Stampede
Prologue
So, what played out in no more than a total of 3 minutes, took me 12 hours to express, so complex are the ways of the Lord, but I feel really good about the way this reads, as being what I experienced.
So… what DID just happen? The mystery of the Mystery.
Spoiler Alert! I was still fighting back my laughter as I stood in front of the priest to receive communion this morning—and it was ALL the Lord’s fault!
At a normal Friday morning daily Mass, mind you, He just showed up—and wrecked me.
Without warning, as usual!
Keep reading… Here’s how it all went down.
And I’m still laughing about all this too, btw, so I hope you get as much of a kick out of it as I am. I get that it was my experience, but I think you’ll enjoy it too, lol.
There’s a little setup to the story, so let me start there.
Earlier in the Mass, something caught my attention. The priest was consecrating the elements leading up to Communion—and I noticed something that was… different. Let me put it this way:
I’ve never actually experienced anything mystical during the consecration at a Catholic Mass before. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve always been reverent; I’ve always believed in transubstantiation. But until today, I had never seen or felt anything unusual.
Today though—wait for it…
The atmosphere kind of “rippled” as the priest blessed the bread!
Yep. I saw it.
AND… I felt it!
Floating directly above the ciborium—right where his hand was extended in blessing—was a ripple, just like heat waves rising off of pavement, but more focused.
It shimmered, and it was shaped like that old-fashioned Christmas ribbon candy: ribboned, delicate, constantly shifting—about a foot high before it faded out. There was no color to it, so how did I see it? I can’t answer that question for you—or for me.
But I know that I did.
And at the same time, I felt it.
The whole chapel seemed to shift slightly—like the air had thickened and swayed. It was subtle, like the lightest version of feeling tipsy—but not in a bad or disorienting way. Just… different. Wavy.
Time seemed to slow down for just a moment.
It was a Holy pause, heavy with presence.
And the second he finished blessing the bread, it stopped.
And time resumed.
Then, as he blessed the wine—it happened again.
The same exact ripple.
Time slowed down…
Same shape. Same shimmer. Same feeling.
This time, it hovered above the chalice—and again, the moment he finished, it disappeared.
And time returned.
Ooooohhh.
It was Glory. And I knew it.
But since it was just confirming what I already believed, I wasn’t shocked—I was just happy and a bit awe-struck at the revelation of reality I’d been given. But it was so brief, and Mass moved on so quickly, that I couldn’t get lost in the moment, you know?
I didn’t fully appreciate it until later, for reasons that will become apparent soon.
The Mass proceeded as usual: we prayed the Our Father, exchanged the sign of peace, and prayed the Lamb of God. No more atmospheric ripples. Still, it had been cool. But I figured that was the “moment” of the morning.
Not even close.
The priest lifted up the host and proclaimed:
"Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb."
I responded with everyone else:
"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."
I bowed my head in deep reverence and silently added,
Lord, You are truly real food and real drink, and You will feed me.
I intended to continue in devout prayer—
instead, I got ambushed.
My prayer was interrupted by what I can only describe as “picture-in-picture Mass mode.”
Like, mass was still going on, and I was fully present in it, but at the same time, a smaller scene—full color, full video, full sound, totally immersive—began playing in front and around me, like spiritual virtual reality. I was there!
I immediately recognized this scene. Right there in the church, I relived an experience I had a couple of years ago, verbatim! Sight, sound, smell, and feel of the moment. This time though, the Lord used it to give me a very clear message; and to astound me in every way.
What He showed me was this:
A couple of years ago, I was out in the country, heading home from Dixon. I pulled up to a stop sign to make a left turn from Timm Rd to head toward town; to my right was a wide-open pasture full of cows, scattered across the field.
I looked left to check for traffic—but something drew my eyes back to the cows.
The ground had started rumbling, and the quiet of the day was shattered with loud mooing.
Every single cow in that pasture—dozens of them—was running full speed toward the fence; for no apparent reason, at all. It was thundering, hoof-pounding chaotic noise and motion. A few even stumbled, tumbled into a tuck and roll, then scrambled right back up and kept running.
I just sat there stunned. I’d never seen cows do that.
They weren’t startled, or scared, they were excited, seemingly very happy, and were moving with purpose! They seemed to have a goal.
They nudged and jostled each other to get as close to the fence as they could.
All of them. They continuously moo’d loudly and insistently, and locked their eyes with laser-focus on the road I was about to turn onto, which was completely empty. No vehicles or animals of any kind. I just could NOT figure out what had gotten them all going, like that!
I turned the corner, still watching the vigilant and intense cows in my rear-view mirror, until they finally disappeared from sight after the first bend down the winding road. Still scratching my head over their behavior, I kept driving—covering a good stretch of country, navigating the valley’s twists and turns—climbing steep hills, coasting down gentle slopes, winding through curve after curve—before I finally saw it.
The hay truck.
The hay truck was coming!
Way down the road—almost impossibly far from the cows—but coming.
They knew.
Somehow, those cows sensed it.
They anticipated it.
And they ran with everything in them to meet the truck and get fed.
They were JOYOUS.
And just as the scene played out and all of that came flooding back—an event I hadn’t thought about in years—Jesus impressed this thought on me:
“That’s how you guys should be coming to ME to be fed. But you aren’t, are you?”
Whoa…
Like, with a little attitude—no kidding—and a wink to it, too.
It seemed like He kind of had His arms crossed, and we were watching it all play out together, with Him offering dry commentary on the congregation.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic.
Just that dry, devastatingly honest Jesus-humor that slips past your defenses and goes straight to your soul—
flashing that “You know I’m right” look at the situation.
He definitely made His point...
Those cows were more excited over hay than we are over Him.
And as I stood there, stunned and smiling, I realized He wasn’t just joking—He was teaching.
I never felt embarrassed or chastised.
But I did want to want Him more desperately.
I mean, He is right… Daily Mass folks are there because they truly want to be there, and I’d venture to say that we do hunger and thirst for the Lord more than surface-level cultural Catholics do.
But still… unless you, like the cows, are absolutely riveted and intensely aware of the mystery unfolding in front of you, I doubt many of us fully grasp the magnitude of what’s happening when we receive Communion.
And certainly, no one is as excited over receiving Jesus as those cows were over their hay.
As soon as I caught what He was getting at, the whole thing unfolded in my imagination.
I “saw”—or probably just imagined—what it would be like if people were jumping over chairs and pushing and shoving just to get to the priest to receive Communion.
It would be wild, right?
So with that image dancing in my head—of us joyously stampeding the priest to receive Jesus—I get tickled.
Then it gets funnier and funnier, and before I know it, I’m laughing in my spirit uncontrollably.
I’m trying desperately to hold it in, and by now the tinny organ is playing, and the congregation has formed the normal reverent, orderly procession we all know how to participate in as we make our way to the altar.
Solemnly. Reverently.Prayerfully.
So now, I too, am in the line, and my shoulders are shaking as I’m trying not to laugh , because hello- its communion - all the way from my seat until I’m almost in front of the priest. Honestly, I was really enjoying all this, but I was the only one in on the joke, right?
And yes, I think Jesus was enjoying what he’d just pulled on me too. It’s a good thing I say that humility prayer regularly, cause I sure could have been calumniated over that one, but I wouldn’t even care since it was so cool. lol.
By the time I reached the priest, the peak effect of the holy punchline had subsided,
but I still met Jesus on my tongue with a giant smile—resting in the afterglow of the irony of the message the Lord had just unveiled for me.
After being so clearly interrupted by the Lord, It wasn’t difficult to grasp the rest of the messages. Get this - those cows weren’t waiting for a “symbol” of their food, they were waiting for the FOOD!
I was not waiting for a “symbol” of my food either! I was waiting for my REAL food!
We both got the real thing.
They got their nourishment disguised as dead Hay,
I got the real presence of Christ with every Grace and Heavenly Blessing he had to give me, disguised as bread!
Their hay, was dead because it was cut off at the root.
I am alive in Christ, because I am the branch and He is the vine, and I am intimately connected to Him in spirit and truth, through the Eucharist!
Communion will never be the same from here on out—right?
So that was my morning… along with trying to bring this to life for you.
I just love it when the Lord does stuff like this—don’t you?
Please, please, please—top this!
Let’s celebrate the goodness of the Lord together.
Send me your God stories and encourage others with what the Lord has done for you.
We are in this together, and He is always loving on us.
Hey, let’s share the family stories, ok?
I seriously can’t wait to hear from you.
And Lord… thank You so much.
I don’t even know what You just did to me…
and I certainly don’t know how You did it…
but I know I’m still smiling.
Still laughing.
And honestly?
I’m still a little bit undone—in the best possible way.
That was flipping amazing.
I love You, Lord. Mwah!
Epilogue : just returned from mass. Communion was a totally different experience. In fact, so was the entire mass. So is life. I’ve been reflecting on how the Lord really has been in every single moment of OUR lives- whether we accept that or not. And he can use all of it, to accomplish what He wants to accomplish, any time He chooses to.
As the priest started to set the table for communion this morning, I couldn’t help but think
The Hay Truck is COMING!!!
Hungry for more?
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