Jesus All Around Me

I grew up in a little Illinois prairie town of 600 people where there were four churches, including Methodist, Nazarene, United Brethren, but not Catholic. In fact, I’d never even heard the word Catholic. I started singing in the 4^th grade. I had a talent for singing harmony in duets. The mother of a family I babysat for heard me singing and told my father that I should have voice lessons. I started these formal voice lessons when I was 15. My music teacher recommended a song book, which I bought. At home, I would play the songs on the piano and try to learn them. One song in the book, Ave Maria, said something to me, but I didn’t know where it was leading me! All I ever had known about Mary was that she gave birth to Jesus on Christmas, but the beauty of this song hooked me. I asked my voice teacher to teach me the Ave Maria, but she strongly refused. Still, I sang the song, using the English words, at youth gatherings at all four churches in my little Protestant town.

Then a retired music teacher, Mr. (Pop) Pierce moved to our little town, and I started taking voice lessons from him. I wanted to sing Ave Maria in the District and State contests. Pop Pierce said he thought I was mispronouncing the words, so he drove me to a town 25 miles away to have the nuns teach me the Latin. Before this, the only time I’d ever seen a religious sister before was when my mom was in hospital, and I was scared by the lady in the white habit. I sang Ave Maria in the District contest, and when I came out on the stage, I saw the two nuns that had taught me where there in the audience. When I finished, they gave me two thumbs up! Again, at the State contest they showed up and gave me two thumbs up!

As my class Salutatorian, I received a scholarship from the state and went to Eastern Illinois College. Can you believe it? I met a wonderful young man who was Catholic. I was working at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and Joe would frequently come in. He liked to do crossword puzzles, and I was intrigued. One thing I noticed was that every Sunday he would walk to Mass by himself. That dedication from a young man to his faith intrigued me. I asked him to take me to Mass with him. Again, I was struck by something in the Mass, though I didn’t understand it. I asked Joe to take me to talk to the priest. I had many questions, and the priest answered them all very patiently. There was only one issue; I couldn’t understand why the priest could consume the Precious Blood of Jesus but it was not offered to me. Eventually, I prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand this, but I like everything else about the Catholic Church, so I’ll take this on faith.” I was received into the Catholic Church, and shortly after, that Catholic young man became my husband. We were married on July 24, 1954. Joe died on March 3, 2019. What a blessed life I have had!

[Editor’s note: At some points in Catholic history, and still in some parishes today, the Eucharist was only regularly distributed to the laity in the form of the Precious Body. However, the Church teaches that no matter which form we receive the Eucharist in, we receive the entire Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.]