March 18, 2019

Listening to the Car in the Radio

Yesterday, I was driving in the car, listening to a Catholic radio talk show. The subject was the extent to which the priest scandal was even causing people to question their commitment to the Catholic faith. The conversation was ranging in various directions, when a woman called up and said that she, personally, would never question her own faith. She could sympathize with or understand why some may be very affected by the scandal and the betrayal of trust by leaders who are supposed to believe (in the Pauline sense of belief producing corresponding actions) in the core precepts of Christianity more than the rest of us, who have not overtly dedicated our entire lives to the service of Christ. She will never, however, leave the Church for a larger reason – Christ Himself. And why does the Roman Catholic Church mean Christ to her? The reason, she was, was “an extraordinary experience” she had in the presence of the Eucharist. She did not volunteer more.

Was this experience merely a singularly unique moment in prayer? Even that will not explain the resulting effect, which caused her to believe in the teachings of the Church such that no amount of corruption, scandal or wrongdoing could make her leave. The teachings of the Church on the Eucharist are of course that it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ Himself. The word, “extraordinary,” simply means something outside the ordinary. An experience in Adoration or at Mass that is “extraordinary,” with the effect she admits, undoubtedly points to something with a mystical aspect.

It is not necessary for us to know the details. The salient point is she had this experience. It happens to people. It happens and they are reluctant to talk about it. It happens more than we know. It happens because Christ cares for each of us, cares about our problems, our struggles and our daily lives.

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