When Mike and I were a young married couple we once attended Mass at St. John Eudes in Chatsworth, California. We had not been to Mass in a while. The only thing that I remembered from this experience was the feeling of joy after taking communion. I never forgot how wonderful it felt, but I was too detached from God to fully understand the profound meaning of ingesting the Body of Christ. As I slowly made my way back to living my Catholic roots, I discovered that missing the Host is what was most void in my life.

To serve as a Eucharistic Minister (EM) you must go through training. This  was a short tutorial on where to stand, what to say, and how to give communion. Simple, I thought to myself. The first time felt awkward, and I felt inadequate to do this. I also felt  that all eyes were on me, watching my every move. Then it was when a lady came up and opened her mouth with her tongue extended to receive communion. First I felt the fear of touching her tongue; then I worried that it might not make it to her mouth. Well, fear overtook me and on my first week as an EM I dropped the communion wafer on the ground. The lady quickly picked it up from the floor and ate it. I was mortified. During the training we were told to quickly pick up the Host (maybe this is where the five- second rule was established) but I could not remember what I was supposed to do with it. When it happened again, I quickly picked up the Host and tucked it into my hand while I handed out the communion to others. I took it to the priest and explained the situation. He quickly took it from me and  put it into his mouth and ate it. For five years I have been an EM, and with each day I become more confident in this sacred role. Our parish also serves as a Catholic school, so several times during the week students are required to attend a service.

About a month ago as I was raising my right hand with the Host and saying “The Body of Christ,” I noticed, as I handed the Host to a student, part of the body of Christ fell to the floor. It was not a big piece, but nonetheless, I knew it had fallen. I did not know how to handle this situation. So instead of picking up the particle of the communion wafer I waited until after Mass. My heart was beating for two reasons: First,  there were people praying at the altar, and I had to wait to not disrupt their prayer. Second, what if they stepped on it? My crazed thoughts were on overload when finally, after a few minutes, my eyes were glued to the area where I thought the particle of the Host fell. Allan, one of the sacristans came up to me and asked me what I was doing. “While I was giving communion, I saw a small piece fall to the ground,” I answered. As we both searched  the floor, I found it. I quickly placed it in my mouth, genuflected and walked away. Something was wrong! Whatever I put in my mouth was not part of anything holy. The first clue was that it did not dissolve, and it had the texture of a human finger/toenail. As I was exiting the church, I took it out of my mouth and gave a ladylike gag. I placed the foreign object into my jacket for further investigation. When I got home I gagged like a lumberjack because it was indeed someone’s discarded toenail!

Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation is the Catholic core belief that the bread and wine used for Communion become the Body and Blood of Christ. That’s why I experienced such joy when receiving Communion at St. John Eudes. It was the body and blood of Christ!

In a recent Pew survey, it was discovered that 69% of Catholics do not understand the holy concept of transubstantiation. These Catholics are under the fallacy that the Body and Blood of Christ  is merely a symbol. I am happy to report that out of the 31 % who believe in transubstantiation, I am one of them.

The Reverence 

After the last ordeal I investigated the proper protocol when you accidentally drop the Host, so that I could  be better prepared.  According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #280.

1. Priest and Eucharistic Ministers must be extremely alert during the distribution of Holy Communion, making  sure the recipients consume the whole Sacred Host and immediately retrieving it if an accident occurs.
2. When receiving Holy Communion, a recipient must put forth his tongue long enough so that the Sacred Host may be placed securely on it, or make a proper place in his or her  hands to receive it securely. The recipient should then step aside, still facing the altar, and consume the Sacred Host before returning to the pew. (I always practiced this, and this was before realizing it was part of the rules.)
3. Lastly, if a Sacred Host falls to the floor, or even a piece of it, it should be retrieved and given to the priest at an appropriate time, such as at the end of communion when the priest is preparing  to purify the vessels.

What I found interesting is that the Host that falls to the floor and is too soiled to consume is to be placed in water until the wafer is dissolved. From there the water  is discarded into a special drain that does not feed into the sewer system;  rather it dissolves into the ground.

Last Week of Advent

We are approaching the celebration of the birth of our Lord. Please remember to take time to reflect on all the blessings He has bestowed on us. To understand our calling in life is to bring the Good News of our Savior’s Birth and Resurrection. Pray without ceasing and believe God for your Christmas miracle.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, continue to shed light on our world. Bring and end to this pandemic, an may the peace of God be upon us all. May we never forget to praise You. Lord, I worship You! I ask that You bring Christmas healing miracles to Bobbie, Amy and Bruce. Amen.

As Catholics we have so many feast days to  celebrate. Last week we celebrated St. Nicholas, St. Ambrose, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Juan Diego. Some of us Catholics take these feast days to heart. I’m one of those.

December 12th is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe; it is also my husband Mike’s birthday. Our Lady (the Blessed Mother) apparitions have been going on for centuries. This particular apparition in Mexico City took place in December 1531 when the Aztecs’ King Montezuma II ruled over the land. Daily human sacrifices were terrifying and up to as many as 25,000 lives were murdered yearly in the name of their Aztec gods . So the Lord sent His precious Mother to intervene.

The Dream

The Lord gives me dreams; some of these dreams are prophetic. I recently had a dream about a friend’s business dealing. In the dream I was instructed to warn my friend about a business deal. I did not want to impose on my friend so I prayed about it for a few days. My conscience would not let me rest, so I finally informed them about the dream. The dream was entrusted to me and it was my responsibility to share it. What they decide to do with the information is their decision.

When you remember a dream in detail, it’s because it has an important message. Montezuma’s sister had a dream that would change the course of history.  In 1509 Princess Papantzin had a prophetic dream. She was thought to be dead and was placed in a tomb. She was not dead but in a coma. It was during this time that she had a vivid dream about an angel visiting her. The angel led her to the seashore. As she was standing looking toward the sea, she saw several ships appear. On the sails were black crosses, which were the same as the cross on the angel’s forehead. The angel told Papantzin that these ships were bringing  men to conquer her nation and bring the knowledge of the True God to Mexico. In great detail, the princess was told that she would be the first to be baptized to wash away her sins. Papantzin wasted no time in sharing the dream with her brother Montezuma. It took over ten years before the Spanish victory led to the fall of the Aztec Empire .

The Spaniards

There are good and bad Christians, and this holds true for the conquistadors. Hernan Cortes and the men who fought with him were religious. They understood who God was, but Catholic doctrine was unknown to them. Hernan Cortes came to convert the pagan country to Christianity, and history tells of the brutal behavior of some of his men. But what was unbelievably appalling to the conquistadors  were the human sacrifices taking place by the Aztecs. Cortes tore down many pagan altars and put crucifixes and statues of Mary to replace all the idols. Many of the indigenous Aztecs were converted, including Juan Diego.

Being Used of God

Juan Diego was middle class of this highly civilized nation. Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) was the world’s largest city of its time. His Aztec citizenship gave him the right to vote. He was educated because under the empire it was compulsory for boys to attend school until they were old enough to have a trade. Juan Diego was a business man who farmed and made furniture and mats from reeds.

Before being used of God we must be trained; it was no different for Juan Diego. Along with his wife and uncle, Juan Diego and Princess Papantzin were some of the first converts to the Catholic faith. Juan Diego received religious instruction from the traveling missionaries. He walked 14 miles to attend Mass and receive communion. On December 8th, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, he had his first encounter with the Blessed Mother. Perhaps some of you do not fully know the story of the Miracle of Guadalupe. Juan Diego was on his way to Mass when he heard the most beautiful voice calling him in his native tongue. Our Lady instructed Juan Diego to go before Fray Juan de  Zumarraga, the Arch Bishop of Mexico City, and have him erect a church in Her honor.

At first the Arch Bishop was not convinced, so Juan Diego felt it was out of his hands. Again the Lady appeared to him on December 12th, but this time She gave him instructions to go to the top of Tepeyac hill and pick Castilian roses. This was an unusual request because these roses were native to Spain, and the weather in Mexico was too cold at this time to produce roses. Juan Diego was obedient to the Lady and did as instructed. He gathered the roses and wrapped them in his tilma. Tilmas were usually made of ayate (cactus), which was a coarse fabric of threads from the maguey plant and vegetable fiber. The interesting fact about this fiber is that it naturally decays after 20 years.

When Juan Diego arrived to see the Arch Bishop, he had the roses wrapped in his tilma; when he released his hands from his garment, beautiful Castilian roses fell to the ground. But it was what was image of Our Lady of Guadalupe imprinted on his tilma that brought them to their knees. This same tilma is still housed in Mexico City and is in the same condition as when it was first worn by St. Juan Diego. Juan Diego was 50 years old when the Lady appeared to him. At that age he was considered old, yet he was used to convert an entire continent. How much will the Lord use us? This Advent season is the perfect time to go into prayer and ask the Lord how you are to be used of God.

Roses 

Roses are synonymous with The Blessed Mother. Twice in my life I have experienced the special scent of roses: once after sharing a message at a service with a lay group and once after serving the homeless on Skid Row. Out of nowhere came the strong, sweet smell of roses that filled the air around us. All who were present knew that Our Lady was well pleased with the work well done. It is for this reason that our home is always filled with roses, mostly from my backyard.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for Your beautiful Mother. May all mothers follow her example. In our quest for answers, guide us to understand the love You have for Your Mother. May we all honor Her as You did. I pray for all who have a strained relationship with their mothers. Lord, teach them to honor their mothers as You did Yours. It is never too late to mend a relationship. Call your mothers!

Lord, I continue to lift up Bobbie and Amy for a miracle healing. Amen

For the first time in years we were able to get away for the weekend. Spending the weekend with our best friends is one of the best medicines. Speaking of medicines, the last dose of prescriptions did not kill the problem with the bacteria  in my gut. So now another two weeks of antibiotics.

The Drugs

This entire experience with this disorder has been wrecking me. The fact that I need to set an alarm four times a day is daunting. And to add to these medical woes, my doctor told me that I’m pre- diabetic. This I can, and will, take control of. My doctor also asked me if I was given steroids while I was in the hospital when I had COVID and that this could be the cause of the high sugar levels in my blood. I was pumped with steroids for the five-day hospital stay. So for this reason I ordered these test strips to measure my blood. Amazon has the whole world at its finger tips, so I quickly found a supplier. Without checking where the strips were coming from, I aggressively pressed “place order.” I waited for a couple of weeks, which turned into a month by the time the strips finally arrived. They did not work! The strips came all the way from India. I was so upset because if I want a refund I needed to pay postage. Amazon did not give a hoot about my $35 rant so I tossed the test strips in the trash.  My doctor called in an oder for a new set-up for testing my blood sugar.

Over the weekend I had to have help with measuring my blood level. Larry decided that he would take on the role of teaching me on how to use the device. After about ten attempts of pricking my finger with no blood results, I pulled my hand away from Larry and told him that I needed to read the instructions. I always read those really long explanations from the drug manufacturers because I want to understand the side effects.  After carefully reading how to use the device, I was able to test my blood; the first day it was 160, but the next day it came down to 142. I’m exercising more and learning to eat better in oder to eradicate this problem, and I’m praying about this as well. So far I have also lost over ten pounds.

Our Friends

Mike and I were both in our thirties  when we met our best friends, Larry and Helen.  Mike and Larry were in the tortilla industry; they were competitors, but destiny would change all that. TIA (tortilla industry association) is an organization that brings tortilla manufacturers together, and that’s when we met Larry and Helen. TIA was having a semi-formal event, and, of course, I had nothing to wear.  I was in an awkward fashion stage; my choice of designers was between Gunny Sack and Laura Ashley. I heard that Gunny Sack had opened an outlet in Montclair, a city about 45 minutes from my home.  I drove to the shop in Montclair,  and I will never forget the black glittery dress with a full tulle bottom that I purchased from Gunny Sack. It was an ugly dress from the beginning, but I did not realize it until the day of the event. The dress was so tight that I had to get a girdle, and this undergarment fastened with the old-school hook and eye. Needless to say, this was going make for an interesting evening.  Honestly I have never been so fashionably uncomfortable in my life. My new shoes were too tight as well.  When I was introduced to Helen, I was tugging at my dress and felt that this stupid undergarment was partly unhooked.  Helen was wearing a beautiful suit, her heels matched perfectly, her hair and make-up looked like a professional had just put her together. After our greeting, I mentioned how very uncomfortable I was. Helen gave me an empathetic look, and turned to talk to Larry; that was our first encounter. My first impression of Helen was that of a sophisticated woman who wore boa, low-heeled slippers around the house.  You can guess what her first impression of me was.

Early on in this relationship I was stripped of making any decisions. I once made arrangements for a two-night stay at a boutique hotel  in Florence, Italy. I chose this place because it was once a monastery and, by the description, it sounded charming. This hotel was scary and, compared to the places that Larry and Helen are accustomed to, it was far from charming. The paint was peeling off the walls and the T.V. belonged in the Smithsonian. Our room was no better; the people next to us were so loud that Mike had to go to the front desk to complain. I could not sleep so I asked Mike to knock on the door and tell them to keep it down. When Mike got back, his face was white, almost as if he had seen a ghost. “What happened to you?” I asked. Mike could barely describe the trauma he had just experienced. It turned out that this huge, Middle Eastern man answered the door buck naked! We checked out the following morning, and Larry made arrangements for us to stay in a beautiful hotel facing the Ponte Vecchio. Because of that little incident I am not allowed to participate in any traveling arrangements; this includes choosing restaurants as well, Oh, one more thing, I’m never allowed to drive either!

The Reunion

After our visit with Larry and Helen we drove to Temecula to meet with Mario, Armando, Tony and Lupe, Mario’s wife.  These men have been in our circle for years; they all worked for Mike when we had our tortilla factory. To be able to keep these acquaintances is to understand how our old company respected the work ethic of these men. It has been over 20 years since we had seen them, but the love we share with them is the same. Not one of them missed a beat, and the old tortilla stories were filled with laughter. We shared about how it felt to be treated with dignity and to be appreciated for a job well done. This type of camaraderie is quickly fading away with all the impersonal, out-of-touch  behavior of large companies. I was part of this group, and I loved and appreciated working with these wonderful men.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank you for all the wonderful relationships and friendships we have encountered. We are so very blessed to have crossed paths with each of our friends. I ask that you continue to bless and encourage them with Your unfailing love. Lord, may we always remember to call on You for all of our needs. I lift up the special prayer intentions for Amy and Bobbie, Lord heal them. Amen.