The Promise of the Father |
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By Ivonne J. Hernandez
“Our Lord gives to souls of prayer a deep understanding of Himself, He never deceives them.” – St. Peter Julian Eymard MEDITATION: How many times have we had our perception of reality shifted by gaining new understanding? How about those times we look back at a particular experience and see, in hindsight, that what we thought was a bad thing was in reality a huge blessing in our lives? The blessings were there all along, but we couldn’t see them. Our perception of reality is limited, and it is often obscured by sin. The hurts and pains of our past color how we see our present circumstances and those around us. As God moves in our lives and heals our hearts, we gain a new perspective and see things more clearly. Do we always have to wait for time to pass to gain this understanding? Yes and no. Although it is true that discernment is confirmed by the fruits of the Spirit, and those are only evident in hindsight, we can ask God to give us His perspective now. To see things how God sees them; this is a gift of the Spirit -- the gift of understanding. In the Eucharist we rise above our misery and see things through Him, with Him and in Him. We are literally climbing up a high mountain and looking through a focused lens to the reality below. And, what about those times when, although we ask for the gift of understanding, our perception remains clouded and we do not know what to do? We hold Mary’s hand and trust she will lead us through the darkness. We remember all the times we have looked back and seen the blessings, and trust we are receiving them right now. We pray, we wait, we give thanks. We stay close to the Eucharist, to Truth and Reality Himself, and know that with Him, we will never be deceived.
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By Laura Worhacz ” Doubtless the practice of the Faith will give us sure entrance into heaven; but it will make our entrance there doubly certain if we confide ourselves to Mary’s clemency, which desires only our salvation. Let us seek to enter heaven through this gate, and not count so much on our works and on our fulfillment of the law, for when we come to examine these we shall be forced to acknowledge them to be very imperfect. Jesus leads His Mother by the hand, up to the very Throne of God:” (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library, page 166) Dearest Eucharistic Family, “Jesus leads His Mother by the hand”. This beautiful imagery in the above excerpt from St. Peter Julian is an inspiration to take hold of the hand of our Mother, the hand that was first led by Jesus to the Throne of God. Saturday’s Liturgy is dedicated to the Mother of God. We remember her Magnificat, her waiting by the tomb, her doubtless hope in the rising of the goodness of God in the midst of DEATH. Today’s scriptures remind us of the same trust that cries out in the depths of the message. We practice the faith; we are called to trust, especially as consecrated children of Mary. This Blog was created to remember not only the Eucharist in which we are called to celebrate, but the promise we have pledged to keep through our consecration to Jesus through our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. A promise to be lived every day of our lives. We have a mother who longs for us to take hold of her hand to receive some of her trust in the resurrection of life this side of heaven. This relationship is the sustenance we need to endure the crosses of this life. Today’s Gospel tells us, “do not worry about your life.” Jesus is offering trust in His Divine Providence. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” It seems every time we get past something we are given the opportunity to look back seeing how we could have trusted more, lifted high that cross a little better. May the security found in our consecration promise instill in our hearts a remembrance of the profound love Jesus made as a covenant of His eternal promise. May Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament take us by the hand to live in the present moment of God, “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” Please recite the following prayer: Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Blessed are you, Mary exalted daughter of Sion! You are highly favoured and full of grace, for the spirit of God descended upon you. We magnify the Lord and rejoice with you for the gift of the Word made flesh, bread of life and cup of joy. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, our model of prayer in the Cenacle, pray for us that we may become what we receive, the body of Christ your son. Amen. USCCB Gospel MT 6:24-34 By: Ivonne J. Hernandez “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” (Mk 4:26-27) MEDITATION: Tomorrow we celebrate the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Through the Liturgical Calendar, our Mother Church guides us as we experience the ebbs and flows of the seasons together. Just like the disciples had to come down from Mount Tabor after the Transfiguration, so must we also come down from the highs of the Christmas and Easter celebrations, and get back to the usual, the normal, the ordinary. I used to always look forward to “the next thing” – the next holiday, the next trip, the next event. The time in between these “events” felt empty, sad, lonely. I found that I could escape those feelings by focusing on what was coming up and so I did my best to do just that. I do not know if it is an effect of getting older (ahem…maturing), but I find myself welcoming the ordinary times in my life, the times in between big events, more and more each day. When I think back of the times when God has felt closest to me, it is not during the hustle and bustle of a big celebration, but in the quiet after, when I look back and see how His hand guided me and held me. It is during that time of rest, when He fills me up with His love so I can continue loving those around me. A family who is strong during a challenging time in life, became strong by sharing a life together, a life made up of many ordinary moments, eating together, working together, resting together. The same is with us, as we are part of the family of God. We come together every week, we share a table, we work together, and we rest together. We rejoice that, by the grace of God, we can call a time when we receive the precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, a time when the Holy Trinity comes to dwell in us, ordinary. We let our Mother, the Church on Earth, care for us and nurture the seeds of faith and love in us. We rest in the knowledge that we are loved and cared for. We rest in the heart of the Father, as the Kingdom of God is at hand. By Laura Worhacz “Let us, then, breathe in Mary’s spirit; it is the same as that of Jesus, for she received it from its Divine Source. She is full of His grace, in order to communicate it to us. She is the only true and perfect copy of His virtues; she labored for three and thirty years with the Divine Original constancy before her eyes. She knows all the secrets of the love of the Savior for mankind; she shares His unbounded love for us. Oh! With what tenderness and devotion does Mary love us! She loves us as only a Mother so good and so powerful can love.” St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library, Vol. 7 page 95 Dearest Eucharistic Family, “In the end my Immaculate Heart Will Triumph.” Mary left us these words when she appeared in Fatima, Portugal. She left us these words to live these words, to keep these words, to remember these words. St. Peter Julian reminds us that Mary had the Divine before her eyes constantly. Invited into her spirit we hope to be as receptive as our lady to the Divine source to also share in the constancy of God’s love found in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Today as we celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we look at the daily scriptures where Mary and Joseph are looking for Jesus, Mary herself expressed anxiety. Jesus was found in the Temple. The only true peace free from all anxieties of this life are to be found in the temple, the temples of our hearts and souls. One in the Eucharist where the hidden life of Jesus finds the life of God within us. This is the Finding of the Child Jesus, this is the place where we come to life, this is the triumph that Mary promises us. For to find Jesus in the Temple is to find the eternal, the Triumph our Mother promises us; Heaven. “And his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2:41-51) In today’s first reading St. Paul intensely tells us of his life being poured out like a libation. We, the children of Mary, follow our mother to find the temple of Our Father’s love in the promises of His Holy Spirit dwelling within us. “Mary then adored Jesus veiled in His Sacrament, but visible to her love. She saw behind the cloud the beauty of this Sun, who manifests His ardor by the light He gives to our soul, who manifests his presence by His sweetness.” (Eymard) “In the end my Immaculate Heart will Triumph” Mary’s Promise, one with Our Father through Christ her Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. (2 Timothy 4:1-8) By Ivonne Hernandez “Corpus Christi is the most lovable of feast days. We were not present at all the mysteries of our Savior's life and death which we celebrate in the course of the year. We find joy in them because they are sources of grace. But on the feast of Corpus Christi we participate in the mystery itself, which takes place under our eyes. This mystery is for us. There is a relation of life between Jesus living in the Sacrament and ourselves living in the midst of the world: a relation of body to body. For that reason this feast is not called simply the feast of our Lord, but the Feast of the Body of our Lord: Corpus Christi.” [1] – St. Peter Julian Eymard MEDITATION: When I hear the words “Corpus Christi” the image that comes to mind is a public Eucharistic procession, where the Eucharist is placed in a Monstrance and processed out into the streets under a canopy. This is a beautiful tradition, which thankfully some parishes keep alive today. It is an opportunity to bring Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament out to the world. But when I read the words above from St. Peter Julian Eymard, the image that came to mind was Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. I think that Mary’s journey to visit her cousin was the first public Eucharistic procession. I wonder what miracles happened during that journey. I wonder how many encountered Mary and Jesus on the way and had “eyes to see”. And I wonder how many walked right past them without the slightest idea that there was something greater there -- that what may have looked as a young girl running in haste, who knows why, was indeed a beautiful Monstrance hiding the beating heart of Jesus. I wonder how many angels followed on their knees, as pilgrims full of hope do on their way to a holy site. The moment Mary received Jesus, she brought Him out into the world. “There is a relation of life between Jesus living in the Sacrament and ourselves living in the midst of the world: a relation of body to body.” Those of us, who by no merit of our own, gratuitously receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist are sent out to bring Him to the world immediately after every Mass. He lives; He lives in us. It is in this relation of life that we find our meaning and our purpose — for not only we bring Him when we encounter others, but He comes to us in that encounter too. “This mystery is for us.” [1] Eymard, St Peter Julian. The Real Presence (p.262). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition. |
AuthorsWe are Ivonne Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. 
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