Question of Faith
A weekly question of faith answered by Cleveland Catholics. Fr. Damian Ference, Vicar of Evangelization and Deacon Mike Hayes Director of Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Cleveland co-host with frequent guests from the Diocesan Office who join in the conversation.
Question of Faith
What are 50,000 People Doing in Indianapolis? Recorded on Site
Editor's Note: Recorded on 7/17/24. There is a slight volume drop on this episode so please adjust your volume.
Ever wondered what it takes to organize an event for 50,000 people? Join us as we sit down with Father Damian Ference and Paul Jarzymbowski, Associate Director for the Laity at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who gives us an inside look at the monumental National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. From the electric atmosphere at Lucas Oil Stadium to the logistics of "bishop care" for over 200 bishops, Paul shares some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories. Cardinal Christophe Pierre's stirring message of unity and the binding power of the Eucharist will leave you inspired and reflective. We discuss the importance of safety at large gatherings and the need for vigilance, especially given recent global events.
And for all you sports enthusiasts, don’t miss our recap of the local softball league, complete with standout performances. This episode is a rich blend of faith, fellowship, and community spirit that you won’t want to miss!
Church search goes out to Maryland this week!
Additonal Note: We had a technical SNAFU, so this did not get uploaded until 7/22/24. Tomorrow's regualrly scheduled episode likely will be up in the late afternoon as usual.
Today is Question of Faith. What are 50,000 people doing in Indianapolis? Hey everybody, this is Question of Faith. I am Mike Hayes. I am the Young Adult Ministry Director in the Diocese of Clifton.
Speaker 2:I'm Father Damian Ferentz, a vicar for evangelization.
Speaker 1:And our guest today.
Speaker 3:I'm Paul Jarzymbowski. I'm the Associate Director for the Laity at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Speaker 1:So you're in charge of all laity.
Speaker 3:That means Every single one, every single one. No, the bishops are ultimately in charge. I simply help them facilitate their encounter with the laity.
Speaker 1:There's several different Pauls out here.
Speaker 3:There is yeah, there's multiple Pauls that are here. There's the Paul that works with the Bishops Conference, there's Paul that's an author and has spoken on and works with evangelization and young people, and then there's just the Paul that hangs out with his wife at Disney World. So there's many.
Speaker 1:There's many Pauls, and you were just recently in Cleveland, so thanks for coming on out.
Speaker 3:It was my joy to be in Cleveland. Cleveland's a wonderful city and it's an even more wonderful diocese.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm noticing on your we've got these lanyards, or our credentials, yes, and mine. Well, it says my name. And then a little banner, a little ribbon says priest and Deacon. Mike says deacon. Yours has the most interesting ribbon I've seen so far. It says bishop care. So tell us about what Bishop Care entails. I think that's hilarious.
Speaker 3:So Bishop Care ultimately means that here at this gathering, there are over 200 bishops from the United States and around the world Two from Cleveland, two from Cleveland, all right and our job here as USCCB staff is to make sure that they get to where they need to go. We take care of any issues that arise for them and generally we work the office here at this event where bishops can come if they have any questions, if they're missing their credentials, if they've run into issues, if an emergency situation comes up in their diocese and they need to take care of things. We're the team that makes sure they get what they need and then get them where they need to go.
Speaker 1:Excellent. That's one of the highlights of my life. World Youth Day in Toronto. I helped with bishop care for the USCCB. We volunteered and that was a lot of fun. I got to meet a lot of different people, a lot of people from different places, a lot of bishops who I didn't know. So it's good. So thanks for doing all that work. I know bishops need bishop care sometimes, don't they?
Speaker 3:A couple of them have joked with us. They see the word bishop care sometimes, don't they, you know? A couple of them have joked with us. They see the word bishop care on our badges and they're like what kind of care are you offering me? Spiritual care, pastoral care, logistical care? I said whatever kind of care the moment needs Hygiene care, I guess there are limits to our care, perhaps.
Speaker 1:So we're here at the National Eucharistic Congress and we've been looking forward to this for a while.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've got at least 250 people from the Diocese of Cleveland. We came in on four buses yesterday. Some other folks drove in on themselves in cars, but it was a fairly uneventful journey, which was wonderful, although we ate lunch at 11 am and then dinner at 3 pm like the old folks in florida. Yeah, it was a little different, but we're adapting, and pilgrimage is a time to adapt and be challenged and let your heart be formed in a way that maybe, uh, you didn't expect it to be. So so far, so good I'm gonna brag.
Speaker 1:I got on the treadmill last night at 1130.
Speaker 2:Oh, I snuck in between the time we got to the hotel and left for this place, and this place is Lucas Oil Stadium and Convention Center. Yes, the. Indiana Convention Center. So 50,000 strong Opening liturgy. Last night was the end of the E, end of the Eucharistic procession and then a holy hour, basically Music, praise and worship some speakers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was good. It was electric at times and it was kind of cool seeing people coming in from, you know, from the four corners of the country. Really, you know, it was kind of nice to see their faces as they came in. There was like this real kind of moment of pride, like we've gone all this way.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And now we're here.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know where you were sitting, but I couldn't find the group. So eventually I wound up with Jen and Frank McCart, but we were all split up. I think our hope was we could all be together, but we weren't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, most of us were. We were on the floor by 116 and we had pretty good seats. It actually was really nice sitting nearby Bishop loose and father Ian Kelly and a few other folks, and so it's fun. Yeah, it was. It was really good what a Paul and I's favorites talked last night. Who is the papal nuncio?
Speaker 2:oh yeah he's got a French name, he does.
Speaker 1:Not Sherborn. I've got to let you figure it out, I should know, pierre something Cardinal Pierre is correct what's his first name Christophe. Christophe.
Speaker 2:Cardinal Christophe Pierre.
Speaker 1:There you go. I will take obscure cardinals for 500.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, there you go. Yeah, he was great.
Speaker 1:And, yeah, had a good message of unity last night. What do you think, Paul?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean Cardinal Pierre. I mean he's the personal representative of Pope Francis to this Congress. Well, to the United States and here at this Congress, he was really sharing Pope Francis' message of unity, that, really, that the Eucharist binds the people together. But also, what binds them together is what they do when the Eucharist inspires them, when it fills them up and makes them see the world in new ways, and that should be what unites us and almost distinguishes us from communities outside of our church. And so I think he was really trying to drive home that message, to remind us that, you know, it's great to gather, it's great to be on fire with it, but it's even greater what happens next, what happens in our everyday lives as we're fueled by this Eucharistic spirit?
Speaker 2:You presented a couple great both-ands yesterday, so you talked about, in terms of unity, that both the Holy Father, the Pope himself, is a sign of unity and the Eucharist is a sign of unity, both of those things many talked about the importance of adoration and the celebration of mass and then being sent out. Go and peace, glorify the Lord by your life, go and announce the Gospel of the Lord and then being a Eucharistic people and, yes, worshiping and, yes, adoring, and also both living and becoming what it is that you receive, who it is that you receive for others, especially those you may not get along with, and in there you find your unity so challenging and good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, agreed, he's been very. You know, I've been in a couple workshops with Paul and he's usually the bishop who comes and talks. At the very end is the papal nuncio, and, unscripted, he is very entertaining. He's just really funny and kind of off the cuff. He did that a little bit last. And unscripted, he is very entertaining. He's just really funny and kind of off the cuff. He did that a little bit last night, don't you agree?
Speaker 2:Don't you agree? He asked another question, isn't this true?
Speaker 1:Isn't this true? Something like that.
Speaker 2:It was funny because he did it twice and it was not in the script.
Speaker 3:And he then waited for the audience to answer. In a way, that's exactly what Pope Francis does in a lot of his talks. He kind of breaks from the script and asks the audience what do you think?
Speaker 2:And so I think he's taking a cue from his own boss. And the one guy is like so we disagree. Well, we'll see.
Speaker 1:I am confident in my opinion, that was great.
Speaker 2:I also enjoyed the Sister of Life.
Speaker 1:She had a good name too, Sister Bethany Madonna.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she was great and one of the images she shared. She was talking about suffering and why suffering, and she talked about the sea turtles that are born far from the ocean and then they have to break out of their shell and then crawl to the ocean and in doing so they build up all these muscles that allow them to swim. And if you take the sea turtle right when it's born and carry it to the ocean yourself, it'll die, because those moments that are very painful and difficult are essential for the survival of that particular animal, and I thought that's a really nice image. I like that one a lot.
Speaker 1:It's so funny that you mention that Because about a year or so ago I in field ed at st brendan's parish and father tom woose, the brother of bishop woose, gave that exact homily. It was like he said it had popped up on like his microsoft screen as image of sea turtles and it said want to know more. And so he said I never clicked this thing, but today I did and he just went through that whole thing click this thing, but today I did and he just went through that whole thing people went wild for.
Speaker 1:Everybody was asking for comfort comments and yeah and saying, okay, do you have that? I'm only somewhere that you could send me. And mr boost was laughing is seriously. He was like. He's that all over a Microsoft screen this is great.
Speaker 2:the other image she wasn't an image. It was a story she told about a woman who was in some sort of therapy and part of the therapy was a holy hour every day. And at first she said she sat with her back to the tabernacle and was very upset and didn't even want to talk. And then it was anger, and then it was sadness, and then it was conversation, which was basically the stages of grief, but going through them and trusting that the Lord wants to enter into all that stuff. And so whatever you're feeling, whatever you're going through, share it. It's okay to share, it's okay to be angry, it's okay to be upset. Like, work through that stuff with the Lord. I thought that was really cool too. Yeah, I did too yeah.
Speaker 2:She had a funny sense of humor too, so I liked the way that she delivered, she did.
Speaker 1:I liked her Ignatian meditation at the beginning story than saying you know, hey, philip, you're not getting this right.
Speaker 3:well, she called him phil. She's phil, that's right. Yeah, yeah, phil matt. Yeah, we need to.
Speaker 1:We need to pump this up a little john great here coming down the face. Perfect, you know it was good. She's good. Um, sisters of life are always fun. Paul, tell me a little bit about like what you know. You've been working on this for a while, so what were your expectations coming in?
Speaker 3:You know, this is another national event that the church is doing, and I'm used to World Youth Days, which are international events that happen every couple of years around the world, and I've been to Sikh conferences with Focus or the National Catholic Youth Conferences. So I've seen these large national gatherings, the Los Angeles Religious Head Congress, so I was expecting a little bit of that, but what was distinct about those and this is that those conferences are often focused on particular audiences, like those who work with youth or those who are religious educators or college students. What's distinct here and I was thinking I would see a big church like them but what's distinct is that this Congress is bringing all those different communities. It's bringing young people, educators, it's bringing parents, it's bringing Catholics who come to church daily and Catholics who come to church perhaps only a few times a year, and it's bringing them all together, people who are involved in various ministries, various dimensions of the life of the church. And so my expectation coming in was I would—actually I didn't really have, because I knew it was going to be a church.
Speaker 3:But what happens when all those big church moments come together in one? Uh, and and I'm I'm really heartened when I'm seeing the encounters of all these different types of ministries, these different types of people that are all united as Catholics and thus all united in that Eucharistic spirit. So, uh, that to me is an expectation. I was expecting for there to be something unique, but I wasn't sure what it would be. And as I'm going through each moment of this conference, I'm getting to see what that unity again that our speakers have spoken about, what that unity looks like when you bring these people from different parts of the church, different age groups, different cultures, and put them together in one space, all celebrating the Lord and that's been great.
Speaker 3:So my expectations have been fulfilled in that. Being able to see what that kind of that church that comes together, that journeys together, what that's like.
Speaker 1:Right, and we're only one day in, so keep it going right. What do you expect coming?
Speaker 2:in A lot of people, big crowds, and I've done World Youth Days before. I've been to France, rome, toronto, Germany, but I was talking to Deacon Mike before we started here. The older I get, the more I like smaller crowds and more specific, like I'm in the Flannery O'Connor Conference. So these big things, it is a stretch, it stretches me. So I think part of what I was expecting was to be overwhelmed a little bit by the crowds and the music, but hopefully to have my heart transformed. I think that's one of the things you keep hearing, like convert me, like make me grow closer to you, let me be a better disciple. So that's what I'm hoping for and I think, as a 48-year-old man, that looked different than when I was 18 or 28. And so just doing this as an older adult or a mid rather than as a younger adult.
Speaker 2:So I guess I didn't come in with great expectations other than wanting conversion and be a better disciple for myself other than wanting conversion, and be a better disciple for myself and lead and support the folks who are from our Eucharistic Revival team in making sure things go smoothly so people have a good experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think for me it was. I'm always just energized by people. I'm an extrovert, as you know.
Speaker 2:He's like no, not you. I am too, but differently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. I always think that I'm going to be excited by a particular talk or a particular workshop. Every time I go to a conference it's always all the people I met and all the people I caught up with. I just saw Barb from McCrab earlier from the Bishops Conference, who I've known for years. It's just really super to catch up with people and then also just to meet new people and to see, sort of like what you were saying, Paul, is to see the large, the largesse of the church, that we're not all just one uniform kind of body but that we come from all different kinds of places and we have a lot to learn from one another. So that's for me that's already happened, so I think it's really great. And getting to know our own delegation you know it was a fun bus ride down some people I knew really well, some people not at all, so it's been good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, Paul, do you have any fears for this conference? What do you not want to happen as a result of this?
Speaker 3:I mean one of the things I want to make sure that happens is that the bishops, that our people, that everyone's safe. This is a large gathering and large gatherings I mean, I've been to many and when you get people in crowds sometimes some challenges can happen, accidents can happen. I was actually driving a bishop through this crowd in one of the vehicles some bishops with mobility issues. We have golf carts for them, but then driving through a swarm of thousands of people in that golf cart itself is like a recipe for potential disaster. And so of course, there is that certain fear to make sure everyone's keeping safe that you know I mean a lot of people who are here.
Speaker 3:You know I don't foresee any issues regarding people getting into you know theological fisticuffs or anything like that, Although that would be kind of fun Maybe that could be an exhibit hall thing, the spiritual snackdown Exactly but I mean, when you get large groups, anything can happen, and so therefore, we're just being very mindful. My role here as part of Bishop Care is also caring for making sure safety is foremost for them and for the people around them. That's a key thing. That's a little fear I have. That's kind of a basic fear, but it is a fear that I'm keeping an eye out for.
Speaker 1:Cool, we haven't been on the podcast since the assassination attempt either, so I've been mindful of those kinds of things too. Is that in big crowds things sometimes happen. You really have to be wary. So let's continue to pray for peace in our world.
Speaker 1:pray for peace in our world. Pray for president former president trump's recovery and president biden's recovery. Now he has coveted. So you know, keep everybody in mind and keep everybody safe here. Paul, you know, when you were the diocesan director in the diocese of joliet, one of the things that you used to tell me you were most proud of was the athletic leagues that you formed. So you inspired me because we have a softball league here, and so it's time for this week's softball, A long, long day of softball out in Parma, starting out with the Parma Peacocks knocking off the Ite Mighty Doves.
Speaker 1:A three-run fourth inning gave the Peacocks all they would need Joe Vicario, Richard Suspaniak and Tony Vicario, all with hits in the fourth inning. Ite made it close with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. But Adam and Matt Garvin each had RBI singles. But not enough. The Peacocks four, the Ite Mighty Doves three Big League Chew knocked off the defending champion, catching Flamingos 3-1. Michelle Nin, she has come out of nowhere. Two hits, two RBIs. She is vying for most improved player in this league. She made a hard luck loser out of Rutger Dumm and the Flamingos, 3-1. Again the score. Michael Ninn, keeping it in the family. An additional RBI single for the Chew. Tim Mogling had the lone RBI for the Flamingos Boy.
Speaker 1:Did the Blue Scapulars have a day? They knocked off two games, sweeping the day 10-8 over the Vikings in the first one and a heated matchup, Nick Krooner, Matt Van Horn, two home runs and a sixth-run first inning. Walks and errors. The story late as well. Pitcher Phil Wancotta had a hard time finding the plate in the fourth inning. That led to three more scapular runs. Wancotta, however, made up for it at the plate. Five big RBIs on the day, A make-up game for the nightcap, a rain-delayed extra inning affair, the scapulars coming away with a 17-10 win over Grapes of Wrath.
Speaker 1:Grapes of Wrath now on the verge of elimination. They have to win the rest of their games and they still need help to sneak into the playoffs. Josh Buehle and Matt Van Horn had three hits apiece for the scapulars, Van Horn with three RBIs. Leo Bastugli also had two RBIs. Tough day for the Grapes of Wrath. As I said, they also lost their opener. The Chosen Ones took that game from them 11-8, a seven-run sixth inning capped by Steph Baccio's two-run triple. That gave them all they would need. They are now in the heels of the Whitecaps in second place at 4-1. We'll be out again next week. Check us out then, and check out Archangel Outfitters. They have given us our uniforms at archangeloutfittersnet as they sponsor this softball update. All right, you can come on out Sunday and see us all again at St John Bosco Parish. Things are heating up. The Grapes of Wrath are on the verge of elimination from the playoffs this week, so pray for those guys.
Speaker 2:Well, they'll have time to reread Steinbeck's classic and listen to the Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen, which is one of his finest albums.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Each week we talk about a parish in the Diocese of Cleveland, our church church. But Paul is not from Cleveland but we thought we would give him a chance to talk a little bit about the church where he lives.
Speaker 3:So chance to talk a little bit about the church where he lives. So, paul, where's that? I go to St Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crofton, maryland, which is in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It's a suburban parish about halfway between Washington DC and Baltimore. We have a wonderful community, probably about two or three thousand families that are part of the community.
Speaker 3:The community is very because of where we're located, by some military bases, government workers, people in different types of industries. I mean, everyone's got an industry in Washington DC Baltimore area, and so the community itself is very diverse in terms of where it works, culturally, ethnically and and that type of diversity is really celebrated in the community and we'd love to see all the different gifts that people bring, everything from military officers to NASA engineers, people who are working on the, on telescopes and satellites, to to people, to moms and people who are working on telescopes and satellites, to moms and dads who are staying at home taking care of their kids. So it's a great variety of families and people who are part of that place and it's just been a joy for my wife and I to call that home, and so we've got several priests who preach there and the homilies are always good and we've got a number of deacons, and their homilies are good too, but the pastoral care is just second to none. So I really enjoy being a part of that family.
Speaker 1:Cool, father Damien. I don't know if you know this, but Paul's wife, sarah, does a podcast with our own Christy Cabaniss. I think I may have heard that, yeah.
Speaker 2:Christy, I texted her yesterday. She's killing it with the organization of this thing. You ain't kidding. And she'll say because I'll say, well, you were four years in the Navy and she'll say that had no impact on anything. I don't think that's true. Yeah, she's super organized and gets things done really well and without much drama.
Speaker 1:It just takes care of business.
Speaker 2:It's a great gift to the guys.
Speaker 1:As I said to her last week when we were on the podcast, christy is allergic to two things cats and inefficiency. Christy has really got us moving around. She's done a really great job. She's always fun to work with and so scripture for this coming weekend they were like sheep without a shepherd. Imagine this crowd being like sheep without a shepherd. That would be a disaster. So that always speaks to me because I always think like well, who are the people who are like sheep without a shepherd? Those are the folks that we're called to go and kind of bring them back in to do some good evangelization and to make them feel welcome so that they know the shepherd and feel comfortable with the shepherd and they'll follow the shepherd's voice wherever he wants them to go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and even for those who have been with the shepherd for a while, sometimes we drift, so it's important to remember that you always need a shepherd, because if you start leading yourself, you wind up in a foreign bush yeah, very good, anything from you, paul?
Speaker 3:well, you know my work here, working with our bishops, who you know they're, they're shepherds in a sense. They they take on that, that, that that role from the Lord who, you know, gave the apostles that ability to be shepherds to the community, as you know, in this earthly kingdom. And so you know, my job is to, of course, take care of and make sure that the shepherds speak with the voice, to take care of the people across the United States, specifically in the areas of laity and young people, so that, again, the lay people, and so that young people know that their shepherds care for them as well, just like the good shepherd cared for the flock of all time and space. Amen.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, we're here at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. We'll be here for the rest of the weekend and then heading on back on the long journey back to Cleveland on the bus. What are you looking forward to, father D?
Speaker 2:Well, I was looking forward to seeing the Hillbilly Thomists perform today, but I saw on X, formerly Twitter, that their flight was delayed out of New York City. Oh wow, so tomorrow they'll be playing on that stage in there, I guess. So I'd like to see them, and then I like masses.
Speaker 1:I do like big masses I do too.
Speaker 2:Big groups and all the music and singing and all that and just people and running into people that I haven't seen in a while. That makes me happy.
Speaker 1:It's a small Catholic world you know, yeah, same for me. So we'll be going around. I'm going to a thing on synodality this afternoon, so I think that'll be fun. I am, no, I am. Oh, I thought you said we no. I said I'm going. Oh, okay, you can go where you want.
Speaker 2:I was going to say am I going to the wrong thing? I think I'm going to like a priest thing. Anyways, I'm going to something I I'll find out, that's right.
Speaker 1:We'll find out and you'll find you next time.
