Dear friends,

With great joy I write to you upon my return from France, the first daughter of the Church. The pilgrimage was full of rich experiences that will be informing my life for years to come. We got to visit some beautiful places and to visit with some of the most beautiful souls, the great saints of the Catholic Church in France.

We began our pilgrimage in Paris. Paris is a huge city and we were right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. We go to visit the great cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris and San Chapelle, probably the most beautiful chapel in the world, built by King St. Louis IX to house the crown of thorns. While in Paris we stayed on Montmatre (the mount of martyrs). This is the place where St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris and his companions were martyred. On the top of the hill there is a big beautiful church called Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). Construction began on the church in 1874 and in 1875, before the church was even finished, they have had perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It was such a blessing to stay in this place. We had a strict curfew and had to be in by 10:30pm when the doors are locked, but we had access to this big beautiful basilica whenever we wanted all through the night. As I mentioned at the Masses at which I presided last week, it reminded me of how important it is to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We can casually talk to Him throughout our day every day, but to come and adore Him is a whole different experience and one through which we grow greatly in our relationship with Him.

When I came back to the Church after some years, I had to get reacquainted and learn about all that the Church has to offer. I was blessed to make a retreat at the Palisades that year and I remember that they had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the night. This was something new and different that I had never experienced before, access to the chapel in the darkness and silence of the night and the one-on-one encounter with Christ in the Eucharist exposed on the altar. I remember that it was very moving for me to be in His presence. He was working a change in my heart and healing a whole bunch of wounds. That night I just knelt and cried in His presence for I am not sure how long. It felt so good and although it wasn’t necessarily easy, I just put myself in His presence and He did the work. I just had a heart open and ready to change. From that time, He has just kept drawing me closer. At times I become accustomed to the practice and prayer can be dry, but the more we put ourselves in the presence of the One who loves us, the more we will be drawn into that love.

I encourage you to take the time to come and visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as frequently as possible. Whether in the tabernacle or while He is exposed on the altar, to come to the church and visit Him has great potential to change our lives. I also encourage you to make a retreat. I know for some it can be hard, but look into it and pray about it. God wants to speak to your heart in a setting apart from your day to day routine. There are some great retreats at the Palisades in the year ahead. I will be leading a men’s silent retreat in March. There is also a women’s silent retreat in May led by Fr. Sean Raftis and many other great opportunities to enjoy a retreat not so far from home. Check out the complete list of retreats at the Archdiocesan website www.seattlearchdiocese.org/retreats.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus draw us ever deeper into the fire of His love as we come to adore Him.

Fr. Jack D. Shrum