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}.
………………………………………………………………
© 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:
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