By Kris Joseph
Spiritual Director and Former Staff Member
at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center in Prior Lake, MN

Kris Joseph, extending the Eucharist’s grace, embodies compassion and spiritual unity in her ministry.

From my early childhood, I have felt drawn to God. I have many treasured memories of listening to and sharing faith with others. I am deeply grateful to God for this thread in my life. When I retired from retreat work in 2015, I prayerfully considered what was next. As I pondered, I remembered a very dear friend who entered hospice in 2002. When I visited her, the moment we were alone she said, “Kris, Jesus is right here with me.” She went on, with shining eyes, to say that a chaplain had brought her Communion, and Jesus had been with her since that moment. I could see and feel the impact of that gift.

It seemed most natural that bringing Holy Communion to others would be my next step. It is a step from which I have found immense joy, awe, and fulfillment. Many of us experience illness as a time of isolation. Bringing Communion offers the opportunity to visit in the same room, face to face, and share what is bigger than either of us.
I have been surprised by the grace I am given as others receive Communion. Consistently grateful, they often know that God/Jesus is with them. Each has their own unique perspective, frequently praying that God will fill them with faith and love. One prayed that the Lord would fill every cell of her body followed tearfully by a prayer for her brothers and sisters throughout the world. She shared that this helps her not to focus on her own problems. I have come to believe that Jesus is saying, “I am with you, I want to be with you, in your darkest and most shameful place, I am with you.”

One woman I ministered to had a terminal lung disease. As we met, she shared her joys and satisfactions along with her sorrows and fears. I witnessed her love for her family and others. One day I awoke with a compelling sense that I needed to see her. When I arrived, her son was there along with a hospice nurse. He suggested that I come back later; however, his mother insisted I come in. We shared a short Scripture and prayer, and she and her son both received Holy Communion. During my short visit, the sense of the Lord’s presence was with her. Later her son contacted me to say that his mother had taken her last breath very peacefully after I left. He was so immensely grateful for my ministry. I remain grateful for the Lord’s guidance and his grace.

Seeing and experiencing the gift of Communion for others along with His grace has deepened my faith. I have witnessed how truly Christ is with us and am grateful that I can share in this most meaningful and transformational ministry.