It seems that even the normal level of distractions we face during the year is amplified as Christmas approaches. Decorating, shopping, planning and preparing can crowd out the most important preparation of all. However, Christmas is supposed to be a season of joyful expectation as we await the birth of the Savior, and this is especially true for the littlest among us! What if a glimmer of that excitement we have for the presents, the parties and the celebrations of Christmas was directed towards the greatest gift: receiving Jesus himself in the Eucharist?
These four little children knew “the mysteries of the Kingdom,” as Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke. Unconsumed with worldly joys, their eyes were fixed on Jesus, and they knew the greatest gift was receiving him in Holy Communion. This Christmas, may we look to their examples and become like little children who, with wonder and awe, receive Our Lord in the manger of the altar as if it is the first time.
Little Nellie of Holy God
Little Nellie of Holy God is one of these little ones that saw with a child’s simplicity the power of the Eucharist. Ellen Organ, fondly referred to as Little Nellie of Holy God, was born in 1903 in Ireland. Nellie always referred to God as “Holy God,” though her family never learned where she picked up the name. After her mother died at a young age, she was cared for by the nuns at St. Finbarr’s Industrial School in the city of Cork. Nellie always knew when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in the chapel, and when she saw the Eucharist for the first time she said, “There He is! There is Holy God now!” At that time, a child was required to be 12 or 13 when receiving their First Holy Communion, but that did not stop Nellie from insisting on receiving “Holy God” in the Eucharist. Upon learning that Little Nellie was sick with tuberculosis, the local bishop granted her special permission to receive Confirmation at her young age. After Confirmation, she would not stop asking for her First Communion. When permission was granted, she shouted with joy, “I will have Holy God in my heart!” She was carried to the chapel to receive her First Communion at the age of four and a half because she was too sick to walk. She died two months later, in February of 1908. When Pope Pius X heard about Little Nellie, he was moved to lower the age of First Communion to age seven and proposed this holy little one as a model for young boys and girls receiving the Lord.
Blessed Imelda Lambertini
Blessed Imelda Lambertini was born in 1322 in Bologna, Italy. Her parents passed onto her a deep faith and often took her to Mass at a Dominican chapel nearby. They were surprised when at the age of nine, Imelda asked to go live with the Dominican sisters. While a difficult decision, her parents agreed and entrusted her to the Dominicans. Although it is uncertain what her role was in the convent, Imelda was allowed to wear the habit, pray with the nuns and engage in their life as she was able. While too young to receive Holy Communion, Imelda continued to insist. One day after the sisters and the chaplain said she was too young, Imelda was seen in the choir loft after Mass. A glowing light was shining above her with the Blessed Sacrament suspended in the light. The nuns and chaplain took this as their sign, and Imelda was allowed to receive her First Holy Communion. The chaplain took the Host suspended in the air and gave it to Imelda. They let Imelda remain in thanksgiving, and when she was sent for, they found her kneeling and totally still. She had died of joy at receiving the Lord.
St. Tarcisius
St. Tarcisius was a 12-year-old boy who lived during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire. In 258 A.D., Tarcisius was an altar server at undergound Masses celebrated in secret in the catacombs. It is said that Tarcisius served Mass for Pope St. Stephen before his martyrdom and Pope Sixtus II. After Mass one day, a volunteer was needed to carry the Blessed Sacrament to those in prison who were awaiting martyrdom. Tarcisius volunteered and said his young age might even protect him from suspicion. As Tarcisius was on his way, a group of pagan boys he knew urged him to play with them. When they noticed he was carrying something around his neck, they tried to grab it. The boys then grew into an angry mob when Tarcisius would not give up the treasure he was carrying. One account says they saw the Christian symbol of the fish on the simple pyx Tarcisius wore around his neck and knew he was a Christian. They beat him, kicked him and eventually stoned him until a Roman soldier, secretly a Christian as well, came upon the scene. He carried Tarcisius home, but the boy died from the injuries. The Roman Martyrology says that the Blessed Sacrament could not be found on St. Tarcisius’s body by his assailants because the Host had become one with his flesh, forming a single Host offered to the Father.
Little Li of China
Not as much is known about Little Li, a young martyr for the Eucharist. Her real name, the time she lived, and many of the circumstances of her life are all unknown. What we do know is her heroic bravery in defending the Blessed Sacrament. The story goes that Li, as she is often fondly called, was a 10- or 11-year-old girl living during the mid-20th century in communist China, where it was perilous to be a Christian. One day, soldiers ransacked her parish church where they imprisoned the priest and desecrated the Hosts, throwing them on the floor. The priest determined to keep vigil before the scattered Hosts as much as possible through a little window where he could see into the sanctuary. Here’s where Little Li comes in. One night, the priest saw a little girl slip in through the window, pray devotedly before the Blessed Sacrament, and then on bended knees, press her tongue against one of the Hosts on the floor. There is said to have been about 30 Hosts on the floor, and Little Li knew she was only supposed to receive one each day, so she came back night after night, following the same devotion and reverently consuming the Precious Body. On the night when only one Host remained, Li was caught and martyred for her faith, perhaps right after consuming the last Host. One account of Little Li comes from Venerable Fulton Sheen, who said that Little Li was an inspiration to him and his preaching. He is said to have shared her story on his radio and TV programs.