How I Came to Believe in the Real Presence

I said I believed the Eucharist is Jesus. I didn't believe it at first. One day, my mom was taken to the hospital. She was seriously ill & her condition was worsening. At a retreat, I asked a priest why God allowed it. He said, "Ask our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I did & I asked for her cure. I got a Bible & chanced upon John 4:47-54, about the cure of an official's son. This occurred on Saturday. When I came home, I called the hospital & found out that mom was better. I asked her when her condition turned around. She said, "On Saturday." Coincidence? On Monday, a Protestant asked me why I visited the church on weekdays. I told her what the priest told me, "to visit our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I invited her to church. Later, she told me, "I found what I'm looking for." So she became a Catholic. I asked myself, "Can bread bring about conversion?" Another person told me he had a problem & had been praying for weeks for a solution. When he asked me what to do, I said, "Pray to our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I invited him to church on Friday. On Monday morning, he told me his problem was solved. These could not be just coincidences. So from that day onward, I was convinced that the Eucharist was truly our Lord Jesus, and not just a piece of bread.

The Transient Nature of Material Things

A friend told me about a retired couple she knew, who were wealthy. The husband developed a rare & serious illness. The medical treatment required was not covered by their insurance. So they used up all of their savings and property to pay for the treatment. He was cured, but now they lived in a low-income apartment. It made me realize the transitory nature of things, and how quickly we lose them. Maybe, instead of spending all our time and effort at accumulating possessions, we should focus on things which are infinitely more valuable, such as our families and relationships. That's because these will remain, even if our material possessions do not.

Joy in Adversity

Most of us have difficulty experiencing joy especially when faced with problems. I'm no exception. But a few years ago, I ran into an old classmate from 20 years ago. She immediately recognized me, but I couldn't recognize her. She walked with a cane and looked frail and old. It turns out she had multiple and rare incurable illnesses. One of them looked similar to leprosy, since she had lost some of her fingers already. Though I felt sorry for her, I was stunned by her joyfulness. She was not depressed nor sorry for herself. And her joy was sincere. She even tried to cheer me up. I wondered to myself that day, since our problems pale by comparison to hers, what reason do we have to despair? We could learn a lot about the true meaning of joy from her example.