The Eucharist has made all the difference in my life. Though I was raised Catholic, I was not convicted of the truth within the Church until my senior year of high school. Even then, I did not view it as important enough to have an effect on my life aside from showing up to Mass on Sundays.

Hearing my roommate speak of the Eucharist during my freshman year of college made a huge impact on me. I remember thinking to myself, 'If the Church is true, which I believe it is, and Jesus is who He says He is, and the Eucharist is Him, then it should matter to me.' After that point I began seeking Jesus in the Eucharist and my life has never been the same.

As I began to pray with Scripture during college, I was struck by all of the miracles performed—and I was confused about why I was not seeing them in my own life. Having recently been convicted that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, I understood that to receive Him is to touch Him. As the hemorrhaging woman knew she would be healed by touching Him, I believed receiving the Eucharist was meant to bring healing. Throughout the years, I have received many emotional and spiritual healings through the Eucharist, but it is my physical healing which is easier to depict.

At the age of 16, I was in a near-fatal car accident. I broke my spine and had multiple collapsed spinal discs that left me with severe chronic pain, among other injuries. It was quite a journey navigating my pain and purpose, but Jesus met me where I was and eventually led me to desire healing. Two months after I began to intentionally ask for healing, nearly six years after the crash, my back was miraculously healed through the Eucharist on a pilgrimage in Italy.

Even before experiencing the healing power of the Eucharist, I was drawn to the Mass during my conversion of faith in college. It was at Mass that I found community and witnessed devotion. Seeing others reverent before the Lord inspired me to grow closer to Him and learn what I could about Him. It was during my walks up to receive the Eucharist that I learned faith, to trust what I could not see and allow it to transform my life.

As I continue to receive, my experience at Mass is one of gratitude. The Eucharist truly becomes an experience of Thanksgiving. What I love most about adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is the reminder that Jesus is with me.