Cardinal Schonborn stresses significance of Eucharist

Published: 2004-10-25

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- Austrian Cardinal Cristoph Schonborn of Vienna played an indispensable role in editing the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," but in a New Orleans lecture he used a child's story rather than a lofty theological text to explain the mystery and power of the Eucharist. In a world where people often rush through sacred moments, Catholics could learn a lot from Claire, a 4-year-old girl in the Vienna Archdiocese, Cardinal Schonborn said in his Oct. 8 talk on "The Church Living From the Eucharist" at Notre Dame Seminary. "Claire is a little girl in a family of six children who prays every day personally for me," the cardinal told about 500 people at the Archbishop Schulte Auditorium. "When her mother comes back from Communion, she sits down and Claire puts her head on her mother's breast and says, 'Mom, Jesus is now within you. I want to be close to him.' Her mother said to the parish priest, 'I think Claire is ready for early Communion.'" The cardinal noted that the parish priest asked Claire if she wanted Jesus to come to her in the Eucharist, and her response was: "No, Jesus wants to come to me." Cardinal Schonborn, president of the Austrian bishops' conference, remarked with a smile, "Yes, Claire is ready to receive Communion." The story illustrates the reverence all Catholics should have for the Eucharist, he said.

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