Serra Club Vocations Essay

Adoration, Communion helps people to know their vocation

(Editor’s note: The Indianapolis Serra Club’s annual John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest ordinarily awards prizes each spring to winning essayists in grades 7-12 in the archdiocese. This week, we continue with the winning entry in the eighth grade. Please note this year there were no entries from the 11th grade.)
 

By Talia Sicuso (Special to The Criterion)

“If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the thought of Christ’s love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude.”

This inspiring quote from St. Angela of Foligno perfectly describes how the Eucharist can transform our hearts and turn us into the loving saints we are all called to be. Being in the presence of and receiving the Eucharist can direct each and every one of our hearts to obtain God’s perfect plan for our lives.

One way the Eucharist can direct our lives is through eucharistic adoration. When we set apart time to spend alone with God, we can truly seek his voice and direction. Being in the presence of God helps us all to truly understand the meaning of our life and how God specifically made each one of us to do his will.

The more time we dedicate to listen to God, the easier it is to discern our vocation and help us reach our fullest potential in life.

Not only can we just be in the presence of the Eucharist, we can actually receive the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, we are the closest we can be to God. We become one with him.

This is one of the best ways to change our hearts. By allowing him to unite with us, Jesus can guide our hearts and minds and transform us into the people he made us to be.

The Eucharist has impacted my life in a positive way. It continues to help me grow in my faith by guiding me to be the best version of myself.

When I spent time in adoration during my confirmation retreat, I found myself enlightened and found clarity about my problems. I found peace. This is a pattern I recognize every time I go to eucharistic adoration. Being in the presence of Jesus through the Eucharist has helped me keep my focus on God even through the most challenging parts of my life.

I also have the opportunity to become closer to God through receiving the Eucharist at Mass. Receiving the Eucharist has helped me to give my worries and anxiety to God. Every time I receive the Eucharist, I feel guidance that God gives me through my words, actions and thoughts.

Receiving the Eucharist has opened my eyes to the many ways God may be calling me to serve. God may be calling me to pursue a medical profession, to teach or to grow a loving family.

Although I am not certain now, I know that the Eucharist changes and guides my heart to the path that will lead me to eternal glory with God in heaven.

Through eucharistic adoration and receiving the Eucharist, our vocations are revealed and our lives are directed to God’s ultimate plan for our lives.

The Eucharist unites us fully to God and allows him to give us strength and support throughout our ever changing and difficult lives.

As St. Maximilian Kolbe once stated, “You come to me and unite yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your blood now runs in mine, your soul, incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!”
 

(Talia and her parents, Philip and Colleen Sicuso, are members of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg. She recently completed the eighth grade at St. Malachy School in Brownsburg and is the eighth-grade division winner in the Indianapolis Serra Club’s 2022 John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest.) †