Meeting Jesus in Montmartre
Monday, December 18, 2023
*Dolores Hanley McDiarmid
It was Thursday, June 1, 2023, when my husband and I arrived in Paris for the first time since 2019. Due to COVID-19, we did not make our annual visits to see our friends in France as we did for the past 20 or so years.
One of the first things we did every year upon our arrival was to climb the many stairs leading up to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, located at the top of the hill, to give thanks for a safe trip. The Basilica of Sacre Coeur has become one of the most sacred spaces for me. I have been spiritually fed by the beautiful Mass and drawn to one of our faith’s traditions: adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which takes place all through the day and night, unless Mass is being said.
In the Catholic faith tradition, we believe that Jesus Christ is fully present in the host displayed in the monstrance. We believe that he is present with us, and we can adore him, talk to him, pray to him, and just sit in silence with him. It is also an opportunity to listen to what he might have to say to us. Every year I look forward to being in the basilica in the presence of God, but it did not happen this year on our first night in Paris.
While my husband John slept after our long flight from Miami, I came out to the dining room table to write and enjoy the incredible view that we have overlooking Paris and Montmartre. Both of us had been dreaming of this moment for the past four years. It occurred to me that it was Thursday, and the time I usually attended adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Pius X Church in Fort Lauderdale. I was missing my time at adoration in the chapel back home and my time at adoration at the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
Looking at the clock I saw that it was 10 p.m. in France, 4 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale, when I spoke to Jesus in prayer, saying that I felt sad not being able to visit the basilica and give thanks for a safe trip, as is our tradition. Seconds after my prayer to Jesus, a friend back home who is usually at adoration in our chapel with me, and who had no idea I was traveling, sent a text photo of our chapel and Jesus exposed in the monstrance. I could not go to spend time with Jesus, but he came to me!
Wasting not one second, I texted my friend saying, “God just used you. Could not get up to the basilica like we normally do for adoration. I just told Jesus how sad I feel, then you sent me this text. (Photo of adoration at St. Pius X chapel in Fort Lauderdale.) I have tears in my eyes. Thank you much.”
Then I proceeded to read “The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ” by Luisa Piccarreta, while periodically glancing at Jesus in the St. Pius X chapel. I also read from Piccarreta’s “Prayers in the Divine Will.” While gazing at the picture in the text, Jesus reminded me that I could pull up that text and be with him whenever I want. He can penetrate any phone screen and is not limited by physical distance that separates me from my little chapel at St. Pius X. He is always with me, always with us.
My great disappointment of missing adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, at home and in Paris, led to my little miracle in Montmartre. This experience serves as a reminder to all of us that:
- God the Father is never far away, and he hears our prayers;
- the Real Presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is in the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance, and
- the Holy Spirit inspires the actions of God’s children, especially when we are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
May our love and reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament grow more intensely as we celebrate this second year of the Eucharistic Revival.
