St. Jude in Chattanooga hosts a three-weekend revival to celebrate the teachings of the Indy event
In organizing the Fanning the Flame Eucharistic Revival that took place over three weekends last month at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, no one at the time realized how appropriate the Gospel reading for the closing Mass on Aug. 17 would turn out to be.
Deacon Jim Bello hosted the Fanning the Flame opening weekend sessions, themed “From the Four Corners” and “The Greatest Love Story.” (Photo courtesy Rose Lovelace)
Bishop Mark Beckman celebrated the liturgy to conclude the five-day event that presented the teachings of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress held last summer in Indianapolis and matched its five-day schedule from July 17-21, 2024. The congress was the first held in the United States since 1941.
Fanning the Flame sessions, which presented to those attending several videos recorded at the congress and allowed area Catholics to give personal testimonies, were held Aug. 1-2, Aug. 9, and Aug. 16-17. The Gospel reading on the final day came from Luke 12.
“They chose the theme of ‘Fanning the Flame’ before they knew the Gospel this weekend that would close it, in which Jesus was saying how He wished that there would be a fire to spread over the earth. I used the homily to speak about the fire of the Spirit and His love,” Bishop Beckman said after Mass.
Rose Lovelace of St. Jude organized the event, and she and her team drew a round of applause when the bishop acknowledged them at the end of Mass.
Concelebrating the closing Mass were three Chattanooga Deanery parish pastors: host Father Charlie Burton of St. Jude, Father Mike Nolan of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Cleveland, and Father John Dowling of St. Augustine in Signal Mountain.
Deacon Butch Feldhaus of St. Jude was deacon of the Word, and Deacon Brian Gabor of the host parish was deacon of the altar. Deacon Frank Bosh of St. Jude also assisted.
Midlife Crisis, based at St. Stephen Parish in Chattanooga, provided music at the closing Mass. Mrs. Lovelace sang with the group. A reception was held in Siener Hall to conclude the evening.
Three deanery deacons hosted Fanning the Flame sessions: Deacon Jim Bello of Holy Spirit in Soddy-Daisy and Deacon Dave Waguespack and Deacon Gary Brinkworth of St. Stephen.
‘How I wish that it were already blazing’
“The words of Jesus tonight are powerful: ‘I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish that it were already blazing,’” Bishop Beckman said as he began his homily. “Those of us who have noticed the news about wildfires out west, we know how destructive those fires can be—so when Jesus uses that metaphor, it has power.
“I remember hiking near Bend, Ore., in a forest where a fire had gone through recently, and the earth was scorched with the smell of ashes in the air, the dead trees, nothing green in that part of the trail. I remember the feeling of sadness that came over me, and yet there is something in Jesus that is on fire to have that which needs to be consumed, consumed.”
The bishop added that “there is debris, underbrush that needs to be burned from our hearts, parts of who we are that are not like God, the self-centered parts of our hearts, the parts of us that are yet unmoved by the concerns of our neighbors, the parts of us that are still hard and cold when we see the suffering and vulnerable in our world. There are parts of our hearts that are afflicted by things like greed, gluttony, lust, and pride and all the other deadly sins.”
The Lord is “not satisfied that those things grow in us,” Bishop Beckman said.
“He wants to pour out the fire of His love to purify that landscape of our lives,” he said.
Rose Lovelace (red dress), organizer of the Fanning the Flame event, sings during the closing Mass at St. Jude Church. Also pictured from left are KJ Smith of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga; Noah Morais of St. Stephen in Chattanooga; Micheline Parkey of Our Lady of Sorrows in Alabama, formerly of St. Stephen; and Ella Porter-Ivey and Tom Smelas of St. Stephen. (Photo Dan McWilliams)
That fire is needed as “we look around our world today and see violence—in Ukraine, the Holy Land, in Africa, in so many places in our world,” the bishop said. “And we see, even here in our own country, the hardening of the heart toward the most vulnerable in our world.”
The first reading at Mass came from Jeremiah 38, which tells of Jeremiah being thrown into a cistern, where he remained until the court official Ebed-melech asked King Zedekiah to have the prophet rescued.
“The fire of God is not content. Jesus, like the prophet Jeremiah, has a burning passion that the goodness and righteousness of God would be part of every human heart,” Bishop Beckman said. “The fire of God does not stop until that happens. That’s why Jeremiah as a prophet said the fire of God ‘is in my bones.’ … Jeremiah saw clearly that God’s people needed redirecting, and he spoke the truth to them.
“What did they do to Jeremiah? They threw him in a cistern, didn’t they? He got stuck in the mud. I was thinking about that fellow who went to King Zedekiah and said that’s not right—we need to get him out. I’m so grateful that Jeremiah had such a person in his life.”
Fanning the Flame focused “a number of you on the Eucharist, the presence of Christ the Lord with you, with me, with all of us,” the bishop said.
“The fire of His love burns in His eucharistic heart for you and for me, indeed for the whole world,” he added. “As we sit with the Lord in adoration … we’re inviting the fire of His love, the fire of His Spirit, to purify our own hearts so that He can send us into the world as bearers of the light and love of God. The desire of God is the transfiguration of the human heart and of our world.”
Bishop Beckman contrasted the sadness of the Oregon site he mentioned earlier with a more pleasant memory.
“I was blessed a number of years after my hiking event to go to another place where the fire had gone through years earlier. What happened was a miracle: new growth everywhere, flowers blooming, trees sprouting from the soil,” he said. “It was like a new birth happened as a result of that fire. …
“The fire of God’s love for us is real. It is present here tonight, the desire of God that we be cleansed and purified in the depths of our own heart so that we become the heart of Jesus for the world. The longing of God, the fire of God, are for the goodness and the wellbeing of every single human being on our planet, and this beautiful world He has given us is where the compassion of God leads us. Brothers and sisters, may that fire burn within us tonight. Come, Holy Spirit, come, and enkindle in us the fire of your love.”
Bishop Mark Beckman delivers the homily at the closing Mass for Fanning the Flame. Behind him are Father Mike Nolan and Deacon Frank Bosh. (Photo Dan McWilliams)
After the homily, Deacon Feldhaus asked in the prayers of the faithful for the intercession of St. Peter Julian Eymard, “The Apostle of the Eucharist,” whose feast day of Aug. 2 coincided with the second day of Fanning the Flame. The saint during his life encouraged the faithful to take part in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
As part of his closing announcements, Deacon Feldhaus thanked “all who organized and all who participated in Fanning the Flame. It has been a beautiful, grace-filled experience that comes to a close this afternoon with our Mass here celebrated by our bishop.”
Bishop Beckman said at the end of Mass that “it’s always good to be at St. Jude.”
“What a great community. I thank all of you who have come from other parishes, including some of our neighboring priests. It’s great to have all of you. May that fire of love stir in your hearts,” he said.
The bishop was busy greeting Mass-goers afterward in the vestibule at St. Jude. The three-weekend Fanning the Flame event “was a beautiful idea,” Bishop Beckman said, “and I think the idea was that people would be more present on the weekends to really get together than throughout the week. It was great planning.”
Inspired by National Eucharistic Congress
Mrs. Lovelace attended the National Eucharistic Congress last July and said her experience in Indianapolis “was incredible.”
“I just knew I had to bring it back to the Chattanooga area,” she said.
She formatted Fanning the Flame to match the length of the congress.
“We did five days because there’s just too much content,” she said.
Host pastor Father Charlie Burton of St. Jude Parish distributes Communion at the Fanning the Flame closing Mass. (Photo Dan McWilliams)
The three weekends at St. Jude provided time for adoration and prayer and offered praise and worship music as well as Saturday breakout sessions for middle- and high-school students. A rosary and Mass began each Saturday.
Father A.J. Houston, who was ordained a priest this year and is the newly appointed full-time chaplain at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, and St. Jude parishioner John Shramko were among those giving testimonies during Fanning the Flame.
The weekend themes for the event were “Encountering Christ” for Aug. 1-2, “Journey of the Passion” for Aug. 9, and “Living the Mission” for Aug. 16-17.
Deacon Bello, also the diocesan director of Christian formation and of the diaconate and deacon formation, hosted the opening weekend’s sessions, themed “From the Four Corners” and “The Greatest Love Story.” A procession of banners from Chattanooga Deanery parishes was part of the first evening Aug. 1. Also featured were a video message from Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., who chaired the organizing committee of the National Eucharistic Congress.
Additional videos were shown during the opening evening of Cardinal Christophe Pierre on “True Eucharistic Revival” and Sister Bethany Madonna, SV, on “Invitation to Emmaus.”
The second day, Aug. 2, included video testimonies from the congress and video presentations of Monsignor James Shea on “Satisfaction & Hunger,” Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart on “In the Bread of Christ,” and Father Mike Schmitz on “The Greatest Love Story.”
Deacon Waguespack hosted the second weekend session of Fanning the Flame on Aug. 9, with the theme being “Into the Gethsemane.” The day also included more video testimonies from the congress and video presentations from the Indy event by Dr. Mary Healy on “Jesus the Healer” and Sister Josephine Garrett, CSFN, on “Repentance & Revival.”
The final weekend of Fanning the Flame was hosted by Deacon Brinkworth, with themes of “This Is My Body” for Aug. 16 and “To the Ends of the Earth” on Aug. 17.
Bishop Mark Beckman greets a youngster after the closing Mass. (Photo Dan McWilliams)
The last Saturday presented videos of Dr. Edward Sri on “The Power of the Catholic Community,” Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers on “Becoming a Missional Body of Christ,” Gloria Purvis on “Unity in the Body of Christ,” and Bishop Robert Barron on “Evangelizing as a Body of Christ.”
The closing day, Aug. 17, offered videos of Chris Stefanick on “Go—The Power of the Gospel” and Mother Adela Galindo, founder of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, on “Mary as the Model Eucharistic Missionary.”
Having Bishop Beckman celebrate the closing Mass of Fanning the Flame “was a blessing,” Mrs. Lovelace said.
“The Gospel reading was connected to Fanning the Flame, so I just feel like the Holy Spirit has led everything about the event,” she added.