Buffalo seminarians participate in National Eucharistic Congress Masses

INDIANAPOLIS — Three Buffalo seminarians jumped at the opportunity to participate in several Masses held at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Joseph Graham, Lorenzo Quebral and Andrew Erdman spent five days in 80-degree heat wearing black cassocks to serve at some of the daily liturgies.

“We were ushers in the 4 o’clock English Mass today,” explained Joseph Graham during the third day of the July 17-21 experience. “We were basically just helping the priests know which stations they were supposed to go to to give out the Blessed Sacrament.”

The three served in the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium where 55,000 gathered for daily Mass.

“For me, it was quite beautiful,” said Graham. “It was like being in my home parish, but bringing that home parish to a national stage, bringing it to people from around the country, and seeing the Church as a whole being unified in the way that we worship and the way that we see the sacraments.”

Although not on the altar, they did carry out the same general role they will once ordained as priests – lead people to God.

“There was one girl in the standing room only section asking about low gluten hosts. I just walked her to where it was. There are a lot of things to do to make it go orderly and smoothly,” said Quebral. “I liked the ability to give guidance to people even in a very small way if there was confusion or ambiguity.”

Graham also had the opportunity to be an altar server at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, not far from St. Mary’s Seminary and University where he studies.

“It always brings joy to my heart seeing the Church as a whole, how it worships and how it is unified. You can go to any church in the country and we celebrate the same way as one body of Christ,” he said.

Andrew Erdman, a third-year seminarian, served as a Communion guide on July 20.

“It was a real blessing,” he said. “You really get a sense, when you’re just walking through the people, of their devotion to the Eucharist. Some are just kneeling down as the priest brings Jesus past them. As they’re going to receive, it’s just like every ounce of their body is desperate to have our Lord in the Eucharist. It became apparent to me being so close to the priests. It confirmed my vocation to continue along that path myself.”

The main role of a priest is to serve as intermediaries between God and the faithful.

“The whole priesthood is so centered on bringing Jesus to the people. That’s one of the reasons I first entered seminary and it remains the biggest draw to me,” Erdman said.

Graham and Quebral have just completed their propaedeutic or introductory year that will prepare them spiritually for seminary life and the priesthood. They found attending the National Eucharistic Congress, which included prayer, talks, adoration and exhibits that drew 55,000 from across the country, to be fruitful.

“Enzo and I are both on the Renewal track,” Graham said. “We both felt, working on the East Side of Buffalo, where the Church doesn’t have as big a presence as it used to, being able to find ways to get that revitalization in our own cup, per se, so that it’s overfull, so there’s a reservoir. We’re not just refilling and draining, we’re overflowing with those graces that the Lord gives us so we can bring those to other people in the area and revitalize the Church globally and revitalize it in our local communities.”

Quebral liked seeing nationally recognized members of the Church such as Bishop Robert Barron from Word on Fire Ministries, musician Matt Maher, actor Jonathan Roumie from “the Chosen,” and speakers Gloria Purvis and Chris Stefanick in person.“It’s always a privilege to be able to encounter people who are notable on a national scale to really learn from them in person. We went to Trent Horn as a breakout session. I’m a huge fan. So, I liked seeing him in a room with probably 10,000 people. It was different from watching his podcast. I felt I was able to take even more from the kind of presentation he was able to give today,” he said, adding, “The people really know their stuff.”