The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-05-24
THE EUCHARIST: THE BOND OF FAMILY UNITY

fore they are not two but one flesh"
And the only example that Our Lord
can give of union SO close is that
which unites Him with His Spouse
the Church. 1t is naturally, then, to
Him alone we can look for the help
and guidance that are necessary to
make such a union capable of the per-
fection which He has imposed upon it.
The Holy Eucharist will sanctify
husband and wife in their relation to
one another, and father and mother in
relation to their children. It is the
Holy Eucharist, in like manner, that
will make children obedient and docile
to their parents, while strict obedience
is still the duty of their life; and
thoughtful, considerate, and deferen-
tial even when the period of obedi-
ence has long passed. But, if the Holy
Eucharist is to exercise this deep,
constant and effective influence, the
reception of Holy Communion must be
a very frequent act. 1t is true that
the great crises of family life are not
of daily occurrence, but the small jars,
the little misunderstanding the tiny
selfshnesses may easily recur, and
the heavenly daily remedy for oft-re-
peated failures should be in repeated
use lest the little riffs widen and mar
the beauty of the two united lives.
Its Regenerating Power in Society.
The Blessed Sacrament is Our Lord
and Saviour given to us as the Life of
the world, and, therefore, pre-
eminently as the life of those upon
whom to so large an extent the we'll
being of the world depends. The
family must be nourished with this
sacred food repeatedly if it is to keep
within it that regenerating force which
gives strength and power to all the
society of men. In the Holy Com
munion, daily or almost daily received,
husband and wife will learn to bear
with one another, to be patient with
each others faults, to understand and
support those differences of tempera-
ment which God in the infinite variety
of His work has bestowed upon His
creatures, differences which age does
not Obliterate, but which oftentimes
the lapse of years renders more
prominent, and consequently less
endurable. There is no question here
of mere federation, of arriving at a
simple "modus vivendi" in which each
partner will choose his or her separate
way of life, but a really supernatural
love producing uniformity of mind and
heart in all essential things, and ac-
cepting in all else the liberty which
each individual nature may Justly
claim. Jesus, too, in the Blessed Sac
rament, will teach father and mother
to know and understand their chill
dren, each a separate creation of
God, like, doubtless, in many ways to
their parents, but in many respects so
unlike, and, therefore, so perplexing.
God alone who made them can eX-
plain the perplexities, and will show
how they may best be dealt with, and
this He will most certainly do if
parents receive their Maker often
within their hearts. And then, in
turn, as the children themselves grow,
the example of the parents will be
the strongest inducement to lead them
to the altar, and to establish them in
the habit Of frequent Communion from
the first beginnings of their use of
reason, habit which will be the
greatest service that their fathers and
mothers can bestow upon them.
Continued on page 81