Bishop Athanasius Schneider: ‘We Are in the Fourth Great Crisis of the Church’

CatholicHerald June 6, 2014:

Liberals, collaborating with the “new paganism”, are driving the Catholic Church towards a split, according to Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the liturgical specialist who is carrying on a rearguard fight against “abuses” in the Church.

So serious are the problems, Bishop Schneider said in an interview last week, that this is the fourth great crisis in the history of the Church, comparable to the fourth-century Arian heresy in which a large part of the Church hierarchy was implicated.

If you have not heard of the Soviet-born bishop, you will. The sincere, scholarly clergyman is auxiliary bishop of the distant Archdiocese of St Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan. But this month he has received a rock star welcome from congregations across the country on his tour of England and he has embraced cyberspace to put over a trenchant, traditional defence of the Church. “Thanks be to God, the internet exists,” he said.

His views are not popular with everyone, especially not some of his liberal colleagues, or, he says, with the mainstream media of the secular world. But his audiences tell another story.

Bishop Schneider is best known for arguing that Holy Communion should be received on the tongue while kneeling, which he insists is the more efficient way to foster respect for the Sacrament and to prevent abuse of the Sacred Hosts. The 53-year-old bishop has called also for clarification (a new Syllabus of Errors), aimed at the clergy, to put a stop to liturgical and doctrinal freewheeling on a range of issues in the “spirit of Vatican II”.

In his interview, Bishop Schneider said the “banal” and casual treatment of the Blessed Sacrament is part of a major crisis in the Church in which some laity and clergy, including some in positions of authority, are siding with secular society. At the heart of the problems, he believes, is the creeping introduction of a man-centred agenda, while in some churches God, in the tabernacle, really is materially put in a corner, while the priest takes centre stage. Bishop Schneider argued that this situation is now coming to a head. “I would say, we are in the fourth great crisis [of the Church], in a tremendous confusion over doctrine and liturgy. We have already been in this for 50 years.”

How long will it last? “Perhaps God will be merciful to us in 20 or 30 years.”

In the autumn, the synod of bishops will meet in extraordinary session to discuss the family, in the light of the questionnaire which Pope Francis invited the faithful to complete, giving their views on marriage and sexuality. Expectations are growing that rules will be relaxed on a range of sexual matters and in terms of divorced people receiving Communion as a sign of “mercy” from the Church.

Such views, according to Bishop Schneider, reveal the depth of the problem. “I think this issue of the reception of Holy Communion by the remarried will blow up and show the real crisis in the Church. The real crisis of the Church is anthropocentrism and the forgetting of Christo-centrism…

“This is the deepest evil: man, or the clergy, putting themselves in the centre when they are celebrating liturgy and when they change the revealed truth of God, for instance, concerning the Sixth Commandment and human sexuality.”

Although he says talk of change is mainly coming from “the anti-Christian media”, he sees clergy and lay Catholics “collaborating” with what he calls the new paganism. Bishop Schneider is particularly critical of the idea that these changes should be made so as to be merciful to those currently barred from receiving the Sacraments. “[This is] a kind of sophism,” he said. “This is not mercy, this is cruel.”

He suggested this was “a false concept of mercy”, saying: “It is comparable to a doctor who gives a [diabetic] patient sugar, although he knows it will kill him.”

The bishop believes there are clear parallels with great crises of the past, when leading clergymen were complicit with heresies. In the Arian heresy, he said, naming them on his fingers, only a handful of the hierarchy resisted. “We [Christians] are a minority. We are surrounded by a very cruel pagan world. The temptation and challenge of today can be compared with the first centuries.”

He added: “Unfortunately there were … members of the clergy and even bishops who put grains of incense in front of the statue of the emperor or of a pagan idol or who delivered the books of the Holy Scripture to be burned. Such collaborationist Christians and clerics were called in those times thurificati or traditores.”

And today, he maintained, we also have those who collaborate, our “traitors of the Faith”.

Pope Francis is perceived to be at the forefront of a new liberal attitude coming from Rome. But Bishop Schneider says: “Thanks be to God, Pope Francis has not expressed himself in these ways that the mass media expect from him. He has spoken until now, in his official homilies, very beautiful Catholic doctrine. I hope he will continue to teach in a very clear manner the Catholic doctrine.”

The bishop said he hopes “the majority of the bishops still have enough Catholic spirit and faith that they will reject the proposal and not accept this”.

Nevertheless, he can foresee a split coming, leading to an eventual renewal of the Church on traditional lines. But, he believes, this will not be before the crisis has plunged the Church further into disarray. Eventually, he thinks, the “anthropocentric” [man-centred] clerical system will collapse. “This liberal clerical edifice will crash down because they have no roots and no fruits,” he said.

In the turmoil, Bishop Schneider, fears traditional Catholics may, for a time, be persecuted or discriminated against, even at the behest of those who have “power in the exterior structures of the Church”. But he believes those involved with the “heresy” will “not prevail against the Church”. And, in hope, the bishop said: “The Supreme Magisterium will surely issue an unequivocal doctrinal statement, rejecting any collaboration with the neo-pagan ideas.”

At this point, Bishop Schneider believes, the modern thurificati et traditores will leave the Church. “I can presume that such a separation will affect each level of Catholics: lay people and even not
excluding the high clergy,” he said.

Such comments are unlikely to win Bishop Schneider popularity in some circles, but he argues: “It is quite insignificant to be popular or unpopular. For every member of the clergy, their first interest should be to be popular in the eyes of God and not in the eyes of today or of the powerful. Jesus said a warning: ‘Woe to you when people speak well of you.’”

He added: “Popularity is false… Great saints of the Church, such as Thomas More and John Fisher, rejected popularity… those today who are worried about the popularity of the mass media and public opinion… will be remembered as cowards and not as heroes of the Faith.”

Bishop Schneider observes ruefully that there are many whose views coincide with those of the pagan world who “declare themselves Catholics and even faithful to the Pope”, while “those who are faithful to the Catholic faith or those who are promoting the glory of Christ in the liturgy” are labelled
extremists.

Such critics may assert that Bishop Schneider’s concern over Holy Communion is like worrying over the numbers of angels on a pinhead. But the bishop insists that treatment of the Eucharist is at the very heart of the crisis. “The Eucharist is at the heart of the Church,” he said. “When the heart is weak, the whole body is weak.”

He argued that receiving Communion in hand “contributes gradually to the loss of the Catholic faith in the Real Presence and in transubstantiation”.

Bishop Schneider also rejected the idea that concern for the liturgy is less important than, or even separate from, concern for the poor. “This is erroneous. The first commandment which Christ gave us was to adore God alone. Liturgy is not a meeting of friends. It is our first task to adore and glorify God in the liturgy and also in our manner of life. From a true adoration and love of God grows love for the poor and our neighbour. It is a consequence.”

The bishop’s views have been shaped by his early childhood, growing up as a persecuted German Catholic in the Soviet Union, where he even had to attend atheism lessons at school. His book Dominus Est discloses
how the German Catholic community kept alive their faith despite severe hardship and persecution. In his own experience, his mother and great aunt took great risks for their faith and on behalf of others in the community. So Bishop Schneider and his family were horrified at the liberal attitudes and practices in the West, especially in respect of Holy Communion, which had been so rare and so precious to the persecuted German Catholics of the Soviet Union.

Seemingly like the little boy in the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, the bishop now feels compelled to speak out and he cannot understand why others do not do the same. “It seems that the majority of the clergy and the bishops are content with this modern use of Communion in hand… For me this is incredible. How is this possible, when Jesus is present in the little Hosts?”

He continued: “There is the grievous fact of the loss of the Eucharistic fragments. And the fragments of the consecrated Host are crushed by feet. This is horrible! Our God, in our churches, is trampled by feet!”

Bishop Schneider admitted that he is “very sad that I am feeling myself as one who is shouting in the desert”.

He said: “It is time that the bishops raise their voices for the Eucharistic Jesus who has no voice to defend himself. Here is an attack on the Most Holy, an attack on the Eucharistic faith.”

But despite his concerns, Bishop Schneider is not pessimistic and believes that there is already a groundswell of support for traditional values that will, in time, renew the Church: “Little ones in the Church have been let down and neglected,” he said. “[But] they have kept the purity of their faith and they represent the true power of the Church in the eyes of God and not those who are in administration.

“I spoke with young students in Oxford and I was so much impressed by these students. I was so glad to see their purity of faith and their convictions, and the clear Catholic mind. This will renew the Church. So I am confident and hopeful also in respect of this crisis in the Church. The Holy Ghost will win this crisis with this little army.”

He added: “I am not worried about the future. The Church is Christ’s Church and He is the real head of the Church, the Pope is only the vicar of Christ. The soul of the Church is the Holy Spirit and He is powerful.”

Holy Thursday:Institution of the Blessed Eucharist

How Do You Approach to Receive the King of the Universe?

Les Femmes April 26, 2013:

In 2010 Pope Benedict explained why those who received Communion from him personally must kneel and receive on the tongue:

The idea behind my current practice of having people kneel to receive Communion on the tongue was to send a signal and to underscore the Real Presence with an exclamation point. One very important reason is that there is a great danger of superficiality precisely in the kinds of mass events we hold at St. Peter’s, both in the Basilica and in the Square. I have heard of people who, after receiving Communion, stick the Host in their wallet to take home as a kind of souvenir. In this context, where people think that everyone is just automatically supposed to receive Communion — everyone else is going up, so I will, too — I wanted to send a clear signal. I wanted it to be clear: Something quite special is going on here! He is here, the One before whom we fall on our knees! Pay attention! This is not just some social ritual in which we can take part if we want to. 

  I once read a quote from a non-Catholic who said if he believed what Catholics say they believe about the Real Presence, he would crawl up to receive Communion on his hands and knees. Does my disposition show this kind of belief and respect for the risen Lord who comes to me in Holy Communion?
Oh, how I wish we would return to using the altar rail and kneel for Communion. It not only shows respect for Jesus in the Eucharist, but is the great equalizer where college presidents kneel side by side with their students, where company presidents and CEOs kneel next to their employees, where presidents kneel beside secretaries and clerks, etc. There is no favored place at the table when one approaches the Communion rail. How I wish its use would return. I think our pope emeritus would approve as well.

This Is My Body--This Is My Blood: Eucharistic Miracles centuries apart but with identical blood type & dna

From http://www.catholicjournal.us/journal/tag/last-supper

The Gospels record for us the story of the Last Supper and those famous words spoken by Jesus, “This is My Body ---- This is My Blood.”  Those are very powerful words, for they provide us with the opportunity of experiencing the very real and tangible presence of Christ among us even today, 2,000 years after that Last Supper.  But I wonder if we truly appreciate the power and the love given to us in those words.
One day in late October in the year 700 A.D., a Basilian Monk was celebrating Mass in a church dedicated to Saints Legontian and Domitian in a town called Lanciano, which is located in southern Italy.  During the consecration of the Mass, the Monk was entertaining serious doubts that the wine and unleavened bread in front of him was actually the real and substantial presence of the Body and Blood of Christ.  After pronouncing the words of consecration, “This is My Body ----- This is My Blood”, the Monk was shocked to see the host in front of him change into, what appeared to be, a real piece of flesh, and the wine change into what looked like real blood.  Confused and frightened, the Monk called those in attendance up to the altar to see what had just happened.  Needless to say, all were amazed, many tears were reportedly shed, and the news of the event quickly spread throughout the town and eventually all of Italy.
After a few days, the wine which was now blood coagulated and split into five globules of different and irregular shapes and sizes.  There has been much speculation, questioning why the number five?  Why did it split into five pieces?  It is interesting to note that the number five corresponds to the number of wounds Christ suffered on the Cross, the nail wounds in each hand and in each foot and the wound in Christ’s side from the centurion’s lance.
This event, which has become known as the Miracle of Lanciano, is officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a Eucharistic Miracle.  This host that became flesh and this wine that became blood can be viewed and venerated even today, for it is contained in a monstrance within that same Church.
Over the years, many tests and investigations have been conducted on these two Sacred Species.  The oldest documented test results still in existence are from a test conducted in 1574.[i]  In those documents an unexplainable phenomenon was discovered and reported. “The five pellets of coagulated blood are different sizes and shapes. But any combination weighs the same as the total. In other words, 1 weighs the same as 2, 2 weigh the same as 3, and 3 weigh the same as 5.”[ii]
The latest and most impressive investigation was conducted by the scientific community and it took place in 1970 and 1971.[iii]  The team conducted their studies over a 15 month period and their testing involved a total of 500 different examinations.  Their report was published in 1971.[iv]
The following is a summary of their report:

1)    The samples tested were absolutely free of any foreign agents normally used in the preservation of human flesh.

2)    The Flesh is real Flesh and the Blood is real Blood.

3)    The Flesh and Blood belong to the human species.

4)    The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the human heart.

5)    The Blood was type “AB” positive, characteristic of a man who was born and lived in the Middle East region.

6)    Even though the coagulated blood samples were of five different and irregular shapes and sizes, they all proved to be of exactly the same weight.

7)    In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of the fresh normal blood.

8)    In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium.

9)    The preservation of the Flesh and of the Blood, which were left in their natural state for over twelve centuries and exposed to the action of atmospheric and biological agents, remains an extraordinary phenomenon.

I would like to emphasize one fact stated in that report.  When human blood is left unrefrigerated, the natural physical and chemical properties will break down rapidly through decay.  The blood from this Lanciano miracle is over 1,250 years old, yet it still contains all the proteins, chemicals and physical properties of freshly shed blood.  Yet these test results state that no preservatives of any kind could be found.
Many miracles, similar to the miracle of Lanciano, have been documented and officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as Eucharistic Miracles.  This next event that I would like to share with you is the latest reported Eucharistic Miracle.  And its similarities to the Lanciano Miracle are both shocking and inspiring.
On August 15, 1996 an elderly Eucharistic minister was distributing communion during Mass in a church named Santa Maria, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He accidentally dropped a Host.  Not sure of what to do, he asked the priest for assistance.  The priest reverently picked up the Host and placed it in a small container of water that is traditionally kept next to the Tabernacle for such an event.  The priest placed the container in the Tabernacle where, over time, the Host would be expected to dissolve, at which time it could then be disposed of properly.
Six days later the priest examined the container, expecting to find that the Host dissolved.  He was confused, however, by what he found.  The Host had grown in size and it was covered with red spots or stains.  The priest left it in the Tabernacle, thinking that eventually it would dissolve.  It was just a matter of sufficient time.  But over a period of several more days, the Host changed in appearance to that of coagulated blood, till it eventually looked like a piece of flesh. [v]
A sample of the tissue was sent to a lab in Buenos Aires.  The lab reported finding red and white human blood cells and tissue from a human heart.  The lab further reported that the tissue sample appeared to still be alive, because the cells were moving or beating as they would in a live human heart.
Three years later, in 1999, Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez[vi] was contracted to perform some additional testing.  Dr. Gomez sent a sample of the tissue to a lab in New York City.  For the purposes of fair and unbiased testing, the lab was not told what the sample was or anything about its origin.  The lab reported that the sample received was living muscle tissue from a human heart.
Five years later, in 2004, Dr. Gomez contacted a Dr. Frederick Zugibe[vii] and asked him to evaluate a test sample, again without telling him anything about the sample or its origin.  Dr. Zugibe also reported that the sample was that of living muscle tissue from a human heart.  The doctor further reported that the muscle tissue appeared to be taken from a person whose heart had been severely traumatized or beaten.
The doctor was then informed of the fact that the sample was obtained in 1996.  To which, Dr. Gomez replied, “Then you have to explain one thing to me.  If this sample came from a person who was dead, then how could it be that as I was examining it, the cells of the sample were moving and beating?  If the heart comes from a person who dies in 1996, how can it still be alive?”  Needless to say, the doctor was shocked when he was told the whole story.
Then Doctor Ricardo Castanon Gomez arranged to have the lab reports from the Buenos Aires miracle compared to the lab reports from the Lanciano miracle, again without revealing the origin of the test samples.  The experts making the comparison concluded that the two lab reports must have originated from test samples obtained from the same person.  They further reported that both samples revealed an “AB” positive blood type.  They also said that the DNA report of two test samples were identical.  Therefore, the Lanciano sample and the Buenos Aires sample must have been taken from the same person.
There is one more very important and very interesting fact that I must report.  When the scientific findings of the blood samples taken from Lanciano and Buenos Aires are compared to those of the scientific team that analyzed the blood samples taken from the Shroud of Turin and from the Sudarium of Oviedo, they are proven to be 100% identical.  They are all an “AB” positive blood type.  They are all characteristic of a man who was born and lived in the Middle East region.
We will never be able to prove the Christian concept of Transubstantiation to an unbeliever.  But Saint Augustine responded forcefully, in the late 4th century, to pagans’ allegations that Christian beliefs were not only superstitious but also barbaric. He points out that science can and should be used to clarify and illuminate the Christian faith.
The examples that I have just cited should help confirm the faith of we, the faithful.  These examples should also serve to remind us of the fact that the Eucharistic presence that we see on the altar is much more than just a piece of unleavened bread and glass of wine.  That it is actually the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  But most importantly, may we always remember that these miracles that I just cited are not unique.  This miracle happens every single day, in every Church throughout the world, at the consecration of the Mass.  And with this understanding may we forever treat this Sacred Species with the reverence it deserves.

---

[i] February 17, 1574 by Bishop Antonio Gaspar Rodrigues
[ii] Book titled “This is My Body, This is My Blood Miracles of the Eucharist1 – Book 1” by Bob & Penny Lord.
[iii] At the initiative of Archbishop Pacifico Perantoni of Lanciano, and of the provincial minister of the Franciscan Conventuals of Abruzzo, and with authorization from Rome, the test was conducted by Doctor Oroardo Linoli, who is a professor of Anatomy and Pathological History and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy, and former head of the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy at the hospital in Arezzo, Italy.  He was assisted by Doctor Ruggero Bartelli, a retired professor of human anatomy at the University of Siena.
[iv] Findings presented on March 4, 1971 and Published in Quaderni Sclavo di Diagnostica Clinica e di Laboratori.
[v] Summary of information gathered from Dr. Ricardo Castanon of Mexico City and Father Jeffrey Montz Parochial Vicar at Saint Francis of Assisi, New Orleans.
[vi] Ricardo Castañón Gómez is president of the Grupo Internacional Para la Paz (International Group for Peace). Based in Bolivia, Castañón Gómez’s home country, and also operating out of the other members’ 12 countries, the nonprofit group is a collection of self-financed research professionals who investigate mystical phenomena. They report their results, as scientific opinion, directly to the Vatican for consideration.  Ricardo Castañón Gómez is a clinical psychologist specializing in brain biochemistry, has participated in more than half a dozen studies of Eucharistic miracles over the past two decades.
[vii] Dr. Frederick Zugibe is a forensic pathologist.

Special Operations Sergeant Tells of Eucharistic Starvation

Catholic Lane August 7, 2012:

In March of 2007, less than a month after I had turned twenty-two years old, I was deployed to Afghanistan with my engineer unit. I would remain in Afghanistan, with the exception of twenty day’s vacation in January of 2008, for the next fifteen months. At that point in my life my faith was quietly growing from a very important part of my life, to the most important part of my life.
I had been receiving the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist at least weekly all my life, and had been saying the Rosary and reading the Bible daily for a couple of years, and it was at this point that I think all of these habits were really beginning to bear fruit, particularly in the shape of a strong desire to go to Mass, every day if possible. During my pre-deployment leave I went to Mass every day while I was at home.
The military has a chaplain corps, and some of those chaplains are Catholic priests (although at the moment the Catholic Chaplain strength in the army is at about 1/3 of ideal). Stateside there is at least a couple of priests assigned to every installation. Afghanistan, however, is a different story. The country is big, the terrain is rugged, and American troops are spread out across hundreds of miles of winding mountain passes. There are only a few large bases, a handful of medium sized ones, and then dozens, or perhaps hundreds of small, isolated outposts spread out throughout the country.
When I was in country there were only two or three Roman Catholic chaplains and one Greek Orthodox chaplain in the eastern half of the country. There was guaranteed to be one priest in Bagram, since that is the biggest base in the country. Kandahar might also have one, and for a while there was a priest, an Air Force Major, in Sharanam, who was one of the kindest and holiest chaplains I have ever met. Looking back, I realize that I owe him an unpayable debt for his patience and dedication to his vocation, and to my shame I do not even remember his name.
These few priests were run to the limits. Some would say as many as six or eight masses in a single day, each one separated by a helicopter flight of an hour or more. Others would travel for hours by convoy to far flung bases in order to minister to any who would show up.
So here I was, with a newfound hunger for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, suddenly stuck in the middle of a country in which priests were rare, harried and hurried. Throughout the fifteen months I was there my platoon was shuffled around the country. I don’t think we stayed more than two months at any single base. It was nothing short of miraculous how often I was able to get to Mass. Priests would show up just as I was off mission. We got stationed in Bagram for a short time, and while there I was able to go to Mass more than once a week, and there was even a Eucharistic chapel. I got moved to Sharana and about that time the Air Force chaplain showed up.
There were, however, times when I just couldn’t get to Mass. The spring of 2008, from the end of February almost to the end of the tour, I did not see a priest even once.
The lack of Confession was the most frightening to me. Since I was still a sinner, I still needed forgiveness as often and as direly as I ever had, but was unable to seek it out in the way I was accustomed to. I was still required to risk my life every day, unshriven. The fear of getting blown into little pieces with my soul all heavy with unconfessed sins was a very real thing that I had to come to terms with and doing so has forever altered and deepened my understanding of the Sacrament of Mercy. I may write about that someday.
However, right now I want to write about what that abstinence, just then, did for my understanding of the Eucharist.
The Air Force chaplain told me, “What we do here, in this little plywood building, does more good for this country than all the missions the military has ever run.”  In those long, empty months of spiritual isolation I came to understand that, in a way that transcended understanding. I was not sensible of any deep emotional hunger, but I knew that I was missing something.
Furthermore I knew, with the cold clear light of reason, that it was not something but rather Someone. I knew who He was, and I knew where to go to find Him. I watched my spiritual and emotional state slowly crumbling, my confidence in myself and my abilities being eroded (despite unparalleled success in all my missions). I learned the logic of nothingness, that I am emptiness needing to be filled. The Eucharist is the Fullness of He That IS, desiring to pour Himself into my emptiness.
When I returned home I began going to daily Mass. Every single day, if I could, I did. I didn’t  always want to. I didn’t always feel like it, but I knew that there was a time when I had felt the need. It was as if, by withdrawing Himself for that time (under one mode) God had given Himself more fully in another mode.
In the years since Afghanistan I have continued to go to daily Mass every time I get the chance. I still, don’t always feel like it. There are times I want to take a day off, and go take a leisurely lunch instead (on the very rare days when I actually have enough of a lunch hour to make Mass feasible.) But I made my choice four years ago in the desert and now it is just a matter of living up to it.
I was able to go to Mass this morning after a long, hard week of training. In my worship of the Eucharist I have so much to be thankful for. God has been shaping things. Opportunities for Mass still arise, seemingly out of nowhere (during a trip to Thailand this spring I got stationed in the one of the only cities outside of Bangkok with a Catholic Church and school) and today, after Mass, I realized something.
It hit my heart with a shuddering clarity of wonderment, that my desire for the Eucharist, for union with Jesus in that Blessed Sacrament, is a mere nothing. It is a shadow, a distant echo, of His desire to receive me in the Eucharist. For as surely as I receive Him, I am received up into Him, and this could only happen by His desire. He will, and Has, moved Heaven and Earth, to draw me to Him.
Every moment of my twenty-seven years He has been working tirelessly, ceaselessly, gently, to enkindle in me a spark of desire for Him. Even at my most desirous, that is all it is, a spark. Like trying to start a fire with tinder and flint, My desire for Him is just the tiny red glow on the very end of one miniscule filament of dried moss. It cannot sustain itself. It can be killed in an instant by a ghost of too much breath, or half a molecule too little breath. It cannot be fed twigs, or even straws yet. It wouldn’t know what to do with them. This tiny little glow is barely holding its own, unsure whether growing into a bonfire is really worth it, or whether it wouldn’t be much less bother simply to die out. But He will never quench that smoldering wick.
And God? God is the Sun! God is the boiling furnace of a thousand times a thousand suns, a blazing inferno (pun intended) of desire for me. God is the Love that exists from all eternity, Love that loved me into existence, Love that loves me into love with the Triune Love.
This is why I go to Communion! Not because I am so in love with God, but because He is eternally in love with me.
As of this writing I am facing the prospect of a very long time in a desert where there are no priests. At first this panicked me, but now I am at peace with it. The God who has worked so hard to bring me to Him (despite my best efforts to the contrary at times) will not abandon me. If it is His will to starve me for a year, or for the rest of my life, then starvation is what is best for me.
What saddens me, though, is the number of people who starve themselves. Millions upon millions of Americans live within walking distance, or ten minutes driving distance of a Catholic Church. Millions of people, all living next door to the God of the Universe, and yet daily Mass is empty. A handful of elderly retired people and a homeschooling family or two, that is all the attendance you are likely to get at the Eternal Sacrifice. In Afghanistan I would give up sleep, shower, food and internet time without a second thought if there was an opportunity for Mass, but here in the States it gets crowded out so easily. I do the same thing. I get busy. Other things crowd out what is truly important. Then the other things get taken away and I wonder what I ever saw in them.
So these days, when I receive the Eucharist I think about the people who want to receive and cannot. I feel sorry for them, and I pray for them, but they are not that badly off. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. I am far sorrier for those who do not hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who don’t even know enough to be hungry for the God who is hungry for them. I pray for those who starve themselves, day in and day out, years at a time, out of pride, ignorance, apathy, laziness, fear, doubt, insecurity, or just plain old human woundedness.
Lord, make them hungry.
Ryan Kraeger is a cradle Catholic homeschool graduate, currently serving as an Army Special Forces Medical Sergeant, stationed on the West Coast.

Full text: Pope's address to Congress

Full text of Pope Benedict XVI's taped address to the closing ceremony of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With great affection in the Lord, I greet all of you who have gathered in Dublin for the Fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress, especially Cardinal Brady, Archbishop Martin, the clergy, religious and faithful of Ireland, and all of you who have come from afar to support the Irish Church with your presence and prayers.

The theme of the Congress – Communion with Christ and with One Another – leads us to reflect upon the Church as a mystery of fellowship with the Lord and with all the members of his body. From the earliest times the notion of koinonia or communio has been at the core of the Church’s understanding of herself, her relationship to Christ her founder, and the sacraments she celebrates, above all the Eucharist. Through our Baptism, we are incorporated into Christ’s death, reborn into the great family of the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ; through Confirmation we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit; and by our sharing in the Eucharist, we come into communion with Christ and each other visibly here on earth. We also receive the pledge of eternal life to come.

The Congress also occurs at a time when the Church throughout the world is preparing to celebrate the Year of Faith to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council, an event which launched the most extensive renewal of the Roman Rite ever known. Based upon a deepening appreciation of the sources of the liturgy, the Council promoted the full and active participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic sacrifice. At our distance today from the Council Fathers’ expressed desires regarding liturgical renewal, and in the light of the universal Church’s experience in the intervening period, it is clear that a great deal has been achieved; but it is equally clear that there have been many misunderstandings and irregularities. The renewal of external forms, desired by the Council Fathers, was intended to make it easier to enter into the inner depth of the mystery. Its true purpose was to lead people to a personal encounter with the Lord, present in the Eucharist, and thus with the living God, so that through this contact with Christ’s love, the love of his brothers and sisters for one another might also grow. Yet not infrequently, the revision of liturgical forms has remained at an external level, and “active participation” has been confused with external activity. Hence much still remains to be done on the path of real liturgical renewal. In a changed world, increasingly fixated on material things, we must learn to recognize anew the mysterious presence of the Risen Lord, which alone can give breadth and depth to our life.

The Eucharist is the worship of the whole Church, but it also requires the full engagement of each individual Christian in the Church’s mission; it contains a call to be the holy people of God, but also one to individual holiness; it is to be celebrated with great joy and simplicity, but also as worthily and reverently as possible; it invites us to repent of our sins, but also to forgive our brothers and sisters; it binds us together in the Spirit, but it also commands us in the same Spirit to bring the good news of salvation to others.

Moreover, the Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, his body and blood given in the new and eternal covenant for the forgiveness of sins and the transformation of the world. Ireland has been shaped by the Mass at the deepest level for centuries, and by its power and grace generations of monks, martyrs and missionaries have heroically lived the faith at home and spread the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness well beyond your shores. You are the heirs to a Church that has been a mighty force for good in the world, and which has given a profound and enduring love of Christ and his blessed Mother to many, many others. Your forebears in the Church in Ireland knew how to strive for holiness and constancy in their personal lives, how to preach the joy that comes from the Gospel, how to promote the importance of belonging to the universal Church in communion with the See of Peter, and how to pass on a love of the faith and Christian virtue to other generations. Our Catholic faith, imbued with a radical sense of God’s presence, caught up in the beauty of his creation all around us, and purified through personal penance and awareness of God’s forgiveness, is a legacy that is surely perfected and nourished when regularly placed on the Lord’s altar at the sacrifice of the Mass. Thankfulness and joy at such a great history of faith and love have recently been shaken in an appalling way by the revelation of sins committed by priests and consecrated persons against people entrusted to their care. Instead of showing them the path towards Christ, towards God, instead of bearing witness to his goodness, they abused people and undermined the credibility of the Church’s message. How are we to explain the fact that people who regularly received the Lord’s body and confessed their sins in the sacrament of Penance have offended in this way? It remains a mystery. Yet evidently, their Christianity was no longer nourished by joyful encounter with Jesus Christ: it had become merely a matter of habit. The work of the Council was really meant to overcome this form of Christianity and to rediscover the faith as a deep personal friendship with the goodness of Jesus Christ. The Eucharistic Congress has a similar aim. Here we wish to encounter the Risen Lord. We ask him to touch us deeply. May he who breathed on the Apostles at Easter, communicating his Spirit to them, likewise bestow upon us his breath, the power of the Holy Spirit, and so help us to become true witnesses to his love, witnesses to the truth. His truth is love. Christ’s love is truth.

My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that the Congress will be for each of you a spiritually fruitful experience of communion with Christ and his Church. At the same time, I would like to invite you to join me in praying for God’s blessing upon the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in 2016 in the city of Cebu! To the people of the Philippines I send warm greetings and an assurance of my closeness in prayer during the period of preparation for this great ecclesial gathering. I am confident that it will bring lasting spiritual renewal not only to them but to all the participants from across the globe. In the meantime, I commend everyone taking part in the present Congress to the loving protection of Mary, Mother of God, and to Saint Patrick, the great patron of Ireland; and, as a token of joy and peace in the Lord, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

Cardinal Seán Brady says failure of Church to address issue of child abuse is a 'deep shame'

From http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0614/iec-2012-congress.html

Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Seán Brady has apologised for the failure of the Church to respond adequately to the victims of clerical child sexual abuse.

In his homily, Cardinal Brady said the Church's failure to listen to the victims of clerical child abuse is a matter of deep shame.
At mass in the RDS during the International Eucharistic Congress, Dr Brady said he wanted to apologise for "the times when some of us were blind to your fear, deaf to your cries and silent in response to your pain".
He said the victims were "little ones who were frightened, alone and in pain because someone was abusing them".
Dr Brady described the healing stone, which was placed in the arena on Sunday, as a reminder of "those children and young people who were hurt by a Church that first betrayed their trust and then failed to adequately respond to their pain".
He said what the stone represents is a stark warning that there can be no passing by on the other side and "no room for half-heartedness in our care for the vulnerable and the young".
Dr Brady prayed that one day the stone, which is inscribed with a survivor's prayer, might become a symbol of conversion, healing and hope and of a Church that has learned from the mistakes of the past.
He said the Church lamented the burdens of the painful memories carried by the survivors of abuse and prayed for healing and peace for those whose suffering continues.
Meanwhile, an organisation representing survivors of child abuse in the Catholic Church has criticised the organisers of the International Eucharist Congress for failing to consult victims' representative bodies before deciding to exclude them from the global event in Dublin.
Michael O'Brien of the Right to Peace organisation criticised the Secretary General of the Congress, Fr Kevin Doran, for saying survivors' groups were not invited to the gathering on the advice of people caring for victims and of some individual survivors.
Earlier today Fr Doran told journalists at the RDS there was a concern that bringing in groups would be seen as part of a public relations process.
He decided instead that any survivor who emailed him was provided with a pass to the Congress.
But Mr O'Brien told RTÉ News the Congress organisers should have contacted the representative organisations to ensure that all survivors got to know about the gathering.
He said those who wanted to go would have done so respectfully.

50th International Eucharistic Congress opens in Dublin

See:  http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0610/2012-eucharistic-congress-to-open-this-afternoon.html

For IEC 2012 News and Coverage

See: http://www.rte.ie/news/congress2012/

Vatican II did not downplay eucharistic adoration, pope says

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- A misunderstanding of the Second Vatican Council has led some Catholics to think that eucharistic adoration and Corpus Christi processions are pietistic practices that pale in importance to the celebration of Mass, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"A unilateral interpretation of the Second Vatican Council has penalized this dimension" of Catholic faith, which is to recognize Jesus truly present in the Eucharist and worthy of adoration, the pope said June 7 during a Mass marking the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

The evening Mass outside Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran preceded a moment of silent adoration and the pope's traditional Corpus Christi procession with the Eucharist through the streets of Rome.

In his homily, the pope told the thousands of people gathered on the basilica lawn that it is important to recognize the centrality of the celebration of Mass, the moment in which the Lord gathers his people, nourishes them and unites them to himself in offering his sacrifice.

But if Christ is seen as present in the Eucharist only during Mass, "this imbalance has repercussions on the spiritual life of the faithful," who need to be aware of "the constant presence of Jesus among us and with us," the pope said.

"The sacrament of the charity of Christ must permeate all one's daily life," he said.

Celebration and adoration are not in competition, the pope said. "Worshipping the Blessed Sacrament constitutes something like the spiritual environment in which the community can celebrate the Eucharist well and in truth."

Pope Benedict said Mass is most meaningful when the faithful recognize that in the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord is present, "awaits us, invites us to his table and then, after the assembly disperses, remains with us with his discrete and silent presence."

Spending time in prolonged silence before the Eucharist "is one of the most authentic experiences of our being church," and it finds its complement at Mass when Catholics "celebrate the Eucharist, listening to the word of God, singing, approaching together the table of the bread of life."

Truly entering into communion with someone, he said, is accompanied by "exchanging glances and intense, eloquent silences full of respect and veneration."

"If this dimension is missing, even sacramental communion can become a superficial gesture on our part," the pope said.

Pope Benedict said another misunderstanding -- one influenced "by a certain secular mentality" of the 1960s and '70s -- was the idea that the Bible teaches that with the coming of Christ, rituals and sacrifices no longer should have meaning; basically, he said, some people believe "the sacred no longer exists."

It is true that Christ inaugurated a new form of worship, one tied less to a place and a ritual and more to his person, but people still need "signs and rites," the pope said. In fact, without its annual Corpus Christi procession, "the spiritual profile of Rome" would change.

Preceded by members of parish eucharistic associations, children who recently made their first Communions, religious, seminarians, priests, bishops and cardinals walking to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Pope Benedict rode on the back of a truck facing the Blessed Sacrament, which was held in a gem-studded gold monstrance.

Thousands of people carrying candles walked behind the pope. People watching from the sidewalks behind metal barriers tossed flower petals in front of the truck and joined in singing eucharistic hymns and reciting litanies.

Darkness fell as the procession made its way to St. Mary Major, and the evening ended with the pope blessing the crowd with the Blessed Sacrament.

Receiving Holy Communion During Lent

A meditation from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

Of all the works whereby a Christian can sanctify the time of Lent, there is none so pleasing to God as to assist at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which is offered the Victim of man's salvation. But now that his own unworthiness is more than ever evident to him, ought he to abstain from partaking, by holy Communion, of this life-giving and purifying Host? Such is not our Saviour's will. He came down from heaven, not to judge, but to save us (St. John 3:17). He knows how long and rugged is the road we have to traverse, before we reach that happy day, on which we shall rest with Him, in the joy of His Resurrection. He has compassion on us; He fears lest we faint in the way (Mt. 15:32); and He, therefore, offers us the divine food, which gives light and strength to our souls, and refreshes them in their toil. We feel that our hearts are not yet pure enough; let us then, with a humble and contrite heart, go to Him, who has come that he may restore to our souls their original beauty. Let us, at all times, remember the solemn injunction which this Saviour so graciously deigned to give us: 'Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, ye shall not have life in you' (St. John 6:54).
If, therefore, sin has no longer dominion over us; if we have destroyed it by true sorrow and sincere confession, made efficacious by the absolution of God's priest: let us not deprive ourselves of the Bread of life (St. John 6:35), no matter how great soever our infirmities may seem; for it is for us that our Jesus has prepared the feast. If we feel that the chains of sin are still upon us; if by self-examination made with the light of the truth that is now granted to us, we discover in our souls certain stains, which the false principles of the world and too easy a conscience have hitherto made us overlook; let us lose no time, let us make a good confession: and when we have made our peace with the God of mercy, let us approach the holy Table, and receive the pledge of our reconciliation.
Yes, let us go to holy Communion, during this season of Lent, with a most heart-felt conviction of our unworthiness. If may be that hitherto we have sometimes gone with too much familiarity, on account of our not sufficiently understanding our nothingness, our misery, and the infinite holiness of of the God who thus unites Himself with His sinful creatures. Henceforth, our heart shall be more truthful; blending together the two sentiments of humility and confidence, we will say, with an honest conviction, those words of the centurion of the Gospel, which the Church puts upon our lips, when she is distributing to us the Bread of life: 'Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the world, and my souls shall be healed' (Mt. 8:8).

13,000 attend Knock Eucharistic Congress

From http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0625/knock.html

Around 13,000 people are attending the National Eucharistic Congress celebration in Knock, Co Mayo.

People have come from parishes all over the country.

The church is holding the event exactly one year ahead of an International Congress in 2012.

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said today's congress is part of a process of renewal.

Earlier this afternoon, the Sacrament of the sick was administered to hundreds of pilgrims both inside and outside the Basilica.

Cardinal Sean Brady is the principle celebrant of the Congress mass with most of the Irish bishops and 160 priests concelebrating.

Burning and Bleeding Host: A Eucharistic Miracle caught on camera

For video see: http://www.dsanford.com/miraclehost/hostvideo.wmv

THE BURNING, BLEEDING, BEATING HEART HOST
NOVEMBER 13, 1998
AUGUSTINIAN NUNS CHAPEL - LOS TEQUES, VENEZUELA

Filmed on RCA Camcorder by pilgrim Dan Sanford of N. J.

This film is actually a Miracle within a Miracle. The first miracle occurred in Betania, Venezuela, on December 8, 1991 -- Feast of the Immaculate Conception during the celebration of the Holy Mass at midnight. The celebrant, Father Otty Ossa Arstiza'bal, Betania Chaplain had just finished the Consecration, had broken the large Host into four pieces and took one piece of the Host for his consumption and placed the remaining portions on the plate on the altar. When he looked down at the remaining Host, to his amazement he saw a red substance coming out of the Host which he described as if it was spurting from a wound. He placed the Host in a Chalice and put it in the Tabernacle until 6 A. M. the next morning. When he looked at it again it was still bleeding so he placed it in a Monstrance and took it to show the people at Mass. Eyewitnesses saw the Host bleeding and blood accumulating on the bottom of the Monstrance and some filmed it on their camcorders. Bishop Ricardo of Los Teques was advised and he had the Host tested in Caracus and was told that the red substance was in fact Human Blood. Subsequently, the Miracle Host was taken to the convent of the Augustinian Nuns in Los Teques for safekeeping, adoration and visitation by pilgrims. This was the reason, Dan Sanford went to Los Teques on November 13, 1998, to see the Miraculous Bleeding Host and was when he filmed this second miraculous event concerning this Host.

Why visit Betania in the first place? Betania is the apparition site where mystic Maria Esperanza Bianchini experiences apparitions of the Blessed Mother. It is only the fourth site in the twentieth century approved by the Roman Catholic Church as a place worthy of pilgrimage and celebration of the sacraments of Mass and Reconciliation. Betania is also the only apparition site known in the world where others besides the visionary have seen the Blessed Mother. In March, 1984, 108 people experienced seeing the Blessed Mother at that site, beginning first with a group of children who excitedly reported to the adults that the Blessed Mother was in the trees near the jungle edge. The adults ran to the scene and also experienced seeing her. Their descriptions varied because they saw her under different titles. Some reported seeing her as Our Lady of Lourdes, others as the image of the Miraculous Medal and others as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Many cried and didn't know why they we! re crying. None were in a state of ecstasy or trance but were fully aware of their of their senses and surroundings. Our Lady appeared seven times that day for 10-15 minutes at a time to those present. Thereafter, the Bishop investigated the site and sent a letter to Rome on March 21, 1987 announcing his approval of Betania as a valid apparition site.

Who is Maria Esperanza Bianchini? Maria is a wife, mother of 7 children and a grandmother. Since she was a child she has experienced supernatural visitations from The Blessed Mother, Jesus and Saints. At age 5, she saw St. Theresa, The Little Flower; at age 12 the first visit from Blessed Mother and at age 14 The Blessed Mother told her about Betania. Being very religious, in 1954 she entered a convent but shortly later, on October 3, 1954, St. Theresa came to her and told her that her vocation in life was to become a wife and mother not a religious. She met her future husband in Rome and on December 8, 1956 they were married in Rome.

Maria had her first apparition of the Blessed Mother in Betania on March 25, 1976 and these were private apparitions. In 1978, Rome was advised of her situation. But on March 25, 1984, the Feast of the Annunciation, her apparitions changed from private to public when the 108 people also saw the Blessed Mother in Betania. Our Lady comes to Maria under the title of "Reconciler of People and Nations" and per Her request, a new church has been built by the Bishop and given this title. Her message is the same worldwide. She begs for all of Her children, regardless of faith, race, nationality, to Return to Her Son, Pray the 15 Decades of the Rosary as a weapon to overcome man's evil material ways and determination to destroy the world with armaments. She says only the Rosary will bring peace.

Betania is blessed with supernatural events such as mysterious fogs, intensive light, appearance of abundant flowers, especially roses - sounds of choirs singing hymns, mysterious rose petals falling from the sky, photographic phenomena and miraculous water, sometimes smelling like roses with many miraculous cures associated with the site.

This film is one more miracle given to us by the grace of God to help us recognize the true presence of His beloved Son in the Holy Eucharist.

(This video may be obtained by writing to:
Daniel Sanford
329 Cypress Ave.
Woodlynne, NJ 08107

The video is offered 'free of charge' but any donations to defray costs and to assist in furthe distribution of this wondrous video are gratefully appreciated.)

It also had a Letter of Approval from the Bishop of Los Teques, + Pio Bello, S. J., Bishop Emeritus of Los Teques, dated January 25, 1999, -- here are (sic) excerpts:

"After seeing the tape I became impressed.

As you should know, the experts in Spiritual Theology interpret the authentic visions as a mental phenomenon, that is, as an hallucination produced by God. They admit the possibility of optical visions, that is visions in which an object exterior to the seer is perceived by his eyes. Of this kind are the apparitions of Christ to the Apostles after his resurrection.

That a concrete vision is optical or only a mental one can be concluded by its characteristics. In your case your vision could be interpreted as a mental phenomenon since it was seen only by you and not by the other witnesses that were present.

But if we presume that hypothesis, it becomes outstanding that your filming camera could perceive and record your mental phenomenon against the laws of the Physic, since a camera, as the eye, can perceive only real objects that reflect the light.

So, in any hypothesis or in any case, the filming of your vision points out the hand of God.

Continue evangelizing about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic with the help of this impressive tape."

Paul Comtois: A Modern Day Politican who became a Martyr of the Eucharist

From http://catholicism.org/paul-comtois.html

"A Modern Catholic Hero: Paul Comtois
Posted By The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary On October 14, 2008 Compiled from Various Sources
Early in the morning of Monday, February 21st, 1966, with the outside temperature about 20 degrees below zero, the historic old mansion that served as Government House in Sillery, Quebec, Canada, caught fire and, as the Fire Chief on the scene later described, “… went up like matchwood.” Initial reports told of a man seen shepherding his wife, daughter, staff and guests from the house. Then that same man deliberately walked back into the blazing inferno that had been known as Bois de Coulonges Manor, official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec. He never walked out.
Who was that man? What could have been his reason for putting his life in such great danger?
The answer is simply this: Someone he loved more than life itself was still in the house!
Three days after the fire, a French priest in Quebec, Father J.M. Laplante, O.M.I., wrote an explanatory article for the Wanderer, which appeared in its issue dated March 10, 1966. We quote from his article:
No Greater Love
Wanderer readers may have heard that Lieutenant-Governor Paul Comtois, personal representative of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England, perished on Monday morning, February 21st, in the fire that de­stroyed the 105 year-old Bois de Coulonges Manor, at Sillery, Quebec.
For your American readers, permit me to explain the role of a governor or viceroy in the Canadian political system. As we all know, the Queen of the United Kingdom reigns, but does not govern. She is, rather, a figurehead, a moral authority. In Canada we still have the British system, and the Queen is officially represented in Ottawa by a Governor General, and, in each Province of the Confederation, by a Lieutenant-Governor. So, in the Province of Quebec, His Excellency Paul Comtois was holding that high office.
Mr. Comtois had been elected a Member of Parliament in Ottawa for Nicolet County in the fifties, and when the Conservative Party won the election in 1954, under the leadership of Honorable John Diefenbaker, he was chosen as a Cabinet Minister. Finally, he was selected to succeed Mr. Onesime Gagnon, as Lieutenant-Governor, when the latter died.
Paul Comtois was known to be a most personable man, a popular socialite, with an exquisite French courtesy, and most of all, a true Catholic, a faithful servant of the Church.
On the early morning of February 21st last, when the fire began in the Bois de Coulonge Manor, Mrs. Comtois was in bed. There were visitors in the castle, ten occupants in all. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to act. He took his wife in his arms and brought her outside. His daughter, Mireile, and all the other occupants were shepherded out by His Excellency himself. Then, as his daughter wanted to return to the house, he gave her explicit orders to STAY OUT. He himself went upstairs to his private chapel to rescue the Holy Species.
Unfortunately, whether he could not open the tabernacle because of the progress of the fire, or whether the smoke was too heavy, at any rate he was able to get hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. It was a sublime act of faith, a beautiful response to the recent encyclical, Mysterium Fidei, that a man laid down his life as a strong believer in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, a martyr of Jesus in the Host.
The news was first released that Monday morning by CTC, a National network. But afterwards, there was no mention of that incident. I wondered how the world conspirators, the modernist dictatorship, the Left-wing Catholics, who control vast segments of our news media, would handle the case. I did not have long to wait.
Last night, February 23rd, the CBF (French channel) timidly an­nounced the truth, but warned that there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois. Because, as you know, the Left-wing elements - Catholic or otherwise - get along so well together -are against triumphalism, and maximalism in the display of our faith. The Church must confess its sins, deplore its bad and outmoded traditions, but never lapse into exaltation of its truths, or the holiness of its members.
So it is! The Left-wing press: LeDevoir, La Presse, of Montreal, Le Soleil of Quebec City, played down the wonderful deed. There was and is no editorial dedicated to it. It would be too Catholic, and Paul Comtois was a conservative Catholic at that.
In other times, that news would have covered the world with headlines. But nowadays? I doubt if La Croix and Les Informations Catholiques Internationales of Paris, or the U.S.A. Liberal Catholic week­lies will give much coverage or comment to that sublime act of faith.
But what an act of reparation, nonetheless, for the Left-wing priests who do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, or who throw away the consecrated hosts after the celebration of the Mass is over! The fact that, in 1966, a politician, a statesman, the Anglican Queen’s immediate representative in Quebec, imitated the gesture of St. Tarcisius should be shouted from the rooftops. Seldom before did we realize that conservative Catholics such as these are the true Church, that their belief is ABSOLUTE, that the privilege of having Christ as guest in the house implies the duty of attempting to SAVE HIM in His sacrament, even at the loss of His host’s life. Yes. His Excellency Paul Comtois, host of Christ in Bois de Coulonges Manor, gave up his life for the sake of Christ the Host! May his merits earn for the Province of Quebec the grace to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and in the tabernacle till the end of time!
But the Wanderer although read and much trusted in ROME has a relatively small circulation and the affirmation of Paul Comtois was not - in Father Laplante’s words - “shouted from the rooftops”. His imitation “of the gesture of St. Tarcisius” had been virtually suppressed, much to the relief of the Left­wing Establishment in the Catholic and secular world. After all, hadn’t they warned us “there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois.”
And they were true to their word. Except for a single reference to the incident, five years later, in the Church bulletin of the Canadian Armed Forces base in Cold Lake, Alberta, dated February 14th, 1971, it became a dead story. But then, quite suddenly, it came to life again.
In 1973, a gentleman by the name of Larry Henderson became Editor of The Catholic Register, the largest of all English language Catholic newspapers in the bilingual country of Canada. In the issue dated February 23, 1974, Mr. Henderson wrote this piece:
The Death of Paul Comtois
It is a truly extraordinary thing that I am going to tell you - but the most extraordinary thing about it is that you have probably never heard of it before. It concerns the holy death of a Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Paul Comtois.
The facts are quite straightforward. Just eight years ago, on Feb. 21st, 1966, fire destroyed the Lieutenant-Governor’s mansion at Silery, Que­bec. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to notice smoke. There were ten occupants of the chateau including his wife and daughter. The Lieutenant-Governor brought them all outside to safety. Then he returned himself inside the blazing building to rescue the Blessed Sacrament in his private chapel.
Apparently, he was unable to open the tabernacle door. At any rate, he succeeded in getting hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. Such are the facts.
What is not so clear is why this extraordinary action went unreported at the time and has since remained virtually unknown. After checking the story out, I came to the conclusion that this act, which would have become a part of the history of mankind in any other time, has been deliberately overlooked today.
Of course, to the agnostic world, such an act is incomprehensible. Yet even so, the sheer sensationalism of it would seem to have warranted front page play in the secular press. It did not. Le Devoir and La Presse passed it over in silence. Furthermore, the Catholic press was not informed. What are we to conclude? Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
Mr. Henderson promptly ordered a full report. It was prepared by a very experienced Quebec newspaperman Myles O’Farrell and appeared in the Catholic Register March 2nd, 1974. In Mr. O’Farrell’s fuller investigation, it will be noticed that Paul Comtois had actually reached the pyx, which was found safely under his body. Yet Lt. Col. J.P. Martin, chief aide-de-camp, had reported, “The fire started as though it were in a matchbox. It was incredible to see with what speed the flames spread through the building.” The heat of the crackling flames was in acid contrast to the 20-degree-below-zero temperature in Quebec City. Despite the wintry weather, the firemen could not approach closer than 100 feet, and hoses were continually freezing. But Paul Comtois could - and did. Mr. O’Farrell’s full report in the Catholic Register, March 2nd, 1974 read:
How Comtois Died with Host In His Hands
Quebec City - There is little doubt left today that eight years ago - on February 21st, 1966 - Paul Comtois, 70, Quebec’s 21st Lieutenant­-Governor, burned to death while trying to save the Holy Eucharist from the fire that destroyed the governor’s Bois de Coulonges residence at Sillery, Quebec.
Maurice Cardinal Roy, Primate of Canada and Archbishop of Quebec, said at the time: “Mr. Comtois, as a Christian, gave an example of wisdom and goodness, humility, and radiant faith.”
Still, Paul Comtois’s heroic sacrifice remains officially unrecognized and was very lightly passed over by the secular press.
However, it is now firmly established from eye-witness testimony, that, instead of escaping himself as he could have, Paul Comtois, like the captain of a sinking ship, refused to leave the burning building until all his guests, staff and family members had reached safety.
Then in a desperate attempt to fulfill his last obligation in saving the Holy Eucharist in the family chapel from the flames, he himself perished. The pyx, the sacred vessel in which the Host is kept after consecration, was found under his charred body as proof of his near-success.
His daughter, Mireille, told how: “As I was racing through the building to escape from the fire, I came upon my father in the chapel. As I was going to run to him, he firmly ordered me to jump from a nearby window and I did, wondering why he did not do likewise. The last I saw of him, he was standing under the sanctuary lamp in his pajamas and wearing around his neck the souvenir Rosary from his father which he said every night and wore to sleep.” “My father,” Mireille continued, “would visit the chapel each night before retiring to say his prayers.” His mother was a McCaffrey, right from Ireland, and even though he was a devout man, he held a certain disdain for death.
“My father once told me that he had difficulty in being granted the special permission from the Cardinal to permanently keep the Blessed Sacrament in the private chapel. When he finally was given this permission, it was on condition that he be personally responsible for its safe and proper keeping. And my father was a man who lived up to his obligations at all costs.”
“I was told,” she continued, ‘that when they found him, his body was badly burned and his arms were no longer intact; but my father was a big stocky man and under the upper part of his body they found the pyx used to carry the Holy Eucharist. His body had saved it from the flames . . . I can still picture him standing there in the light of the sanctuary lamp.”
Brian Turpin, a Quebec City fireman among the first to locate Mr. Comtois’s body, said: “We found him face down, his body badly burned amongst the sacred vestments scattered on the chapel floor. The small case for the Host was at his front. His arms had been burned off and were separated from his body on the floor.”
Mac Stearns, a Quebec industrialist and overnight guest of the Gov­ernor’s residence, commented: “I jumped to safety from a second story balcony, injuring my back in doing so and was hospitalized for some time after. My wife and I were good friends of the Comtois family. We were in the habit of visiting one another. I grew to be a close friend and admirer of Paul Comtois. He was a very sincere person, deeply concerned with the problems of humanity.”
“His tremendous religious faith impressed me greatly and was no doubt instrumental in my embracing the Catholic faith some time after his death. Knowing his great fervor for the Blessed Sacrament,” Mr. Stearns added, “I have no doubt whatsoever that Paul would do all in his power to rescue the Holy Eucharist from the fire.”
Paul Comtois was born in Pierreville, Quebec, on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, August 22nd, 1895. He first entered politics in 1930 and was defeated by one vote. In June, 1957, he entered the House of Commons as member for Nicolet-Yamaska. On Oct. 1st, 1961, he was appointed Quebec Lieutenant-Governor by John Diefenbaker, then Prime Minister.
This beautiful story of the noble death of Paul Comtois was published in booklet form in 1988 by a dear friend, Mr. John Cotter of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The booklet bore the title The Affirmation of Paul Comtois, and had an introduction written by another dear friend, Sister Maureen Peckham, R.S.C.J. With the permission of Mr. Cotter, we have presented the story in substantially the same manner as did he. With the permission of Sister Maureen, we will close this story of a true Catholic hero of our time with, but for one slight change, the exact words she wrote as an introduction:
Epilogue
Over twenty years have passed since, in an act of gallant generosity, a supernaturally splendid ‘beau geste’, Paul Comtois, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec, laid down his life for his Friend in the Blessed Sacrament. His story, far from making the headlines, was considered, by the secular press, not newsworthy, and, by the Catholic press, an embarrassment. The Church of the second half of the 20th century is, to its shame, not noted for its faith in the Blessed Sacrament, and, one can only deduce that it was fear of being considered foolish and old-womanish - or, worse still, old hat - by an unbelieving world that caused the leaders of the Church in Quebec to pass over, in blushing silence, Mr. Comtois’ noble deed.
Yet, Paul Comtois was a man of the world, a well-known socialite, one who had reached the heights of worldly glory; he was one whom the world could recognize as its own. Furthermore, his chivalrous and brave death should, even on the human and worldly level, have merited him the title of hero. That he, who had been honored by the world during his lifetime, should have been ignored by the world at the moment of his death, can only be explained by the fact that he died for One Whom the world does not recognize and has ever refused to acknowledge.
The glorious martyrdom of Paul Comtois, passed over as it was by an unbelieving world, and by an all too unbelieving Church, has, nonetheless, remained in the faithful memory of God’s true friends. That one of these should today be putting into print Mr. Comtois’ shining witness of charity, in its radical and essential loveliness, is indeed a welcome and joyous event. May this inspiring story enflame the hearts of all who read it with an undying love for the Lord of the Tabernacle."