Catholic Women in Action promote eucharistic adoration

Catholic Women in Action, a committee of the Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, will continue its Lenten series for women, “Deepening My Love for the Eucharist,” with one final session March 13, featuring talks by Father Joseph Krafft, Jill Cabes, Tammy O’Brien and Marianite Sister Judy Gomila at St. Francis Xavier Church in Metairie.
    A Mass will be celebrated at 8 a.m., followed by the program.
   

At the Feb. 28 session, Benedictine Abbot Justin Brown credited his grandmother’s generous love, joyful spirit and strong faith for his devotion to the Eucharist. He said she understood that the Eucharist calls Catholics to charity, love and passion.
    “The eating of the body and blood of Christ is oriented toward a deep intimacy with the Lord,” he said.
    Abbot Brown asked participants to connect the Eucharist with their daily lives – “the way we live and treat others; who we are.”
    

Joey Cleveland Caruso, who was a convert from the Methodist faith, understands the Eucharist as a tangible gift from God. Her daughter, soprano Kitty Cleveland, said spending time with God in adoration chapel changed her life.
    

Kitty said the adoration chapel “blew her away” the first time she walked in, feeling the presence of Jesus. She has found solace and deepened her faith by giving her thoughts and troubles to God in adoration.
    Over the years Kitty has found Jesus to be “so tender, so gentle and patient. He is real. He is reality. The Eucharist is the only reality. He is the only reality, and you are his favorite, his beloved that he longs for.”
    

Wendy Vitter said she has found God in Mass through the joy and peace she receives in the Eucharist and in adoration chapel. She said she has no doubt that God speaks to her all the time.
    “We need to take time to hear God’s message. In silence, we are most receptive to God’s word and Jesus’ presence.”
    She encouraged everyone to spend time in adoration because God has something to say to each and every one of us. “But you have to show up, you have to have faith in him. He wants you to share with him. That’s how the intimacy develops with him.”

 Christine Bordelon can be reached at [email protected].