Turning Point: Encountering Christ in the Blessed Sacrament

Birgit - cathedral tabernacle

There are some things in life that we keep close to our hearts. Some things we just don’t want to forget because they become a part of us and change us for the better, like a gift from God. A gift that would be foolish to refuse or deny.

My first encounter with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament was like that, and to this day almost fifty years later I can remember that experience quite clearly. I can recall the place, the approximate time, the weather, and even the way I was feeling. It’s as though the event made a permanent “imprint” on my soul. It was a day I am grateful for, and a day I hope will stay with me for as long as I live.

I was inside St. Anthony’s Church. I was not Catholic, and I had no desire to become one. At that time in my life, I was anti-Catholic. I was there because I was the janitor. It was my job to shovel snow from the steps and to clean the inside before every weekend Mass. It was a part-time job that I needed; the pay was good. I worked only a few hours on the weekend; I worked on my own. The job was more than OK.

One Saturday afternoon I was cleaning the interior of the Church before the Vigil Mass. It was early afternoon, and I was taking my time since I was paid by the job, not by the hour. I preferred this arrangement because sometimes I would stop working and just sit and pray. Even though I had no desire to become a Catholic, I knew that I was in a holy place; I could just “feel” it. I was searching for peace, guidance, and for meaning.  I was single, young, and confused about a few things “in life.” Most importantly I needed a closer connection with God without knowing how to achieve it.

At that time in my life prayer consisted of either thanksgiving or petition or a combination of the two, but it was always a one-way street; that is, from me to God without any reciprocation, and I thought that was the way it was supposed to be until that day. So, of course, I was surprised or rather amazed when Jesus responded to my prayer. Please understand that I am not a mystic, nor am I talking about a “magical experience,” but it was a small miracle, two-way communication between me and God!

However, during my first encounter with Christ, I had no idea what was going on; I only knew that someone else was in that Church that day and he was reaching out to me. I was amazed and disconcerted at the same time. I would have been just plain afraid had the message been delivered to me without peace and tranquility. I heard a voice like my own voice talking back to me. I heard every word clearly, yet I could not discern the source, nor whether the speaker was near or far. But someone was talking to me in a calm, rational way; the message was received with understanding and delivered with peace and tranquility. I was compelled to listen.

Very strange, I know. This first encounter with Christ so impressed and startled me that I stopped praying, stood up, and looked around the Church for the “other person.” Finding no one, I began to search from the basement to the steeple. I climbed the almost vertical stairway to the steeple. And from there, looking out and seeing the beauty of the small town I lived in with its colorful array of houses and buildings lightly covered with today’s snow on their rooftops, I realized that my search was complete and remained unresolved.

I had to settle for having no rational answer because there was none available to me at that time. Even though I was curious and somewhat “unsettled” I was also at peace. The message had been delivered with an amazing peace and tranquility which dissipated my fear and allowed me to retain this mystery in Faith.

Of course, this was a turning point in my life, and the beginning of my becoming a Catholic, even though I didn’t know it at that time in my walk toward God. For quite a few weeks after my first encounter, I would sit in the church and enjoy this two-way communication with the benevolent stranger who not only gave me great advice—counsel that I could use in my day-to-day life– but also gave me healing peace and tranquility of soul that I only experienced in that Church and only during those special prayerful encounters.

This small miracle was the catalyst for my conversion. Within a couple of months of my first encounter with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, I began my catechetical instruction. And it was through this instruction that I came to understand through reason and faith not only the meaning of Christ in the Eucharist, but also the meaning of the living Christ, through the consecrated Hosts, truly present in every tabernacle, in every Catholic Church in the world until the end of time.

When my Catechism instruction began, the exterior benevolent voice was gone. I believe that God gives us the graces necessary to accomplish what we must in his will if we are willing to cooperate. And I believe that is what happened to me in hearing “the voice of God” which led me to become a Catholic.

Without a doubt, Adoration of the Eucharist, frequent holy hours, and constant prayer to Jesus in the blessed tabernacle continued during my instruction and has continued to this day, almost fifty years later. During prayer, I usually hear the “voice of God.” But now it is within, healing and guiding me, always delivered with peace, a joyful peace that lets me know that God is there, and for these gifts, I am truly grateful.

 

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11 thoughts on “Turning Point: Encountering Christ in the Blessed Sacrament”

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  5. Agree with his beautiful testimony. When you ask for things like faith to realized that the Eucharistic is truely the Body of Christ. I asked and recieved at St. Anthony’s of Lorain, Oh something even more powerful. Actually seeing the heart beat of the Host at an adoration. Didn’t ask for that but realize from then on. Need to go to mass weekly and recieve the body and blood as often as possible.

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  7. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I, too, have had those encounters where I turned around and looked behind me to see the “body” attached to that voice. And no one was there. these are lovely encounters to treasure.

    1. Thank you Ida for your response. When the “encounters” first occurred I didn’t know what to think; my explanations went from the best to the worst. But I know better.
      God Bless you
      richard

  8. Amazing interesting story, Can’t wait for you to write more awesome stories!!! Always love to read what you got to say. Really makes me want to read more. Looking forward to what you got next! 🙏💯💯💯

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