Heroic Act of Adoration

 

            A few years ago, I heard a beautiful story told at a talk and it really touched me.  To my dismay, I eventually forgot the details, making it impossible for me to find a written account of it. However, I held out hope that I would stumble upon it someday throughout my various reading materials…and I was not disappointed! A few weeks ago, as I was working through Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Therese, I found the story, captured in more detail than before. It took me by surprise, as finding it wasn’t on my mind at that moment, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise!

             I want to share some of my delight and tell the story. So here is the account (taken from the book, which credits the story to the Cardinal Kung Foundation):        

            “There was a little Chinese girl of 11 years. When the Communists took over China, they imprisoned her parish pastor in his own rectory near the church.

            “After they locked him up, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the church. There they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor, with all the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts were in the ciborium: 32.

            “When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn’t pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the church. She saw everything that had happened.

            “Late that night, the little girl came back. Slipping past the guard at the priest’s house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred.

            “After her holy hour, she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over, and, with her tongue, received Jesus in Holy Communion (since it was not permissible at that time for laypersons to touch the Sacred Host with their hands),

            “The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second Host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the sleeping guard. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle.

            “This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the grief-stricken priest as he watched from his bedroom window.”

            Isn’t that beautiful? Here is a child willing to risk her life, and perhaps many others, in reparation for hatred. Her life became a living witness to Our Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament, and she took it upon herself to atone for the desecrations and defilements that His love exposes Himself to.

            She really puts our whole lives into perspective. In fact, her story even inspired the holy bishop’s promise to make a daily Holy Hour. We can also ask ourselves in response to these examples: Do I adore Christ under the guise of bread and wine? When I enter a church or chapel where He is present in the Tabernacle, do I conduct myself with the modesty and respect that is due in the presence of a king? Am I mindful of the incredible honor He has bestowed upon us in giving us this precious gift? What am I willing to do for the Holy Eucharist?

            Even now Jesus Christ is hidden in our Tabernacle, just waiting (even begging!) for us to join Him and keep Him company. And if it is not possible to be physically present with Him, we can always unite ourselves spiritually to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.