Our mission: Walking with one

One of the most significant events of this past year was the National Eucharistic Congress held in Indianapolis. Close on its heels came our own diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Jamestown. Both of these events drew us into an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist, his sacramental Real Presence among us. Both of these events were part of an ongoing Eucharistic Revival taking place over three years throughout our country. 

As I have written before, that Eucharistic Revival has now moved into its mission phase, and we are in the midst of a “Mission Year.” During the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, each day we celebrated Mass, and every evening we had a time of Eucharistic adoration. Believe me, joining fifty or sixty thousand people kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in absolute silence is quite an experience! Each one of those Masses and evening hours of adoration concluded with an exhortation to mission, which was called Walk With One. The underlying idea is that our communion with Christ in the Eucharist must move us to go out to others, and to share what we have received, just as so many did after meeting Jesus during his time on earth. The key to this “going out” is a one-to-one encounter. Not many of us would be comfortable addressing a vast crowd of people, but all of us can talk to another person individually, in quiet, ordinary ways. We can accompany another person, just as we do already with so many people we know. 

But how would this work? Of course, it must begin with prayer. We turn to God in order to discern and know to whom God is sending us. With humility we prayerfully ask God to identify that one person we could accompany with care and understanding. Perhaps many would come to mind, but we simply begin with one. Once you have decided in prayer who that person is, pray about and for that person. Offer prayers of intercession for that person, and pray for the grace to accompany the one whom the Lord has placed on your heart. We pray for them in all their needs, their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears, and whatever struggles they might have with faith. We could offer a Mass for that person, and we certainly should pray for them before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We also pray for ourselves, that we might have the grace we need to approach them and walk with them. 

The next step is to reach out and connect in friendship, and more specifically, in Eucharistic friendship. We look for ways to accompany the person we have prayed for, to know them better, and to let them know us. We learn to listen attentively, hearing their story and allowing a relationship to grow deeper. We make ourselves available and strive to be there for the person in friendship. This isn’t a once and done activity, but a sustained commitment to walk with this person on their own journey, while letting them walk with us too. If the conversation turns to spiritual matters, it is important to listen. Your person might have little or no knowledge of God, or perhaps they have drifted away from Jesus and the Church for some reason. We don’t need to debate them about their position or immediately convince them of the truths of our faith. We simply love them and learn more about them, especially about their spiritual life. 

As the relationship deepens, and when the opportunity arrives, Walk With One asks us to invite that person to take a step closer to God, in a way most suitable for him or her. An invitation to a parish small group like a Bible study, or a social event, or perhaps an invitation to Eucharistic adoration if they’re ready. You could offer to pray with them. At some point, again when they are ready, you could hopefully invite them to join you at Mass as well. The invitation step might take time, and might not be accepted at first. But we remain close with the person either way, continuing to accompany in friendship, and continuing to give witness through our own relationship with Christ. God’s grace can accomplish more than we ask or imagine, and he can open doors that seem to be tightly closed. 

The steps in this process are simple: Identify, Intercede, Connect, and Invite. The person-to-person, heart-to-heart approach is what Jesus and the apostles used, and it can work for us too. It requires genuine care for the one we are accompanying, and a fair amount of patience. Some might resist our overtures, but others will be ready to walk with us in friendship, and even in discipleship. We might be reluctant to get involved in other people’s personal lives, but our Lord calls us to genuine love for others, so we can’t stay on the sidelines. Our relationship with Christ in the Eucharist sends us out to share the gift that we have received, so “Be not afraid.” 

If we take it seriously and put it in God’s hands, this initiative for mission could be transformative. Just imagine if every person who attends Mass in our diocese prayerfully walked with one other person and gave witness to that person about the reality of God’s love and grace. By the working of the Holy Spirit, soon we could see multitudes living in the grace of Christ and joining us in the life of the Church. 

To learn more about this initiative, you can find information on our diocesan website, or you can go to www.eucharisticrevival.org/walk-with-one. Let me encourage you to take the first step: ask God in prayer who that person is he would like you to walk with, and I’m sure he’ll walk with you the rest of the way.