If you are just "Tuning In" to this Blog, you might want to back up a bit. I have been recounting some memories from 1987 and the Papal Visit of John Paul II to Detroit. This series, continuing here, begins with the Blog published August 9.
Well, that is what it looked like, what you see directly below this.
That was the platform created to hold all of the necessary ciboria containing the hosts for consecration at the Papal Mass. It was a platform conforming to the distance requirements that had been set out for us. Every host to be distributed at that Mass would be consecrated by the Holy Father and every one of those ciboria would be held up high in someone's hands during the Eucharistic Prayer.
When the praying of the Our Father began, each of these would be taken to an appropriate location for proper distribution.
Ground level was right around the corner, so to speak, and so no problem there. The ministers would simply move to their assigned stations.
But then there was the matter of those upper levels.
How accomplish that?
As I mentioned previously, there were only so many elevators to quickly move a limited number of ministers. So how move matters quickly in a very limited amount of time.
Well, let's just say that we did it.
Years later The Old Man asked how.
And notice, I am saying "The" Old Man and not "An" old man. I am not talking here about just any old man.
I am talking about The Old Man - my Dad!
He and Mom were actually at the Papal Mass that day. I was glad and am still very grateful to have been able to provide that opportunity for them. (I will have more to say about that in a later writing.)
What I am remembering here is something that occurred some years later.
Dad and I were talking about, perhaps even looking at some photos of that day.
We were remarking about how seemingly smoothly everything went.
And then he asked his question.
"So how did you manage to get those Hosts all the way up there? They were already consecrated; weren't they?" he asked.
I assured him.
Nope!
All consecrated by the Holy Father down below.
But how did you make that happen? he wondered.
So I explained that, in order to pull this whole project off, I had to have claim to certain tickets for seating. I had to be able to place ministers exactly where I needed them. As a result, ministers were already in place at their stations in the upper levels. And each had their own ciborium - empty!
Among those ciboria at ground level were a number of very large ones, each containing hundreds of hosts. At the start of the Our Father designated carriers took these special containers and moved to the elevators which whisked them upward and onto the upper levels. Then they went around those levels being met by the on site ministers who filled their empty containers and went off to distribute Communion.
But then The Old Man had still another question.
"But how did they manage to move around on those upper levels, distributing the needed Hosts to the awaiting ministers? How could they do that so quickly?"
Even running would not cut it and Dad sensed that.
What happened up there? Behind the scenes?
"You don't want to know, Dad."
That's what I told him. "You don't want to know."
But The Old Man was just not going to give up that easily.
He did want to know.
And so I told him.
Golf carts!
That was the secret.
Waiting at the elevators' exits at those upper levels was a convoy of golf carts.
Each carrier was immediately loaded onto a cart and driven to the assigned location.
The Eucharistic Lord was driven to the waiting faithful on golf carts!
The Lord of all creation got a ride on a golf cart!
And The Old Man just smiled.
And then he gave this word of wisdom.
"Jesus doesn't care how He gets to His people. Just get Him there!'
True then; true still.
Amen!
Oh, but there is still more to this whole saga, so please come back!
Meantime, Keep Praying . . . and Stay Safe!
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