Adoration
By Michael Lynch
For the next several weeks, SFA parishioners will share their personal accounts of how the Eucharist has impacted their spiritual journey and life. We know they are not alone. If you wish to share your story for publication in the Bulletin regarding your encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist during Mass or during Eucharistic Adoration please submit your witness to fidel@sfassisi.org by the end of February. You have the choice to remain anonymous if you prefer.
Thirteen, preparing for Confirmation, with 500+ other middle school students, I had the most intimate moment of my young life.
It was my first experience with Adoration and I had no idea what I was doing. In my head, I knew the host was supposed to be Jesus, but that was just a lesson I had learned and not much help in this situation. To make things more awkward and uncomfortable, they called each parish up to the stage to give each individual Benediction, an opportunity to come face to face with Jesus. Mercifully, our group wasn’t called first so I watched to learn what I should do.
There was a whole host (sorry, pun intended) of reactions as the monstrance moved from person to person. Some people rested in the Spirit, while some crossed themselves profusely, and others were overwhelmed with tears. By the time our parish was called, I had decided what I would do. As a young man I knew that, when meeting someone, you should look them in the eye. So, if the host was truly Jesus, I should look him in the eye.
Finally, it was my turn. The priest stepped in front of me, lifted the monstrance, I looked Jesus in the eye. I was prepared for that. What I wasn’t prepared for came next. Jesus was looking right back at me. The idea became reality for me at that moment. The fact became a relationship. My life was changed forever!
There’s a difference between knowing that the Eucharist is Jesus and loving Jesus in the Eucharist. From that moment, my heart was His! Hopefully, over the last year you’ve heard and learned that the Eucharist is Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Now that you know, my prayer is that you encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, as I did, in a way that inspires a longing to be close to Him in Adoration and one with Him now and forever in Communion!
