From the moment we created an email address through which people could contact our office, we have received a steady stream of people sharing stories about their own experience of the National Eucharistic Congress held in Sydney in 1953.
Much like the reading from Isaiah this Sunday, men and women have recounted to us how they felt had seen “the glory of the Lord and the splendour of our God.” (Isaiah 35:2)
Given that (entirely unprompted) response, we thought we would take this opportunity to go one further.
If anyone reading this article attended the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 1928 – perhaps as a babe in arms – we would like to hear from you.
Similarly, if you know of any family member – a beloved parent, an aunt, an uncle – who attended the Congress in 1928, please tell us their story.
In February next year every parish in the country will receive a ‘pack’ with the official prayer cards, posters featuring the official logo, branding and the dates of the congress in 2028.
There will also be a nation-wide Holy Hour (date to be revealed in due course).
It would be truly wonderful to have present at the Mass preceding the Holy Hour any living connection with the International Congress of 1928 or the National Congress of 1953.
It would also be a reminder that our faith is a gift that is passed on from one person to another, from one generation to the next: “For I handed on to you what I received.” (1 Cor 15:3)
Pertinently, at the Vigil Mass of Christmas in a few weeks we will hear proclaimed the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
“Jeconiah was the father a Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abuid, and Abiud the father of Eliakim …” (Matthew 1:12)
And every year you may well wonder, “Why on earth do we have to listen to that?”
A reaction that is entirely understandable.
I have even been at Mass and heard priests audibly sigh as they flipped the page of the lectionary and continued listing the seemingly inexhaustible range of increasingly bizarre names: “… Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar …”
Yet that reading from the Gospel is not included simply to irritate parishioners and flummox the clergy.
Even the seemingly random names that comprise the genealogy are imbued with meaning and significance.
The four women included in the list are particularly striking.
Tamar was a scorned woman who was denied children by a succession of men and so resorted to trickery to obtain her dues. (Genesis 38)
Rahab was an innkeeper and prostitute who hid the spies of Joshua and allowed them to escape and conquer Jericho and her own people. (Joshua 2)
Ruth, a marvellous woman, was nevertheless a Moabite and would have been considered rather suspect in the eyes of some Jews.
Perhaps most startling is a line in the genealogy that seems completely innocuous: “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6)
Yet to obtain that wife – Bathsheeba – David first had her husband Uriah killed. (2 Samuel 11)
Indeed, it is worth pointing out that David is not considered the embodiment of Israelite kingship because he was a wonderful person.
He performed many terrible and questionable acts – yet he always repented, fell on his knees before God and asked for forgiveness.
Despite the strange and twisted perversions of history, no matter how far we have run from God or what we have done, God has remained with us and remained willing to forgive us.
He not only made barren women bear children – Sarah, mother of Isaac; Hannah, mother of Samuel; the mothers of Samson and John the Baptist – in the end, he had a virgin conceive by the Holy Spirit.
And this, the “greatest story ever told” has been passed down to us by others.
We believe because they believed.
Let us hear their stories.
If you would like more information on the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, to be added to the mailing list for updates, or have stories to share, please email: info@eucharist28.org