St Anthony, The Eucharist and a mule

St. Anthony of Padua lived during the 13th century and possessed a great zeal for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. One day Saint Anthony heard of a man in Rimini named named Bononillo who did not share the same belief. In fact, Bononillo openly mocked people who believed that Jesus was truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.

St. Anthony tried his hardest to convince Bononillo with the proofs of scripture and argument, but discovered that the man was as stubborn as a mule.

Then St. Anthony received an inspiration. He challenged the wealthy merchant, “If the mule you ride adored the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, would you believe in the truth of the Blessed Sacrament?” Bononillo agreed, but decided to raise the stakes. Bononillo would starve his mule for three days and then bring it to the town square. Saint Anthony would bring the Blessed Sacrament to that same square. The mule then would be put in front of a pile of hay and St. Anthony would stand a few yards away with the Blessed Sacrament. What happened next would decide the victor.

To prepare for the event, St. Anthony fasted for three days, and Bononillo in turn told everyone in the town. Bononillo was convinced that the mule would think nothing of the Eucharist and ravenously eat the pile of hay.

On the day of the test, Bononillo brought his mule and placed the hay under the mule’s nose. St. Anthony came and stood a distance away with the Holy Eucharist. Defying all odds, the mule turned his head and walked over to Saint Anthony. When the mule was close, the animal bent his front legs and kneeled in adoration! When Bononillo saw this miraculous change of events, he immediately knelt down and professed his belief in the truth of the Real Presence.

What this short story tells us is that Eucharistic presence of Jesus is something miraculous and supernatural. It is a gift that Jesus gave to his Church, one that reason alone cannot explain. Faith is required to hold to such a fantastic belief. It reminds us that what we witness each Sunday (and every day) is beyond our understanding.

The Catechism affirms this fact and declares, “That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that ‘cannot be apprehended by the senses,’ says St. Thomas, ‘but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.’ For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (‘This is my body which is given for you.’), St. Cyril says: ‘Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie'” (CCC 1381).

St. John Vianney put it perfectly, “If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”

The Holy Mass ...

 

The Angels Prayer .. a story from Portugal

One day in the autumn of 1916, the shepherds of Fatima took their herd out to graze. After their meal, they went to pray precisely where the Angel appeared to them the first time.

While they recited the prayer that the Angel had taught them

(My God, I believe, I adore, and I love You! I beg pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!),

their faces to the ground, a light appeared above their heads. The children saw the Angel again who this time held a chalice in his left hand; the Host rested above it with drops of Blood dripping down into the chalice. Leaving the chalice and the Host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated himself on the ground next to the children and repeated this prayer three times:

 "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly and offer You the most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners."

Then standing up, the Angel took the chalice and the Host into his hands and gave Holy Communion to Lucy, and the Blood of the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco, saying: "Take and drink the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make up for all their crimes and console your God." He then prostrated himself one last time with the children and repeated the prayer to the Holy Trinity (above) three times.

I will be with you always...

During China's 1911 Republican Revolution or the earlier Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), anti-Catholic militants seized a Catholic parish. They confined the pastor to house arrest. From his rectory window he witnessed the desecration of the Church.
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He knew that there had been thirty-two consecrated hosts in the tabernacle. An eleven year old girl was praying at the back of the church and the guards either did not see her or else paid no attention to her.
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She returned to the Church that night and made a Holy Hour and then consumed one of the sacred hosts, bending down to receive Jesus on her tongue. She continued to return every night, making a nightly Holy Hour and consuming one sacred host.
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On the last night, the thirty-second night, unfortunately a guard was awakened after she consumed the sacred host. He chased her, grabbed her, and beat her to death with his rifle.
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen became aware of her martyrdom while he was a seminarian. He was so inspired by her sacrifice that he promised to pray a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day for the rest of his life.
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The eleven year old girl could have had no idea how she would have influenced a future bishop who would in turn influence millions and promote Eucharistic Adoration. We also have no idea how our witness and sacrifices influence others.

The Wall

(A story from the persecuted church in China by a lay missionary)

“on the second night of his visit, he was awoken in the middle of the night by the noise of people moving around the house. A little scared, he got up out of bed and went to his door. Opening his door he grabbed one of the men living in the house and said to him “what is going on ?” The Chinese man replied “we’re going to the wall”. He inquired further “ What is the wall ?” The Chinese man replied “Come with us and we will show you”

He got dressed and ventured out into the night with this group of people, walking for miles. On the way they were joined by 2 other groups until they numbered about 120 people. They came to a forest and he noticed that some of the male members were climbing up the trees. (it turns out that they were look-outs).

They got to a clearing in the forest and there was a small half-built wall from an old derelict building. As they came closer, everyone fell down on their knees before the wall.

Moments later, one man got up and walked towards the wall and reaching forwards removed one brick, behind the brick was reserved the Blessed Sacrament. They adored the Blessed Sacrament for one hour in silent prayer. Then the brick was replaced, the men came down from the trees and they went home.

Two or three times a week they would go to the wall in the middle of the night, risking imprisonment or even their lives, to spend an hour with Jesus, their greatest friend.”

The Angel's prayer..a story from Fatima

One day in the autumn of 1916, the shepherds of Fatima took their herd out to graze. After their meal, they went to pray precisely where the Angel appeared to them the first time. While they recited the prayer that the Angel had taught them (My God, I believe, I adore, and I love You! I beg pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!),their faces to the ground, a light appeared above their heads.
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The children saw the Angel again who this time held a chalice in his left hand; the Host rested above it with drops of Blood dripping down into the chalice. Leaving the chalice and the Host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated himself on the ground next to the children and repeated this prayer three times: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly and offer You the most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners."

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Then standing up, the Angel took the chalice and the Host into his hands and gave Holy Communion to Lucy, and the Blood of the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco, saying: "Take and drink the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make up for all their crimes and console your God." He then prostrated himself one last time with the children and repeated the prayer to the Holy Trinity (above) three times. The three small visionaries kept strict silence about the apparitions of the Angel. Why did they behave this way? Sister Lucy stated later: "...because of the painful experience of the apparition of 1915."