It’s been a while since I shared my story, what’s been going on. The rest of my great Rome adventure. I’ve let myself be swallowed whole by the busyness of life, of work, and the never ending tasks that lead my daily life. I want to share something that happened to me tonight that reminded me to take a step back and remember the important things.

Tonight like all Sunday’s I was meeting with the teens for our weekly gathering, today though I was running late, very late. It was time for me to be at the Parish Hall and I still had to stop at Walgreens to pick up thank you cards and candy for a game we where playing as well as help John (one of my core members) set up for the evening gathering. After running around like a mad women, I finally arrived at the parish hall about 45 min late. Good thing John had access to the hall and he had started to set up. We still had one hour before the teens arrived which gave us a chance to review the night. As we where going over our evening, John was showing me his set up. We where going to be talking to the teens about how we are a living tabernacle.

John had brought out the “old” tabernacle, which belonged to the old Church building (now our parish hall). The tabernacle had been in storage for a while, and by storage I mean up on a really high shelf in the religious education closet where nobody could see it (or reach it) unless they knew it was there. This tabernacle was sitting on a table on display ready for when the teens arrived. As we reviewed our session John decided to open the tabernacle so that when the teens arrived they didn’t think it was a working tabernacle and the Eucharist was in there.

To our surprise as he opened the tabernacle, we found the Eucharist inside! We where astonished, we couldn’t believe that even though it had not been in use for a very long time, it held in it the body of Christ. How was it possible that the tabernacle had been sitting on the shelf for at least a year (if not longer) and inside it the most precious content. In that moment I felt disappointment, anger and a lot of sadness. Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist had been sitting on the top shelf of the religious education closet, alone. No light, nobody to visit him. He had been sitting in the depth of this tabernacle for a very long period of time, accumulating dust, among the animals in the parish, completely abandoned and forgotten.

We immediately looked for a candle, lit it right next to the tabernacle and called Fr. John so he could instruct us on what to do. He let me know how to dispose of the Eucharist properly and we did. Shortly after, the teens started arriving and we proceeded to talk about Jesus Christ and how we are called to be living tabernacles. To lead our lives as Mary did and carry Jesus with in us, and how in order to do so we must be free of sin, and depend on the sacrament of reconciliation often so we can continue to give Him a dwelling place in us. We ended the night in the Chapel where we gave the teens the opportunity to reflect before the Blessed Sacrament. As I was kneeling before the tabernacle, leading these teens in prayer, I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness. I was in disbelief that He (Jesus in the Eucharist) had been completely forgotten. I wasn’t sure if I was more upset or angry at the fact that nobody had even bothered to look, or check to see if it was empty.

I then caught myself thinking about how many times I leave Him on the top shelf of my life, to accumulate dust. How many times I just set Him aside (maybe not physically), but how I completely forget about Him because I’m to wrapped up in my daily life, my work, my tasks. How I only bring Him down from the shelf when I need something, or have something big to be thankful for. I couldn’t be upset that someone had forgotten Him, I forget Him daily when I don’t say my morning prayer, or forget to say thank you for the new day, the new opportunities. I forget Him daily when I judge others, when I’m to lazy to do anything because I’ve had a long work week. I forget Him constantly, especially when I let a long time pass before I go to confession (because there’s always tomorrow, or next week right?). I leave Him to accumulate dust and dwell in a dirty, dusty heart because who cares, we have time, just not now.

Tonight reminded me of how much I need to dust myself off, and bring Him back into my dwelling place (my heart and my life). Even though I work at a Church it’s very easy to forget about Him in the rush of the daily routine. But all He wants, the only place he wishes to live in, is in me. He knows that is where he can make the greatest change. I have to remember that I was called to be a living tabernacle. That I am called to bring him with me everywhere I go, not just when it’s convenient or easy, or when I have time to spear, but always. Tonight reminded me that just as the picture above He deserves to dwell in the most beautiful tabernacle where he can be easily seen by others. That beautiful tabernacle is me, as hard as I find that to believe sometimes. He made me perfect in His image and because of that there is no amount of gold that will display Him better that His own creation. I just have to remember to bring Him down from the top shelf.