THE SACRED HEART

It had been a lovely service, and now the congregation was lining up in front of the pulpit and the altar, for Holy Communion. A Sacred Heart statue stood a saintly sentinel as the people awaited the bread and wine. His eyes pierced through all, as if they were piercing through the hearts of men. The first in line was young teenage girl whose father was a bit of an abusive drunk. She had trouble at home and also at school. 'The body of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The body of Christ.' she responded and ate the wafer of bread. 'The blood of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The blood of Christ.' she responded and drank from the cup. Next was a middle-aged woman who had recently cheated on her husband and was at a loss as what to do about the matter. Their relationship hand marriage had been souring ever since.   'The body of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The body of Christ.' she responded and ate the wafer of bread. 'The blood of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The blood of Christ.' she responded and drank from the cup. Then came and aging businessman who had defrauded his company of a great sum, and up to now, no-one was any the wiser except he himself. A slight sweat broke out from under his collar as the Priest said;  'The body of Christ.'  'The body of Christ.' he responded, swallowed slightly, and ate the wafer of bread. 'The blood of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The blood of Christ.' he responded and drank from the cup. Then came an old tradesman who was sadly in debt to some bad customers due to a failed gambling bet. The old man looked beaten and tired.   'The body of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The body of Christ.' he responded and ate the wafer of bread. 'The blood of Christ.' said the Priest. 'The blood of Christ.' he responded and swallowed from the cup. And so they passed the altar one by one and shared in the Holy Communion in front of the altar and the Priest. All sinners and martyrs in human form. All lost souls seeking eternally for some unfound redemption. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. When the service was concluded the people filed out of the Church, all except a small boy who was still kneeling in prayer in front of the altar, when everyone else had left. He looked up an then he fancied he saw a tear rolling down the eye of the Sacred Heart statue. As if Jesus himself was crying unseen tears for the lost souls of men. He thought about this deeply as he turned around and left. What a beautiful service it had been.