I love going to Mass and receiving Holy Communion because Jesus has given me an understanding of the Eucharist. Every time I go to Mass, I close my eyes during the consecration. It’s like a movie plays in my mind of what the Eucharist truly is — I have reflected on images of Jesus as the Word, Jesus' true blood in the chalice, and the great things hidden in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is truly the constant in my life that keeps me grounded. I know that the Eucharist will always be there for me to turn to even when I feel abandoned by this world. 

The Eucharist has healed me of wounds that I had never shared with anyone. No one knew what I was going through, but in Adoration I could tell that God knew what I was going through. He knew what I was feeling, and He understood me. 

I love going to Mass because it shows me that I am loved unconditionally. Even when I feel like people in this world love me only because of my successes, I can know that Jesus will always love me. He knew all of the failures that I would have, and He still died for me. 

I love praying before the Blessed Sacrament because it gives me comfort knowing that God will always be there. Wherever I go, I can always go to Jesus in the Eucharist. I never have to fear ever being lonely if I recognize God's presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

I have very fond childhood memories of going to church with my parents at 3:00, on Sunday afternoons for “Benediction.” How very quiet it was upon entering. But even so, there was something very different about this afternoon “visit”. Everyone was so still, staring at the altar or with eyes closed in prayer. I didn’t fully understand at that age, but knew it was something special and liked going each Sunday to also take in the singing, prayers and scent of the incense. 

As I grew older, I have no recollection of hearing about Adoration for many years with the exception of when I had the opportunity to experience various women’s retreats and Cursillo. Then at some point, many years later, our parish began to have the church open one day a week for several hours for Adoration. I began to attend weekly and grew to look forward to my time there, and to this day I love spending time in Adoration. I usually bring a meditation book and a journal. I ask Jesus to speak to my heart, healing and guiding me with His love, thanking and praising for always being with me. Opening my book, I read a brief meditation and gaze upon him in the Eucharist and upon the cross, loving Him, and listening. Sometimes I sense an overwhelming peace, or He may flood my mind with thoughts, memories or consolations. I jot down what I experience so I may continue to ponder and pray on it in the days ahead. I always leave adoration feeling like “ jello,” so at peace and connected to Him and knowing His love is like no other! An hour that seemed like a few moments has changed me and I am so grateful. 

Now, every time I walk into a church, I look at the crucifix and ask Him to never let me forget that He did this for me: dying on the cross. And if that wasn’t enough, He reveals to me that blood He shed and offered for me and all His children in the most Holy Eucharist. We are so loved and blessed!

For several years the walls of my home had been the same tan color. Its neutrality and tone served us well, hiding the little fingerprints and scuff marks that come with family life, but the little ones grew out of the toddler stage and the house was overdue for a refresh. 

I knew where I wanted to start, the front living room, where we receive our guests and welcome each other home. 

I flipped through paint samples for days, finally choosing the lightest blue for the walls and the brightest white for the trim. It was a cleanable, smudge resistant paint that promised to cover the old color in one coat. 

I rolled up my sleeves, rolled on the color and the room was transformed. The walls opened up, the shadows in the corners were replaced by bouncing light. Taking it in was like a breath of fresh air.

Though I moved the furniture back in its place and used the same plants and decorations, everyone who saw it was enchanted. My husband even said to me “Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t imagine another color in this room!” 

I was well pleased with my choices, favoring blues, reminiscent of Mary, the past several years but I didn’t think much of it beyond aesthetics. 

One afternoon I ran out for a small can of paint to continue my touch-ups and stopped by the chapel at St. Michael’s Church. I frequent the chapel there, as it’s always available and not too far from home. 

I’ve done it all in that place. I’ve rejoiced, I have cried, I’ve prayed out loud and sat with Jesus in comfortable silence. In good times and bad, I have run to that chapel, or been beckoned there by the cross on its proud steeple that reminds me who waits for me therein. 

It’s Jesus Christ, fully present, body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of a Eucharistic host. Oh the comfort there, the holy longing, the peace unsurpassed by any other place short of His presence!

The Eucharist impacts my life greatly. Every week at Sunday Mass, I look forward to receiving the Eucharist. I receive great comfort and know I will be able to handle the week ahead because of the strength of the Lord. I look forward to Mass every Sunday. I love being fed by the Word and the Eucharist both. 

The perpetual adoration chapel is a place of sanctuary for me, a safe place when the world is too loud, confusing, or painful. I walk in knowing the Lord is present and feel peace and comfort immediately. It’s like coming home and spending time with family. 

I love the sense of peace I get when in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It’s a truly amazing gift to spend that time in prayer.

I have experienced the power of the Eucharist at a few different points in my life, but the one that comes to mind first is during a moment of Adoration where the monstrance was being processed through the room. Seeing hundreds of people on their knees worshiping and adoring was very moving, but the moment the priest walked by my section it felt like kneeling wasn't enough. I wanted to reach out to the Blessed Sacrament. I've returned many times to that moment and thought about how I always want to feel that way about my faith. 

We are lucky enough to have a perpetual Adoration chapel at our parish and I know that each week I have one hour set aside to really focus on my relationship with God. Being in front of the Blessed Sacrament is comforting. It is the physical reminder that I am not alone in my struggles and joys in life.

Our Eucharistic Lord is so very dear to me. He is my support and strength in all that I do. He has guided me in coordinating my parish’s perpetual Eucharistic chapel for the past 12 years. 

In 2014, when my first grandson was born with Pachygyria, I had been the chapel coordinator for three years. I asked all 400+ guardians (adorers) at that time to pray a novena with us for Charlie’s strength and healing. After observing six months of steady improvement, his second MRI showed a complete healing. There was no more fluid around the brain, his front atrophied lobe had grown to a normal size, and his smooth brain had developed ridges. Jesus is Who He says He is, and He can do all things. 

Stepping from the world and into the chapel feels like transcending time and space. Even when it is a dry and unfocused holy hour, I am still always aware in my heart that I have been with the Lord.

My Catholic faith has always been of the utmost importance in my life. I was born into a devoted Catholic family and was raised by people who were completely dedicated to the Lord and trusted in His divine providence. They showed me by example how to be a disciple. As I went through everyday life, looking forward to milestones, and searching for happiness and contentment, I took for granted and didn’t fully grasp the importance of the gifts that they had given me. What I didn’t realize until a few years ago, was that I knew who Jesus was, His miracles, His words, about His perfect sacrifice to redeem us. I loved Him and trusted in Him, but I loved Him from afar. I knew God’s love abided in me and that I could go to Him during times of hope and times of distress. However, I saw Him as a personage, as someone you admire and model, but at the same time, not fully accessible. Habitual Eucharistic adoration has revealed to me that this was the furthest thing from the truth. 

I always had the discipline to attend weekly mass and I believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I revered Jesus, but again, as if He was a rockstar. I did not attend Eucharistic Adoration regularly until approximately a decade ago, when our parish was blessed with the most holy, virtuous, and zealous priest. It is so inspirational, beautiful and awesome to have a deeply devoted priest who believes in what he is doing and who invites his flock to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus through adoration. 

Adoration has enabled me to open not only my heart, but my whole being to the Lord. It has opened my eyes to see that Jesus is not only truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, but that His love is tangible and that He invites us to approach Him and to abandon our whole selves to His will. During Eucharistic adoration, I am gazing, worshiping, praying, and adoring my Lord and savior. However, the most beautiful part is that He is also looking at me and right through me. When I realized that there is no place to hide and abandon myself to Him and become vulnerable, I began to understand the effect of His presence. 

The realization that His love for us is so profound and that He allows us access to be His presence is the most amazing gift. It fills my heart with overwhelming awe and it makes me feel so small and so big at the same time. I feel small in the context of creation and history, then I feel so big and so special because I know that I was uniquely created by God, and that I am part of His plan. Spending time with Him in adoration and entering into communion with Him when receiving the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist continually expands my heart and fills it with His love, and His peace. He gives me the graces that I need to persevere in faith, to overcome obstacles, and to change my heart to conform to His. He is there to share in my joys, console my sadness, and to pick me up when I fall. Life is not easy, but I know I’m not alone and that is all I need to know.

What a day it is when I approach the Adoration chapel. It is the most peaceful time of the day, knowing that I am not alone. Jesus is here, He is right beside me. 

My thoughts go to the Eucharist and know what a privilege it is for us to receive Communion. Christ is a part of us. He lives in our souls and hearts and showers us with His many graces and love. 

I speak to Jesus letting Him know how much I love Him and need Him in my life. I ask Him to free me from undue anxiety and needless worry, especially when I am facing illnesses. Finally, I thank Him for all that He does for me. 

It seems to be a one-sided conversation, but I only have to look at the Eucharist and there is my answer. The words of a song come to mind, "The Sound of Silence." How can there be sound in silence? Sound. Silence. The answer is simple, one only has to look around you and listen. Jesus is letting us know that His love is so great that He died on the cross for us. What more proof do we need of His tremendous love? 

Being in the presence of the Eucharist gives me such comfort that it is unexplainable. All my worries seem to disappear. It is a calmness beyond words. My life seems to take on a new meaning. 

As I leave the Adoration chapel, I look at the picture of Jesus and these words speak out to me, "Jesus, I Trust in You!" I know that I can face any problem with Christ's help. It may not be easy, but having Jesus by my side gives me the strength to know that I am loved and not alone. I can conquer anything with the knowledge that Jesus is watching over me. 

So silence it may be, but the sound is all around us. Stop and listen. Jesus' love is speaking out to us.