Father Patrick Winslow delivers Holy Hour homily

'He is indeed here! He is indeed right before our very eyes'

CHARLOTTE — An estimated crowd of 10,000 people filled the Charlotte Convention Center Sept. 7 for the Diocese of Charlotte’s Eucharistic Congress.

After a Eucharistic procession through the streets of uptown Charlotte that lasted an hour and a half, everyone joined Bishop Peter Jugis and the clergy of the diocese in praying a Holy Hour.

Bishop Jugis welcomed everyone to the 15th annual event and prayed for God’s blessing on them and on the entire diocese.

“Today is a day for us to encourage each other in this great opportunity of worship,” he said. “May today assist us in growing in awe and amazement in the Eucharist. May our participation in the Eucharistic Congress deepen an appreciation of devotion to Our Lord.”

The Holy Hour featured a homily from the diocese’s new vicar general and chancellor, Father Patrick Winslow, on the theme “Stay with us, Lord,” taken from the Gospel of Luke 24:29.

The events of Jesus’ death and resurrection provide a narrative that illuminates and gives meaning to our lives, Father Winslow said. More than facts, the Paschal mystery is a story that paints a picture – but it must be understood carefully, in the context of sacred scripture.

“A story says so much more than individual facts,” he said. “Shape the story and you can either reflect or distort reality. When it is distorted, as it was with the case of the men on the road to Emmaus, we become foolish.”

But Jesus – present to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and present to us today in the Eucharist and in His Word – provides understanding.

“They were slow to believe, not for lack of faith, but for the lack of an orthodox faith,” he said. “The unexpected events (of Jesus’ crucifixion and death) challenged their preconceived and incomplete narrative.”

“The men are grappling to understand: How are they to organize the events that have taken place? What is the true story of what is unfolding around them? And so, the Lord helps. 'He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the scriptures' – arranging and guiding their understanding of the events according to the law and prophets, a proper narrative takes form; the Paschal mystery begins to take shape.

"Disguised, he required them first to see by faith, by the right formation of the mind, in accord with the true Paschal narrative. Hidden behind the visage of an unfamiliar face, the Lord had reached into their minds and drew together the foreshadowed themes of salvation history to correct their misshapen narratives. Only now do they recognize Him. They had to learn a new way of seeing."

Jesus aids their understanding, connecting the facts of scripture, His death and resurrection into a narrative that conveys the entire Paschal mystery, Father Winslow said. And the same can be said for us today.

“‘Stay with us’: Here the men say what we all feel. We do not want to return to our confusion and misunderstanding. We want to see. We want to understand. Show us!”

“Like the men on the road and the early Church, we have to learn a new way of seeing," he said. "First, through our minds illumined by the light of faith, the true narrative of the Paschal mystery must take shape; only then can the events of salvation history, and our own particular lives, be properly understood. In this way we can see more. We can see what is hidden but no less present, that for which our hearts burn and long. We can see our story. We can see the larger horizon. We can see our purpose."

"When we allow Jesus to correct the narrative of our minds, a powerful vision opens before us,” Father Winslow said. “Even our senses are corrected. One who was crucified is now alive. Bread is no longer as it appears. He is indeed here! He is indeed right before our very eyes!”

“The Paschal mystery is the narrative that gives true form and shape to all we see and know. And what we see is quite simply beyond all our imagining.”

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor