A myriad of health conditions resulting in his being tube-fed since he was three months old have prevented him from consuming the Eucharist.

Nonetheless, Gannucci has always wanted to be able to receive the Body of Christ.

And so he did - on 3 June this year, just before he turned 21. It is the only solid food he has ever consumed.

Practice and prayer

For Gannucci, to swallow the Eucharist required a year's practice and a lot of prayer each day with his family.

Father Richard Kunst has known Gannucci all his life.  He prepared him for his first Reconciliation two years ago and recognises Gannucci's faith.

Gannucci, who also has a learning disability, impressed Kunst with his longing to receive the Eucharist.

His grasp of the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated Host was impressive, Kunst told the National Catholic Register.

His hunger for Jesus in the Eucharist continued to grow. His first reconciliation and his niece's first Communion saw him arguing his case harder.

Supportive family

"Paul has a very simple faith" his father told the Register.

"He has great trust. We had been wanting Paul to receive all the sacraments for years, and we put it in God's hands to determine when that time would come. Our whole family trusted that Jesus would make this happen."

Night after night for months, his father gave him a little water and a fragment of unconsecrated wafer Kunst had provided.

Initially he would gag and retch even over that tiny piece, his father said.

Eventually he was reliably able to swallow an entire host.

An inspiration

Gannucci also wanted to be confirmed. After checking with his bishop, Kunst was permitted to administer this sacrament.

He chose a patron saint - "Padre Pio" - St Pio of Pietrelcina.

He celebrated his first Communion and confirmation with his immediate family, many extended family members and about 45 weekday Mass attendees.

When Kunst explained the unfolding events to the weekday congregants they were delighted. Some wept when Gannucci received the sacraments.

Later, several spoke of relatives unable to receive the Eucharist because of physical limitations.

"This gives them hope that maybe this can happen for their family member as well" his mother said.

His father hopes his son's story will impact other Catholics.

"The biggest thing is that it is truly Jesus that we are receiving" he said.

"So many Catholics nowadays don't even believe in that — when they have such a great treasure! We know how important it is to receive Jesus. Other people maybe will rethink it if they don't believe in the True Presence."

Kunst hopes "Paul's story and his earnest desire for this will inspire people, including those of us who might take it for granted because we receive it all the time. God's timing is perfect".

Gannucci now receives the Eucharist whenever possible. It remains the only solid food he consumes.

Source

• National Catholic Register

She decided to try to find a way to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

She tried out to a drive-through confession on Saturday afternoon St. John's in Westminster, Md. Read more

There are three particular characteristics Francis highlighted when speaking to the priests at the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican court.

The Apostolic Penitentiary deals with issues concerning the sacrament of confession.

Francis says the first characteristic is the priest "must be a friend of Jesus the good shepherd". They must also be "dedicated to prayer".

Francis says a Ministry of Reconciliation "bound up in prayer" is a credible reflection of God's mercy and will "avoid the harshness and misunderstandings" that are sometimes associated with the Sacrament.

Secondly, he said the priest needs to be discerning.

Francis said being discerning enables a confessor to distinguish and not "tar all with the same brush" despite the variety of needs the people going to Reconciliation may have.

Thirdly, if the priest notices the presence of spiritual disturbances, confirmed through a "healthy collaboration" with specialists in human sciences, he must not hesitate to refer the issue to an exorcist.

The exorcist must be chosen with "great care and great prudence", Francis said.

He pointed out that disorders can be caused by many situations.

Some may be supernatural ones. In these cases, Francis said exorcism is a "sensitive and necessary ministry".

Source

• Vatican Radio
• RT
• Image: Pope 2016

They were being quizzed at the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

One of the questions they were asked related to a fictional child called 'Sally' who reported abuse to them in a confessional.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart said they believe children have spiritual rights, and they know whatever they say to God won't be repeated.

They agreed that while they would try to get Sally to talk to authorities outside the Seal of the Confessional, it was up to her to choose.

If she did not allow it, her discussion would remain confidential.

However, Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson said after recent study, he believes the Seal of the Confessional only applies to sins confessed.

"It seemed to me to be plausible in those circumstances that if a child told you this was happening to them, they're not confessing a sin they're just giving you some information about what's happening to them and in that doctrine, it would be possible then to do something about it," he said.

Source

• News
• Image: The Will

Even a cardinal, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, has called for "proper reform to the sacrament" - an idea Pope Francis has signalled he does not want to look at.

Recently I came across some models of the life journey.

The first was of a wavy line that began with the 'I' at the bottom and 'God' at the top.

Life was a journey to God, and was about taking up one's cross, denying self, acquiring virtue, learning to pray, and stop sinning. That was the way to get to God.

I suspect that model will resonate with older people but I have been told by younger Catholics that they, too, drift into that mind set as well. Weekly confession, especially for priests and religious was part of the journey in this model.

Model two was the same wavy line but right beside the contours was a second parallel line, the God who was with us, from birth to death, encompassing, carrying, accompanying us every step of the way. Continue reading.

Br Kieran Fenn is a Marist teaching Brother who lives in a young adult community in Wellington, and has spent many years teaching the Bible in New Zealand and abroad.

Source: The Tablet Blog

Image: CNS/The Catholic Sun