I am the queen of the reset. I love a new routine, resource, or life hack. But as helpful as the latest testimony or product can be, the results are never as successful as I hope.
For years I searched for the missing piece that would finally bring everything together —the “everything” being me. But the longer I am a disciple, the more I have come to understand that there is nothing and no one who can bring order in and around me except Jesus.
The reality that Jesus is the answer is the premise of our new Blessed Conversations book Gift: A Study on the Eucharist. Author Rocio Hermes is the narrator, connecting us to the promise of Jesus’ presence and provision in the Blessed Sacrament, and she’s here to tell us more.
Beth Davis: Tell us about your first encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. When did you fall in love with our Lord?
Rocio Hermes: The very first experience with Jesus in the Eucharist that I can remember was when I was very young—maybe seven or eight. I attended a charismatic retreat with my parents. There was a moment of prayer, gym lights at full force, no kneelers in sight but we all knelt down on the shiny gym floor to welcome Jesus, though I did not capture in my mind that it was Jesus, truly present there. But I saw the golden monstrance on the makeshift altar and the “white circle” inside of it. As I closed my eyes, I had my first prayer experience, a powerful moment where I listened deeply to the music that spoke about angels being in that place adoring Jesus Who had come to us. I cried from my heart and felt peace and joy all at once. I did not yet fully understand, but it was the beginning of my curiosity and later devotion to our Eucharistic Lord.
I would come to have my life-changing encounter at thirteen, and this was intertwined with deeper knowledge of Jesus’ true Presence in the Eucharist. The two realities came together for me: God existed, loved me, knew my name, and He was really present in the Eucharist.
Beth: I would love to hear more about your devotion to the Eucharist. How has Jesus guided your heart and life’s decisions?
Rocio: Maybe this story encompasses the answer in a nutshell. My dad is a deacon at our parish, which is right next door to my childhood home. Whenever I wanted to pray alone in the church, I just had to ask my dad. One day, I went to church and knelt down in my usual spot. I was inspired to pray an offering to the Lord, and I asked Him to make me a “prisoner of love” as He is one for me, remaining “imprisoned” in the tabernacle. I must have had my head down so my dad did not see me when he peeked in to see if the church was empty. All of a sudden I heard doors being locked! My dad was locking up for the evening, completely unaware that I was still inside. I went quickly to the side door to see if I could get his attention, but he was already too far away. I eventually got out by calling him on my cellphone, but I really had to laugh, because I saw God’s humor in that moment.
Jesus has (mostly) guided my heart and the decisions I have made. But there have been many times when what I said out of devotion and what I actually did with my life were two different things. I have learned that the spiritual life is about aligning these two things—my prayer and my actions—more and more.
Beth: Can you share with us how Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift?
Rocio: A gift is something given without payment or requiring merit. It is a generous movement of the heart of someone who loves the other. A gift is personal and is given to symbolize how meaningful the friendship is. Jesus in the Eucharist is exactly this: a personal, specific gift given to the Church and therefore, each one of us. It is not based on how worthy we are to receive such a gift but on the sheer generosity of the Heart of the Trinity in whose eternal plan this gift was accounted for. Gift is also the way that Christ sees us: “Father, they are your gift to me” (John 17:24).
Beth: What was your experience of narrating the Gift study? What was it like to pray with the themes?
Rocio: The best part was seeing how all the individual testimonies of the various writers came together. We wrote simultaneously, and yet in the end, it all aligned. The stories and narrations fit well together, and that was special to see.
Praying with the themes was a good reminder of the immensity of the truth that I know well but can sometimes lose sight of. It was also a good practice for me to focus on the One Who meets my needs, rather than on the needs themselves.
Beth: The narrations you wrote in Gift are both formative and inspiring. Is there one that stands out in your mind—and why?
Rocio: The narration for chapter six, “He transforms,” is the one that stands out most to me, because it answers one of the most essential questions of our faith. Is Jesus really present in the Eucharist? Can he transform this ordinary bread and wine into Himself? If we come to believe the truth that He can, it will change our lives. How I approach the Eucharist, how I go to Mass, how I receive Holy Communion and spend my time after Communion—all of this is affected by the answer to this question of whether Jesus is present in the Eucharist. Ultimately, answering that question allows us to also find the answer to the second question I mention in the narration: Can the Lord really change me? The answer is yes; He can transform every part of us.
Beth: What is your hope for women who walk through the Gift study?
Rocio: My hope and prayer for those who walk through this study is that they would experience a greater hunger and thirst to know Him, to believe Him, to adore Him, and to experience His love for them in the Most Blessed Sacrament. That as we enter churches across the world, we would be filled with awe, not just at the beauty of its walls, but at the Beautiful One often hidden from sight in the tabernacle. That the women who walk through this study will be filled with the knowledge that they are a gift to Jesus from the Father and that Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift right back.
May He be praised always and everywhere, especially in the most forgotten tabernacles throughout the world. Amen!
Beth Davis is a lover of Jesus, a retired youth minister, the Director of Formation for Blessed is She. She is passionate about teaching women how to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus in prayer through writing, speaking, and mentorship. Her favorite things include being the favorite aunt to her five niece and nephews, making friends everywhere she goes, and whatever book she’s currently reading.
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