By Maria Cintorino, Catholic Exchange, July 19, 2022
Maria Cintorino is an educator who lives in Northern Virginia. She has been published in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Our Sunday Visitor’s “Catholic Answers”, The Imaginative Conservative, Dappled Things, and Crisis Magazine.
The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our lives, as St. John Paul II often reminded the world. In these next few years of Eucharistic Revival, it would be good to look to the example of the saints to learn about their devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, and how we can best emulate their devotion.
Saint Tarcisius: As relayed by tradition, Tarcisius was a young Roman boy who lived during the reign of Emperor Valerian. As the early Church was being persecuted, the faithful were forced to worship in secret. One day, after a Mass which Tarcisius was present, the bishop asked if a member of the congregation would be willing to carry the Blessed Sacrament to their fellow Christians who were imprisoned, as it was too dangerous a task for the clergy. Tarcisius bravely volunteered. After some instruction which entailed the necessity to keep the Blessed Sacrament safe at all costs, Tarcisius ventured off on his journey. …
