Every Wednesday I take communion to an elderly lady. Eventually one lady increased to two. In order to love them, I make sure I go every week, and if I can’t make it on a Wednesday, I call ahead of time and try to schedule a different day.
One day one of the ladies was not able to come upstairs to the other lady’s apartment, so we went downstairs to hers. While we were there, the first lady started having convulsions and had to lie down on the couch.
The downstairs lady felt very badly and thought that it was her fault. I tried to explain her that it wasn’t and that this other lady has convulsions if she overexerts herself.
Now the downstairs lady is uncomfortable about going to her upstairs neighbor, since she feels guilty for what happened yet she still wants to receive communion, which means I have to bring it down to her.
For me it would be so much easier and more convenient to have the two ladies in the same apartment at the same time, but I knew this was my chance to not only bring them Jesus in the Eucharist but to be his love for these two neighbors.
So now I go upstairs first, bringing communion and spending a little time with the first lady. Then I go downstairs and do the same thing all over, and with the second lady I sometimes end up being there a little longer because she just wants to talk.
For me what matters is that chance to love them, and their gratitude in return is a gift.
— D.B., Canada