A Monstrance Experience:
Viewing a monstrance is always a grace filled experience for me. Recently I was privileged to visit a delightful primary school in a diocese. During my visit the local deacon came and did a monthly afternoon of Eucharistic Adoration for the students and staff.
It was simple, but a deeply prayerful arrangement. The Blessed Sacrament was respectfully exposed in a monstrance with flowers and candles. It took place in the hallway of the school. Each class was quietly brought by to genuflect and sit near to Jesus. They spent 10-15 minutes in silent adoration and prayer.
In most schools, by Friday afternoon the kids are restless and looking forward to a weekend. However, these youngsters were impeccable in their sense of reverence, awe, and respect of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ.
The teachers [not all Catholic] had obviously prepared them well and they were accustomed to being prayerful, calm, and meditative.
Insights I Learned:
Two insights from Scripture struck me as I prayed with the children who were keeping watch with the Lord.
1. The words of Jesus to “come away and rest a while” which these children were doing amidst the busyness of the school day.
2. The exhortation of St. Paul, “put on the mind of Christ”
Sitting there watching them pray it occurred to me that children don’t need the latest ‘fad’ of mindfulness techniques. These fads do not bring the peace we desire. All we need is the Prince of Peace who alone gives the peace the world cannot give.
The children were open, friendly, and genuinely interested in me as a visitor. The principal was like a mother to all the children [all 480 of them!]. She knew the name of every single child. It was Catholic education at its best; natural, holistic and familial.
Witness to the Real Presence:
As the prayer concluded, my final thought were the words of the late Joachim Cardinal Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne . He said, “the face is the monstrance of the soul.” As I looked on the innocent faces of these children who were gazing on Lord in the monstrance, it was a moment of profound grace. I was able to see the beauty and dignity of the ‘sacred altar’ on the innocent soul of a child. One day we WILL be judged on how we have preserved that ‘altar’. Not just for our own children but all children who come within the sphere of our influence.
