When You Feel Abandoned
“I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Editor’s note: In honor of the Eucharistic Revival and in celebration of April, the month of the Holy Eucharist, Catholic Women in Business is publishing a series of articles on the Eucharist this month. This article is the first of four.
The Wound of Abandonment
Have you ever felt abandoned? When was the first time you felt alone?
The first time I truly felt alone and abandoned was during the pandemic. Maybe you had a similar feeling during this uncharted time, or maybe you’ve felt abandoned in other ways.
The wound of abandonment can show up in a variety of circumstances. Maybe you’re struggling with the loss of a loved one, and you feel abandoned because they’re no longer here or hurt you in some way. Maybe you feel like no one cares about a particular issue or struggle you’re going through right now, and you feel alone with your pain.
Abandonment is a wound that has many different faces, yet it leaves all of us feeling empty, rejected, and alone. Our Lord felt similar pains of abandonment in his time on Earth. While in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he felt anxious and afraid, Jesus asked his apostles to spend one hour in prayer with him, yet they all fell asleep. Shortly after, most of his apostles fled as he faced persecution and the cross. They abandoned him in his hour of need.
Jesus feels your pain of abandonment. He has wept your tears of loneliness, rejection, and isolation. He knows how it feels to be alone, and he knows what it’s like to be angry and upset with God because you feel rejected and unloved. Jesus understands the depth of your pain more than any other person could. Since he felt this similar pain and struggle while he was on Earth, he left us with the most beautiful gift so that we may never be alone.
He gave us his body, blood, soul, and divinity through the Holy Eucharist.
The True Presence of Jesus Is in the Eucharist
Jesus never wanted us to feel this deep, isolating pain of abandonment, so he gave us his body so that he can be with us in the closest, most beautiful way possible. He wants to be so close to you that he left you his body. Jesus knows that as humans, we are created for community—we are never meant to be alone. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, we are made for intimacy with God and with one another. God wants to abide in you, and you long for the presence of God within you. Jesus fulfilled this longing through the Holy Eucharist that we may be one with him. As the Catechism shares, “The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: ‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him’” (CCC 1391).
In a special and holy way, Jesus is with us every time we gather for Mass and celebrate the Holy Eucharist. When we gather to remember his passion, death, and resurrection, he is with us and within us. Through this beautiful encounter with the eternal, Heaven comes down to the altar and allows us to see and taste a glimpse of Heaven. Jesus Christ is closer to you when you receive him in the Holy Eucharist than you could ever imagine. Jesus abides in you.
When the wounds of abandonment creep up on you and leave you feeling alone, rejected, and weary, cling to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and know that he will never forsake you or abandon you. He loves you and longs to be one with you. When you find yourself struggling with these feelings of loneliness or feel like no one can possibly understand the weight of your feelings, turn to Jesus. He understands and longs for you. Run to him in Mass or in Adoration. Spend time with the one who loves you eternally. He is looking at you from the altar, from the Monstrance, from the Cross, and he tells you that you are worth it. You are so worth it.
Marisa McDonald lives in Central Indiana with her husband and energetic German Shepherd pup. She is the Development Coordinator for a Catholic campus ministry program and hopes to start her own social enterprise or non-profit some day. On weekends, you can find her hiking with her husband and dog throughout Southern Indiana, making meals and hosting family and friends, or heading to the local coffee shop for a latte. Connect with Marisa through Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook.