The Eucharist is Profound. Mysterious. Dynamic. Inviting. Miraculous. We are people of the Eucharist.
Can one prayer change your life? Absolutely. And it doesn't even have to be your prayer. One prayer after communion changed my life. I was 13 years old and Pope John Paul II was visiting Australia. My father took me to an enormous outdoor mass. It wasn't my prayer that changed my life. It was John Paul II's prayer, his witness, his example. Did you ever see that man pray? Each morning, John Paul II celebrated mass in his private chapel with about 20 guests. Perhaps you know someone who was fortunate enough to attend, or perhaps you saw television footage of one of those masses.
When this man knelt down to pray after communion, he would close his eyes and go to a deep place within himself. Once he was there, nothing and no one could distract him from communing with God. What does it mean to commune with God? To share your intimate thoughts and feelings? Pope John Paul II would go to that deep place within himself. And from that place, he brought forth the fruit of his life, wisdom, compassion, generosity, understanding, patience, courage, insight, forgiveness, humility, inspiration, and a love so apparent you could almost touch it. In those moments after communion, he allowed nothing to distract him from his prayer. He let nothing draw his tension away from his divine visitor in those precious moments after receiving the blessed sacrament. The amazing thing is, if you put the same man in a football stadium with 100,000 people and a million more distractions, he would still kneel down after communion, close his eyes, and go to that place deep within him where he connected with God. And he lived his life from that place. Find that place within you. Find that place deep, deep within yourself. The place where you can connect with God and your truest self. If you do nothing else with your life, find that place. Spend more and more time in that place and begin to live your life from that deep place. How do you find that deep place within you? There's only one way that I can guarantee you will work. Befriend silence. I'm not suggesting that you spend four or five, six hours a day in silence, but drop by a church during the day when it's empty and quiet. Find a quiet corner and a comfortable chair at home. Leave the music off in the car on the way to work. Have a television free evening once a week. If you want to live from that deep place within you, visit that classroom of silence each day for a few minutes is what Pope John Paul II wrote. He wrote, "The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the church and to the whole world. Let Jesus in the blessed sacrament speak to your hearts. It is he who is the true answer of life that you seek. He stays here with us. He is God with us. Seek him without tiring. Welcome him without reserve. Love him without interruption. Today, tomorrow, forever."
The Eucharist was the secret of John Paul II's day. What is the secret of your day? What is the secret of your day? Trust, surrender, believe, receive. Join us in this great mission. Become a member of the International Society of the Eucharist today. We'll send you a free copy of 33 Days Eucharistic Glory, a copy of the children's version, a copy of the limited-edition Journal, which includes an amazing Holy Week retreat. Click on the button below and become a member today. Remember, have a great day. Have an amazing day. And remember, be bold, be Catholic. We are people of the Eucharist.
Jesus. I believe that you are truly present.
In the most holy sacrament.
Of the Eucharist.
Every day.
I long for more review.
I love you above all things.
And I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot receive you sacramentally
at this moment.
I invite you to come and dwell in my heart.
May the spiritual communion.
Increase my desire for the Eucharist.
You are the healer of my soul.
Take the blindness from my eyes.
The deafness from my ears.
The darkness from my mind.
And the hardness from my heart.
Fill me with the grace, wisdom, and courage.
To do your will in all things.
DMy Lord and my God.
Draw me close to you.
Nearer than ever before.
Amen.
Consecrate America to the Eucharist.
Bye-bye.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Come on.
Have a great day.
Hey, Isabel, one simple way to be mindful of God's presence in the world is to know where the nearest Tabernacle is. So while we've got a couple of minutes, I thought we might work on your geography a little.
Sounds good, Dad. You're always coming up with something.
And if I was at latitude of 41.93 and a longitude of -87.65, where would the nearest Tabernacle be?
St. Clement, Chicago, Illinois.