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<p>The real story is the beauty and holiness that lives in the heart of the Nebraskan Catholics.</p>
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<p>I know, I know …</p>
<p>Well, one thing’s for certain …</p>
<p>God will never be outdone in generosity.</p>
<p>Or mercy …</p>
<p>Or sense of humor.</p>
<p>As my visit to Nebraska drew to a close, I resigned myself to the reality that there would be no photograph of a procession in a field;</p>
<p>All of the beautiful processions I had been to were in small towns and suburbs.</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240623190644_f0d874ab433ab378bbb4eebcb754a682bc14c8a8518aa1e49906684631f255f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240623190644_f0d874ab433ab378bbb4eebcb754a682bc14c8a8518aa1e49906684631f255f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Livestock even stop to look at the procession during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage through Nebrasa. "/><figcaption>Livestock even stop to look at the procession during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage through Nebrasa.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>And if you read my last post, I was given the amazing gift of encountering the hidden gem of what is the Nebraskan Catholic Church.</p>
<p>But no procession through a field —</p>
<p>Wrong.</p>
<p>Again.</p>
<p>On the final day of coverage of the Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a day when the Blessed Sacrament would be transferred from the Diocese of Grand Island to the Diocese of Lincoln, there was an unforeseen problem.</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240623190648_1a9420a4efe24f50d689d617610557870dd951227eaf3adc840dd6eee003e2ba.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240623190648_1a9420a4efe24f50d689d617610557870dd951227eaf3adc840dd6eee003e2ba" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Eucharistic Adoration on a road next to a local business in Nebraska during the National Eucharistic Pilgriimage. "/><figcaption>Eucharistic Adoration on a road next to a local business in Nebraska during the National Eucharistic Pilgriimage.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>The planned procession and handoff was scrapped due to problems with the route. and an alternate one was put in its place.</p>
<p>This one would not be open to the public for safety reasons and would take place on a road that my GPS couldn’t locate.</p>
<p>But just as in the initial plan, there was a bridge involved. </p>
<p>It would cross the Platte River.</p>
<p>I’m not going to say that God changed the whole thing just so I could get that shot,</p>
<p>But I certainly would be okay with that … if that were the case,</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240623190648_1d9c7c5543b42b03bf0dc262af3ce8b455b3ade2bfb526135146671e14919b8b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240623190648_1d9c7c5543b42b03bf0dc262af3ce8b455b3ade2bfb526135146671e14919b8b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage processes down a dirt road in Nebraska. "/><figcaption>The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage processes down a dirt road in Nebraska.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>Because as the small convoy of vehicles went from paved roads to dirt ones,</p>
<p>And as we approached this antiquated, rickety, one-lane bridge …</p>
<p>Surrounded by fields!</p>
<p>My heart stopped.</p>
<p>I felt that my face would break from the smile on it.</p>
<p>I’ll leave it at this:</p>
<p>I had it backwards from the start.</p>
<p>The shot in the fields didn’t really matter.</p>
<p>The real story <i>is</i> the beauty and holiness that lives in the heart of the Nebraskan Catholics.</p>
<p>The real story <i>is</i> their warmth and genuine kindness towards each other and to me, the stranger.</p>
<p>And the real story <i>is</i> their love for Jesus Christ and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.</p>
<p>And they proved that through their witness and their actions.</p>
<p>The shot in the fields?</p>
<p>That’s just icing …</p>
<p>But who doesn’t love icing!</p>
<p><i>Jeffrey Bruno is on assignment to capture in photos the moving moments of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for EWTN News.</i></p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/faith-and-fields-nebraska-part-ii-nec">Source link </a></p>
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Part II| National Catholic Register
