The Wisdom of Generations

The most powerful encounters in my life have included all generations.

I think of moments with my children, with my parents, at family gatherings with grandparents present, weddings and baptisms, mentorships in the professional and spiritual realms, and Christmas and Easter celebrations. As I sat down to reflect on the National Eucharistic Congress, one thing that stood out to me was the multigenerational power of restoration and renewal.

The Book of Ruth talks about the promise that God will restore our lives with the love of those who are in their youth. St. John Paul II, in his Apostolic Exhortation on the family, referred to moments of sharing life like this amidst the whole Body of the Church as “wisdom.”

He said, “Modern culture must be led to a more profoundly restored covenant with divine Wisdom. Every man is given a share of such Wisdom through the creating action of God. And it is only in faithfulness to this covenant that the families of today will be in a position to positively influence the building of a more just and fraternal world.”

God did something new, and yet old, during the five days in Indianapolis. He gave us the gift of wisdom and restored our covenant with Him through prayer and the sacraments, through witness and unity.

What did we learn? It is time for the importance of intergenerational events to reemerge as the “norm.” Yes, they require effort and even some convincing—let me tell you! But I believe they are part of the secret sauce to the new evangelization in the Church.

World Youth Days, faithful and fruitful men and women conferences, events for college students, and parish events all made sense and “fit in,” so to speak, at one event—the National Eucharistic Congress. It was a glimpse of what the Church is supposed to look like all the time.

I once heard that in order to keep something safe from thieves, you hide it in plain sight. The Eucharist has been in plain sight since the Last Supper, but before and during the Revival, we realized that somehow we began to miss Him, to unsee Him.

No more.

Displayed at the Eucharistic Procession on Saturday afternoon, first communicants, religious sisters, families, bishops, priests, rites, cultures, charisms, and apostolates were all fully present. God reminded us of our unity, our belonging, and that we need each other to be whole.

Then it clicked. God set it up that way. In fact, it's how we come to look more like Him, becoming a communion of persons.

Pope Francis, in Desiderio Desideravi, said, “there is no aspect of ecclesial life that does not find its summit and its source in the Liturgy. More than being the result of elaborate programs, a comprehensive, organic, and integrated pastoral practice is the consequence of placing the Sunday Eucharist, the foundation of communion, at the centre of the life of the community.”

I believe this is something we as a Church have been longing for, and I think we uncovered this “Wisdom,” this “secret,” this “one thing necessary” in the celebration of the Eucharist with the entire Body of the Church present—young and old. We saw Him again in the breaking of the bread.

Catholic multigenerational events are important because they bring the communion and wisdom of the ages more present to us. The National Eucharistic Congress was a moment in the American Church that united us from all generations in worship.

The Church drew in the entire body, and I wanted more.