Tim Tallent considers himself to be a eucharistic person.
The St. John Paul II Church parishioner serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, bringing the Eucharist to people in his parish who are homebound.
Since becoming Catholic in 2005, he’s been committed to living and learning his faith. He completed a discipleship program with the Archdiocese of Louisville and a theological certificate through Loyola University New Orleans. He’s pursuing master catechist certification and he’s a Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey.
“I am constantly wanting to learn about my faith,” he said during a recent interview.
Tallent doesn’t work for the church — in fact, he’s part of the family business working in tax preparation — but he finds joy in sharing Communion and his faith with others, he said.
At the forefront of his mind, he said, is Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
“When I take Communion to the homebound, I feel like both I and whoever I’m taking it to are filled with grace,” he said.
Currently, Tallent takes Communion to two homebound parishioners every week. He’s served as many as four at one time but said typically he visits one or two people.
“When I go to them, they know the importance of the Eucharist,” Tallent said. “One man I took Communion to had dementia. But he knew those prayers and would say the Our Father. He wouldn’t know me but he knew those prayers.”
Taking Communion to those unable to attend Mass is “the most grace-filled thing” he does other than receiving the Eucharist himself, Tallent said.
“When we’re kneeling and the priest is saying the Eucharistic Prayer, in my mind I’m going back to what Jesus did for us,” he said.
Being an oblate — a lay person who’s committed to a religious order or community — has also helped Tallent keep the Eucharist at the center of his life, he said.
“I’m not perfect, but it’s a little more in front of me,” he said. “It reminds me to take God out to the people.”
In the Benedictine tradition, Tallent prays the liturgy of the hours, which includes morning, evening and bedtime prayers. The prayers order his day and get him off on the right foot each morning, he said.
Another aspect of being an oblate is adhering to bona opera — which translates to “good works.” For Benedictine oblates, it means keeping Lenten promises. Tallent, a self-proclaimed nerd, said his Lenten promise one year was to read the documents of the Second Vatican Council. He didn’t agree with everything the council changed, he said, but he enjoyed learning about it and understanding it more fully.
“And now I know it and have a passion for it,” he said.
His other passion is helping other Catholics realize the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
“I’ve read (that) only 31 percent of Catholics believe in the true Body and Blood,” Tallent said. “I wish I could express what it truly means so that number rises.”
I could tell that Tim was on a Journey!