The Eucharist is the Center of My Life
By Melanie Espinosa | Parishioner
St. Francis 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. You have the choice to remain anonymous if you prefer.
My husband and I moved to Niwot ten years ago. We were familiar with the area and had attended Mass at most of the nearby parishes. I planned that I would attend each parish 4-6 weeks and then select the one which most suited me as my home parish. I would not rush this important decision. Our first weekend here was so busy I simply went to Mass Saturday evening at St. Francis because it was the closest. I would work out my schedule of which parishes to attend in what order later.
At Mass that first Saturday, I received the Eucharist in my hand and consumed it. Then I noticed that a fragment of the host was caught between my fingers. I was afraid I would drop it and I didn’t want to hold up the communion line by attending to it at the front of the church, so I cupped one hand over the other and went back to my pew and consumed the fragment. After Mass as I walked out the front door toward the parking lot, a lady came up to me and said, “I saw you walking back from Communion with your hands cupped. Did you consume the host?” I said “Yes, I did” and explained what had happened. She gazed at me for a long moment, then nodded and left.
I was impressed. I had never witnessed anyone so courageously and boldly advocate for the Blessed Sacrament as she did. I decided that if this parish formed its parishioners in this way, then this was the parish for me. From that day forward I have been a member of St. Francis of Assisi and have never regretted it. It is indeed a parish that forms its members around the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Eucharist has also become the center of my life.
TAKE ACTION
Melanie was greatly impacted by the witness of a fellow parishioner and her zeal for the Eucharist. We communicate a lot with our actions. That is why we surround the Eucharist with reverence and beauty and care.
The next time you receive Holy Communion we invite you to ponder, how is your behavior at Mass communicating to others the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist?
