Why you should join us at the second annual diocesan Eucharistic procession
July 12, 2023
Join Bishop William Joensen in praising God and publicly witnessing to our Catholic faith by participating in the second annual diocesan Eucharistic procession on Saturday, Aug. 19.
Mass begins at 9 a.m. at St. Anthony Church’s grotto in Des Moines. After Mass, a Eucharistic procession will go 1.6 miles to St. Ambrose Cathedral, where benediction will be prayed. Refreshments will be available at the Catholic Pastoral Center, across High Street from the cathedral.
In the spirit of the national Eucharistic Revival initiative, the Diocese of Des Moines invites everyone to participate as they can. The faithful can come to Mass, walk in the procession, watch and pray as the procession goes by, or meet the procession at the cathedral for prayer and fellowship, said diocesan organizer John Huynh. Transportation is being arranged to take walkers back to St. Anthony after the conclusion of the procession.
Why should the faithful participate?
“This procession, like any other one, is done to symbolize life. Just as we journey through life, we’re on the road with Jesus and we’re moving toward heaven. In a procession, we’re journeying with Jesus. It’s supposed to remind us that through our life, we’re ideally moving closer and closer to heaven,” said Father Trevor Chicoine, diocesan director of Worship.
Here’s another way to look at it.
“On the road of life, we’re going to encounter challenges and trials,” he said. “The point of life is conversion of heart and conversion of mind so that, ideally, one day we reach heaven in perfect union with Jesus. A procession is almost a mini-snapshot of what a Christian life should look like: We start. We end, and in between, we grow.”
Why do Catholics do public processions?
“We give praise and honor to God because we love Jesus,” said Father Chicoine. “We want to adore him, to be with him. Secondly, we want to give public witness to our faith. It’s not just what we do in church that’s important but it’s what we do out in the highways and byways of life. We’re not afraid to be seen to be Catholics and to walk with Jesus.”
Many parishes held Eucharistic processions in celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi. Why do we carry the Eucharist in a monstrance?
“It’s like a moving tabernacle,” said Father Chicoine. “It houses the Lord in a place of honor where we can reverence, see and be with him.”
A procession is symbolic of Christ in church and out in the world, said Father Chicoine.
“A group of faithful Catholics follow Jesus through the streets where we play, where we work, so that the Lord isn’t just present to us in our sanctuaries but he’s present out there where we live our lives.”