"If angels could be jealous of men, they would
be so for one reason: Holy Communion."
St Maximilian Kolbe
In the spring of 1891, when Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity was
almost eleven years old she made her First Communion. Sensitive
by nature, especially to things sacred, she was profoundly affected
by her first reception of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Tears of joy were seen to run down the young girl's face after
her Communion. Upon leaving the church, she said to a close friend,
"I'm no longer hungry.
Jesus has fed me."
On the afternoon of her First Communion, Elizabeth also encountered the prioress of the Carmel of Dijon for the first time. The prioress, upon learning the name of the child, explained that "Elizabeth" means "house of God." A few days later, she would send this same message to Elizabeth, writing on the back of a holy card:
"Your blessed name hides a mystery,
accomplished on this great day.
Child, your heart is the House of God on earth,
of the God of love."
This theme of being the "house of God," then, was at first closely associated with the mystery of the Eucharist in the mind of Elizabeth. In a poem that she would later write to commemorate the 7th anniversary of her First Communion, she meditates upon the day:
"When Jesus made in me His dwelling place,
When God took possession of my heart,
So well that since that hour,
Since that mysterious colloquy,
That divine and delicious meeting,
I have aspired to nothing else but to give my life
In order to return a bit of His great love
To the Beloved of the Eucharist
Who reposed in my feeble heart,
Inundating it with all of His favors."
who had just made her First Communion:
"If He came this morning into your little heart,
it was not to pass through it and go away,
but to remain there always."
it was not to pass through it and go away,
but to remain there always."
Excerpt from article, The Saint of the Divine Indwelling
by Fr. Gregory Ross, O.C.D., S.T.L.
Painting: After the First Holy Communion ~ Carlo F Smith (1892)
Photo: St Elizabeth of the Trinity
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Do you remember/can you figure out
your First Holy Communion date?
Do HEARTILY celebrate it!
NOVENA for the CONCLAVE (Day 8)
Heavenly Father, we pray in union with the whole Church
for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Cardinals.
May the Princes of the Church listen attentively to Your Spirit
during the conclave. Almighty God, we pray the conclave
brings us a Pope who pleases You by guiding Your Church to
grow in faithfulness to You. We pray together with the intercession
of our Mother Mary and all the Saints. Please Lord, protect
and guide Your Church during this time of transition. Amen.
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