In light of World Youth Day approaching, Pope Francis is encouraging Catholic youth to imitate the model of soon-to-be Saint Carlo Acutis and seek devotion to the Eucharist.
The Holy Father implored:
“When the weariness of the journey weighs you down, come back to Jesus, learn to rest in Him, and abide with Him.”
My younger self would have heard the Pope’s call to develop a Eucharistic devotion and see it as a challenge– something that brought not relief but stress–another reason I wasn’t a “good enough” Catholic.
I remember being in the pew alongside elementary school classmates when our teachers brought us to adoration.
I sat restless with confusion, guilt, and shame at my internal spiritual struggle. I knew I was supposed to love this as a Catholic, but I couldn’t understand how people found peace in adoration.
To me, it was just another source of stress. I couldn’t focus or think of what to do.
"What do I think? What do I say? Do I ask for what I need? Or is that ungrateful? Should I say thank you? How do I pray?" I asked myself.
I just wanted to do it right.
Encountering the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist completely changed this perspective. I used to think I had to pray in a perfect, scripted, focused manner, and if I didn’t do it strongly or correctly enough He wouldn’t hear me.
But as soon as I understood that He was right there in front of me, adoration became the time and place that lifted ever-present pressure off my shoulders. He is present, and He already knows my dreams and hopes, my troubles and pains, my pleas and gratitude.
In the life of an extremely busy person where I spend so much time meeting expectations–when I sit in front of Jesus, I am free. I don’t have to perform for Him. I don’t have to explain to Him. I can just be.
Simply sitting in the presence of the One who loves me unconditionally fills me with a peace I cannot find anywhere else. Adoring the Eucharist is no longer an obligation I have to endure, but a gift I seek out.
When I got my license, the first thing on my bucket list was driving myself to weekly adoration at my parish. Not because I felt like I had to, but because I got to.
There are no plans or preparations made. Simply getting to sit and spend time with Jesus is more than enough.
I thank God every day that I get to see the Eucharist through this lens now, and I pray constantly for those who don’t get to yet.
Seeing how life-altering it truly is has brought me so much understanding of why Carlo preached about the Eucharist with such fervency. I want to echo his and Pope Francis’ call as loudly as possible– not to shame those without a love for the Eucharist, but to remind them that they deserve to feel that love and peace that comes with it, no matter what.
If you are exhausted from trying to give everything to the world, come sit before the one who already did.