When I walked into the room, he was already speaking and there were several people who had arrived before me. I found a seat and sat down quickly and settled in for what I thought was going to be a brief meeting. As their conversation was taking place, I took a few moments to scan the room and the other people who were there.

The room was set up in a lecture hall style where he had his place and the rest of us had our seats facing him. My seat was in the back, so I had a pretty good view of the entire room and those present. The first thing I noticed was how calm everyone was. These days, once you get more than two people in a room, there is often a lot of tension if not outright screaming. But this was quite different.

A few other people came in after me and followed suit as they quietly found a seat and prepared themselves for this meeting. You could tell that they were here for a reason, as if they were looking for something. This was not a casual meeting; we were all here for a specific purpose and I believe that added to both the sincerity and authenticity of what was being said.

I must confess that when I regained my focus and looked at him, he was staring right at me. It was almost as if he had just asked me a question and was waiting for a response. I was startled, but then I noticed he was genuinely glad to see me. We have known each other for quite some time, so it wasn’t a weird encounter.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time I had come to a gathering like this to hear him speak. I had come to hundreds of these gatherings where there were people ranging from just me to thousands in attendance. Yet every time I walked into the room, he always greeted me with that genuine “glad to see you again” smile. His eyes seemed to wrinkle as he smiled that look of intimacy we had developed over the years.

I know I sound like a celebrity groupie, who follows him around and attends any talk he is giving, but I wasn’t alone. Often times I would see other people I knew and had met through other events or at one of his gatherings. I couldn’t be that crazy if other people enjoyed what he had to say too.

I wish I could tell you that I was captivated from the beginning, but I wasn’t. Because the very first timer is downright frustrating, to be honest. I felt like I was the only one in the room who had no idea what he was saying. It felt almost as if I was deaf and could not hear a thing. I remember looking at the other people present to see if they were experiencing the same thing I was.

The first lady I saw was looking right at him, almost imperceptibly nodding as he spoke directly to her, and she had tears streaming down her face. I had no idea what he said, but it must have touched a deep wound in her heart. She couldn’t stop crying. I noticed they were tears of release and healing.

Still not hearing anything, I looked to see how others were responding to her. They seemed unbothered by her quiet sniffles as some gazed at him. Others seemed to sit there quietly and listen with their eyes closed. I thought I was going nuts because I still couldn’t hear anything, but they all looked content to sit there and hear whatever they could hear. I lasted maybe 20 minutes in that first meeting before I got out of there with a firm resolve never return to something like that again.

I went about the rest of the day doing my normal activities, but I couldn’t help but go back to what I experienced in that morning meeting. I had all kinds of questions and I didn’t understand anything. The only thing I did realize was that while I was there, there was not only a calmness to it, there was this peace present that I rarely felt. A week went by and that peace kept coming back to me. So I decided to go to another meeting.

I wish I could tell you that huge gobs of ear wax fell out of my ears and I could hear everything crystal clear, but that was not the case. It was almost identical to the first meeting, only he said different things to different people and I still couldn’t hear. So many people had their eyes closed as they listened and some had smiles, others had tears, others were quietly mumbling words that I couldn’t make out.

I tried to close my eyes, thinking that maybe this is how you can hear what is being said, but it didn’t work. What did happen to me that time and the next dozen meetings was that I became acutely aware of the peace and wanted more. I realized that somehow the peace was coming from him.

I know it sounds strange and you’re probably ready to just close this blog, but you needed to know that after you start your own relationship with Jesus, it is going to take time

to learn how to hear him speak to you. You are going to have to learn how to wait on Him. While you are doing that, pay attention to the peace and love that emanates from His Eucharistic presence. He will meet with you any day or night if you are willing to go and sit with Him.

It is in these “meetings” that I began to hear him speak directly to me, it wasn’t an audible voice, but in my mind’s ear. He longs to speak directly to you and wants to teach you how to listen through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. There is no “quick” method to this, only the sacrifice of time and a heart’s desire for commune with the Living God in your heart.

Go to adoration near you. Lay all your burdens down at His feet. Let him love you with his Eucharistic gaze. Ask the Spirit for the eyes to see that it really is Jesus. You won’t regret it.