TREMENDOUS AND INDESCRIBABLE POWER | KAIROS GLOBAL | JANUARY 2023

Author: Pushpaja Joseph

Intro: Pushpaja Joseph relates her experiences of the Holy Eucharist’s power.

I have wanted so much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer (Luke 22: 15). So powerful and indescribable is this tremendous love where God eagerly wants to share his body and blood with me, a poor and unworthy soul. 

Thunder rumbled outside as the dark grey clouds coloured the sky. Despite the tornado warning that kept popping up on her phone, Anna continued to get ready for Mass. When her family attempted to stop her from going out during such severe weather conditions, she simply responded, ‘If I was having a medical emergency, I would go to the ER regardless of this weather. My need for attending Mass is no less than that because I am unworthily invited for a heavenly banquet.’

I too am like Anna, the power and attraction to this living Eucharist cannot be expressed in words. This is a true love story of a Lord who passionately loved and is still loving us through the Eucharist. I consider being with Eucharist/attending Mass as the most blessed and valuable time in my life. The mere thought of attending Holy Mass itself brings a great joy to my heart. The burning love which comes from the Eucharist has so much power in it; it greatly improves my days, it helps me to deal with stress, it helps me to deal with any agony that comes across my daily life. Even If I leave the house early to reach Mass on time, I will still take toll roads to be in my Lord’s presence for a few extra minutes. That is how powerful and magnetic he is. The opportunity to kneel down in front of him is such a profound and beautiful moment. Most of the time I lack the words to communicate and instead just want to see him and to simply be in his mighty presence. This is somewhat analogous to meeting with a loved one after a lot of time, we may not have any words to exchange as our heart is overflowing with joy.

I love to share my thoughts with him, my struggles, worries, dreams, and love towards him. After talking to him, I feel relief and peace. It’s as if I’ve shared with someone who understands me. I often find that I don’t need to share my issues with others to find some relief if I have already shared them with the Lord.

Even though he knows my shortcomings, he has never compromised his compassion for me despite the many occasions I have been unfaithful to him. He has continued giving me opportunities to live as God’s child. He takes all my injustices and in his wounds I get healed. On many occasions, I would come to Holy Mass with severe back pain (I suffer from chronic back pain) and a heavy heart, and as soon as I received Holy Communion, I would experience instant healing and peace. Not necessarily because I asked him to heal me, but because I believe the pain goes away once he comes into me.  

I do believe that he is living in the Eucharist and he is the same Lord who was living in Nazareth and Jerusalem, just in a more glorified form.

A couple of years ago when I was doing my BSN degree, my last assignment for a course was marked 4/100. I was shocked and anxious as this grade meant I failed the class and would have to retake the course! I went to the Lord, saw him in the Eucharist, and sat down with him. The very next day the grade changed from 4/100 to 97/100. As we see in Luke 24:30-31, Jesus disappeared after giving the blessed bread to the disciples at Emmaus. However, if we call him, he will come. I remember another incident from several years ago when my parents came to the US to visit us. One morning while getting ready for Holy Mass, my father fell ill and his blood pressure went up, so he stayed home while the rest of us went for Mass. I was so worried about him. I asked the Lord to please come out from the altar, go to my house, and heal my dad. When we returned home, we saw that he was healthy and normal. I asked him when he started to feel better, and it turned out to be almost the same time when I said that prayer.

I love the moments soon after receiving Holy Communion. No words can express the peace, joy, and intimacy of those moments. My Eucharistic Jesus is my priority, my trust, my Saviour, and my best friend. He is the almighty Lord in whom I can find the solution to every problem and comfort to any pain, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual fight. Heavy traffic or extensive work hours no longer bother me as the presence of Jesus always accompanies me.  

Pushpaja Joseph is a nurse and clinical instructor who likes to spend time in silence with the Lord, loves nature and reaches Sunday school. She lives in Houston, USA with her husband and three daughters.