My sister who was a military officer and is now living a life of prayer and service to the Catholic Church has a great quote about leadership. When trying to discern if a leader is good or not, she says, “Wait for the first crisis, and see how they respond.”

I am also learning to apply that to marriage preparation with young couples. Wait for the first crisis. Wait for the first time that things don’t go according to plan, and it is then when the most important details of a person will emerge.

But I am going to take things a step further. I believe that this Sunday’s celebration of Corpus Christi holds a key to dealing with crisis that often goes overlooked. Instead of simply drawing upon our own resources and our individual strengths and talents, do we turn to Jesus Christ in the midst of crisis?

Specifically, do we draw strength from our Lord present in the Eucharist? Do we believe that the Eucharist can give us everything we need to persevere and go deeper? In this way, I want to inspire everyone to take time daily to connect with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist.

In this way, imagine that the next time you have a crisis, you come to the Church and spend 5 minutes before the tabernacle, placing your concerns before our Lord.

If you are out of work and don’t know what to do with those spare hours, instead of ruminating on your plight and circling around your self-concern, come to daily Mass and pray, not just for yourself, but for the whole world. Let your suffering be joined to the sacrifice of the Mass, and in this way, your suffering can be a powerful catalyst to transform the world.

In a mysterious way, by gazing upon our Eucharistic Lord with faith, hope, and love we do not only reap the natural benefits of prayer and meditation, we also undo the knot of sin both in our lives and in the whole world. Our faith overflows and fills the universe with the love of God.

Today, let us adore our Lord in the blessed sacrament; not just as an act of isolated piety, but as a very participation in the creativity of God. Let us be so enthralled by the beauty of this gift so that our devotion overflows and fills the universe with the sweet fragrance of our holiness.