“Revival: A Lenten Devotional for Eucharistic Renewal,” is a series of simple, daily reflections that will help Catholics rekindle a living relationship with Jesus by reflecting on their relationship with the Lord, the Eucharist, and our missionary call to share the love of God with our neighbors.
One summer when I was in college, I joined nine other Catholic college students to be missionaries in the Nashville diocese: two teams of five missionaries each, traveling to parishes to teach a Catholic catechesis program for kids and teens. It was an incredible summer of challenge, growth, and unexpected lessons, and one of the most beautiful gifts that came of it was a close friendship with one of my fellow missionaries, Grace.
Grace was from Wisconsin, and she flew to Nashville to be a team leader—for the team I wasn’t on! We had a laugh when we talked about it afterward and realized that we wanted to be on the same team. Fortunately, we were assigned as each other’s “prayer buddies.” Every day that summer, we would each text the other our intentions for the day. Because of Grace, I encountered in a unique way what it meant to be unabashedly in love with the Eucharist. Part of our missionary commitment was a daily holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and anytime Grace and her team prayed their holy hour, she would send me a text: “Saying hi to Jesus for you!” Sometimes, before leaving, she’d take a quick photo of Christ in the monstrance on the altar to send me, often with the caption: “Jesus says hi!” or “Jesus sends his love!” I had never done that before, and at first, I thought it was a little silly… but the more she did it, the more I realized how close she was with him, and how much she wanted to share that with me. Since high school, I’d had a decent understanding of what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ, and how receiving the Eucharist or going to adoration can deepen that relationship. However, it wasn’t until I met Grace that I understood what sharing that love of the Eucharist with your close friends can really look like.
I get easily distracted in front of the Blessed Sacrament—thinking, worrying, questioning, planning. Sometimes Our Lord seems pretty far away on that altar. But after becoming friends with Grace, I became accustomed to the reality that he is right here, present in the Eucharist. He is saying hello. He wants me to know that he loves me. He wants to hear that I love him.
So when I went to Eucharistic adoration, I started to text Grace: “Jesus says hi!” And that habit continued, from that summer all the way to the present. Because of Grace, I learned the habit of acting on what I already “knew”: Jesus Christ is truly present in a real way in the Eucharist, and he desires a deeply personal relationship with me.
As Catholics, we “know” the Church teaches that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. He said so himself, after all! But my friend Grace was the one who showed me what it looks like to embrace that truth. I began to “say hi to Jesus” for friends, family, and anyone who’d asked me to pray for them. And I noticed that my friend group began doing it as well. “I’m headed to Adoration” often receives the reply, “Say hi to Jesus for me!” He’s a Person, and the closer we become with him, the more we want to share him with each other.
Grace showed me the perfect example of the heart of the Eucharistic Revival. It is the understanding that the center of our faith isn’t a principle. It’s a Person: Jesus Christ. We get to know him the same way we get to know any other person—spending time with him on the regular, whether through Mass a few times a week, or adoration, or a holy hour. Every Catholic tabernacle in the world is his home, and he will remain here until the end of time, patiently, silently, happily looking forward to whenever you visit next. He wants to sit with you. He yearns for that personal relationship with you. In the words of St. Josemaría Escrivá, “Whenever you approach the altar, remember that he has been waiting for you for two thousand years.” We plan for meetups and coffee dates with friends in our busy schedules. Christ is no different! Plan a holy hour with him twice a month—or once a week, if you’re feeling bold! Spend time with him. And the next time you visit him, remember to say hello—and pass his hello to a friend. You’d be surprised how quickly it catches on.
Catherine McCaughey hails from Nashville, Tennessee, where she runs her own Catholic freelance editorial business (and writes novels on the side!). Her passion is spreading truth, goodness, and beauty through writing, and she's blessed to be pursuing a path that unites her love of words with her love of Christ. Her favorite devotion is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
