One of our goals for this summer was to provide more opportunities for the parish to share food and fellowship, growing in relationship with each other and with Jesus. As part of this effort, we've held a monthly Ice Cream social after one of the Tuesday evening Masses in June, July and August.
Before the June and August socials, staff member Jim Thorp shared brief witnesses on two key questions many people have as they are deciding whether and how to follow Jesus. Those two questions, and Jim's written answers, are below.
How Do I Know Jesus Is Real?
"This is a common question among non-believers and believers alike. We want to be certain. I wasn't raised in the Church, by and large, so even after I was confirmed as a 20-something-year-old father of two, I still wasn't completely sure.
"Then one evening at family faith formation at my home parish of St. Michael, I was asked to lead the closing prayer at the end of a short period of Adoration. I agreed to do it, but then spent the next several minutes kneeling in front of the monstrance, thinking, Why me? The faith formation director is here...she's more important. Father is here...he's more important. Why did they ask me to do this? Then it occurred to me: The most important person in the room wasn't me, or the faith formation director, or Father. The most important person in the room was in the monstrance.
"Up to that point, I knew the Catholic Church taught that Jesus was truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity, in the Holy Eucharist, but I didn't understand it and wasn't sure how to believe it. At that point I made a decision to begin treating Jesus as though He were really there, whether I understood it or not. I made a conscious effort to genuflect to the tabernacle or kneel before the monstrance as though the Lord of the Universe were present, and to refer to the Blessed Sacrament as Him, instead of it.
"When I start treating Jesus as though He were actually present, I became present to Him—that one change changed everything! He began showing up everywhere, in ways I couldn't explain away. Opportunities emerged. Doors opened. Prayers were answered by strangers in other states. Sins and habits that I had struggled with for years melted away.
"So now I tell everyone: If you aren't sure Jesus is real, or truly present in the Eucharist, give Him the benefit of the doubt. Start acting like He's really there. How do I know He's real? Because once I opened up to Him, He changed my life."
How Can I Get to Know Jesus Personally?
"Lots of Catholics struggle with the idea that God—that Jesus—cares about us individually, and that we can have a personal relationship with Him. As in any relationship, you start by spending time with the person you want to know better, and getting started is not that hard. I'll share two stories that touch on what worked for me.
"First, this summer my family and I were blessed to take a road trip to Glacier National Park with some friends. On the way out we went to Sunday Mass in Minot, North Dakota...providentially, it was at the parish our newly ordained hometown priest, Fr. Gregory Crane, was assigned to, but he was in Rome. The outgoing associate pastor had been asked to preach on short notice, and he gave a 90-second homily. He told us that if we are worried about whether or not we would get to heaven, we should do three things:
- Go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day.
- Go to Confession regularly.
- Pray daily.
"'If you do those three things," he said, 'you'll be alright.'
"You might think that's too simple, but it's not wrong. I started doing these things once I came to know Jesus is real, and again, it changed my life for the better. All three of these practices are personal encounters with Jesus: With His Real Presence in the Eucharist, with His Divine Mercy in the confessional, and with His Holy Spirit in prayer. And if you do these things consistently, you'll want to do more, to go deeper. Why? Because we always want to get to know better the One who loves us!
"This brings me to the next step: If you are doing those three things and still want to go deeper, begin spending time regularly in Adoration. Saint Andrew has a beautiful chapel, with Jesus present in the Eucharist nearly 24/7.
"Now, when I first started Adoration at my home parish, I regarded it as spiritual reading time. With five kids at home, I didn't get a lot of reading in, so when I went to Adoration, I would usually kneel and say a quick prayer to Jesus, then mow through as much of whatever book I was reading as I could. After several months, I began to feel like I wasn't getting anything out of it, and a short while later, I decided Adoration wasn't for me and quit going.
"Some time later I felt drawn to it again, like I needed another way to be close to Him. I started asking people how they did Adoration, and one woman, in particular, struck me with her response. She didn't really bring anything to Adoration: not even her own agenda, really. She went in, prayer a bit, then just sat with Jesus.
"So I tried it, thinking it would be the longest hour of my week, but instead, when I regarded it as His time instead of my time, again I became more present to Him. I began to ask, What do you want from me today? What do you want to tell me? How do you want to love me? And He began working on me. Now I sometimes bring a book to the chapel, but I don't open it unless He tells me to!"
Note: If you'd like to discuss these topics more, email Jim Thorp at jimt@saint-andrew.net.