A Discipleship Moment and Invitation to Mission

If you have ever seen my office (or my car, my house, or my wardrobe), you would know that I am a huge Detroit Red Wings fan.  My love of the Wings and hockey in general has been called obsessive, fanatical, and over the top, but those are the opinions of people who do not understand the beauty of the game nor respect the legacy of the winged wheel.  While I have appreciation for all of the players, past and present, my all time favorite player of all time is Nicklas Lidstrom.  He entered the league just before I discovered hockey, and his rookie card began my hockey card collection in the early 90s.  He is such a phenomenal defensemen that his nickname is “The Perfect Human”.  With this background in mind, I share the following story (with a purpose, so bear with me):

My now husband and I met because of the Red Wings, and we had been dating for about 5 months when, on March 6, 2014, Nick Lidstrom’s jersey was retired and flown to the rafters at Joe Louis Arena.  Aaron and I had tickets to the game and were supposed to meet some friends in the lobby of the Motor City Casino and Hotel at 1:00.

Everything was going wrong that morning.  My roommate clogged the drain of the shower and the drain of the kitchen sink before she left for work but did not tell me.  I only found out when I went to take a shower and make coffee.  A trip to the store to get Draino set me behind schedule.  My mood was less than cheerful, and my thoughts were not very charitable towards my roommate.  Aaron was late, my hair was still soaking wet, I was not changed into game attire, my makeup (a priority in my early 30s) was not done, there was a traffic jam on the highway, and we were running late… very late.

When we got to the hotel, we were in a rush and quickly made our way to our designated meeting spot.  We ran to the lobby only to find Nicklas Lidstrom himself standing no more than 30 feet away talking with a few members of his entourage.  There I was, struck completely dumb and holding the Lidstrom jersey that I saved my paper route money to purchase when I was 13.  Aaron caught his attention as he walked by and introduced him to his biggest fan.  Just like in the movies, I could not talk.  He held out his hand and I shook it.  (It was the softest hand I had ever touched - like an angel made of butter wrapped in a cloud.)  Several smiles and kind exchanges later, he said, “I have to get to the rink,” and walked towards the valet. I vowed to never wash my hand again.

I actually met him.  I actually touched him.  He spoke to me, even in my complete silence.  Through that encounter, he became real to me in a very different way than he had ever been before.  

If this is how it was meeting a celebrity, imagine how exciting it is going to be to meet God face-to-face!  To be able to truly meet him, to touch him, what an experience that would be.

Hard stop.

The fact is, we actually have this exact opportunity every single time we attend Mass.  Jesus, in the form of the Eucharist is given to us in Holy Communion.  We get to truly meet him, to touch him, to welcome him into our body - Jesus, the actual perfect human (and perfect God). 

Why don’t we have the same reaction to receiving the Eucharist that we do when meeting a famous person?  Jesus is more famous, more loving, more everything than 10 billion Lidstroms, and yet I have never vowed to not wash my hand after receiving him.  Defeating death and winning us eternal salvation is a bit more important than defeating another team and winning the Stanley Cup and yet I have never reacted to the Blessed Sacrament in the same way that I reacted when I met my childhood hero.

Being in the physical presence of Christ is a gift that we as Catholics are given because of the love that God has for his Church.  We can even sit in the same room with him, talking for as long as we like when we participate in Eucharistic adoration.  Yet, we often do not see this as quite as exciting of an opportunity like we would if it was a chance to sit with a celebrity.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it can be difficult to see the person of Christ in the form of bread and wine.  Our logical brains have a hard time making sense of things we cannot truly understand, and the mystery of the transfiguration, the point when the bread and wine fully become the Body and Blood of Christ, is one of those dogmatic Truths that requires faith to believe. But, make no mistake, it is absolute Truth, and the fullness of the Lord is there.

How can we encounter Jesus through the Eucharist in a way that makes him more real to us than he has been before?  I don’t have the perfect answer, but I do know that it will mean a shift of perspective.  A good place to start would be attending our collaborative Lenten Mission with St. Mary Williamston next week from March 16-18.  Fr. Luke Ferris will be talking about this very topic - Encountering Jesus in the Eucharist.  

Lent is a great time to dig in and go deeper with your faith.  Use this time to come closer to Christ by finding ways to be near him.  He wants you to come.

Peace to you,

~ Hallie

P.S. Go Wings!