What it’s like living with the Eucharist

Yes, you read that right. Here at the Lisieux House we are tremendously blessed to live with the Holy Eucharist. We have a small and simple chapel that houses the Blessed Sacrament. For myself, and many other girls of the Lisieux House, this was a significant aspect that attracted us to living here. It is very rare to come across the opportunity to sleep under the same roof as the Body of Christ.

So that may lead someone to ask, “well, what is it like?”. It is healing. It is powerful. It is beautiful.

Many girls here have encountered miraculous gifts of healing while living here. We have had girls be healed of physical, mental, and emotional wounds. Girls who struggled with the stress of ongoing trials, have found a place to rest.

For me, I have really grown in my prayer life living here at Lisieux House, and I attribute a lot of that to praying before the Eucharist. Sitting in the chapel has shown me that prayer is less about what I have to say, and it is more about coming to the feet of Jesus and spending time with Him.

A good friend of mine once told me,”When you sit in front of the sun, you get sunburnt. When you sit in front of the Eucharist, you become a saint.” I can spend way too much time thinking of the perfect thing to say to God or what devotional I should read, what is more important is that I receive His mercy through His presence. Honestly, sometimes the quieter I am in prayer, the better.

A few of the girls and I pray a holy hour each day. Some of us pray in the morning before work. Once every so often, our holy hour turns into what we like to call a “holy nap.” It is easy to get discouraged from falling asleep in prayer, because we don’t feel like we “did anything.” But I will tell you, sometimes after waking up from one of those holy naps, I have been gifted with immense peace and healing. Sometimes a doctor has to put his patient to sleep to do the work. Again, it is not about what we can say, but it is about being present to God’s grace.

Prayer is about showing up. It is about giving our whole heart. Sometimes we have beautiful thoughts and consolations while praying. Sometimes it feels dry and like it will never end. Sometimes we might feel so weak or burdened by life, that we have no words to pray with. What matters in prayer, is that we show up, and we allow God’s grace to do the work. One of the most vulnerable things we can do is unveil our hearts to God, but from what I’ve read from the saints...it’s the most life giving and joyful thing we can do.

Please pray for us as we continue to pray before Jesus and grow in intimacy with Him. Also please send us your intentions, so that we may bring them also to our Blessed Lord! God is eager and longs to spend time with you.