by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
SHAWNEE — Eighty candles lined the steps of the altar at Good Shepherd Church here on Sept. 11.
They represented 80 encounters with Christ and trust in his love.
It was the culmination of a powerful evening of prayer and witness to the living Christ in the Blessed Sacrament hosted by the archdiocesan office of evangelization.
The bilingual event was presented by the Catholic Christian Organization (CCO) in both Spanish and English.
CCO is an evangelization ministry that supports parishes in their efforts to lead people along the path of discipleship through small group faith studies.
Veronica Olivarez, Good Shepherd director of religious formation, said, “We’re working on building a relationship between both communities.”
Karla Melgar, consultant in the archdiocesan office of evangelization, has organized visits from the Canada-based group in the past.
As Good Shepherd pastor Father Kent O’Connor placed the monstrance on the altar, CCO missionary Antua Handal told the assembly that “it is an honor for all of us to share a beautiful night with you.”
Reflecting on the true presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, she invited the audience to pray and open their hearts to his love.
“This is why it’s called a night of encounter,” she said.
Missionary Emily Masferrer told the congregation how she made the decision to put Jesus at the center of her life after being confronted with her own mortality.
As a young girl she said she tried to practice her faith but “the truth was I was living with one foot in the world and one foot trying to be close to Jesus.”
In 2018, she had an appendicitis attack. The doctors scheduled immediate surgery, which required her to sign paperwork stating that she understood the risks — including the possibility that she might die.
“In a moment of fear and sorrow and desperation,” she said, “I called out to Jesus, ‘Help me, be here within me, don’t let me die.
“‘If I get through this surgery, my life is yours.’”
Masferrer was relieved when she woke up from surgery, but then she remembered the promise.
“In that moment, I had two choices,” she said. “Honor what I had said or forget it. But I felt the weight of what Jesus had done and I wanted to honor him.
“In the days that followed, my prayer was ‘Jesus, what needs to change?’”
Masferrer learned to trust God and invite him into every part of her life.
“He showed up for me in so many miraculous ways,” she said. “And he still does.”
Missionary Marianna Nandayapa Barrera also talked about opening her heart to Jesus and compared it to letting someone in a messy room.
“My heart was filled with so many lies about my worthiness of being loved,” she said. “You want to clean it up, but you don’t know where to start.
“I didn’t want Jesus to walk into the mess.”
She assured participants that Jesus will never force his way into the room.
“He gives us the free will to choose to invite him into the mess,” she said, “so he can help restore it.
“I let him into my messy room and he transformed me.”
After giving their testimonies, the missionaries invited participants to come to the back of the church to receive a lit candle they could carry up to the altar and place before the living Christ.
They were also encouraged to sign and date prayer cards containing “The Prayer of the Heart” — an invocation about inviting Jesus to be at the center of your life.
“He’s right here waiting for you to be willing to take the risk, to let him into your mess,” said Marianna.
As a guitarist played soft hymns in the background, people lined up with their candles and the church became a beautiful, meditative place, filled with the presence of Christ.
“I know it can be scary to be vulnerable,” she said. “But I want to remind you there is no mess too big for him.
“So, I encourage you to bring your heart to him. Bring your mess, because he wants to meet you there.”
