Bessemer couple reflects on National Eucharistic Congress

The U.P. Catholic

“It’s been amazing to be here [at the National Eucharistic Congress]. I just view it as the biggest Catholic party in 83 years! Here we are with 50,000 Catholics who are here, of all ages: families, young children, babies, grandparents,” said Angie Mazurek of St. Sebastian Parish in Bessemer. She and her husband Jerry, parents of the recently ordained Dcn. Zack Mazurek, were amidst the National Eucharistic Congress attendees from the Diocese of Marquette. Both shared thoughts on their experience of the event in Indianapolis, Ind.
One of the parts of the Congress that stuck with Jerry was the tremendous joy of the people in attendance. He noted a spirit of pilgrimage about the attendees, including how they were being patient with others as they moved about, praying at various parts of the waiting process to get registered. Jerry said he especially liked the different speakers that had come.

“[The humility of the speakers] has been really impressive. They’re not here for themselves. Some of these are world renowned speakers that are here before us, whether they’re priests, bishops … they’re not here for the clapping. They’re here to point us to Christ in the Eucharist and that is amazing,” Jerry said.

Jerry shared that he particularly enjoyed the remarks offered by Fr. Mike Schmitz, well known for his “Bible in a Year” podcast. “In his speech about repentance, [Fr. Schmitz] encouraged us to get to confession, because before we can encounter the Lord, we need to remove those obstacles. That was a really good reminder, and as he said, it wasn’t anything we didn’t know. It’s a good reminder that we need to step up,” Jerry said.

On the experience of when Jesus was brought into the stadium with 50,000 people for adoration in the monstrance, Angie remarked, “That was amazing, and to have that many people so quiet and praying—it was beautiful. When Bishop [Andrew] Cozzens brought Jesus in, in the monstrance, it was beautiful.” Angie also described the experience of knowing that Jesus has traveled across the country to be here with all the attendees as beautiful.

Angie said that it was fun to see other people from the diocese at the National Eucharistic Congress. “It’s also been wonderful for both of us because we both served on NET Ministries, and there was a gathering of anyone who served on NET,” Angie said.
She added that there had been about 70 to 80 of the previous NET missionaries at the gathering. “We were able to just be together and Bishop Cozzens came and joined us as well,” Angie said. “He was my team leader on my NET team 30 years ago, so it was very humbling when I saw my brother in Christ, Bishop Cozzens, processing in with Jesus. It’s a special connection. For him to be on the big stage with Jesus and be so humble and so prayerful … it was very moving.”

The Bishop Baraga Association (BBA) was a vendor at the Congress and had the opportunity to get information about Venerable Bishop Frederic Baraga out to many people. Angie and Jerry both remarked on what it was like seeing the name of the diocese’s first bishop spreading to people from across the country. Jerry described it as “awesome.”

“It’s to educate people who might not have ever heard of him and what he actually did for our diocese, and the service. I think of it often, knowing many of the priests from the U.P., they talk about how much they travel now. Imagine doing that on snowshoes and canoes!” Jerry exclaimed. “And his dedication year in and year out to go to these remote places and bring the faith—that’s incredible. I’m hoping that we can speed [his cause for canonization] along and find another miracle that can be attributed to him and his intercession.”

Angie said, “I think there’s a lot of people here who have stopped by the booth.” She added that while stopping at the BBA’s booth, she spoke with Lenora McKeen, executive director of the BBA. “She [McKeen] said, ‘there’s been so many people,’” Angie said. She described it as a good opportunity to get the word out about who Bishop Baraga is, so that “people can start praying and continue to pray.”

Now that they have returned from the Congress, both have considered how they will continue to bring the spirit of revival back to the Upper Peninsula.

Angie said that it had been wonderful for the two of them to attend the event. “A lot of times we come to these events, and we have teenagers with us,” she said. “Sometimes they’re our own kids, and sometimes we’re the chaperones so [it was] very freeing for us to go and take it all in.” Angie said that she felt as though she and Jerry were able to receive more from the experience at the Congress.

“A lot of times when we’re chaperones, we’re giving and giving, and keeping track of everybody else, so it was a time for us really to receive,” Angie said. “I think that in coming back to the U.P. and back to our home parish, we would just share the joy of Jesus. If anyone asks about the Eucharistic Congress, we’d love to share about our experience.”

Jerry said that he hoped to bring the spirit of revival back and share the experience and encourage people to come and experience the Catholic faith. “Jesus is here. One of our priests in the diocese sent me a message. He said, ‘our churches have Jesus in them everywhere. How much do we see people coming?’” Jerry remarked.

“This is an incredible experience, but we also need to encourage people that that same Jesus is in our churches all over the U.P. and he’s available for all of us,” Jerry continued. “[The National Eucharistic Congress] is awesome, but you don’t have to come here to encounter Jesus. We can encounter him in the most rural and out-of-the-way places we’ve got in our diocese. He is there in the tabernacle.”

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