Experiencing Eucharistic Congress FOMO? With Jesus, Revival Can Happen Anywhere
The Lord always offers revival. He is always inviting us to go deeper, to encounter him in the Eucharist.
![Jack Figge prays with fellow college students at the chapel at the Schloss Wiessen. Jack Figge prays with fellow college students at the chapel at the Schloss Wiessen.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024072010078_f9b94bfc88d8fe26525e329eda90bebc97335d4351e27d7a89aea23e7d302af7.jpg)
I have FOMO right now.
FOMO (fear of missing out) is not a new phenomenon to me. As a college student anxious about wanting to make the most of every moment, I constantly worry that I am missing something big.
But over the past few days, I have experienced a new intensity of FOMO, all because I am not at the National Eucharistic Congress.
To preface, I am currently studying abroad in Germany for the summer, which I wouldn’t exchange for anything. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But still, there is a part of me that wishes I could be in Indianapolis right now, participating in the 10th National Eucharistic Congress.
Many of my friends are there; the congress holds a plethora of stories, making it a Catholic reporter’s dream; and it’s a milestone moment for the Catholic Church in the U.S., a moment that I wish I could witness firsthand.
As I scrolled through X on Thursday, FOMO surfaced as I saw the overwhelming number of posts from the congress. As I doomscrolled, I grew anxious, wishing that I was there, but even more so to experience a personal revival.
That afternoon, I attended Mass with my fellow college students, wishing that I could be at the Mass in Lucas Oil Stadium with the 50,000 other Catholics in Indianapolis.
As Mass began, the priest said that we would be celebrating a votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist, praying in a special way for the success of the congress.
I thought, “Now even the priest is contributing to my FOMO.”
So, as Mass began, I was still daydreaming about all of the stories I could be covering, people I could be meeting, experiences I could be having if I was in Indianapolis.
But the Lord does not work in could be. He works in reality — as I was reminded during the homily. The priest began sharing about the gift of the Eucharist and its importance in our daily life.
But then he shared something that especially struck a chord: Even though we are all the way in Germany, far from the National Eucharistic Congress, the Lord still wants us to experience revival here in this German chapel.
![Chapel at the Schloss Wiessen](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024072010078_4e31d942-b662-4c55-9181-5016476703dc.jpg)
Those could haves dissipated, replaced with maybes: maybe the Lord wants me to experience this revival here, in Germany; maybe I can participate in the National Eucharistic Congress, even though I am 4,276 miles away from Lucas Oil Stadium. Maybe all I need to do is open myself to the Lord.
That evening, as we had Eucharistic adoration in a small German chapel, I experienced a revival within my heart. I surrendered my FOMO to the Lord and asked him to grant me the grace to encounter him in the Blessed Sacrament in a new way.
Immediately, I felt a rush of peace overwhelm me as I stared with awe at the monstrance.
Here I was, still able to experience revival, because the Lord always offers revival. He is always inviting us to go deeper, to encounter him in the Eucharist.
The congress is a beautiful opportunity to experience not just the community of the Church, but to learn more about the Blessed Sacrament and experience a powerful encounter with the Lord.
But revival does not require the congress; it requires an openness to the Lord and our ability to say, “Yes.”
Revival begins with a personal Yes, and no amount of FOMO can deter the Lord from stirring something anew. It can happen anywhere: a packed stadium, a rural parish church, a grand cathedral — all it takes is an openness to the Lord and some quality time spent before the Blessed Sacrament.
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