Powerful

          Several years ago, I attended a retreat at our parish given by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.  The highlight of the retreat for me was Eucharistic Adoration.  My family never participated in Eucharistic adoration when I was growing up, so I wasn't very comfortable with what to do and when, and certainly had no clue about how to chant O Salutaris Hostia or Tantum Ergo (linked here, respectively, for those who want to learn).  What I remember most from that evening is the invitation extended to us by the friar who preached that night.  He had chosen as his Gospel passage the powerful story found at Mark 5: 25-34 about the healing of the hemorrhaging woman. He preached about the woman's great faith and great courage, how she knew that if she only could touch the hem of Jesus' garment, she would be healed.  What struck me most about that passage was how Jesus knew that his healing power had gone out of him when she touched his clothes, and how she felt his great power heal her.  The friar then explained that at the Benediction, when the celebrant blesses the congregation with the Blessed Sacrament, the priest or deacon covers his arms with a humeral veil so that all attention is drawn to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  The humeral veil is Jesus' garment.

          Then came the invitation.  The friar invited each of us to come forward before the Benediction to touch the humeral veil, just like the hemorrhaging woman had done.  When my turn came, I knelt on the sanctuary step and touched the humeral veil.  I immediately felt a jolt, like an electrical shock.  I felt Jesus' healing power course through me.  I then had what I consider to be a mystical experience - an intense experience of the presence of God.  I was alone with Jesus.  I had no sense of anyone else around me.  It was as if the dozens of parishioners present had vanished.  The Church was perfectly quiet and peaceful.  No music, no coughing, no crying children, no priest.  Just Jesus and me.  The experience seemed to last for several minutes.  When I came back to the realization of where I was, I was embarrassed for having taken up so much time.  I quickly returned to my pew red-faced and asked a friend how long I was up there.  She said, "Only a few seconds, no longer than anyone else."  If I had any doubts before then that Jesus is really present in the Blessed Sacrament, they vanished that night with the rest of the congregation.

          Tomorrow we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, more commonly known as Corpus Christi.  Much ink has been spilled by minds greater than mine explaining this great mystery of our faith - the real presence of Christ, body, soul and divinity, in the Blessed Sacrament.  I've spent a lot of time studying these writings and they've helped me understand Church teachings.  But none of them have conveyed to me what real presence really means better than my experience that night when I touched Jesus' garment.

          Pope Francis has asked Catholics around the world to participate in Eucharistic Adoration together at 6 pm Rome time tomorrow.  This act of unity recalls that we all make up the body of Christ (Christians and non-Christians alike), and calls us to spend some time adoring the one who gave his life for us.  If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to participate.  I can tell you, it's powerful.