@LadyWebster -  Well if you ever have questions related to that fascination, never hesitate to ask!

@DistrictofCalamity@revelife -  Yes, and that cruel practice has left us with one of the most beautiful yet poignant reminders of love that has lasted 2000 years and will for many to come I’m sure.

@RecoveryMia -  I know; I am so blessed. There are those in the world that would literally die (and some do) to have such a freedom as to go be in the full and real presence of Jesus. I wish everyone were so blessed, but I hope even more that I never, ever take what I’ve been given for granted.

@DrummingMediocrity -  Yes they are, and even more importantly they are a wonderful example of the strength, love and dedication God showed when He became one of us! It just floors me to think that all those ancient temples to Zeus and his divine kin, Jupiter who followed and all his line, Odin and the whole hall of divinities, Ra, Horus and the great pantheon of the desert, all these great works have fallen to dust, the religions abandoned, the tales and texts relegated to archaeology and faerie, all of this majesty to be usurped by a God who came not merely in the appearance of a human being, but as a human being, such that he suffered and died. And what’s more amazing is that he came not to sleep with a king’s daughter and to bring forth a Helen or a Hercules, nor to stir up trouble or toy with some low, earth-crawling subject, but that he came solely for our benefit, not out of some divine favor or grand show but purely out of love for us. It’s just mind-blowing.

@kamrandolph -  That’s beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I can only hope that these graces continue in your lives.

@uglygreensofa -  My dear sister, your questions don’t offend me at all and even if for some reason my first reaction to any of them was to take offense I would quickly reanalyze that reaction. I know you to be a seeker after the truth and a sincere one at that; at least in my experience you are not one to give offense, so no worries there! That and I’m hard to offend.

“What do you mean by Eucharist? Does that mean communion? Does that mean that you have the bread and the wine each day when you are in the chapel alone?”

What I mean by Eucharist is the Blessed Sacrament. The Catholic faith has always practiced, believed and taught that during the celebration of the Mass, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the ministry of Christ’s priest, the bread and the wine become–though there is no change noticeable to the senses–the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In other words we believe that since Jesus is the Word, and since it was through Him all things were made, when that same Word says, “This is my body/this is my blood,” we take Him at His Word! If, at the end of Mass there is any Eucharist left, what is under the appearance of wine is consumed by the priest or the minister of the cup and what is under the appearance of bread is reserved in the tabernacle since, again, we do not believe it is bread any more but truly Christ; we couldn’t just put the “leftovers” back in the cupboard with the rest of the hosts! And so we, like the Temple in Jerusalem, have a tabernacle, a Holy of Holies, and really a sort of Ark. Just like the old Ark of the Covenant contained the tablets of the Law, the staff of Aaron (symbolic of priesthood) and a jar of manna, the tabernacle of each Catholic Church contains Jesus Christ: the new law, the eternal high priest and the bread come down from heaven.

So when I say “Eucharist” I am speaking of the Sacrament by which He offers us His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity; His entire self, living and whole. At daily Mass we receive the Eucharist and just as what we eat becomes one with our bodies, when we “eat His flesh and drink His blood” we have a communion with Him, and we receive His life. And even outside of Mass, because He has given us this gift of a Sacrament by which He may always be, physically, dwelling in our midst, we can go and be in His presence. I do not receive communion while I’m in the chapel by myself, but I do “have” Him all to myself!

“Or does it mean communion like talking and prayer communing?”
This, too! He and I, by my baptism and especially by the Eucharist, have the same life; we are One Body both Mystically by baptism (through which we become a part of the Church) and truly by Eucharist. This is why in many spiritual writings about the Blessed Sacrament there are so many overtones, for example, and imagery of weddings: Christ the Bridegroom, through the Eucharist being received by the faithful, becomes “one flesh” with His Bride, the Church. Beautiful, no? And this life together carries on beyond only the actual time of Communion experienced at Mass, just like the married life continues long after the actual wedding. The Eucharist deepens the life of prayer and draws you not merely closer to Christ, but further *into* Him; really the Eucharist is a foretaste of Heaven.

“When you say Jesus literally dwells in this house, what do you mean? Do you mean that because you take it by faith that He is there of something symbolic or more tangible?”

What I mean is what I have said; He literally dwells here! He has come, and He has remained. As I described before, we believe that when He said, “This is my Body,” He not only meant it, but being God, had well within His power and authority to make it happen, even if our senses fail to discern the difference. The whole reason for the tabernacle and why so many of them are ornate and lovely is because of this, because we must have a place of honor for Him. We also have a tabernacle because He has deigned to be so vulnerable; every tabernacle is kept locked. Believe it or not there are people out there who actively try to steal the Eucharist for awful purposes, so we keep Him as safe as we can while also trying to make Him accessible to those who truly want to be with Him.

“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3)!

I hope this helps to answer your wonderful questions!

@spicycajun -  Have you ever tried going “home” to where you started? Obviously I don’t know the reasons why you left the Church, but I’ve met several people who left and went searching and searching for years until they gave the Church another chance. And they stayed! I remember there was one woman I met when I was a hospital chaplain; she was a hospice nurse by trade but was currently a hospital patient. She told me about how she grew up Catholic but then as an adult decided to look elsewhere for a church that felt like home. She said, “I tried every single church I could find, but they all felt so empty to me. I was determined, though, not to go back to the Catholic Church. Eventually I was just spiritually exhausted and finally decided to just step into a Catholic Church near where I was living. As soon as I walked in I just started to cry; it was like I was finally home and could rest.” I’m not saying that’s guaranteed to happy to you or anyone else, but your comment here reminded me of that woman.

I hope that it works out so you can afford to send your children to a Catholic school! That would be such a gift for them.

@hesacontradiction -  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16) I am glad to have brought a little light into your day.