Evangelizing Without Even Thinking About It

Fr. Matthew and the St. Isidore Youth Delegate team represented our parish at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. In this newsletter series, our youth share reflections on their encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.

During the Eucharistic Congress, there was a Eucharistic Procession through the streets of downtown Indianapolis. Something from the procession that was really cool were the rows and rows of seminarians, priests, nuns, and bishops walking past us. It was a never-ending stream of religious! I was like, “Wow, I didn’t know that there were that many!”

There were thousands of people watching the procession, so it was very loud. There was singing, talking, and sirens in the background. Our group stopped on the sidewalk and we started praying the rosary. This was probably the best rosary I’ve ever prayed. It was a very prayerful experience for me.

While this was happening, we were standing in front of a restaurant, where the employees came out to see what was going on. They were really curious about what we were doing. They asked, “Where are you guys from?” “What is this about?” It was really cool to see that just by being Catholic and by being there, on the streets of Indianapolis, we were evangelizing without even thinking about it. We will never know how many people we touched just by being there and showing that there are young people like us who are invested in our faith. This was a highlight of the trip for me.

Just by being Catholic and by being there, on the streets of Indianapolis, we were evangelizing without even thinking about it.

—Gabe, St. Isidore parishioner and high school sophomore