Question about experience with the Eucharist

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akelios

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Hello,

Okay, I apologize if this is the wrong place, but it seems to fit best here, to my mind.

I’m going through RCIA, and last night we were doing a tour through the church, getting familiar with everything.

We went into the chapel, which is where the tabernacle is located in our church. When the deacon opened it, to show us the ciborium located within, it felt, to me, as though the air pressure in the room changed. It suddenly felt much…heavier, as if the room was full. And when the deacon closed the tabernacle, the feeling went away.

So, the question is this, has something similar ever happened to anyone else? Or is it just the suggestion of my mind?

Thanks,
Amber
 
I’ve never experienced that, but Jesus touches us in different ways. He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist which was in the tabernacle that day, so it very well could have been His way of letting you “feel” that He was there. 🙂

Just remember, even if you never feel that again, He’s still there.
 
akelios said:
Hello,

Okay, I apologize if this is the wrong place, but it seems to fit best here, to my mind.

I’m going through RCIA, and last night we were doing a tour through the church, getting familiar with everything.

We went into the chapel, which is where the tabernacle is located in our church. When the deacon opened it, to show us the ciborium located within, it felt, to me, as though the air pressure in the room changed. It suddenly felt much…heavier, as if the room was full. And when the deacon closed the tabernacle, the feeling went away.

So, the question is this, has something similar ever happened to anyone else? Or is it just the suggestion of my mind?

Thanks,
Amber
Click to expand...
What an awesome experience you had. I hope you get to savor it for a very long time and I hope it isn’t your last. I have had a few different experiences concerning the Eucharist.

One day, back when I still received in the hand, when I returned to my pew to pray and the area on my hand where the host had been was very warm. Not hot as to be painful, but very, very warm and it lasted until the pastor sat down and then the warmth faded.

Once in adoration I felt His palpable presence and I felt as if I were naked and could hide behind nothing. It was most humbling and healing at the same time.

There are more but I’ll stop here.
 
I have heard many Protestants/former Protestants (even several Jewish converts) say that when they entered a Catholic church for the first time, that they “felt” something, felt a “Presence.”

Conversely, I have heard Catholics say after visiting a Protestant church - and have experienced it myself - that no matter how beautiful the surroundings, the art, the architecture, they (I) felt something missing… a sense of “Presence” that just was not there.

The only explanation for this is the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He said, “THIS is my Body… Do THIS in remembrance of me.” And so it is. When a Priest consecrates that little piece of bread, it really does become His Body… the wine really becomes His Blood. In stunning Mystery, He is present with us physically. He said it. He promised never to leave us… and He always keeps His word.

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I don’t know about “pressure”, but I have always had the ability to spiritually sense God’s presence.

When I was an evangelical, I could sense God’s presence in Church. When I became Catholic, like you I have a very strong spiritual sense of God’s presence in the Eucharist. I can feel it when I am near. I can understand how you might confuse that spiritual discernment with “physical pressure”. Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist, but most don’t really sense it in any way except through the actual host.

What is really interesting is that in Church, if I light a candle before the Blessed Mother, I am always very spiritually aware that I am in the presence of a statue, and nothing more than a statue (even though of course she is represented by the statue and I know she hears my prayers). But if I am before the Host, I am spiritually aware that I am in the presence of the living God.
 
What an inspiring book this would make. I suggest Catholic Answers has a link on this site with these stories. Keep them coming…please.
 
There is a wonderful story that occurred at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmittsburg, MD. about 10 years ago.

Pope John Paul II was scheduled to visit there and the Secret Service used dogs to make sure no one was hiding in the church. These dogs are trained to alert at the presence of a person and they alerted on a presence in the Tabernacle.

I know a priest who was a seminarian there at that time and he confirms that the story is true.
 
Hello,

Thank you all for the quick replies. 🙂

I do feel very blessed that I got to feel something like this, at all. I know that He is there, whether I feel it physically, or not.

I’ve always felt a difference when in Catholic churches, but this was something above and beyond that. I never really thought about it until last night, but maybe, as Angels Unaware said, it’s my way of registering God’s presence, and then His physical presence in the Eucharist. I just never even thought about the difference that I felt between the Catholic church and the others that I’d been in.

Even if I never get that feeling again, I’m going to remember this. It was such a subtle change, but definately real. I only even question if others have felt similar things because it’s so out of what I’d noticed before, and, well, it’s my nature to question myself. :o

Thanks,
Amber
 
Angel_Bradford said:
There is a wonderful story that occurred at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmittsburg, MD. about 10 years ago.

Pope John Paul II was scheduled to visit there and the Secret Service used dogs to make sure no one was hiding in the church. These dogs are trained to alert at the presence of a person and they alerted on a presence in the Tabernacle.

I know a priest who was a seminarian there at that time and he confirms that the story is true.
Click to expand...
Ah! I know that one, the deacon told us that last night while we were leaving the church.

Also, we had Hurricane Charley come through several years ago, and it utterly destroyed one of the Catholic churches around here. When they got back to the building, after the storm passed, everything was wrecked (they’re still rebuilding) but the room with the tabernacle was intact, and the red light was still lit.

-Amber
 
Oh, dear…just wait until you recieve the Holy Eucharist for the very first time, you will KNOW Jesus is there! 😃

What a great experience you had.

Yes, as a former Protestant, when you walk into a Catholic Church you KNOW Jesus is there. If more Protestants would just spend some time in the Catholic Church, they would convert.

My sponsor invited me years ago to Adortion, at the time that I wasn’t even thinking about converting.

My how Jesus gets us when He wants us!

God bless!

Dana
 
God makes His presence known to people in so many wonderful ways!
Our faith in Him is not based on our feelings or experiences, though when we have these good ones, it sure is bolstering!
During your future times of struggling, dryness, or confusion, please allow this memory to help sustain you in prayer.
 
Angel_Bradford said:
There is a wonderful story that occurred at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmittsburg, MD. about 10 years ago.

Pope John Paul II was scheduled to visit there and the Secret Service used dogs to make sure no one was hiding in the church. These dogs are trained to alert at the presence of a person and they alerted on a presence in the Tabernacle.

I know a priest who was a seminarian there at that time and he confirms that the story is true.
Click to expand...
That is awesome! 😃
 
Angels_Unaware said:
Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist, but most don’t really sense it in any way except through the actual host.

What is really interesting is that in Church, if I light a candle before the Blessed Mother, I am always very spiritually aware that I am in the presence of a statue, and nothing more than a statue (even though of course she is represented by the statue and I know she hears my prayers). But if I am before the Host, I am spiritually aware that I am in the presence of the living God.
Click to expand...
This is so very true. As eloquently as you have described it, for someone who has never experienced this there are no words to fully explain.
Angel_Bradford said:
There is a wonderful story that occurred at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmittsburg, MD. about 10 years ago.

Pope John Paul II was scheduled to visit there and the Secret Service used dogs to make sure no one was hiding in the church. These dogs are trained to alert at the presence of a person and they alerted on a presence in the Tabernacle.

I know a priest who was a seminarian there at that time and he confirms that the story is true.
Click to expand...
I’ve heard this before. In fact, it was also mentioned in a very old thread (but I don’t remember the name).

I used to go to a retreat house (long closed) that had a resident cat. Every time there was a Mass in the Chapel, the cat would come in and sit quietly and attentively in the sanctuary. As soon as Mass finished, she would leave. She never came in at any other time, not for Penances services etc., and it didn’t matter which priest was celebrating the Mass.
akelios said:
Also, we had Hurricane Charley come through several years ago, and it utterly destroyed one of the Catholic churches around here. When they got back to the building, after the storm passed, everything was wrecked (they’re still rebuilding) but the room with the tabernacle was intact, and the red light was still lit.

-Amber
Click to expand...
If that isn’t proof of the Real Presence! What a miracle! Let’s face it. Something like that just isn’t a coincidence!!!
 
Hi Amber. I have a similar story. Like you, I’m currently in RCIA. Before I switched parishes, my former sponsor took me on a tour of my old parish. Since I’m totally blind, he took me closer to the tabernacle than most people usually get. The chapel at that parish has a closed tabernacle, so there was no danger of me touching the Host. My former sponsor actually let me go up and touch the closed door of the tabernacle. For the rest of that day, I felt an unexplainable peace, even long after I left the church.

Also on the same day, my mom retold me a story she told me about something that happened to her when she was little. She went into a Catholic church, which she thinks may have been called Our Lady of the Mountains. She said that that was the only time she ever felt the presence of God. It was so strong, that she knew that God was in that church, even though there wasn’t a Mass going on at the time. Even though she isn’t Catholic, that experience has forever made her open to the Catholic Church. When she told me about it the day I was in the chapel, I finally realized that what she was feeling was the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and I told her about the Catholic belief in the Real Presence.
 
Wow, Josh, thank you for sharing.

I imagine, by you being blind, you are more sensitive to things that we allow our vision to get in the way of (does that make sense?)

God bless you and welcome Home!

Dana
 
DJgang said:
Wow, Josh, thank you for sharing.

I imagine, by you being blind, you are more sensitive to things that we allow our vision to get in the way of (does that make sense?)

God bless you and welcome Home!

Dana
Click to expand...
Hi Dana. Yes, that makes sense to me, and you’re definitely not the first person who has told me that.

Because of reading this thread yesterday, I think that I now have the courage to go into an adoration chapel with an open tabernacle. This has been something that I’ve been struggling with for a while. Now, I long to go to adoration, and I can’t go, because I have no transportation downtown to the only parish in town that has perpetual adoration.
 
GemmaRose said:
I have heard many Protestants/former Protestants (even several Jewish converts) say that when they entered a Catholic church for the first time, that they “felt” something, felt a “Presence.”

Conversely, I have heard Catholics say after visiting a Protestant church - and have experienced it myself - that no matter how beautiful the surroundings, the art, the architecture, they (I) felt something missing… a sense of “Presence” that just was not there.

The only explanation for this is the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He said, “THIS is my Body… Do THIS in remembrance of me.” And so it is. When a Priest consecrates that little piece of bread, it really does become His Body… the wine really becomes His Blood. In stunning Mystery, He is present with us physically. He said it. He promised never to leave us… and He always keeps His word.
Click to expand...
Yep, that was very true of my experience. Many of my family members on my dad’s side are Catholics, so I went to many Catholic Churches for family events. After going back to my old Lutheran church, it would feel like something was missing.

And recently (Saturday vigil mass on Nov. 1st), I smelled what seemed like a sweet scent after receiving the Eucharist (and my sense of smell isn’t all that great). I had written prayer intentions for my grandfather (in the church prayer book for Nov. 1st, and on the Nov. 1st envelope for prayer intentions), who passed away a year ago. Interestingly enough, the next day, or early Monday morning, I had a dream that I saw my grandfather, who looked younger and his face was bright. I suddenly woke up and felt some sort of presence - I think my blanket lifted up slightly like someone was getting up (of which I then reached for my Rosary and prayed - it was 2:30-3:00am, so I just wanted to be sure…).
 
akelios said:
Hello,

Okay, I apologize if this is the wrong place, but it seems to fit best here, to my mind.

I’m going through RCIA, and last night we were doing a tour through the church, getting familiar with everything.

We went into the chapel, which is where the tabernacle is located in our church. When the deacon opened it, to show us the ciborium located within, it felt, to me, as though the air pressure in the room changed. It suddenly felt much…heavier, as if the room was full. And when the deacon closed the tabernacle, the feeling went away.

So, the question is this, has something similar ever happened to anyone else? Or is it just the suggestion of my mind?

Thanks,
Amber
Click to expand...
That is awesome!! Thanks for sharing this experience here!

(I’ve had two experiences in my life I consider minor miracles of the Presence of God/revelation but I won’t go into them here.)

I would recommend reading about the Eucharist Miracles that have occurred. In 2006, my wife and I were privileged enough to visit the chapel in Lanciano, Italy where one of the earliest and most amazing miracles of the Eucharist took place - what an experience.
 
Among_Strangers said:
Once in adoration I felt His palpable presence and I felt as if I were naked and could hide behind nothing. It was most humbling and healing at the same time.
Click to expand...
I had a very similar experience at a retreat I attended last summer. The priest had really emphasized in his presentation the fact that God loves all of us. During adoration immediately after the presentation I finally truly believed that God loves me.🙂 As soon as I had that thought it felt like all of my defenses were stripped away and I saw myself as God sees me, which was definitely humbling.

Two years ago I took my Jewish husband into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC during a period of adoration. My husband, who certainly doesn’t believe in the Real Presence, commented that upon entering the cathedral he felt a wave of peace wash over him and he felt energized by it. To me, it felt waves of love coming from a heartbeat.

I once had a priest tell me in confession to pray before the Blessed Sacrament because Jesus was there waiting for me, shooting out rays of love to everyone who visited Him.
 
Jennifer_G said:
Yep, that was very true of my experience. Many of my family members on my dad’s side are Catholics, so I went to many Catholic Churches for family events. After going back to my old Lutheran church, it would feel like something was missing.

And recently (Saturday vigil mass on Nov. 1st), I smelled what seemed like a sweet scent after receiving the Eucharist (and my sense of smell isn’t all that great). I had written prayer intentions for my grandfather (in the church prayer book for Nov. 1st, and on the Nov. 1st envelope for prayer intentions), who passed away a year ago. Interestingly enough, the next day, or early Monday morning, I had a dream that I saw my grandfather, who looked younger and his face was bright. I suddenly woke up and felt some sort of presence - I think my blanket lifted up slightly like someone was getting up (of which I then reached for my Rosary and prayed - it was 2:30-3:00am, so I just wanted to be sure…).
Click to expand...
One All Saints’ Day I had this odd feeling during a very special candlelight ceremony that these spirits who had died were really here. Even the candles seemed to glow in a special way. It is hard to explain how I perceived this.
 
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