There Is Still So Much of God's Love Yet To Discover

Jesus gave the Eucharist so GENTLY, then requested He be RECEIVED the same way.

If Catholicism isn't absolutely rocking your world, then you don't know Catholicism!  The following story is but one example of the incredible riches found in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, AND Pro-Life Church, the majestic full expression of Christianity as established by its very Founder, Jesus Christ.  God is so in love with us!

My health had been deteriorating for years, doctor after doctor and emergency room after emergency room misdiagnosed my condition, and by late 2011 my health was deteriorating so rapidly it was shocking. The specifics of that story will be saved for a post all its own, because the information is very important and the Lord wants it to be shared with you.  


Suffice it to say for now that one night I was in an absolute panic because I had so many things wrong with me and was losing so much blood that I could barely even function.  That night I wrote to my pastor, Father Benjamin Kosnac, to make arrangements to receive the Anointing of the Sick. 

I did not know what else to do or where else to turn.

The next morning, our compassionate Savior came and told me that He was going to help me. Through my dear friend and colleague Roseann, He led me to a wonderful chiropractor named Dr. Paul Kraft.  The initial appointment to see him was my first visit to a chiropractor. 

I was in deplorable shape, and after the good man looked at me, listened to me as I told him the many symptoms I was having, and looked at one set of x-rays, he said with a smile on his face, “I can help you.”  Finally, finally I had a correct diagnosis:  subluxation degeneration (subluxation explained).

One third of the vertebrae in my back and neck were misaligned and malfunctioning and for years had been choking vital nerves, significantly and adversely affecting functioning throughout my body, literally from head to toe.  

Unconscionably, no other doctor had ever included my spine in his/her differential diagnosis.  My list of physical ailments was extensive and severe. Finally, the desperately needed treatment could begin! 

The first few times I was lying on the adjusting table, learning about and experiencing the vital world of spinal maintenance which I had never known, Jesus was there, superimposed over the good doctor, and both of them GENTLY adjusted my suffering body.  The long process of returning the many vertebrae in my back and neck to their proper places had begun. 

Sometimes my body was so sore that I had to take two very long, very hot showers in a day, while leaning up against the wall of the shower for support, to relieve some of the incredible suffering.   
  

One morning not long after the treatment began, I was at daily Holy Mass and proceeded up the isle to receive Holy Communion. Initially I was in the center isle line on the right, but the line on the left was moving faster, so I switched sides and ended up in the line to receive Holy Communion from Father Ben.  As I knelt down for Holy Communion, I looked up to receive the Eucharist and saw Jesus superimposed over Father.  Then, both of them gave me Holy Communion at the same time. 

Jesus not only gave me Holy Communion along with Father Ben, which we know happens, but as both Jesus and Father extended their arms, they both gave me Holy Communion in a way I had never before experienced.  The meaning of the word GENTLE radiated out from both of their arms as they reached out together to give me the Eucharist when my body was hurting so badly. 

What an incredibly beautiful and compassionate experience that was, and when I first wrote the details down,  realized that at the time whenever anyone was going to hug me, I would always say "GENTLY" because my back was so sore.  

How loving of our Savior to make it a point to come to me so gently because He knew how badly I was hurting, and to let me know (and is also now letting you know) that He was doing so.   
   

God’s love for every single one of us is just unfathomable, very personal, and He loves us CONSTANTLY, compassionately, in ways that we don't perceive and in ways we can't even imagine!  

The story did not end there; because there is still so much to learn, and there is still so much of God’s love yet to discover.  

Several weeks later I was once again at daily Holy Mass in the morning, and during the Consecration, Jesus spoke again.  He pointed out the parallel between His being so gentle to me that day when I was suffering, and also in anticipation of all the physical pain that was still to come, and the physical punishment He was about to endure after the Last Supper, during His Passion and Death, as we the congregation mystically participated in those redemptive moments in time. 

As Christ's words, “This is My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me..." were spoken during the Consecration, He requested that I love Him specifically at that moment, during the Last Supper, in a similar way, with gentleness and compassion.   

Jesus then requested  that He be received in Holy Communion as He had come to me, with the same  gentleness, compassion, and love which He had clearly shown me that day I saw Him give me Holy Communion along with Father Ben.     

So I went up to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, and there was Father Ben, way over on the right side of the altar this time.  The scene from the first part of this story was repeated, and this time I received Him gently.  What a beautiful moment of loving union with Jesus, our compassionate Savior and Teacher! 

Our loving and gentle Jesus knows our sufferings and our pains, and He loves us with such great compassion.  He longs for us to love Him in return, for it meant more to Him than we can ever fathom to suffer and die for us. He longs for our intimate, compassionate, loving, and GENTLE union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.

© Joseph Karl Publishing

God is so in love with you!

Images taken at the majestic parish of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A., in the Archdiocese of Detroit, where the events in the story during Holy Mass took place.