As they say, one picture is
worth a thousand words.
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Okay, so maybe being a Catholic requires more
than a thousand word explanation. Since
publishing this page, I received questions as to
whether or not I had forgotten something since I
had only the image above with the one line
statement beneath it. This was my way of
focusing this website on Christ and not
myself...however, I do believe a personal
testimony is long overdue.
The point I was trying to make with the above
painting is that it represents our Lord, Jesus
Christ, holding the Chalice and offering the
Eucharist. The Eucharist is the main
reason that I am Catholic. There are many
other reasons, because I believe ALL that our
Holy Mother Church teaches without any
reserve. But it was the Eucharist that led
me back Home to the Catholic Church after an 18
year absence.
I was born to Catholic parents and baptized at 5
days old. When I found that out I was
thrilled, because to me, I was without the Holy
Spirit for only 4 days of my life here on
earth. I went to Catholic School and
attended Mass every Sunday and Holy Day until I
had my first child. After that, Mass was
sporadic and not a priority as I was "too
busy" and it was "too hard" to
bring babies to Church. How wrong I was,
but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. I was
very young and didn't understand what I was
leaving...what I was missing.
Three children and a divorce later, I had no room
for God in my life. I was so busy raising
my children by myself, working, keeping house,
and dating (looking for Mr. Right) that I never
thought of including God in that life.
Sure, I still had faith and I prayed every night
before bed; if you can consider reciting The
Lord's Prayer like a runaway train prayer.
It may have seemed that I had given up on God,
but God didn't give up on me.
He placed two devout non-Catholic Christians into
my path--one, a neighbor who became a very dear
friend of mine, the other a wonderful
faith-filled Pentecostal man who was placed in
the office next to mine at work. Between
these two beautiful people, I began to hear much
about the love of Jesus and my interest
peaked. I began to search for Him. I
thought that I hadn't learned enough in the
Catholic Faith and that the fault was with the
Church. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I
later found out that the Catholic Church teaches
everything these friends of mine spoke of...and
THEN some! But the journey to that truth
was a long one. I went
"Church-shopping" for a very long time,
trying different denominations, eager to have
this new spiritual hunger filled. I read
the Scriptures and absorbed every word like a
sponge. But I wanted more. I never
felt completely satisfied.
It was at a Church of Christ service that I
discovered what I was missing. My children
were spending the weekend at their dad's house,
so I went to the service alone. I truly
enjoyed the sermons as I could never hear enough
about the love of Christ. But it was when
it came time for communion that I realized that
something was not quite right. After the
communion and little cups of grape juice were
passed around, I waited until it was time to eat
and drink. Once it was time, I ate the
communion and drank from the little cup with
complete reverence as I had done in the past in
the Catholic Church. I thought communion
was the same in every church. And it
was at that moment I KNEW in my heart and soul
that this was not the Real Presence of Jesus
Christ. Even though I didn't truly
understand the Real Presence at that time, I
somehow knew that there was a difference between
this communion and the Catholic Eucharistic
Communion. How did I know this? Jesus
promises that if we seek we shall find. I
was seeking, completely, and with an open heart;
and I know that the Holy Spirit revealed to me
that day what it was I needed to do. That
was the last time I attended a non-Catholic
service.
I began to attend Mass again, but didn't receive
the Eucharist because I knew that I was in a
state of mortal sin and to receive the Eucharist
in that state is Sacrilege. It was close to
Easter and there was a Reconciliation (Penance)
service being held at a local Church. I
went and confessed 20+ years of sins so that I
could receive the Eucharist the following Sunday,
Easter Sunday. Sure, it was difficult to
sit there and talk about all the evil and sinful
things I had done in my life. But none of
this was new to God. He was there when I
had committed those atrocities. And once I
heard the words, "I absolve you in the name
of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy
Spirit", I knew without a doubt that I was
forgiven. How many times in the past did I
mull over my sins, even though I had confessed
them to God? I constantly found myself
confessing to Him over and over again the same
sins because I didn't "feel"
forgiven. I wasn't given the graces that
come with the Sacrament to truly let go of those
past sins and really feel forgiven. With
Reconciliation, there was no doubt in my mind.
What joy I felt when I went to Mass the following
Sunday, Easter Sunday, and received our Lord
Jesus Christ -- Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity! And I began to crave the
Eucharist! Many Christians have debated with me about the actual presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, claiming that Communion is a symbol. But, how can anyone crave something
that is just a symbol? I crave Jesus Christ, wholly and completely in the Holy Eucharist. I believe that
everything is possible with God, and just as
Jesus could turn water into wine at the wedding
of Cana, so too, He could turn wine into His
blood at The Last Supper. From water, to
wine, to blood. And I believe that He could
turn bread into His body and that He continues to
do so at every Mass. I believe the
Eucharist is the fulfillment of Jesus' promise
that "...behold, I am with you always,
until the end of the age." (MT 28:20)
I cannot describe adequately the graces I feel
after receiving such a Divine gift. Jesus'
actual Body and Blood mixed in with mine.
His soul and Divinity, uniting Himself with my
poor soul. Jesus, completely whole, making
His home in my heart!
I crave the Eucharist!
There are times at Mass that a feeling of
impatience comes upon me for I desire Him so
much, but I have to remind myself to be patient,
that every part of this Divine Liturgy is
important and each part leads to Our Lord's
Supper. I have heard from so many that the
Mass is boring. I used to feel the same
way, too. Before this revelation of the
Eucharist, I used to consider Mass as different
parts -- "the standing up part, the long
sitting down part, the short standing up part,
the short sitting down part, the LONG kneeling
part, Communion, then ... out the door we
go"! It would be funny if it weren't
true. With my new eyes, ears, heart
and soul, I absorb every word said at Mass and I
pray every prayer with my heart and soul. I
feel like I'm in Heaven when I'm at Mass.
And according to Scott Hahn's "The Lamb's
Supper", I AM in Heaven! Mass is not
what you get out of it, but rather what you put
into it. When I give my all at Mass, I
receive much more than I gave and the graces I
receive last throughout the day and into the
week.
I can go to any Mass, anywhere in the world, and
even though the language is different, I can
still participate in the Liturgy because I know
it completely, and more importantly, I can
receive the Eucharist -- anywhere in the
world! I can recite the prayers in my own
language while the faithful recite them in
theirs. I can bring along my daily readings
of the Scriptures...the same Scripture readings
taught to all Catholics each and every day.
If every Catholic were to attend daily Mass or to
read and meditate on these pre-selected Scripture
readings every day, over ONE BILLION people all
over the world would be taught the same
Scripture, the same Biblical lessons. To
me, that is what being Catholic (Universal) is
all about....every disciple being taught the same
thing each and every day based on the Scriptures.
No one forces us to go to Mass every Sunday as
that is our free will to choose to do so; but it
is a sin within the Catholic Church not to go to
Mass on Sundays and Holy Days without good
reason. Why is that? It is a
violation of the Third Commandment, to keep the
Lord's Day holy. When we choose to sleep in
or just skip Mass it is a choice to do our own
will, not God's. It is an act of
selfishness..."I want to do what I want to
do and I won't give one hour of my week to
God". I'm convinced the Catholic
Church enforces this commitment because the
Church loves us so much, knowing full well how
much we need to be spiritually nourished.
If we stop going to Mass on Sunday, we slip, we
fall, we lose grace; and the gap between God and
ourselves widens with each passing week that we
miss Mass. The more Masses we attend, the
more graces we receive, the more spiritually
nourished we are, the more holy we become.
The Catholic Church is concerned about our souls
and works to keep us in a state of Grace. I
see love in this, not tyranny.
I've also heard many who say, "I never
learned anything at Mass". There
are at least three Scripture readings at each
Mass, and a homily (sermon). I hang on to
every word and I have learned much by listening
attentively. Also, there are so many books
about the Catholic Faith and its teachings, I
believe no one could read them all in their
lifetime. We have to take the initiative to
learn on our own. Unfortunately, many
Catholics see Confirmation as
"Graduation", and I correct this false
idea when teaching Confirmation students.
It is up to us to learn more through reading,
prayer, and meditation. We have the
Scriptures, the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
the writings of the Saints, the Early Church
Fathers, the Doctors of the Church.
It is up to us to continue to educate ourselves
on the Catholic Faith beyond Confirmation and the
Mass. My favorite quote by Pope John Paul
II is "Christians are ALWAYS in
training." I couldn't agree more!
I am sure there is much more I can say, and I may
add to this as thoughts come to me. I pray that
you find the beauty of this rich faith as I
did. I will never leave this Church again,
nor will I ever take for granted the most
precious gift our Lord Jesus Christ gave to
us...His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the
Holy Eucharist.
God bless you and
give you peace.
CTherese |
EUCHARIST:
Gr. eucharistia, thanksgiving. From eu- +
charizesthai to show favor, from charis favor,
grace, gratitude; akin to Greek chairein to
rejoice.
1Co 10:16-17:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it
not the communion of the blood of Christ? The
bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread, and one body:
for we are all partakers of that one bread."
"Love tends to union with the object loved. Now Jesus Christ loves a
soul that is in a state of grace with an immense love; He ardently
desires to unite Himself with it.
This is what Holy Communion does."
-St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for
you, for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart."
-St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)
"In all He did from the Incarnation to the Cross, the end Jesus Christ
had in mind was the gift of the Eucharist, his personal and corporal
union with each Christian through Communion.
He saw in It the means of communicating to us all the treasures of
His Passion, all the virtues of His Sacred Humanity, and all the
merits of His Life."
-St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)
"As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives
Holy Communion is so united with Christ that Christ is in him and he
is in Christ."
-St. Cyril of Alexandria (376 - 444 A.D.)
"God in his omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew
not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the
Eucharist."
-St. Augustine (354 - 430 A.D.)
FOR MORE ABOUT THE MASS AND THE
EUCHARIST:
The Lamb's Supper by Dr. Scott Hahn
Listen To Dr. Scott
Hahn's Tapes on The Lamb's Supper on EWTN
Behold the Lamb of
God...Eucharistic Miracles in the Twentieth
Century
Jesus Meant What He
Said
Eucharistic Index -
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
CATHOLIC TESTIMONIES:
About My Faith:
Roman Catholicism by my dear friend, Rick
My Journey To The
Catholic Faith By Matthew Warner
Confession Of A
Roman Catholic by Paul Whitcomb
I invite all who have a personal testimony about
their journey to the Catholic faith to write to me. Thank
you and God bless you. |
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© CTherese's Catholic Garden, 1999 & Beyond
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