Several weeks ago I was inspired to write this post. It has taken until now to actually get it done.  At Mass one Sunday Father was giving the homily and was speaking on the Eucharist. He posed the question: What does the Eucharist mean to you?

Of course I immediately thought of the theological aspect of it. “It’s the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.” then Father said, “I know you could tell me what the Church teaches what the Eucharist is, but that is not what I want to know. What does the Eucharist really mean to you personally?”

So, here I go.

My most intimate time with Adoration and the Eucharist was in college. I was in Austria at the school’s campus there.  In Austria, I really dove into my Faith and immersed myself in the Mass and the Eucharist. I would go many nights to adoration in the chapel and I would kneel for 45 minutes to an hour just staring in adoration. The Lord really opened up my mind and my heart at that time. I never felt more close to God than I did that semester.  To me, the Eucharist was my solace from the week’s studies and travels.  The Lord would comfort me there in that chapel. All my cares and concerns melted away while I gazed as His greatness. New things were revealed to me. I didn’t see just the wafer in the monstrance, I saw into a world of brightness and beauty that I have never seen since.  This is what adoration should be. This is what I felt I should feel every time I received Him in the Mass.

Fast forward 16 years and I’m a father of 6 boys. It’s all I can do simply to get through mass being able to hear what is being said and try to focus on what is happening at the altar.  I cannot lie, for several years, the Eucharist was an obligation that I knew if I didn’t go to Mass and receive then I would have to go to confession.  I had lost the intimacy, the love, the amazement that I once had. I never wanted communion to be routine, but there it was, all the same.

I was snapped back to reality that Sunday when Father spoke on the Bread of Life and asked that pointed question. I realized what I had been taking for granted; what I had neglected. The Eucharist is the heart of the Church! The Eucharist should be the focus of my daily life and prayer. I’m not there yet, but I am getting closer. There’s been a rekindling of my faith in that homily and I appreciate more the beautiful gift the Lord has left us. No where in the universe exists the Eucharist. This is where the Lord comes down to earth to dwell within us. I have a new-found appreciation for it again. I look forward to mass, I look forward to receiving.

He is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed.)

We have come to the end of another Lent. As we enter the Easter Season, I hope and pray that all my brothers and sisters out there can remember the sacrifices we endured during Lent and continue to grow closer to Him who is our Savior.

St. Patrick Church always has such a beautiful reverent Easter Triduum every year. It was so wonderful to be there on Thursday for the final liturgy, Friday for the 7 last words, and the Easter Vigil which is always so wonderful. What a precious thing is our Faith. How wonderful is it to have the Eucharist and the beautiful masses that we can attend!

During Lent I went to a Mission talk at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Grove City. They had Fr. Larry Richards there from Erie, PA. He is a very dynamic speaker and he really convicts you to turn your life around. I went on the healing night with the Eucharist and the healing prayer. It was amazing. The Eucharistic procession was wonderful. What a glorious thing we have!

He inspired me to find a Mass that I can attend on a daily basis and stick to it. I encourage each of you to do the same. Daily mass is the fuel that keeps us faithful to Christ and His Church as well as our families. Receive the Eucharist everyday and it will change your life.

Here we are in the second week of Advent. It’s about this time when I start to lose the momentum that I had when I started. Each year when Advent comes around I say to myself that I’m going to use the season to really make a change. Lent is not the only time that we can try to better ourselves. Of course, we should better ourselves everyday, but Lent and Advent are the two times of year it really comes home.

Advent, like Lent, is a time of preparation. We are preparing for the coming of Jesus. He will come in a symbolic way at Christmas but we are also Christians who are expecting His return in glory. Jesus would return at any time, are you ready? I know that I am doing my best but I feel I have a long way to go. If the Lord returned today, how many of us would be able to stand in front of him?

One great way that St. Patrick’s helps us is by providing the Magnificat booklets at the back of Church. These great meditations can help us keep in mind what is important this season. If you haven’t picked one up, I highly encourage you to get one. I have two in case I lose one.

One of the best ways to increase your relationship with the Lord is through Adoration. Adoration is God’s gift to his people. I cannot describe how great it is to kneel in front of our Lord in the Eucharist. It is so quiet and peaceful; it’s just you and Jesus. Adoration is a time to bring to the Lord your concerns and those of your friends and family. Offer to Him everything and He will help you. Check the Catholic Times for times for adoration, I’m sure there is a place somewhere near you in this city.

So, how am I doing this Advent? I think I’m doing pretty well. Check with me next week.