Written by Patty Mayer
Four and a half years ago I began leading RCIA. RCIA is the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults” and is the process of walking with people who desire to come into the Catholic Church. I love how each new person has a remarkable story of how their journey brought them to this moment in their lives when they are seeking God through the Catholic Church. As they sit down I ask them, what brings you to my office today?
A few years ago a young man came to me, and I ask him to share what brought him to this point in his journey. Dan tells me that he can no longer sit in the pew while his family goes forward to receive the body and blood, the real presence, of Christ. I sat there stunned and energized by both his passion and the depth to which he was certain that Jesus was truly present in the Eucharist. He was the first person to be so clear on what he was seeking and shared it so beautifully. We talked longer than this, but truly I had no doubt Dan was ready to join the church, but I know that there are probably other questions that he might need answered before he was fully ready.
After our meeting I contacted a RCIA team member and asked him to meet this young man. They started having coffee together regularly to talk about the journey from Lutheran to Catholic, including all the “bonus” gifts of the Catholic Church. As I got updates on how these conversations were going, I got the impression they went into the deep regularly.
Not long after this first encounter, Dan was able to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. Now, a few years later, I asked him share with us what that meant for him - to be able to receive the body and blood of Christ for the first time, and what it means to him today. Here was his response:
Taking the Eucharist after coming into the church was a light switch moment for me. Receiving for the first time as an adult likely allowed the meaning to have more impact for me. As a previous Lutheran taking communion as a representation of the Lord, receiving the Eucharist became so much more significant.
I was in my hometown over Christmas and attended 3 masses where the body of Christ was offered, but the blood of Christ was not. The disappointment from this is hard to describe, but does help me reflect on the importance I place on receiving.
My friend Dan gets it! What a gift to know and to trust in the difference between symbol and real presence of our Lord in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Do you yearn for, or desire, to receive Eucharist? Have you had a “light switch moment” where your faith life was forever changed? What is your reaction when you cannot or are unable to receive the Eucharist?