Long l ive the Infant Jesus of Prague! 26 Vol. LVIII, No. 1 Magnificat The effect was very striking. All three were dumbstruck by this spectacle; their eyes could not get enough of devouring the charming Infant, who smiled at themwith divine grace. It was truly ravishing, heavenly, divine. When the lady recovered from her first impression, she went to inform the other people in the church. They could see it from the body of the church, but tomake sure, several came to kneel at the foot of the altar and they unanimously observed the same prodigy. I was in the confessional at the back of the church. I had a moment’s respite, and took advantage of it to spend a moment in the rectory, without having noticed anything. I was there when they came to tell me that something unusual was happening in the church. I didn’t laugh at them, but I told them not to have any illusions. I went with little faith, and to my great astonishment I observed the truth of the apparition. I can hardly describe the impression it made on me: certainly a sensory impression but also an interior one of adoration and love such as I had never known. I looked and looked again; there was no reason to doubt, it was obvious; and yet I did not dare to call it a miracle, telling myself in all humility that we could not be favored with such a privilege. Even so, how could this be explained? I decided to say nothing and to wait. When I returned to the confessional, I saw pious visitors drawing near to the altar, one by one, to contemplate the real presence of the Infant God at length. The two altar boys returned home and told their parents what they had seen. One of them almost got a beating for sticking to his story despite his father’s admonitions. At around six o’clock, I went down on my knees again as I came before the altar. Nothing had changed. I adored in silence, promising myself not to make any demonstration. Scarcely had I returned to the rectory when a newspaper reporter arrived to ask me for information concerning a certain miracle at St. Joseph’s church. The news had spread like wildfire. I did not dare to declare or deny anything. Before the evening service, I saw the altar boys running in to see the Infant Jesus, having heard their companions’ story. They all sawHimwith emotion and had only one voice to say, “It’s really Him!” Meanwhile the people arrived for the evening service; I went to the altar a little early to recite the rosary in common. Kneeling on the altar step, my eyes remained fixed on the Sacred Host where the Divine Child was still manifesting Himself to my astonished eyes. I believed within and for myself, with due reserve, not daring to take it uponmyself tomake a statement on a supernatural event of this kind. While reciting the rosary, I realized that little by little, gradually, imperceptibly, the divine Image was fading away. By the end of the rosary, everything had vanished and the Sacred Host had returned to its ordinary whiteness. During the instruction that evening, I did not say a word about the miraculous event. The news had spread throughout the city by the following day, and soon throughout the United States and Canada. Comments were streaming. I thought it my duty to put an article in the newspapers in order to set the facts straight. Since then, devotion to the miraculous Infant of Prague has spread among us, and many spiritual and temporal favors are obtained every day. Source: Fr. B.C. Thibault, Pastor of the Canadian Church of St. Joseph, Syracuse, New York. Cf. Bulletin Eucharistique, (Montreal, 1900), pp. 25-28. h h
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