Living the Worthy Life: The Inspiration Behind Bishop Fulton Sheen's Unwavering Faith

Bishop Fulton Sheen was one of the greatest evangelists for the Catholic Church in the 20th century. He was a real presence - first in the classroom, then on the radio, and then through books and television.

His popular TV show, Life is Worth Living ran on the DuMont Television Network from 1952 to 1955, running opposite The Milton Berle Show on NBC, the #1 show at the time. Within the first year of the show’s airing, Bishop Sheen toppled Berle’s #1 ranking, appeared on the cover of Time Magazine and won an Emmy award, as well as the hearts of millions of Americans.

While writing his book, America’s Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J Sheen (1895-1979), Thomas Reeves wrote in 2002 that Sheen was a “brilliant, charismatic and holy man who has been underrated by historians, largely overlooked by the contemporary mass media and forgotten by too many Catholics. He dubbed Sheen the ‘Most influential Catholic in America during the 20th century,’ and a Gallup Poll named him one of America's 10 Most Admired Men between 1952 and 1956.

Though Sheen's faith inspired many, perhaps his biggest inspiration came from an unassuming source. In an interview taken several months before his death, Sheen was asked, “Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world. Who inspired you? Was it a Pope?”

He responded that it was not a Pope, cardinal, bishop, even a priest or a nun - but an eleven-year-old Chinese girl. Sheen shared her story:

When the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the church. Locked in his own house, the priest watched from his window in horror as the Communists proceeded into the church’s sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they threw the ciborium on the floor, spilling all of the Sacred Hosts. The priest knew that there were exactly thirty-two Hosts in the ciborium.

When the Communists retreated, they either did not notice or did not pay attention to a small girl praying in the back of the church who had seen everything.

Later that night, the little girl came back.

Slipping past the guard at the priest’s house, she went inside the church. There, she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her holy hour, she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over, and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, since, at the time, it was not permissible for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.

Every night for thirty-two nights, the little girl came back to the church to make her holy hour and receive Jesus on her tongue in Holy Communion. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last host, she accidentally woke the sleeping guard outside the church. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest, as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.

When Bishop Sheen heard this story, he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day of his life. If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

The little girl showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really is; how faith could overcome all fear, how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself. What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst – as the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love.

According to a 2019 Pew Research Survey, What American Know About Religions, only half (50%) of U.S. Catholics can correctly answer a question about official church teachings on transubstantiation – that during Communion, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. The other half of Catholics incorrectly say the church teaches that the bread and wine taken in Communion are merely symbols of the body and blood of Christ (45%) or say they are not sure (4%). How different the United States has become since the time of Bishop Fulton Sheen.

It is important to reflect that the greatest evangelist for the Church in the U.S during the 20th century claimed that the greatest influence in his life was the act of an eleven-year-old little girl who risked her life because she knew what the Eucharist meant.  

Can you imagine what type of faith and understanding it took for this courageous young girl to do what she did? What faith in God and knowledge of the presence she must have had? How does this example of faith compare with today’s Catholics?

Brother and Sisters, my question to you is this: “Do you have the courage, knowledge, and desire to risk your life for Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ?” 

This is a question of when – not if – and when it appears, the time will come for all of us to find the desire, courage and strength to do what this little girl did for our Lord.