The Life of Saint Gerard Majella

Gerard's mother speaks of him: "My child found his only pleasure in the church, on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament. He used to remain there so long that he would forget the dinner-hour. In the house, young as he was, he prayed all day. He was born for Heaven." Let us consider his strong desire for Holy Communion at a young age: "This holy child, already so dear to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was not seven years old, when already his soul yearned for the Bread that cometh down from Heaven. One day during Mass the little boy felt a secret inspiration to go up with the people and receive Holy Communion. The priest, seeing that he, vas hardly more than a baby in appearance, passed him by. The child went back to his place in the church, the tears flowing down his cheeks. But the next night the great Archangel St. Michael came to console him, bearing the body of his Lord. This miraculous Communion was, doubtless, one of the great reasons for Saint Gerard's life-long devotion to the Prince of the Angelic Hosts." Gerard's life was one filled with miracles.