Tuesday, March 28, 2017

A SACRED SACRIFICE

A SACRED SACRIFICE


                In the 1950s, an eleven-year-old little girl who had recently received her First Holy Communion was praying in a corner of a church when an army of atheists invaded the church. The captain ordered to fire at the Tabernacle. It was broken brutally. He threw the Ciborium, a chalice-like vessel used to contain the Blessed Sacrament, angrily to the floor. The particles of the Holy Eucharist (Holy Hosts) spilled out and were scattered on the floor. The parish priest, Rev. Fr. Luke was arrested and imprisoned in a dark bunker used to store coal in the church. From that bunker, he could see through a small hole, the Sanctuary and the 32 Hosts scattered on the floor. The atheist army left the church to persecute the Christian Faithful in the village. They did not notice the little girl who was still praying silently in a dark corner, with tears rolling down her cheeks, seeing the sacrileges committed against her Lord, Jesus. She left the church silently, in tears.
                The girl had been taught by her catechist that she should receive only a single Host in a day and that she should never touch the Holy Eucharist except with her tongue. The priest remained in the dark bunker, praying to God to forgive the sacrilegious actions of the offenders.  Next day, early in the morning, the priest saw the little girl silently sneak into the church. She moved towards the Sanctuary and prayed silently for an hour with tearful eyes, with her hands clasped together in prayer. Then she knelt down, bent over and received a Holy Host with her tongue. She prayed for some more time and quietly left the church. She continued this bold and pious act every day. On the last day, she came as usual and knelt down before the last Host lying on the ground and prayed with folded hands. Suddenly, a soldier entered the church and saw her. In a rage, he fired a bullet at her. She fell down, wounded and bleeding profusely. With all her might, she crawled towards the last Host and consumed it with her weak tongue. Then she fell down, dead, as a true martyr for Jesus. The priest witnessed her heroic martyrdom. Later, he was released and had to leave the country. He made this incident known to the world. Venerable Archbishop Fulton John Sheen heard about this incident when he was a Seminarian. He was deeply moved by this true story of heroic martyrdom and made a vow to spend an hour in deep prayer before the Holy Eucharist every day. He practiced this till his death in 1979, in memory of this little martyr, who displayed heroic courage and zeal to proclaim her faith in the Holy Eucharist, the source of energy, grace and love.
             The Most Blessed Sacrament is the Sacrament of Sacraments and a Sacred Sacrifice. By the Blessed Sacrament, we unite ourselves to Christ. Under the appearances of bread and wine, Lord Jesus Christ is contained, offered and received by the Faithful. We believe that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. The Blessed Sacrament is a great miracle. The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life. It is a memorial of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a Sacrament of love, a sign of unity and a bond of charity.
        St. John, the Apostle of love, teaches, “There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear” {1 John 4: 18}.
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© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Former Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John and Neil John, Alfeen Public School, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India.  For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit our web-sites:
                         This is Story No. 344 in the second site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of a page to read previous stories and click 'Newer Posts' at the bottom of a page to read newer stories in these sites. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that theme.

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