By Laura Worhacz

By: Ivonne J. Hernandez

As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."  (Jn 6:66-69)
 
MEDITATION:

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?” (Jn 6:60) This complaint from the unbelieving disciples echoes through time and we hear it again today.  We not only hear it from others, but we hear it in our hearts too.  Every encounter with Jesus should challenge us and invite us to be transformed.  How do we choose to respond? 

The “idea” of being challenged and transformed sounds nice in theory, but the experience of it is not very pleasant.  We are creatures of habit and we like to remain within our “comfort zones”.  We like things the way we have always done them, and that seems like a good enough reason to continue doing them that way.  We might try something new, but, when we feel threatened by the challenge to die to our ways and our will, many times we choose to return to our former way of life, just like the unbelieving disciples did.
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But our story does not end there.  We have a God who loves us and will not give up on us. “This is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day.” (Jn 6:39) He will continue to invite us and to challenge us, but He does this through relationship.  As we grow closer to Him, spending time in prayer and receiving Him in the Eucharist, we learn to trust in Him and can then respond like Peter, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

By: Laura Worhacz

“When we reflect on the circumstances connected with the mystery of the Annunciation, we realize the incomparable glory it was for Mary to have been chosen to cooperate in the work of the Incarnation of the Word-the grandest of all divine works! And what virtues her example teaches us!”
(Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library Volume 7, page 38)


Dearest Eucharistic Family,

     The True Presence! The Annunciation of the Word becoming flesh to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, remains to be the greatest in the present moment in which we live. Mary’s example teaches us to submit our lives to the Will of God, to surrender. Saint Peter Julian tells us, “the grandest of all divine works” is to cooperate in the work of the Incarnation. We are blessed through Holy Communion to help cooperate in the work of salvation. Our yes in the submission of our will to the Will of God through the reception of Holy Communion enables the life of Jesus Christ to become flesh in us so we may build the mystical body from this present age into the age to come for all eternity.  These words bring us, like Mary, out of this world into the divine life, the spiritual world, a reality unknown to many. We are called like Mary to bring the living flesh of Christ into the world; we become the True Presence when we receive Holy Communion. We are one with God, called to have His Will and life live through us. The author of all life and death, Creator over all the living, is Our Father; He so loved the world that He gave us His Son. The life of Christ can only live on to change the course of salvation for those lost through those who are blessed to receive the living bread, the living flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. This announcement to our souls is an awakening of the Holy Spirit of God’s love, the love that will bring us into eternity and live forever; everything else remains. Mary carried love. She birthed that love to the world, nourished that love to all, died for that love and rose with that love in the hope that came to her on the day the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. The paschal life, the paschal mystery, the paschal hope; it was all entrusted to Our Lady of the Cenacle. The Cenacle, the altar, is where we take and eat, continue to birth, nourish, and love so others may come to know the living God. The Cross will weigh upon the world, upon the souls created by Our God. The freedom of our yes will raise us to the humility that God can live through. The Annunciation of the Lord, a historical event, is ever present through the Eucharist. The salvation of God’s love is an eternal dwelling place.

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By: Ivonne J. Hernandez

“Delight in God and lose oneself a little in the harmony of His Heart.”
 St Peter Julian Eymard


​MEDITATION:
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Years ago, someone asked me what would be my “happy place”, a place where I could go in my mind when I was feeling stressed to find peace again.  If you ask me that today I would answer unequivocally: The Eucharist.  In Him I find everything I need.  But back then, even though I was Catholic, my understanding of Who the Eucharist is was not there yet.  I thought about it for a bit and said, “A waterfall!” I love waterfalls. I love everything about them, the way they look, the way they sound, and the way the water feels falling over me. I had this image of me standing below a waterfall, letting the water fall on my head, washing away all my cares. This image brought me peace. The funny thing is that, as it turns out, my happy place then and my happy place now are actually the same. I just didn’t know the source of the water then, but I know Him now.

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"In Your inconceivable love, You allowed Your most holy side to be opened, And streams of Blood and Water gushed forth from Your Heart. Here is the living fountain of Your mercy, Here souls receive consolation and refreshment. In the Blessed Sacrament, You left us Your mercy; Your love deigned to arrange it so, That, going through life, suffering and toil, I might never doubt of Your goodness and mercy." – (Diary of St. Faustina)


Tomorrow we celebrate a Feast very dear to my heart, the Feast of Divine Mercy. We focus on the Heart of Jesus, pierced for us, and on the water and blood that gushes forth from it for the salvation of souls. Many times I have stood below the Divine Mercy image in my bedroom and asked Jesus to shower me with His Love and Grace. This image brings me peace. It is below this waterfall, this fountain of living water, that I find my happy place. Standing at His feet, I hear the most beautiful sound, the soothing sound of a waterfall, gushing forth from His heart. I hear the harmony of His Heart.