Eucharistic Saints

Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006)

by Gary Penkala

As we continue with the National Eucharistic Revival, it would be profitable to recall those saints who had a special devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. Over the next few articles we'll study these saints, their lives, their devotion to the Blessed Eucharist, and music connected to them.

Life

Truly inspiring is the story of this ordinary teenage boy, who enjoyed films, comics, soccer, and playing popular video games, yet led a life of religious fervor. Although his family was not overly religious, Carlo became a frequent communicant and prayed before the Blessed Sacrament before or after every Mass. At school he became a friend of the disabled and those who were bullied. He volunteered with the town's homeless and destitute.

Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia, and he willingly offered his suffering for the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church. He died at age 15 in 2006 and was beatified in October 2020.

Devotion to the Eucharist

Attending Mass every day, Carlo Acutis called the Eucharist his "highway to heaven." His most consuming work was the development of a website cataloguing every Eucharistic miracle in the world, found here.

Fifteen years of Eucharistic faith, self-denial, selfless love for others and works of charity show us that sanctity is not measured in longevity but in quality of life.

Related Music

1. Adoro te devote: A Communion Processional on a Chant Theme (Gary Penkala) —
   Introduction and interludes weave the verses of this well-known chant melody into a processional of calm and stately beauty. The original Latin text by Saint Thomas Aquinas is sung in two versions (unison or 2-part mixed voices) by the choir. After a brief interlude for handbells and organ, the congregation, led by the cantor, sings the English verse which translates the Latin sung by the choir. The congregational verses come from the beautiful translation by Anthony J. Petti (Faber Music Ltd, London). Adoro te devote – A Communion Processional on a Chant Theme invites the congregation's participation, but also allows time for processing to communion and for reflection and meditation.

2. Christ Is the Heavenly Food (Roger Petrich) —
   This useful, two-part anthem by Roger Petrich is a setting of a 20th century Communion text by the Rt. Rev. Timothy Rees (1874-1939), who was an Anglican bishop in Wales. The text is contemporary in thought, but solidly Eucharistic.

   Verse 1 reads:

   Christ is the heav'nly food
   that gives to ev'ry famished soul
   new life and strength, new joy and hope,
   and faith to make them whole.

   The composer sets this text for men and women, using a sparse, yet effective organ accompaniment that both punctuates the choral material and alternates with it.

   Four stanzas of the hymn text are set, both canonically and as two-part homophony, using unison singing for emphasis. The music is melodic and the ranges for all singers are very manageable (middle C# to D# 4th line; an octave lower for the men).

3. Soul of Christ, Sanctify Me (Alan Smith) —
   This beautiful 16th century prayer is set for SA choir and organ by Alan Smith.

   The piece begins with sopranos singing several phrases, followed by the altos. They join for the remainder of the work, sometimes singing homophonically, sometimes in relaxed polyphony. Soul of Christ is not too difficult for a good children's choir to learn; it could also be sung effectively by the women of the adult choir.

   The text, attributed to Saint Ignatius (1491-1556), reads:

   Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
   Blood of Christ, fill me;
   Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
   O good Jesu, hear me.
   
   Within they wounds, hide me;
   Suffer me not to be separated from thee;
   From the malicious enemy, defend me;
   
   In the hour of death, call me and bid me come to thee;
   That with thy saints I may praise thee for ever and ever.
   Amen.
   

Article written 26 August 2023