I recently discovered an article by James Monti in The Wanderer Online Daily. It was entitled
Restoring the Sacred…Coram Sanctissimo;
An Afternoon With God.
Monti powerfully
reminds us of an essential and foundational Truth so many have forgotten e.g. “A
Catholic church is unlike any other place on earth, for it is the dwelling
place of God on earth.”
The author does this in a number of ways. One is by quoting the reactions of Charles
Reding, a fictional character in Blessed John Henry Newman’s novel, Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert. Sadly, the sense of the Sacred depicted in the following
paragraph is no longer common place in many of our Churches today:
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| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
“A priest, or at least an assistant, had mounted for a
moment above the altar, and removed a chalice or vessel which stood there; he
could not see distinctly. A cloud of incense was rising on high; the people
suddenly all bowed low; what could it mean? The truth flashed on him, fearfully
yet sweetly; it was the Blessed Sacrament — it was the Lord Incarnate who was
on the altar, who had come to visit and to bless His people. It was the Great
Presence, which makes a Catholic church different from every other place in the
world; which makes it as no other place can be, holy.”
Pray that more of us will respond to the Blessed Sacrament as Reding did when he first came
to understand what the Real Presence meant.
I recommend you read Monti's article in its entirety. He will also introduce you to Mother Mary Loyola.
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