I've listened to the CD, and it is tremendously moving. You can order it at CatholiCity for $1. Flynn does a great job of bringing the subject alive, to get us thinking about how we approach the Lord in Holy Communion, examining our complacency. I'm in the process of reading the book. Flynn is especially fond of quoting St. Faustina, such as where Jesus said to St. Faustina:
Oh, how painful it is to me that souls so seldom unite themselves to me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls and they are indifferent toward me. I love them tenderly and sincerely and they distrust me. I want to lavish my graces on them and they do not want to accept them. They treat me as a dead object, whereas my heart is full of love and mercy.
In the CD, Flynn asks us to imagine a non-Catholic coming to mass, seeing everyone get up at one point, form a line, and go up to the altar to receive what appears to be a wafer. As Flynn says, do we think that the non-Catholic observer would ever come to the conclusion, based on the demeanor of these people, that what they are receiving is alive? Quoting Pope John Paul II, Flynn says that we must re-awaken a "Eucharistic amazement." We treat the Eucharist as something commonplace, forgetting that it is truly extraordinary.
A passenger on US Air Flight 1549, the "Miracle on the Hudson," tells of reading 7 Secrets of the Eucharist while waiting for the flight to begin. His name is Fred Berretta, and the letter he wrote to Flynn is available at Catholic.net. He said that Flynn's book gave him great comfort as they were going down.
Get the CD. Get the book. I'll be writing more on these and some other CDs from Catholic City in upcoming posts.
2 comments:
Thank you for that very inspiring review! I will add it to my "to-read" list.
Since you seem to like good Catholic books, if you're not too busy for Lent, maybe you will consider joining us at Benedict's Book Club. We're going to be reading Fr. Neuhaus's book, Death on a Friday Afternoon.
I've read the first chapter so far and it's an incredible book.
Thanks for your comments on my review. I just finished reading 7 Secrets of the Eucharist last night. Very enjoyable. I'll be writing more on it soon.
I have always loved to hear Fr. Neuhaus speak - he was so learned, so thoughtful, so witty, and so faith-filled. I was very saddened at his passing. I have never read any of his books, and this sounds like a great opportunity to do that. I have ordered Death on a Friday Afternoon, and I would enjoy very much joining Benedict's Book Club. Thanks for the invitation.
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