(Jeff Kurowski | On Mission)
Mishicot native shares his personal experiences with the Blessed Sacrament through talks and his new book
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
ONEIDA — Deacon David Scheuer says he was told that he has the “gift of tears” by his spiritual director, Msgr. Jim Feely.
True to form, some tears appeared as part of the raw emotion he displayed on the evening of Feb. 7 at St. Joseph Church.
Deacon Scheuer was the guest presenter at the St. Joseph Parish “Faith Formation Family Night.” His talk centered on his real-life experiences in the presence of the Eucharist, both at Mass and during Eucharistic Adoration.
He serves as deacon at the Triangle of Faith Catholic Community, which includes All Saints Parish, Denmark; Holy Trinity Mission, New Denmark; and St. Mary Parish, Glenmore/Stark.
“I went through a period of time, five or six years, where I had some very profound times in the presence of the Eucharist, so much that I ended up spending about five months with (Msgr. Feely) praying and talking about those experiences,” he said. “That led to … finally realizing that I need to share my story. How do we do that?”
He consulted Julianne Stanz, former director of evangelization and discipleship for the Diocese of Green Bay, and Franciscan Sr. Marie Kolbe Zamora, who, at the time, was director of the theology department at Silver Lake College of the Holy Family in Manitowoc and is now an official for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.
Meeting with Bishop David Ricken was his next step.
“From that conversation, Bishop Ricken asked me to go out and share my experiences with people. That’s what I’m here to do,” Deacon Scheuer told those in attendance at St. Joseph Church. “I’m not sharing these stories to make myself look in any way holy, spiritually superior to anybody. … My purpose is one and one thing only, and that’s to glorify God. I want to make that very clear.”
Deacon Scheuer’s witness began with an experience where his son, John, only 2-½ years old at the time, saw angels at Mass during the eucharistic prayer. Deacon Scheuer then shared how a men’s Cursillo weekend (a three-day spiritual renewal) at St. Mary Parish, Menasha, prompted him to more deeply study the Eucharist.
“All the men were talking about who was coming to Xavier High School (Appleton). They kept talking about some guy named Scott Hahn,” he said. “The night Scott Hahn was speaking at Xavier, I went to Mishicot to visit my mom. She had just finished an adult faith formation class at St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Two Rivers.”
Deacon Scheuer had just started formation for the diaconate when his mother, Mary Agnes, suggested he read Hahn’s book, which she had read for her class.The book, “The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven On Earth,” “changed my life and it only took five pages,” he said.
On page five, Hahn writes: “We go to heaven when we go to Mass, and this is true of every single Mass we attend, regardless of the quality of the music, or the fervor of the preaching. The Mass, and I mean every single Mass, is heaven on earth!”
“After reading this book, I started reading everything about Mass and the Eucharist,” said Deacon Scheuer. “My passion for the Eucharist really started to grow.”
He offered his favorite passage from Scripture, known as the “Bread of Life Discourse” from John Chapter 6.
“What an amazing promise, that if we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we will be raised. We will go to Heaven. Do we truly believe that?” asked Deacon Scheuer.
He shared more of his experiences in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, including witnessing two young men moved to tears during the eucharistic procession in 2013 at St. John Bosco Youth Day at Holy Hill in Hubertus, Wis. He also spoke of the experience of seeing drops of blood on the sides of the bottle of wine placed on the corporal (square white linen cloth) at two Masses in 2017.
Deacon Scheuer told of seeing angels surrounding the altar in the Eucharistic Adoration chapel at a Christian Experience Weekend (CEW) in Denmark in 2018 and then, two days later, hearing a voice at Mass at St. Willebrord Church in Green Bay, telling him to “Watch the Lamb. You don’t come to worship angels. You come to Mass to worship my son, the Lamb of God.”
He also spoke about multiple experiences of feeling weight on his shoulders and other bodily pain when carrying the monstrance during eucharistic processions at CEW retreats.
“I don’t know why God has allowed me to experience these things, but I do know this: there is no doubt in my mind, as a result of the experiences I’ve had, that the consecrated bread and wine on the altar is truly Jesus’ body and blood,” said Deacon Scheuer. “St. Mother Teresa (of Kolkata) said, ‘When we look at a crucifix, we see how Jesus loved us back then. When we look at the Blessed Sacrament, we see how much he loves us right now.’”
Deacon Scheuer said that when he gave his first presentation about his experiences at Sacred Heart Church in Sherwood, Deacon Tim Stevenson suggested he write a book.
“I laughed at him. In April of 2022, my wife (Betsy) asked me, ‘Can you write down the things that have happened to you? … I don’t want this information to be lost.’ So, I started writing this down for her,” he said. “I wrote and wrote and ended up writing a book.”
“A Glimpse of Heaven On Earth” by Deacon Scheuer was published in October 2023 by Peregrino Press in Green Bay. The book, which includes not only more details about his experiences with the Eucharist, but also his call to the diaconate, is available at Cathedral Book & Gift in Green Bay and on Amazon.
Proceeds from the book support youth ministry and seminarians for the Diocese of Green Bay.
Tears are shed at Deacon Scheuer’s talks, with the added reward of his opening up about his experiences, he said, being that people often feel comfortable sharing their personal experiences in front of those gathered or with him one-on-one afterwards.
Upcoming speaking engagements for Deacon Scheuer include 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at St. Anthony Parish in Tigerton and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at St. Joseph Parish in Crandon.
On Saturday, March 16, he will give two talks at a parish mission at St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Two Rivers. The mission begins at 8 a.m.
“When you come up that Communion line to receive Jesus, don’t just go through the motions,” said Deacon Scheuer. “Tell yourself, as you’re walking up there, ‘This is really Jesus.’ Prepare yourself to truly receive him because it will change your life.”