By Katherine Yeagley
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About two years ago I decided that I wanted to get more involved at Church. Call it Catholic
guilt or true yearning for lost connection to my Catholic upbringing, I decided to sign up to
administer the Eucharist to those who were unable to make it to Church on Sunday. The people
I serve are either there because they are a patient and physically incapacitated or they are
there because their child, sister, brother, niece, nephew is hospitalized. I also feel the need to
stress that this is not a huge time commitment. This is something I do every month and it takes
about an hour of my Sunday. This small responsibility has meant so much to me and I write
about it here because many people don’t have the opportunity or honor of being invited into
such an intimate space. As I get permission to enter a child’s hospital room, I internally
recognize this privilege. I am seeing these strangers in an extremely vulnerable position. Some
are not entirely clothed and others are in visible pain. It’s not always comfortable and there
have been times when I question why I continue to do it. I’m not a great Catholic. I haven’t
been to church in months, to be honest. I have had my qualms with my own strict upbringing
and there are a lot of things I disagree with. However, at the end of the day, I know firsthand
the amazing calming power that religion can have. The beauty of ritual and the familiar in a
place where everything you know has been turned on its head is so valuable. As I watch a
nervous father and his young son who is too young and innocent to have already experienced
the trials of chemotherapy and hospitalization I feel such an immense swell of gratitude. I
recognize that this may come off to some as patronizing and to others, it may seem cliché. But
if anyone is looking for something to bring more meaning to their days, there are opportunities
out there. They may be uncomfortable at first and they might not be always convenient, but
they are often worth it.