I met Fr. Henry in 2005. At that time, I was 13 years old. In his homilies, he expressed such certainty of God’s love for me that he ignited in my soul the desire to know God and to love Him during my adolescence.
When he was a deacon, he would sometimes come to my house with the Servant priests to hold Home of the Mother meetings. I remember that once he asked if he could see my teenage brother’s bedroom and tried to convince him to take down the rock and heavy metal band posters. He managed to convince him to remove only one or two—the most blatantly demonic ones. Fr. Henry somehow did this without upsetting or offending my brother. There is no doubt that he did it purely out of love.
Shortly after getting to know the Home of the Mother, I began asking God what my vocation was. And two whole years passed with no answer! When I was 15, I began to take discernment more seriously. I tried removing every possible obstacle to hearing the Lord’s voice, but He remained silent. As the months went by, I became more and more frustrated. I often asked the Servants and the Servant Sisters for advice.
Once, after a confession, Fr. Henry suggested: “Every night, tell the Virgin Mary: ‘Mother, give me the light to know the Lord’s will and the strength to do whatever He says.’” At that moment, I was filled with peace, and afterward I began to pray that prayer sincerely to the Virgin Mary every night.
When I was 16, halfway through the school year, I began to desire going to Mass more frequently. Several times a week, I would drive 45 minutes from my home to Naples, Florida, to attend the only evening Mass available. Soon I began going to Mass every day. However, the track season was starting, and my team was counting on me. If I chose track, I would not be able to attend daily Mass.
In reality, there were many other reasons why I could not go to daily Mass. The more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. And yet, I thirsted for the Eucharist. I decided to write to Fr. Henry to ask what he thought. I sent him an email with a long list of reasons why it would be imprudent and even irresponsible for me to go to daily Mass under the circumstances. I would have to quit track and disappoint my team. I would have to spend a lot of money on gas—money that was not even really mine. I would have less time to do my homework, which would probably mean either less sleep or lower grades, since I was taking several college-level courses that required intense study. Quitting the team and getting lower grades would not look good on my college application! That decision could affect my future! And all of this would inevitably lead to spending less time with my family.
Fr. Henry replied: “Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist every day is worth that—and much more!” Simple, but absolutely irrefutable. If he had responded more sympathetically, if he had left the discernment in my hands as though there were no “right answer,” I don’t think I would have had the strength to choose daily Mass. Fr. Henry was very clear. The reality of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist made what seemed imprudent and irresponsible become the best decision I could make. And I did it. The Lord moved me interiorly to choose Him above everything else. That radically changed my life and was, without a doubt, a fundamental step on my path toward Him.
