Anthony Chan

Dear friends in prayer,

The gift of accompanying Jesus is not just for the very pious people but is now for every Catholic.
I could never have spent an hour in silent prayer before the Eucharist and had not even dreamed of such possibility until I read the following witness written in 1995.

http://www.cardinalkungfoundation.org/articles/shineout.htm

The witness was about an 11-year old Chinese girl who had influenced Bishop Sheen to spend an hour every day out of his very busy life to adore Jesus.

“When the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church. After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts were in the ciborium: thirty-two.”

“When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn't pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened.” “That night the little girl came back. Slipping past the guard at the priest's house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, since it was not permissible at that time for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.”

“The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle.”

“This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window. When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament everyday of his life.”

Bishop Sheen became a very powerful preacher. He preached over the radio in the mid-20th century. His listeners would cry, cold hearts would be kindled with fire, and sinners would repent. After hearing the inspiration to such a saintly bishop, pardon me to now share the struggle in my weaknesses.

Since then, I would spend time with Jesus each time I give a witness. In addition, I know I need to make a commitment, but my life is so busy. With a family and a stressful job in a volatile job market, I could not even find time for house maintenance work and often do not have enough rest. Yet I did not want to spend my life just like that when I realize how abundant I have received from Jesus. So I decided to make a very easy-to-meet commitment: to accompany Jesus only one hour per month. I am as weak as anyone else and thus did not want make a commitment that I am too weak to keep. So I started with an easy commitment so that I would have no excuse of not keeping it no matter how busy my life is. Any busy person can easily spend an hour on things not essential to his physical and spiritual health. I only managed to increase the commitment a little bit afterwards, but only after a very long time was I drawn into the love of my dear Jesus.

Spending only an hour per month in something more important is indeed a doable start. Yet it has to be a commitment and a very important appointment with my dearest Jesus, rain or shine, with or without other appointments, and whether I am in town or traveling out of town. If other people invite me for something else, I try to change the appointment. In the event that I cannot change the appointment, I would make up at another hour on the weekend within a week.

The hour has to be spent with the heart, the entire heart, with as much heart as a human being has received from God and can put forth before Him. As time went on, this appointment with Jesus is just so sweet. It initially requires determination and commitment, which initially appeared to be a sacrifice to me. Yet it is really a very insignificant sacrifice when I realize how much my dear Jesus has done for me. I then realize it is not really a sacrifice for me but rather much more of a sacrifice for my dear Jesus who waits for me to receive His abundant love. My dear Jesus knows how much I am in need of love. He suffers so much to see me toil in my busy life. He desires so much to give me true light, love and strength that I am in desperate need. Yet my almighty King cannot do so until I turn to Him. He desires so much to give Himself to me, but He had to keep waiting and waiting and had to suffer so much each time I turn away and fall into prey of my weakness.

Because of numerous weaknesses, it does take time to learn how to accompany Jesus. For most of my friends, it is indeed very difficult to accompany Jesus when not seeing or feeling anything. Meanwhile, it is necessary to really keep the appointment even when we sometimes do not know what to do in that long hour. I also suggest that we support each other with prayers and share with each other the struggles that we are going through.

In my struggle in front of a blank Eucharist with all glory hidden, I sometimes try to meditate accompanying my dear Jesus as He humbles himself to share our humanity that He Himself is sometimes in need our companion. It is so intimate to accompany Jesus for an hour to pray at the garden of Gethsemane. It is so touching to sit at the dining table with Jesus as He breaks the bread to give Himself to us. There, with St. John, lean your head again His chest and feel His sacred Heart opened for us. It is most privileged to stand for an hour with Our Mother next to the cross while He is crucified.

Let us accompany Jesus now when He is being despised, bruised, and insulted by the world.

We encourage everyone to sign up for only once a month to accompany Jesus, for only one Friday per month.