREAS INCLUDING SEMMES, SARALAND AND POINT CLEAR REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. CONTACT ME ANY TIME. NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE Stories of conversion mark first 10 days The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will reach the Archdiocese of Mobile on Saturday, June 15. 8 a.m.: Mass, Cathedral- Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Post-Mass: Eucharistic procession to St. Mary Parish. 10:30 a.m.: Talk on the connection between the Eucharist and service at St. Mary Parish. Bus transportation from St. Mary back to the Cathedral will be provided. With an estimated 7,000 partici- pants, the Source and Summit Eu- charistic Procession makes its way along Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Minn., on its way from The St. Paul Seminary to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul on May 27. The procession was part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. OSV News photo Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit