Drawing near to His presence
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” This question from Jesus to His Apostles was as vital for them as it is for you and me today. (cf Mt 16:13) St. Peter answered for the apostles, on behalf of the Church and, if we are willing, for us all when he declared: “You are the Messiah.” This answer is foundational if we are to understand God’s plan for our salvation and His plan for all creation. God is love, and He desires to re-establish all creation in love. The sacraments and the life of virtue are all ordered to re-founding us in Jesus of Nazareth. It is the work of the Holy Spirit changing our DNA to match the DNA of the One who was born of Mary and is Son of God. This is Christ’s work in us—a wonder to behold.
One of the questions, aside from “Who do you say that I am,” that each person must answer is, “Am I more like Jesus this year than I was last year?” The very point of the sacraments and the imitative life of virtue is to conform our lives to Christ and to His mission. Not only must we be re-established in Christ, we are called to actively participate in Christ’s mission and aid Him through the power of the Holy Spirit, dedicating our lives to His service. Our active participation, by living in Christ and serving Him, contributes to His divine plan of restoring creation to its intended harmony and glory. (cf. Jn 14:12)
United with Christ: Sharing in His Mission and Transformation
Jesus chooses to associate you and me, members of His body, with His person and with His mission. This privilege is unmerited and unexpected, a wholly gratuitous gift from a loving God, that elevates us beyond our imagination and comprehension. This transformational task is Jesus’ work within us, carried out by His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, Who dwells in us and flows through us into the world.
How does God do this? Principally through the sacraments and the life of imitative virtue. The work is Christ’s, and we, like our Blessed Mother, are His handmaids. Each of us comes to salvation through baptism, shares in His mission through confirmation, and is formed into His likeness through His gift of Himself in the Eucharist.
Prayer is the foundation of this transformation, it is how we are oriented by the Holy Spirit to the Father, through the Son. The greatest of prayers is Jesus’ prayer on Calvary, from which all grace flows. It is the Son, whose food is to do the Father’s will (Jn 4:34) who guides us to the Father, who bids us to pray always without ceasing. (1 Thes 5:17)
Encountering Jesus: Recognizing His Presence in Our Lives
Drawing near to Jesus means immersing ourselves in His presence, appropriating His virtues and understanding the desires of His heart. It involves becoming familiar with how He speaks, the rhythms of His life, what pleases and displeases Him and discerning His plan for us. It also means recognizing how He has equipped us to respond to Him and our neighbors. In short, it is drawing near to Jesus so that every aspect of His life, especially the Paschal Mystery, can be reproduced in our own lives.
We also draw near to Christ by meditating on His word as presented by the Church in Holy Scripture and in service to our neighbor. A profound connection is established in the Liturgy of the Hours and during the eucharistic celebration of the Mass. Additionally, we deepen and strengthen our relationship with Him by simply spending time in His presence in the Blessed Sacrament as we would with any other friend, just enjoying His company. The goal of all these practices is to allow the Holy Spirit to remake us in the image of the Son so that the Son may flow through us and re-create the world.
If we believe that Jesus is Lord, then we must also believe and trust in His words. We know that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament, not because we have figured it out, but because He, Who is Truth itself, has told us that He is truly present. The truth of Christ’s Real Presence became clear to me one day while I was praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. His presence is not symbolic. Rather, in His mercy, He is a God who longs to be with us.
Christ’s Majesty and Intimacy: A King Who Nuzzles His Children
I usually make my Holy Hour in the late afternoon, but that day it worked better for me to pray in the morning. Without any preparation, the Lord mystically took me into a grotto where He was standing. He was twice the size of a man, and I stood before Him as the size of a boy. He wrapped His arm around my back and placed His hand on my shoulder. He seemed to nuzzle my shoulder, much like a mother might do with her cherished child.
He said two things to me that I will never forget. First, with boundless and deep emotion, He said, “I have been waiting for you.” Then He added, “You will be with Me soon.” In an instant, I found myself back in my chair before the Blessed Sacrament, both delighted and mystified by this unsought, but deeply desired, encounter.
While the phrase “you will be with Me soon” caught my attention, it has been four years since this encounter, and I realize that “soon” to heaven and “soon” to me are slightly different. What truly burned into my heart was the deep sense that Jesus aches for me and, by logical extension, for each of us. I wish you could hear the love with which He spoke these words, for they were meant for you, too.
Even today, the words “I have been waiting for you” still warm my heart as I write these lines. I pray daily, with our Lady’s help, that I may ache for Him as He does me. I pray this ache for you as well.
We have the ability to come into His presence sacramentally; we don’t need a gold invitation. I believed in His Real Presence before that day, but now without any doubt, I know He is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament for He is Truth and cannot deceive. He waits longingly for each of us to spend time with Him, to allow him to nuzzle us and rest our heads on His breast like St. John the Apostle did at the Last Supper.
My brothers and sisters, we have the privilege of encountering the Risen One in, among other privileged ways, the holy sacrifice of the Mass and in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. We have the ability to draw near to the heaven of Jesus’ heart, finding timely aid and succor for our souls. Eucharistic adoration is not just a Catholic “thing”, nor is it merely a practice—it is drawing near to Jesus Christ, whom the Father has given to all creation. It is a profound opportunity to come before the Lord and hear His heartfelt words meant for each of us: “I have been waiting for you.”
My friends, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (cf. Jn 14:6) If we are to become like Him, which is God’s plan, then we must never miss a moment with Him, to draw near to Him so that we might appropriate His virtues and His unwavering orientation to the Father. He aches for us, and we too must ask Our Lady to teach our hearts to ache for Him.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, watch over us.
By Most Reverend Gerard W. Battersby, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse
Published in the Spring 2025 issue of Catholic Life Magazine