Young woman’s time with Christ leads to memorable moment for her husband, son

Kelvin and Mary Jimenez are all smiles as they celebrate Kelvin and their 8-year-old son Lucas receiving their first Communion together at an Easter Vigil Mass at the St. Martin campus of All Saints Parish in Dearborn County—a moment also shared with their 2-year-old son Nicodemus and their 6-month-old son Raphael. (Submitted photo)

(Editor’s note: Many young adult Catholics experience the tremendous difference that eucharistic adoration makes in their relationship with God and the way they live their life. Here is the first of several stories in this continuing series.)
 

By John Shaughnessy

In a life that has been touched by struggles and challenges, 27-year-old Mary Jimenez has learned to savor the gifts she has been given by God, and one of the best happened for her during the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday at her church this year.

For years, Mary had been hoping and praying—especially during her times at eucharistic adoration—that her husband Kelvin would enter into the full communion of the Church.

And that hope started to turn toward reality when Kelvin agreed to participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program at All Saints Parish in Dearborn County. Still, Kelvin had his own hope as he began to learn more and more about the Catholic faith.

Since their 8-year-old son Lucas would be receiving his first holy Communion this spring, Kelvin expressed his desire to receive Communion for the first time when Lucas also received his.

So when father and son shared in the sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time at this year’s Easter Vigil Mass, it not only formed another special bond between them, it also became a moment of deep emotion for Mary.

“It was really beautiful,” she says. “My whole family and many of our friends were there. Everybody was in tears, tears of joy, of course. We were all very excited to see him come into the Church and to join our community of faith.”

That moment also reinforced for her the power of spending time with Christ in eucharistic adoration, a connection she first made during one of the toughest times in her life.

‘It roots me in the peace of Jesus’

“I was a college student, and I just had my oldest son. I had him when I was 19. I had a lot of struggles at that point in my life,” Mary says. “Once Father [Jonathan] Meyer opened the adoration chapel at All Saints, I took an hour at first and found some peace in my crazy life.

“After doing it for a year or two, I actually stopped. I wasn’t exactly in a great place in my life. But about a year or so after I met my husband and things were starting to get a little better, I realized I needed my faith more than I was allowing. And so, I decided to take another hour again. That was probably five years ago.”

During those five years, their family has grown to include 2-year-old Nicodemus and 6-month-old Raphael. All three children gleefully make noise in the background as their mom talks about the importance of having “quiet time with the Lord.”

“I realize I really need to have that time with Jesus, to be in front of him,” she says. “It gives me peacefulness, especially when I’m struggling with things or things aren’t going smoothly for our family. If I ever have to take a break, I notice a huge difference in myself, in the internal struggles I have. I realize that connection of one hour a week grounds me to get through the rest of the week and makes me feel I’m not losing my mind.”

Beyond that mental lift, her time in eucharistic adoration has strengthened her faith, including giving her the belief that Jesus is hearing her—even in the rare times when a relative isn’t able to babysit and she takes her children to the chapel with her.

“When my husband became Catholic, that was a prayer answered. I spent a lot of time praying about that. I’m beginning to see a lot of the fruits of the time I’ve been able to spend in adoration and learning more about my faith. I know that it is all rooted in the time I get to spend alone with Jesus. That time is sacred. It’s special because it roots me in the peace of Jesus, the peace that only he can give.”

She has shared that feeling of peace—and the struggles and joys of her life—in retreat talks that she has given to students at Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg.

“It’s been part of my healing, just to share my story with them, to share the things I’ve been through—hopefully to be able to influence them in a good way, to help them realize they have choices to make. It’s been really awesome to give God glory for the way he redeems us in our lives.”

The gift—and the experiences of joy

It’s just one of the ways she has embraced her Catholic faith.

She is involved in helping with youth ministry in the parish, takes part in a Bible study group, and participates in a young adult group every week. She and her friend, Michaela Purdy, also use their musical talents during All Saints’ “12 Hours of Grace” that the parish holds every first Friday.

“We sing together during that adoration hour while others are going to confession or praying,” she says. “That’s another source of joy in a different way because I’m able to use the gifts God gave me to praise him during that time of adoration with the community and not just by myself.”

Mary and Kelvin also added another source of joy to the parish when they recently started offering dance lessons for couples once a month—something she says they are able to do because of the babysitting gifts of their nieces.

She traces all these experiences of joy back to the gift of eucharistic adoration in her life.

“A lot of things have changed in my life since I’ve been faithfully going,” she says.

“I have come to realize that without my faith I wouldn’t have been able to get through many of the things that I’ve been through. It influences everything my husband and I are doing with our children. I want to instill in my children the importance of faith because that’s what my parents did for me. At this point, I don’t know where I would be without my faith.” †