Dwell // A Study on the Eucharist for Women

"I need Adoration."

My friend's evening text put words to the longing on my own heart. In the midst of the shut downs, our usual Holy Hours were cancelled, and we were left feeling a little lost.

So we scoured town to find a parish with open doors and, blessed, His Eucharistic presence in the tabernacle. I heard my friend's sigh echo mine, and I knew we were both filled with the kind of peace that only comes when arriving home. And home is wherever He is.

The Sacraments Helps Us Live a Personal Relationship with Jesus

Some of my most honest prayer happens before Jesus in the Eucharist: during Mass, while the Eucharist is exposed on the altar, or when I'm before the tabernacle, waiting in line for Confession.

There is something about being physically present to Him that draws me out of myself, my discouragement, my will, and my doubt and instead draws me to the Truth of His everlasting love. This is the kind of personal relationship I want with Our Blessed Lord, and our relationship is lived and sustained by the Sacraments.

The Source and Summit of Our Faith

If you're like me, you did not quite grasp the importance and centrality of the Eucharist in our Catholic Faith until your adulthood. Maybe you feel behind in your understanding or frustrated that this piece has been missing from your life. Maybe you already deeply love the Eucharist and sense the Holy Spirit beckoning you deeper into the Mystery. Maybe you have a lot of questions about how a Truth so veiled can have concrete influence in your daily life. Maybe you are ready for your small group to move beyond the latest world news and into the heart of the Faith.

Maybe you're longing to feel seen and understood, to understand your purpose and your calling, to be convicted and consoled . . . to be, essentially, home.

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Dwell // A Study on the Eucharist

We wanted to create something to help all of us understand more about Jesus in the Eucharist and to in turn love Him more. Dwell is the newest addition to our Blessed Conversations series, and it is our prayer that this brings you closer to the Heart of Christ in the Eucharist. Because grasping the theology behind the Eucharist is one thing, but devoting your heart and life to Him is another.

What to Expect

In an effort to help us all increase our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, this study contains five different parts on the Church’s teaching about how Jesus comes to dwell within us in and through the Blessed Sacrament as:

Lover
Nourishment
Unifier
Healer
Grace

We will look at what and why the Church teaches what she does about the Eucharist, what God's Word says about the sacrament, and how the holy men and women who have gone before us in faith rested their entire beings on Our Eucharistic Lord.

Then, five writers share stories from their own lives about how the Eucharist has been a home for them. They relate how the Eucharist not only saved them during their darkest days, but also provided the light with which they could see His next steps for them. We pray you will see your own stories in theirs, coming to contemplate how Our Lord is beckoning you closer, offering to be your lover, nourishment, unifier, healer, and grace.

Finally, we present you questions for reflection, inviting you into prayer and greater intimacy with Jesus.

For Ride-or-Dies or Riding Solo

Who can use this study? Easy answer: anyone. You can prayer through this study on your own, with a girlfriend, or with a sprawling small group. This study is crafted intentionally to be flexible to your particular needs and availability in this season. I have even done Blessed Conversations studies with a friend via text messaging and, admittedly, I was surprised by how truly fruitful that time of prayerful and consistent connection was both for my prayer life and our friendship.

We Need the Eucharist

No matter what we are facing in life—whether a season of joy or a season of grief—the answer to our longing is always Jesus in the Eucharist. He is our home, and, this side of Heaven, the most ourselves we will feel is before His Eucharistic Face.

So let's not delay any longer. Let's commit ourselves to drawing closer to Him, closer to our home.

You (and your buddies) can get Dwell here!

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About Olivia Spears

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Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.