The Importance of Appearance in the Presence of the Holy Eucharist by Gregory Johnson

Stories & Legends

How to Dress in
the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament

Gregory Johnson

I recently read The Blessed Eucharist; Our Greatest Treasure by Fr. Michael Muller, C.S.S.R. In one of the chapters entitled "Additional Examples of the Real Presence" (1). Fr. Muller reports an event that should be of interest to those who tend to take little concern for how they dress and appear before the Blessed Eucharist:

The greatest reverence is owed to
the Blessed Sacrament

"Towards the close of the last century, there lived a very impious man in Rottweil, a little town of Swabia, Germany. One day, when in the most solemn procession of Corpus Christi, the Blessed Sacrament passed by the house of this impious wretch, he had the diabolical audacity to scoff at the Blessed Sacrament in a most horrid manner. He placed himself before the window in his shirt sleeves, with his butcher's apron on and a white nightcap on his head. By appearing in this unbecoming dress, he wished to show his contempt and disrespect to the Holy Eucharist...

"This blasphemer soon after died the death of a reprobate...

"Immediately after the death of this impious man, such horrible noises, such frightful groanings, lamentations and howlings were heard in his house that no one could stand it any longer. Every person easily guessed the cause of it; the difficulty was, how to remove it.

"At last, as if inspired by God, they had recourse to the following expedient: It was resolved that this man's portrait should be painted in the same dress and posture in which he had appeared, to scoff at the Blessed Sacrament, and that the painting should be placed in the opening of the wall, instead of the window, in order to show to all who should pass by how God punishes the scoffers of the Blessed Sacrament. Strange to say, no sooner was this painting placed in the wall, than the house became quiet.

"Some years afterwards, the wife of a Protestant preacher who lived opposite could no longer bear the sight of this horrid portrait. Accordingly, her husband went to the Civil Magistrate to obtain an ordinance for the removal of the picture. His petition was granted, but no sooner was the painting removed than the former frightful scenes returned and continued until the alarmed people of the house obtained permission to restore the painting to its place. One of our Fathers related this event to me, as an eye-witnes of the fact."

In this Post-Vatican II era, it is common to see men and women appear before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament wearing "unbecoming dress" with the indifference or even approval of the local priest. Men today go to Mass wearing not only the long shirtsleeves of that impious blaphemer, but short shirtsleeves, T-shirts and Tank-Tops of our own revolutionary era. Jeans, Bermuda shorts, tennis shoes, sandles, flip-flops, work boots, and worse are commonplace. Some shirts have prints of enemies of the Church such as Che Guevara, while others have prints of scantily clad women.

Without getting into specifics concerning clothing, I think the message of this event reported by Fr. Muller is very clear: At Church, at Mass, whenever or wherever we are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, if we love Our Lord we should always try our very best to do the opposite of the above mentioned impious wretch of Rottweil, lest we suffer the same fate.

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From Michael Muller, The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure
Published in 1868, republished by TAN 1994, pp. 201-203
Posted January 2, 2010

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