Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. – Luke 24: 13-16
VALPARAISO – “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.”
Those words took on a special meaning as Bishop Robert J. McClory closed the first annual Emmaus Conference organized by the Diocese of Gary on Aug. 9, which drew 800 Catholics to the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso.
“Today, we recognize His presence in our lives, in the Eucharist and in the story of our hearts that empowers us to proclaim Jesus as Lord,” said Bishop McClory. “Today, we have surrendered ourselves completely to Jesus so that we may enter into the adventure that is missionary discipleship. We pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us forth into our churches, our communities within our families, and our workplaces throughout each and every day.”
The bishop asked those gathered to recommit themselves to being missionary disciples by answering “I will,” to the questions: Will you commit to deepening your personal relationship with Jesus in your daily prayer, the sacraments and reading his scripture? Will you witness to Jesus by your example? Will you witness Jesus to others by your words? Will you witness to others by serving those in need? Will you invite others to encounter Jesus?
Offering a blessing over those in attendance Bishop McClory prayed, “Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit upon these, your sons and daughters. Strengthen them in their daily walk with you, deepen their love for prayer, the sacraments of the Living Word of God. Let them be bold and joyful witnesses to Jesus in the way they live, the words they speak, and the love they show to those most in need.”
He added, “Like the disciples who ran back to Jerusalem with joy, may they leave here today, ready to share the Gospel message that Jesus is alive.”
Those words uttered by the shepherd of the Diocese of Gary, ended a day-long conference filled with Mass, praise and adoration, the opportunity for reconciliation and keynote and breakout sessions led by nationally renowned speakers.
Mary Healy, who holds a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree, delivered one of the keynotes during the conference. She emphasized that not only is Jesus alive, but He wants to heal His people. Healy, a teacher at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, stated that she always felt called to study healing in Scriptures and shared several stories of modern day examples of His healing power.
“I came to the stunning conclusion that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died on the cross for us, wants to heal his people. He loves to heal them,” Healy said. “And in fact, He does heal far more often than we think. Especially when we give Him room to do it when we open our hearts in faith.”
Healy noted that the world has appeared to turn away from God. People can often be surrounded by what she called the “walking wounded.” Even if they may look put together on the outside, on the inside they may be carrying deep fractures and loss of identity.
“If ever the world needed to know that our God is a God who heals, it's now,” she said. “And that's why the Lord is reminding his whole church that he is a God who heals.”
Healy led the crowd through a series of prayers encouraging them to open themselves up to God’s healing grace.
Dr. Edward Sri, a keynote speaker in the afternoon, further explored the topic of prayer. Sri, a Munster native and St. Thomas More alumnus, shared that praying the Rosary, Liturgy of the Hours and listening to Christian podcasts are all beautiful and important ways to pray, but encouraged the audience to go deeper with their prayer life.
“We could be Christians that pray the Rosary every day, go to Mass, regularly participate in the Holy Sacrifice (of the Mass) and receive Holy Communion every day,” he said. “and still wonder, ‘Why do I keep struggling with those same sins?’ ‘Why am I not a saint yet?’ ‘Why am I not changing?’ or ‘Why do I still struggle so much?’
Sri said there can be many reasons for that, but one reason could be that those beautiful devotions, those beautiful vocal prayers, and the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist are not meeting “the fertile soil of an interior life that will bear as much fruit.”
He suggested that what people should strive for is to practice a simple kind of prayer – what the Church calls meditation or mental prayer.
“The kind of prayer where you read a Scripture passage, and you read it multiple times, you observe it. You talk to Jesus about it, you listen. It's where you're applying your mind,” Sri said. “You're reading a sacred text, maybe from the word of God from Scripture, but you're not just reading. You're not turning your prayer into a study hall. You're actually taking time to ponder and to reflect on it.”
All prayer, Sri restated, is important, but this kind of prayer shares more from the heart and creates a dialogue with God. He acknowledged this form of prayer, which encompasses silence, can seem scary at first. Regardless if it seems scary or if there appears to be no time to pray, Sri stressed, it is essential to “check in” with God.
“We make time for things that we view as essential,” Sri said. “You make time for things that are vital. And if I want to really get my prayer time in, I have to schedule it.”
Other speakers involved in providing both an English and Spanish track offered at the conference included Dr. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, Dr. Dora Tobar, Meg Hunter-Kilmer, Adam Antone, Gabriela Martinez, Dr. Oscar Castellanos, Pery Martinez and Dr. William Becerra.
Father Declan McNicholas, director of missionary discipleship and evangelization for the diocese, shared his appreciation for all those who took time out of their day “in order to encounter Jesus and worship, in order to learn more about Him in these great presentations, to be able to talk to Him and to encourage each other.”
“But it doesn't stop here,” noted Father McNicholas. “Because if we walk out these doors here, go back to our lives without our lives changed, then we've wasted our Saturday, and I'm sorry, but we wasted it.”
Registration is open for “Return Emmaus: Hearts on fire – Walking with purpose,” scheduled for Aug. 22, 2026 at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso. For more information, visit https://dioceseofgary.jotform.com/252044460687156.
