Little Imelda Lambertini loved Jesus so deeply that she often wondered, “Can anyone receive Jesus into their heart and not die?” This caused her to request, when she was just five years old, to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. However, as it was the year 1327, her request was out of the question. At that time children were not allowed to receive their First Holy Communion until they were at least 12 years old. But Imelda was persistent. Although her father was an Italian count and she had a comfortable home life, she wanted to be closer to God. Her parents raised her strongly in the faith which instilled in her a love for prayer and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She would often visit a nearby Dominican church to pray the Liturgy of the Hours with the nuns there. At the age of nine, though her wish for receiving Holy Communion had not been granted, Imelda was allowed to enter the Dominican convent as a young postulant. All the while she continued to beg to be allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist. One night, on the Vigil of the Ascension, the now eleven-year-old Imelda stayed late in the chapel to pray after Mass. She had begged to be allowed to make her First Holy Communion on this feast, but was again denied. Each denied request increased her love and desire for the Real Presence of Jesus in her soul. Some say that a scent of roses drew the nuns back to the chapel, other accounts cite a bright light. However it happened, the returning nuns were greeted by a stunning sight. As Imelda prayed, a consecrated host was seen suspended in the air above her head. Quickly understanding God’s will for the child to receive, the convent chaplain took the Eucharist and gave Imelda her First Holy Communion on the spot. As she took Jesus into her heart, Imelda entered into a state of ecstatic prayer. The child remained kneeling as the nuns left chapel to allow her more time to pray. When they returned for her, they found her just as they had left her, but her body was lifeless. After receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Imelda, proving her early words to be prophetic, died of pure love and joy. The feast day of Blessed Imelda Lambertini is celebrated on May 12th. She is the patroness of First Communicants and of making a holy, fervent First Communion. Her purity of heart is a beautiful reminder that, to be truly happy, we must love and desire God above all things. Blessed Imelda’s incorrupt body is kept in Bologna, Italy, at the Church of San Sigismondo, beneath the wax effigy of her likeness. Blessed Imelda, pray for us to love Jesus in the Holy Eucharist as much as you did.
As far a I recall this little girl's Feast Day was thought by many to be related to the sign at Garabandal. That is is to occur on her Feast Day?
I believe it is a real possibility. I can't remember if the seers said that it was a canonized saint's feastday or exactly what Our Blessed Mother said to Conchita. Blessed Imelda may also be sainted before next year. Who knows?
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer taught that life is a constant oscillation between the longing to have and the boredom of possessing. Even though this idea came from an atheist, I believe it is true in a certain sense. A practical example of its truth can be seen in a child who persistently asks for a toy and, after receiving it, leaves it lying around in some corner. I believe that God created us with voids that can only be fully filled by His presence. Starting from the assumption that perfect happiness is an unattainable horizon in this life, the very longing to possess the good that represents it already constitutes a small share of that happiness. In Christian theology, the search for what appears simplest in human eyes becomes intertwined with the unceasing pursuit of the Supreme Good, the most precious reality in the entire universe. Consider the case of Blessed Imelda Lambertini, who died suddenly during her First Eucharist because her heart could not bear such overwhelming joy and happiness. This serves as an eloquent example of Our Lord’s teaching that we must receive the Kingdom of God with the simplicity of a child and that the pure of heart shall see God. I believe that perfect happiness will be attained only in Heaven; however, the sacrament of the Eucharist, when received with faith, already grants us a small portion of that grace in this life.
