Account: The girl who wanted to receive Communion so badly that Jesus intervened directly

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I’m pretty sure we don’t hear too much about Blessed Imelda nowadays (outside of traditionalist circles, where I believe there is a society for young girls named after her) because the idea of a young girl dying right after receiving her First Communion is more likely to scare kids than to inspire them to love Jesus more.
 
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What a beautiful story! Thank you so much. We must not at this time, accept that we cannot receive Him. We must demand our Catholic right for Holy Communion. Seek and ye shall find.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I’m pretty sure we don’t hear too much about Blessed Imelda nowadays (outside of traditionalist circles, where I believe there is a society for young girls named after her) because the idea of a young girl dying right after receiving her First Communion is more likely to scare kids than to inspire them to love Jesus more.
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So was there ever a time when this story would have been more well-received?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of people pondering and being mindful of their final end, I do it every day of my life. I don’t have anything terminal, and I hope to have length of years in good health and temporal happiness, but I just want to save my soul and live with God forever. Pondering the Four Last Things helps with that.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
So was there ever a time when this story would have been more well-received?
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I don’t know if there’s a time in recent memory, but I am guessing when she was beatified in 1826, the story was much better received. For one thing, an 11-year-old in 1826 would have been seen as more mature than one today; young girls would be taking on adult jobs and getting married around the age of 13 or 14 in many places. Also, the typical age of First Communion then in the Latin church was around 12 to 14, so young children would not have been hearing the story. Finally, there was more death going on all day every day then as lifespans were shorter and medical care not so good, so the idea of someone dying a happy and apparently painless death at age 11 could be more easily seen in a positive light or even romanticized, as she didn’t suffer and she went to Heaven.

Nowadays, children receive First Communion at age 7, they are not considered adults till age 18, and death of an 11-year-old is considered an anomaly rather than a regular occurrence, and furthermore not seen in any kind of positive or romantic light.
 
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Beautiful 🙂
Blessed Imelda: “Can anyone receive Jesus in his heart and not die?”
 
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