GREENFIELD, INDIANA, July 12, 2024 — The Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage began its 57th day with Eucharistic adoration and benediction at St. Michael's Church in Greenfield, followed by a Mass in which Seton Chaplain Father Giuseppe Siniscalchi, CFR, celebrated the Mass and preached. Seton Chaplain Father Roger Landry concelebrated.
In his homily, Father Giuseppe preached about the importance of acknowledging and living according to the truth that sets us free, and he zeroed in on the reality of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, to which Jesus himself attests not only in his words in the Synagogue of Capernaum about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, but also in the Last Supper when he changed bread and wine into himself and said, "Take and eat," "Take and drink."
After Mass, the pastor of St. Michael's, Father Aaron Jenkins, prepared breakfast for the pilgrims. At the end of breakfast, the Pilgrims thanked Brother Damien Joseph Novak, CFR, for his impactful week on the pilgrimage and sang the song Zoe Dongas wrote to thank the CFRs as they prepare to leave.
After breakfast the Seton Route team went to the Hancock Country Food Pantry where for two hours they prepared hundreds of boxes of food for the poor.
During the afternoon, they had a day of recollection preached by Father Landry at Our Lady of the Apostles Retreat Center where they are staying. Father Landry reflected on the passage from St. Mark's Gospel in which Jesus says to his apostles after they return from their first apostolic journey, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” because the people "were coming and going in great numbers, and [the apostles] had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place" (Mk 6:31-32).
Father Landry focused on how Jesus regularly wants to take us away from the crowds to process all that we've seen and done in our apostolic works. He wants to give us rest by yoking ourselves to him in a spirit of trusting prayer. Landry structured his conference on the types of conversation Jesus wants to have with us on a recollection on the five forms of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, contrition, intercession and petition. At the end of the conference, he covered the Parable of the Sower and the Seed and urged the pilgrims to ask God for an upgrade to good and fruitful soil from any hardened, rocky or thorny soil we might have.
After the Conference, pilgrims made a Eucharistic Holy Hour and then there were small groups to discuss some of what we need to praise God, thank, express our sorrow , intercede or ask God and other for.
After the Day of Recollection, there were various team strengthening exercises, dinner, fishing on the property of the retreat house and a campfire.
At night the Pilgrims found out about the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump and prayed to the Lord in the Eucharist for him, those injured, for all those in and running for office, and for an end to the causes of homicidal violence in our country.