Jesus is our sixth roommate.

What is it like to have a chapel in your house you may ask? Well, Paul and Amanda are here to tell you all about it!

Our lovely little chapel

Paul

This past month has been an absolute whirlwind. Everything is fun, new, but it is a very different experience than what I am used to. I am going from living with my best friends of four years that I was blessed with in college to living with four strangers. Well four strangers and someone very, very familiar. My room is right next to Jesus.

Senior year of college, my apartment building on campus was right across from the Chapel. I was able to wait for the elevator and look outside and see the gorgeous St. Dominic Chapel every single day. Those restless nights when my mind was racing I would throw on sweatpants and a hoodie and sit in the pews until I felt calm again.  I would be able to roll out of bed and walk across the road into the chapel whenever I wanted. I thought that this was the greatest thing ever and it couldn’t get any better, but it got better. Jesus is literally my next-door neighbor. Jesus is our sixth roommate.

 We all answered the call and said “yes” to this year of service. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but I am almost certain Jesus has been haunting my dreams in the most beautiful of ways. I, like so many people, have tried to plan out what is next. I am very guilty of trying to take control of my future, but this year I am letting go of all control. I am letting God in. God is present in all of my dreams, in the most beautiful way possible.

Amanda

Have you ever had an awesome roommate?  Someone you got along with really well and spent a lot of time with talking and hanging out? Well I bet that mine is a lot more awesome than yours because my roommate is Jesus. Well, technically Jesus lives in the next room over in the chapel, so He is more of my housemate than roommate, but close enough. You see my bedroom in the red house is next door to our chapel and my bed is right on the other side of the wall from the tabernacle. So I literally live right next door to Jesus! How great is that!? 

The thought that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is on the other side of the wall makes me more aware when spending time in my room. Sure, there are plenty of times when I come home tired after work and flop down on my bed to nap, or sit and listen to music, write letters to friends, or read a book, but I’ve also found myself  being more intentional about prayer and taking time to just sit and appreciate where I am. I am so blessed to be here at CYFM and to live and work with such amazing people, and I often find myself sitting in my room in awe that I get to be doing what I am doing. Then I remember Jesus is next door and I say a quick prayer in thanksgiving and gratitude for this wonderful life. Also, I find that living next door to the chapel has helped me in my prayer life. At night I am able to say night prayer with my community, and whenever I want I can just walk next door at sit in Adoration with Jesus.

To have a chapel in our house is a real blessing. Not only can I hang out with Jesus whenever I want, but I think the presence of the Blessed Sacrament brings with it a certain feeling, atmosphere and reverence. It has helped me to appreciate my community members more as well. Just the thought that Jesus is present in our home makes me want to be a better house mate. I try to be more patient, thoughtful considerate, and kind to my community members, and I try to do my part at keeping the house clean. No, it isn’t always perfect and I’m sure problems will arise at some point, but I think remembering that Jesus is present in our home can help us stay focused on what really matters and come together as a community.

So yeah, it’s pretty great living next door to Jesus.