The Eucharist is my strength, my inspiration, my comfort, my everything.

I was asked once by a Protestant employer who was an evangelical pastor to explain why I was Catholic in ten words or less. I thought about it for a second, and then I said, 'I can tell you in one: transubstantiation.’ After I explained what it was, he stopped asking me to attend his church. He respected that I believed in the True Presence even though he couldn't.

My mom's mom was a Catholic convert, and she was very devout. She used to talk to me about Jesus a lot. She used to tell me about the Eucharist when I was little, so by the time I got to catechism classes, I already knew about Jesus and the Real Presence. And I was like, ‘I can't wait!’

I remember my First Communion when the teacher was telling us, you know, what to expect. I was kneeling there, a seven year old little girl, your heart’s so pure, and I remember kneeling there and I was telling Jesus, ‘I'm never going to hurt you the way the other people did. And I'm going to make up for everything bad that ever happened to you.’

I didn't understand everything, but I knew that I loved Him completely. And I knew I wanted Communion more than anything in the world. And, you know, it was love. It was a beautiful experience. And I still remember that feeling.

But this wasn't a priority in our family. My mother was into the occult. I didn't know it was against the Church for a long time because it was just something my mother did, something that I grew up knowing about. When I graduated from high school, I went to the Little Sisters of the Poor for almost two years and eventually decided that I really didn't want that. And so I left.

I came home, and I was at odds with myself. I didn't have a job. I didn't have an education. So I started hanging around my mother and her friends and I started reading the tarot cards and I was working in nightclubs. It really pulled me away from the Church because by then I knew that what I was doing was wrong.

I would feel guilty every time I drove by a church because I knew Jesus was waiting for me. And I remember one day I said, ‘I'll be back.’

I started talking to this healing priest and he would give me advice and counsel. He helped me come back to the Church. I remember one time he told me, he said, ‘Now go make a good Confession and everything will be okay.’

I had lost all my family except for my sister. I was very alone, very depressed, and I was just coming back to the Church. I was suicidal, I had just lost everything. And he told me, ‘Come to the Mass. That’s going to help more than anything.’ He said, you know, ‘You need therapy, you need medication. Do what you have to do for yourself. And come to daily Mass.’

And I did. It made such an impact on me when I forced myself to go. Some days I dragged myself in there. But I went and I kept that commitment for two years. I started to turn around and change. I've found in adoration the strength to overcome a lot of my depression and my fears. I just sit there and I don't like to be busy. A lot of people come with their rosaries and books, and I've tried that. But now I just go to be with God and to just sit in His presence. It's just so very moving. Attending adoration drained away my anger, my grief, and brought forth the love I had locked away. Frequent visits to adoration bring me balance and help me grow deeper in my faith.

Whenever I've been challenged in my faith or I've thought about leaving the Church — because I have, I had stepped away from the church for years – what brings me back is the Eucharist. Even when I was not living my faith, I never, ever doubted the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is a banquet of God's love for me – for all of us. Jesus died so I might live. The Eucharist helps me to be more Christ-like. It strengthens me.

I am able to dwell in him and he in me. It is a time of spiritual renewal and growth. A time to be still and listen. A time to worship, a time of intercession. It's my reality check. It's my heart’s desire.