Finding God and Serving Others

We have all experienced some aspect of feeling lonely or unloved throughout the course of our lives. Some of this may come from negative experiences we’ve had in the past or from things that we’ve come to believe about ourselves. One of the best pieces of advice that I can give to those who are currently going through a bout of loneliness or depression is that God always gives us a way out of our most troubling circumstances in life.

Eucharistic Adoration can be a great tool to combat our mental problems that we may be experiencing. As a precaution, if you are dealing with mental illness it is always wise to seek help from a licensed professional. Adoration can definitely be a help to those going through various afflictions and should be sought alongside natural means that God wants us to use to heal as well. Our Lord certainly does work on the supernatural level as well as the natural level. When it comes to going to Adoration, it can be a challenge to be in silence with the Lord if you are not used to doing so. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, the world that we live in is very noisy on various levels whether that be from machines or spiritual unrest.

Even though the world is filled with noise, Jesus wants to provide us with an opportunity to rest apart from the world. Holy hours when used properly can be a place to tell Jesus about your problems and to let Him work through what you’ve been going through. Jesus wants us to build a connection with Him. We should be able to go to Him when we are feeling downcast and unloved because after all He is the lover of our souls and all He wants His children to do is simply reach out to Him in our time of need.

There are times when it can be difficult to reach out to Jesus, I understand that. This also happens in our friendships, there are going to be times when we don’t want to spend time with our friends because we don’t feel up to it. Even when we have the best of friends (Jesus) who only wants the best for us, we still find ways to remain distant because of our fallen nature. In these moments, we must remind ourselves that if Jesus only wants the good for us then we should go to Him when able to. Sometimes it seems like we aren’t able to for whatever reason, and oftentimes we’ll simply forget or believe that we can better handle the situation on our own.

God designed the human race to be social, we are social creatures. We strive for connection, friendship, and intimacy with those around us. This realization can come to us slowly and over time. God placed other people in our lives because we need both God and other people in order to function. Being of service to others is one key component that God has placed within the human heart in order for individuals and communities to thrive. Jesus gives us this example in the gospels. He is focused on serving others and not His own interests.

The Eucharist has the capacity to be seen as a total act of self-gift. Jesus gives Himself completely to the communicant and is received completely by the recipient. Our Lord also wants our lives to be lived in the same way, we are supposed to be a gift to those around us; not because of anything that we’ve done, but God working through us. The goal of the Christian should be to act as a conduit of grace to the point where the graces that God wants to give can easily flow through our lives and be given to others, this process begins with receiving the Eucharist and being thankful for the greatest gift that God can give, namely, Himself.

The article was written by: Br. Athanasius Mary of the Knights of the Holy Eucharist