By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
On Sept. 10, 365 young adults from the Diocese of Dallas convened at South Side Music Hall for the latest 635 event, themed “Source and Summit.”
A diocese-wide event, The 635 is hosted quarterly by the Diocese of Dallas’ Office of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries. The purpose of the event is to connect young adults to God, to each other, and to their local parishes.
“The 635 is a place of invitation,” Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries Josh Salinas explained. “It’s an opportunity to invite peers to come and encounter the Church and the community. It’s also a place for the entire diocese to come together in the collective of the young adults.”
The theme of this latest event, “Source and Summit,” served as a nod to John 6:35, a verse which inspired the name of The 635 and underlies its mission. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).
The event commenced with a happy hour and included bilingual praise and worship led by Dave Moore. Joey Scancella, director of children, youth, and young adult ministry at St. Ann Catholic Parish in Coppell, was the emcee.
Jesus the Bridegroom
Jackie Angel, the event’s speaker, explored the topic of the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Catholic faith by speaking about the intimacy of receiving God, the Bridegroom, in the Blessed Sacrament.
“As Catholics, we have this beautiful gift of the Eucharist,” Angel said. “God is constantly calling you to come to Him and to lay down what is on your heart, to be vulnerable with Him… Every Catholic church has Jesus in the Eucharist, in the tabernacle, waiting for you to come and sit before Him and lay out everything before Him.”
Angel challenged the young adults in the audience to deepen their intimacy with the eucharistic Lord by spending time with Him in daily Mass.
“The most intimate you can be with God here on this Earth is when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist—body, blood, soul, and divinity,” Angel said.
“I really took home the Eucharist part of it,” Raquel Hazbun, a young adult from St. Monica Catholic Church, shared, “knowing that’s what unites us with Jesus.”
Henry Gardner, a young adult from St. Ann Catholic Parish in Coppell, also expressed that the discussion of the Eucharist moved him.
“Hearing about the Eucharist as the sacrament of the Bridegroom is always so beautiful,” Gardner said, “almost like when we receive the Eucharist, we’re kissing heaven. It’s so intimate and personal… That was very, very convicting tonight.”
“It was beautiful,” Holy Family parishioner Ericka Gonzalez said of the event. “I really loved it.”
The next The 635 event will take place on December 10 at the Granada Theater and will explore the topic of identity as children of God.
Cutline for featured image: Young adults raise their hands in praise during a performance by Dave Moore at The 635 event, “Source and Summit,” held Sept. 10 at the South Side Music Hall in Dallas. (JOSEPH BIONAT/Diocese of Dallas)
