An Honor Not Taken Lightly
Stories
Vision Stories
True Accounts Of Visions, Angels, And Healing Miracles
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. (vv. 1-4)
One winter evening, while working in a group home for people with mental disabilities, I took a resident to Saturday evening mass. Her name was Susie. She was a 36-year-old woman with Down's Syndrome. Susie seemed to have two primary interests: eating and hugging. Though eating gave her great pleasure, her food required special preparation, as Susie was missing all of her teeth due to years of dental neglect at a state institution. She also loved to sit down close to a person and hold them for as long as they were willing.
Our activity that evening was church. Neither Susie nor I were Catholic, but St. Alphonsus Church was close, and the early evening service was convenient.
Throughout the Liturgy of the Word, Susie sat close to me, patting my hand as though she were reassuring me that everything would be all right. She passed the time by taking off and putting on her socks and shoes during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. While reciting the Lord's Prayer, she sounded like she was speaking in tongues. We were all invited to pass the peace, however many passed over Susie. As we began to sing, "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world," Susie jumped to her feet and we proceeded to the table as the choir sang a Marty Haugen hymn:
Now in this banquet, Christ is our bread; Here shall all hungers be fed.
Bread that is broken, wine that is poured, Love is the sign of our Lord.1
We arrived at the Banquet table to receive the bread. The priest hesitated slightly when he saw her. He looked at me. I then showed Susie how to cup her hands to receive the Host, and she followed my lead. Taking her action as a sign to proceed, the priest pressed the round white Body of Christ into her palm. Susie looked at it with interest, picked it up with her small right thumb and index finger, and twirled it skillfully, like a magician performing a coin trick. She then handed it back to the priest. From the startled look on his face, I could tell that that had never happened before. His eyes were strained and he again looked to me for help. To relieve the awkwardness, I received Christ's body from her and we recessed back to our place.
Once seated in our pew, thinking the wafer may have been too large for her to chew, I began to break it and spoke the words, "Take and eat, this is my body, broken for you." Then something happened: something that I cannot explain. As I handed her the pieces to eat, the words I had just spoken seemed to reverberate deep within me and began to slowly ascend, until I heard them not in my own voice, but in Susie's. I felt that I was in the presence of Christ, and that I had just fed him. Trembling with awe-filled joy, like Mother Mary I continue to ponder this experience in my heart.
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1. Marty Haugen, "Now In This Banquet," GIA Publications, 1986.
One winter evening, while working in a group home for people with mental disabilities, I took a resident to Saturday evening mass. Her name was Susie. She was a 36-year-old woman with Down's Syndrome. Susie seemed to have two primary interests: eating and hugging. Though eating gave her great pleasure, her food required special preparation, as Susie was missing all of her teeth due to years of dental neglect at a state institution. She also loved to sit down close to a person and hold them for as long as they were willing.
Our activity that evening was church. Neither Susie nor I were Catholic, but St. Alphonsus Church was close, and the early evening service was convenient.
Throughout the Liturgy of the Word, Susie sat close to me, patting my hand as though she were reassuring me that everything would be all right. She passed the time by taking off and putting on her socks and shoes during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. While reciting the Lord's Prayer, she sounded like she was speaking in tongues. We were all invited to pass the peace, however many passed over Susie. As we began to sing, "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world," Susie jumped to her feet and we proceeded to the table as the choir sang a Marty Haugen hymn:
Now in this banquet, Christ is our bread; Here shall all hungers be fed.
Bread that is broken, wine that is poured, Love is the sign of our Lord.1
We arrived at the Banquet table to receive the bread. The priest hesitated slightly when he saw her. He looked at me. I then showed Susie how to cup her hands to receive the Host, and she followed my lead. Taking her action as a sign to proceed, the priest pressed the round white Body of Christ into her palm. Susie looked at it with interest, picked it up with her small right thumb and index finger, and twirled it skillfully, like a magician performing a coin trick. She then handed it back to the priest. From the startled look on his face, I could tell that that had never happened before. His eyes were strained and he again looked to me for help. To relieve the awkwardness, I received Christ's body from her and we recessed back to our place.
Once seated in our pew, thinking the wafer may have been too large for her to chew, I began to break it and spoke the words, "Take and eat, this is my body, broken for you." Then something happened: something that I cannot explain. As I handed her the pieces to eat, the words I had just spoken seemed to reverberate deep within me and began to slowly ascend, until I heard them not in my own voice, but in Susie's. I felt that I was in the presence of Christ, and that I had just fed him. Trembling with awe-filled joy, like Mother Mary I continue to ponder this experience in my heart.
____________
1. Marty Haugen, "Now In This Banquet," GIA Publications, 1986.
