An invitation to serve the homebound

When it comes to matters of faith, never underestimate the power of an invitation.

While conducting interviews for a story I recently wrote about Eucharistic ministers to the homebound, one name came up again and again: Delores Denome.

These pictures are from the Father Solanus Casey Center in Detroit,
where I recently went with my daughter's 8th grade class.
This is a statue of Mother Teresa. I highly recommend a visit!

Delores has passed away, but her name was mentioned because she ran the homebound ministry program for our parish for a number of years. Each person I interviewed became a Eucharistic minister after Delores' invitation.  Most didn't think they were up to the job, but Delores encouraged them, and now they've been serving in this way 15-20 years.

I knew Delores because she showed me how to take Communion to the homebound shortly after I graduated from college.

She matched me up with a woman named Isabella, who lived in an adult foster care home on my way to church.  I have to admit that I was not as faithful at visiting Isabella as I wish I had been.  There were many weeks I found myself without time to visit her.

However, we still developed a rapport. There was something very special about my time with her. In fact, she began coming to Mass with me.  Once I met my husband (then my boyfriend), he would pick me up for Mass, and we would pick up Isabella.

I remember those as very special times.

 

Sorry about the flash! There was so much wisdom to glean!
It reads, "... we would be able to pass from being great sinners
one day to great saints the next. We are ..."

Isabella seemed to know Doug and I cared for each other, and she would get in the car and smile as though she knew a very special secret.  We began taking her to McDonald's after Mass some times, and she enjoyed her food and coffee with such delight.

She reminded me of a small child who found so much joy in the simple things.

All of these memories came flooding back to me so clearly as I spoke to people for this recent story.

What a gift Delores gave those homebound parishioners who benefited from extra care and the Eucharist! What a gift she gave the men and women who have been blessed -- truly blessed -- by being part of others' lives in this way for such a long time.

Venerable Father Solanus Cassey. I recommend
the book, "Thank God Ahead of Time."

Each woman I spoke with said they have received far more than they have given through homebound ministry.  On average, they spend 30 minutes to an hour each week praying and visiting with the people to whom they take Communion. During this time, they develop strong relationships.

They are bringing Jesus to others; in the process, they come closer to Jesus themselves.

The Eucharistic ministers I spoke with have said a lot of goodbyes. But intermingled with those goodbyes are many stories of beautiful people who have touched their lives, and taught them about how to carry their suffering.

My own Grandmother found one such beautiful relationship in a woman named Denise.  I met Denise at a marriage dinner, heard she attended a parish across the street from the senior home where my Grandmother lived, and went out on a limb by asking whether she attended Eucharistic Adoration, and whether she would mind taking my Grandmother as well.

The question must have been divinely inspired, because they developed a friendship that spanned several years.  Denise and my Grandmother were spiritual friends who appreciated the same books, and shared the same beautiful faith. From time to time, I still see Denise, and I feel so very close to my Grandmother whenever I speak to her.

Father Solanus Casey often prayed before this crucifix.

My Grandmother also knew a man, George, who brought her Communion for nearly a decade.  He followed her through three moves, and she looked on him as a spiritual advisor.  People have told me so many times what a gift my Grandma was to them; these people were truly gifts from God to my Grandma.

That is largely what inspired me to write the homebound Communion story.  I saw firsthand -- through my own experiences, and through my Grandma's -- what a life-changing, possibly life-saving, when you consider how important human connection is in our lives, difference homebound Eucharistic ministers can make.

As one woman I spoke with said, "Ours may be the last eyes they see in this world."  It was not uncommon for me to hear stories of people for whom the Eucharistic minister was their only visitor, week after week.

What better gift is there to bring to the aging and lonely than Jesus Himself?  The three elderly women I met with all felt so blessed to be reconnected with the faith that had seen them through so many years.  One woman's eyes filled with tears as she received the Eucharist.

 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Eucharistic ministers also receive the gift of visiting with Jesus Himself -- as He is present in the infirm, lonely, and homebound: "I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." (Matthew 25:36)

As I visited with those three beautiful women receiving Communion, I thought about how much work God must be able to do in our last days, and about how the Eucharist better enables us to receive every grace He desires for us.

I also thought about the beautiful legacy left by Delores Denome. People have been sharing Jesus with others for decades now, thanks to her simple invitations that have borne such great fruit.

You enter through this door, which reads: "Ask, Seek, Knock."
And in Nicholas' case, "Open!"