Blessed!
Dear Parish Family,
Carlo Acutis only lived to the age of fifteen years old. He passed away of leukemia in Milan, 11 October 2006. Even in his short life, he made an outsized impact on the church and the world. He burned brightly, especially with his passionate devotion to Christ Jesus and the Eucharist.
Carlo brought his parents to church. After the age of seven, Carlo never missed daily attendance at Mass. He called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven.” He understood the blessing of the Eucharist. Even as a lad, he marveled at the way he saw the culture moving. He wondered why people wait for hours to go to a rock concert but not before the Eucharistic Christ. He would say that people do not realize what they are missing, otherwise churches would be overflowing. He truly believed that Christ is present in the Eucharist, the same way He was two thousand years ago in the time of the Apostles. “Jerusalem is right on our doorstep,” he said.
And this beautiful fiery devotion to the living presence of Christ in the Eucharist led him to stage an exhibit on the Miracles of the Eucharist, which gave rise to a wonderful website now available in many languages for the whole world to enter into and gain a deeper appreciation of mystery and beauty of Christ here among us.
This year is a special time of Eucharistic Revival for the church in America. We need it. In this Post-pandemic time, many Catholics have not returned to the consistent practice of the faith. Weekly participation has not bounced back. There are many reasons to explain this reality; sociologists say that our culture has moved a decade forward in the span of a few years due to the pandemic. Seems we were not on a good trajectory.
But that is not a new story. Several of the Eucharistic miracles are the result of priests not being careful with the Sacrament, questioning their faith, and not giving the Eucharist its due reverence.
One such case occurred in Lanciano, Italy in 750 AD. Due to the doubt of a priest, the host turned physically into flesh and the wine into blood. At each Mass, the bread and wine are transformed sacramentally into the body and blood, but in this miraculous case, they became heart muscle and living blood. And to this day, the blood present is alive, as if it were drawn from a human subject this very day.
Seven centuries later, in Ludbreg, Croatia, in 1411 AD, another priest doubted and a similar miracle occurred. So alarmed was the priest that he did not reveal the secret until his deathbed, and only then did the miracle become known.
I mention these miracles in connection to our readings for this weekend. In the first reading and the Gospel, priests are criticized for their bad example, for not living what they preach, for not duly honoring the Lord. So, if priests can fall away or not give due reverence to the Eucharist, then we all must show kindness and understanding for anyone who does not appreciate what makes worship and Mass so special.
For me personally, I am regularly reminded that my vocation sprang from Eucharistic Adoration. God’s call to me became clear one early morning in the presence of the Eucharist. It is often on my mind as I celebrate the sacrament, which for me is the heart of my priesthood. I too need to spend time alone before the Eucharist, being present to the Presence itself, and connecting with the One who seeks to connect us all, drawing us all to Himself.
Over the next few weeks (Nov. 7-20) our parish will be hosting the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit. If I could encourage you to do anything during that time, it would be to spend some time in Nolan Hall exploring, visiting, and praying with the exhibit. And if that is not possible, please explore the website. Our Catholic Faith is grounded in the Eucharist. It is our greatest blessing. We are so blessed with his living presence. Let us renew our faith together over these weeks.
God bless!
Fr. Wilson
