A heart stolen by Christ

In the April 2009 issue of First Things, the late Father Richard John Neuhaus offers a quote by Henri de Lubac regarding what Neuhaus calls being an “ecclesiastical Christian” (93). In The Splendor of the Church, de Lubac writes:

Anyone who is possessed by a similar desire will not find it enough to be loyal or obedient to perform exactly everything demanded by his profession of the Catholic faith. Such a man will have fallen in love with the beauty of the house of God; the Church will have stolen his heart.

“Which is to say,” says Neuhaus, “that Christ has stolen his heart.”

Friday afternoon I celebrated Mass in the church for the high school students. It was a beautiful day Friday and the students walked the three blocks from the high school to the church at 2:00 p.m. Perhaps not the best idea before Mass.

I remember being in high school, which may have something to do with why I get along so well with the high school students. I remember the excitement of a Friday afternoon, especially so close to the end of the school day. I remember the restlessness of a beautiful spring day. But I also remember knowing the proper attitude of one inside a church in the presence of God.

Upon entering the church most of the students apparently failed to remember not only what building they had entered but also whose presence they had entered. The talked loudly, few genuflected and even fewer seemed to pray.

My blood, one might say, began to boil. I reminded them that ought to be quiet in a church, both to pray and, even should they not wish to pray, to allow others the opportunity to pray. It was an admonition that fell apparently on deaf ears.

In that moment I realized I was angry because of the tremendous lack of respect shown to the Eucharistic Lord. I was angry because of the offense given him.

I could have been angry because the students had failed to listen to or take to heart what I have so often said to them in other contexts, but I was not. I was angry on behalf of the Lord, because, as Neuhaus says, he had stolen my heart.

This afternoon before Mass in which our second graders received the Precious Body and Blood of the Lord for the first time, the situation was much the same as Friday afternoon. People were visiting loudly and the noise level was such that anyone who was able to stay focused in prayer must surely already be a Saint.

I was angry once again on behalf of the Lord.

How is this lamentable and dangerous situation to be righted when the children learn it from their parents? We try to impress upon the children – both younger and older – the great importance of the Eucharist, that the Lord is truly Risen and present among us – and the adults treat the church as a theatre, as though God were absent and irrelevant.

This morning at Mass, a young lady approached to receive Holy Communion. “The Body of Christ,” I said to her. She simply looked at me, with hands outstretched to receive the Lord. I said, “Amen?” She whispered it back and so I gave her Holy Communion. She started to walk, apparently with no intention of consuming the Eucharist. I abandoned my post in pursuit and grabbed her elbow. “Are you going to consume it,” I asked. She did so.

I realized at that moment that I would gladly give my life in defense of the Holy Eucharist. Yes, Christ has stolen my heart, and I am glad to me an ecclesiastical Christian.

From a very young age I fell in love with the beauty of the house of God. How do I help others do the same? How do I show them the beauty of the Church? How can I help them experience the wondrous love of Christ?