 A few weeks back, I was abruptly awakened in the middle of the night. As some of you may know, I suffer from chronic pain. Hardly a day goes by without some persistent ache somewhere in my body, joints, muscles, or nerves. I am so used to this discomfort that it takes a lot to make me sit up and take notice. This night, the pain was so intense that it woke me up and kept me up the whole night; I was short of breath and struggling to remain coherent. This was not normal. Prayer and patience got me through the night, and eventually, the pain lessened. I followed up with my doctor in the morning, who ordered a battery of tests. It is not fun when the nagging worry starts creeping into our minds. I get frustrated about how human I am, but this is silly. What else am I supposed to be? A few hours after my gallbladder ultrasound, the doctor called. The ultrasound revealed a large tumor on my liver. Here we go again, back on the carousel of tests. We had to rule out cancer… no one likes to hear those words. Few things can sober us quicker than knowing there might be a silent killer going through your system. Usually, that would be the trigger for a world of worry, anxiety, and even despair. My dear wife and I were starting to feel those ill effects, yet something absolutely remarkable happened, something that witnesses to our Faith. As we shared the news with our precious friends, they shared the news with their beloved friends. Before we all knew it, our brethren in Christ had gone out in force, a dispersed multitude, a legion, to pray a prayer of intercession for us.
Through the intercession of our brethren, the peace that Christ spoke of in the Gospel according to John came to us; the fruit of the Spirit made present from the prayerful sacrifice of all those faithful friends.
And from that moment forward through this journey, we surrendered to God’s will, and we have known peace. We could feel the prayers. Our brothers and sisters took on our cause, our worry, our wait, and in genuine compassion lived God’s charity towards us. With their prayers, they carried the heavy load for us and paid the price for our peace.
We are all the mystical body of Christ. When one suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. This is part of our responsibility, to care, love, and pray for one another. If someone asks you to pray for them, please do. It is not the least we can do, but precisely what we must do. With our prayer, we carry each other through the difficulties. We know that not every prayer is answered in the way we expect or desire. But we trust that God always knows better than we do, so we submit to His will for us. The Holy Spirit will guide us through any situation. In communion with Christ Eucharistic, we see His hand in action through the love of our community of faith.
After a long weekend of waiting, the tests on my liver came back, indicating that my tumor is benign. I can hear loudly in my soul the roar from the prayerful faithful glorifying God! Glory to You, oh Lord! Hear our prayer of thanksgiving! Our Lord commands us to pray for one another. Let us take Him at His Word in all humility and with all our trust. To all of you, faithful ones, please continue praying for us. Please be assured of our prayers for you. May the peace of our Lord be with all of us. Let us pray:
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Dearest Eucharistic Family, The daily scriptures in the Easter Season keep us in flight after the long road of Lent. The Passion of Jesus lives in our existence by the grace of the Eucharist. We hold the death of our Lord deep in our hearts. We walk with Mary to Pentecost and find the immense love of God clearly defined in our Liturgical year. Our Lady lived without sin, holding all the mysteries of faith by God’s sovereign love. “When we have said Eucharist, we have said everything.” Where was Mary during the 50 days after the Resurrection of Jesus? What was she doing, thinking? Perhaps Mary was preparing for what would come next. Indeed, she remembered all that happened to her Son. Assuredly Our Lady was praying, finding the fullness of grace from the inner cenacle of her heart to the Altar where Heaven and earth meet. Mary’s life passion is Jesus, and He defined her existence. Eastertide; Mary’s spirit of hope enabled her to obtain from God the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As we journey to Pentecost, let us walk with Mary and pray with Mary. In the Book of Revelation, we have imagined a time when there will be no more mourning and weeping (cf. Revelation 21:4-5). On these Easter days, we are listening to the persecutions of St. Paul and the Apostles. We remember the healing in the name of the Lord Jesus. There will be a new birth streaming from our baptism to the birth of our Catholic Church at Pentecost.
As we keep our eyes fixed on the clouds, think of Mary, who beheld the death of Jesus, which would mold her into the perfect model of Christ, her Son. Pentecost is coming. The fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit are for us to become by our yes and openness to God’s life in us. The mystery is humbling; it is found in a gift of self by submission to God’s Holy Will. Mary saw God’s Providence in every aspect of her life. Mary’s espousal to the Holy Spirit made her become Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord through her love.
Blessings in this Easter Season.
*PLENARY INDULGENCE if recited on the first of January or on the feast of the Pentecost (accompanied by the three prerequisites of a plenary indulgence). Otherwise, a partial indulgence is granted to those who recite it.
 This year we will reach a significant milestone in our house. After twenty years of homeschooling, our youngest will be graduating high school. He was born in August, as we were beginning our second year of homeschooling his older brothers in fifth and first grade. Coming back from six weeks of being laid up in a hospital bed, exhausted and depleted, I looked at the textbooks on the table and the newborn in my arms, and I was convinced we would not be homeschooling anymore by the time this one turned five. Yet here we are. As we prepare to close another chapter in the story of our lives, I realize there is a lot to process. Even though each of my children's high school graduation has been a milestone for them, this one is also a milestone for me. I feel a strong desire to set aside the whole Summer just to ponder. I might have to do it in bits and pieces, taking advantage of moments given. As I look back, I can't help but feel gratefulness and awe. Our journey was not perfect, but God was always with us. There was a moment, early on, when I realized that if God called me to homeschool our children, He would provide everything we needed. I realized I did not need to pay someone to tell me how to do this. Educating my children was an extension of parenting them. And, just like each family parents a little bit (or a lot) differently, it was ok to school differently too. As I learned what each of them needed, I adjusted, and I learned with them. That year when our youngest was born, we put away the textbooks until January. The weeks before his birth were very difficult for all of us. I just knew that what we all needed was some time together, just the five of us. I am so grateful for that early lesson. It set us up for a lifetime of listening to where God was calling us, including the three years we took our family on the road. The month of May often brings a mix of celebration and exhaustion. A month full of endings with promises of new beginnings. Graduations, First Communions, Confirmations, Ordinations… grace upon grace building, calling us to celebrate. It is important to take the time to process, ponder, and look for God's thumbprints in the stories of our lives. He is always there, whether we notice Him or not. celebrate (v.): mid-15c., "to perform publicly with appropriate rites," originally of the Mass The life of the Church is one of celebration. Every liturgy, every sacrament, invites us to full participation in the mysteries of Christ. Here we become a family. As we celebrate together the joy of a newborn being baptized, as we hold each other close in the sorrow of a funeral, we share in the life of Christ. Whether we know personally the individual receiving the sacraments, we are all part of the Body of Christ. We rejoice with the ones who are rejoicing, and we weep with the ones who are weeping. We invite God to be a part of every moment of our lives. This is a life worth living, a life that, when pondered on, will bring awe and thanksgiving to our hearts.
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AuthorsWe are Ivonne J. Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. 
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