Within the last week, images and videos of a massive Eucharistic procession in New York City have been shared on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
In a big city packed with Broadway performers and celebrities, time stood still as all followed Jesus in awe.
Father Mike Schmitz, popularly known for his "Catechism in a Year" podcast, celebrated Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral and led the Eucharistic procession. His social media following across platforms and the Hallow app has reached millions.
During the last week, we have witnessed the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel and Gaza. We have viewed Hamas’ gruesome war crimes on social media, seen countless photos of missing persons, and read tragic stories of families being held hostage.
These acts of terror, one of heightened political emotion, have been at the forefront of our papers. Now more than ever, it is safe to say the world needs a Savior. Thankfully, One is available to us at every moment.
The Napa Institute headlined their 2023 Principled Entrepreneurship Conference from Oct. 10-11 at The Metropolitan Club in New York. Father Schmitz, who led the celebration at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in the Archdiocese of New York, was joined by several dozen priests, clergy, nuns, and laity.
“We are here for one purpose, and that one purpose is to worship the true and living God.''
With tears in his eyes, Father Schmitz continues, “Our hearts are a mess, my heart is a mess. My heart is just like your heart and we need Jesus. We don't have the kind of hearts that can love Him the way He deserves, and we don't have the kind of hearts that can worship Him the way He deserves."
"Inside every one of us is a sinner and we need Jesus to rescue us.”
An emotional moment for Father Schmitz as he voiced the grandeur of the completely packed cathedral, which seats more than 2,000, he then led the congregation in the Penitential Act.
During his homily, Father Schmitz stated his hesitation for Eucharistic processions, claiming he is reluctant to do them on the college campus he resides on. Why?
Father said that while those involved may recognize and understand the importance of Jesus’ Real Presence, most others will not. Truly, when you know the weight and impact of Our Lord in the Eucharist, it can be frustrating to see others ignore Him with such indifference.
“When we walk out of these doors, we will notice Him, we’ll understand, and we’re going to love Him, but what God has asked us to do tonight is what He asked Jonah to do.
"'Go out there and take me with you, go out there to a world that doesn’t notice me, that doesn’t understand me, that doesn’t accept me, go out there and just take me with you.'”
“We have an incredible opportunity tonight. We get to be Jonah," Father Schmitz continues."We get to be Simon of Sirene and carry Jesus through the streets. We get to be His friends. His friends in His poverty, in his hiddenness, in His vulnerability, so that we can be His friends in His glory and in His power and in His victory.”
Martha MacCallum of Fox News: NYC Eucharistic Procession "A Miracle"
Martha MacCallum, Catholic anchor and executive editor of "The Story with Martha MacCallum" on Fox News, was in New York City to report on the procession, which drew in approximately 5,000 Catholics.
In her opinion piece entitled, "In Hamas attacks aftermath, a miracle in New York at Broadway and 51st," she states,
“As the Mass ended, and it was time to process, I didn’t really want to go out there either. It was one thing to be a Catholic inside Saint Patrick’s, it was another to do it walking down Broadway. I wasn’t entirely sure what had drawn me here in the first place. I wanted to disappear in the crowd, and watch it all, a reporter blending in, just there to see what would happen.”
Later, she continues,
“It was so peaceful, so absolutely still, as we walked under the neon lights of Radio City Music Hall, then turning left and going down Broadway under its spinning lights and flashing show signs, walking behind Jesus, and a parade of priests and nuns, as New York stopped to see.”
MacCallum shares how bystanders, Catholic and nonreligious alike, watched in awe as this procession continued through the city.
In a time so disheveled with war, violence, and brokenness, our Catholic faith was so beautifully displayed by thousands. We are told to be the living Gospel and to remain hopeful in our Lord, and I could not think of a better demonstration of love than this procession in NYC.
We live in a broken world filled with broken human beings who are in desperate need of a Savior.
Though the Napa Institute Conference has come and gone, the Jesus who moved thousands in New York City is the same Jesus waiting for you and me at Mass. The same Jesus is willing to meet us in our broken state and give us incomprehensible grace. The same Jesus who vulnerably waits for us to freely love Him.
As our world is in a state of shock and disarray, searching for hope, we have been given this faithful reminder.