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By Laura Worhacz "Mary adored with the most submissive faith,.... She adored that Heart so inflamed with love.... Mary would have wished to annihilate herself completely before the Divine Majesty annihilated in the Sacrament, that by doing so she might render Him due homage and love." (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Library Vol. 7) Dearest Eucharistic Family, St. Peter Julian sees the submissiveness of our Blessed Mother's faith and recognizes her heart can only be so inflamed by the Power of the Most High and her espousal to the Holy Spirit. We will now continue looking at Our Lady through the Veni Creator prayer, line by line: "With patience firm and virtues high, The weakness of our flesh supply." Mary can guide us by her life in the mother of all virtues, patience. She brings to us the Divine understanding of the weakness of our "flesh" with her heart so inflamed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit's love for us. "Far from us drive the foe we dread and grant us Thy true peace instead; So shall we not, with Thee for guide, Turn from the path of life aside." Mary's self-annihilation, as St. Peter Julian calls it, is the Holy Spirit raising her soul to the Heavens. Our Blessed Mother could never have endured the agony of Jesus Christ, her Son, without her life in the Holy Spirit; her soul raised to Heaven in hope of the union she longed to have again with Jesus after His Crucifixion. Yes, Mary dreaded the foe, but found the peace instead. By the guide of the Holy Spirit she was able to turn from the path of life and set it aside to keep her heart raised to the Eternal Glory she knew would come. "And, may Thy grace on us bestow The Father and the Son to know. And Thee through endless times confessed Of both the Eternal Spirit blest." Mary lived in the Eternal Spirit and was blest. The grace was bestowed on her by knowing the Father and the Son by her continuous yes, her fiat to the consenting of the Holy Spirit in her life. "All glory while the ages run Be to the Father and the Son Who rose from death; the same to Thee, O Holy Spirit, eternally. Amen." Praised be to God Our Father for all glory can "run" through the ages for HE Who rose from death. The same will happen to thee (His children) O Holy Spirit Eternally! Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, you led the way through your espousal to the Spirit of God, the Father's Love, through the life, death and rising of your Son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please offer the prayer to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament having it direct your heart to your consecration promise. 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 By Ivonne Hernandez “Magdalen stayed there until after the death of Jesus. She returned on the morning of the first day of the week. She knew very well that Jesus was buried; but she wanted still to suffer and to weep. The Gospel praises the zeal of the other women and the magnificence of their gifts; it speaks only of the tears of Magdalen. She is the Christian heroine. More than all the Saints Magdalen shows us the immensity of Divine mercy.” [1] - St Peter Julian Eymard Meditation: When we hear the words Divine Mercy and think of a saint, we might think first of St Faustina. In the pages of her diary, Jesus explains His unfathomable mercy for us, just like He explained His parables to His disciples in private. But when we look at St Mary Magdalene, we see what Divine Mercy looks like in practice. Jesus said of her “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” (Lk 7:47) If we really meditate on these words, we would not despair at our sins, but would feel great joy knowing that “the greater the sinner, the greater his right to God’s mercy.” [2] We need to imitate Mary Magdalene by showing Jesus great love, by sitting at His feet and offering Him our tears, and by opening our hearts to His in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Pope Francis said: “Mercy renews and redeems because it is the meeting of two hearts: the heart of God who comes to meet the human heart.” [3] This thought is too great for our minds. As a mother, when one of my children is suffering, my heart hurts so much that I would give anything to take his pain away. If we think of God the Father looking at His Beloved Son on the Cross, we can only imagine how much His Heart hurt. Jesus always reveals the Father’s love for us, so when His Heart was pierced by a lance, we see the love and mercy of God gushing forth for us. His pierced heart comes to meet the human heart of His Son, and our hearts in Him. His Sacred Heart, pierced for us, is waiting for us in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is the place of encounter. This is where we bring our broken hearts and unite them to His. Let us prepare to receive Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and let us visit Him often and adore Him. He told St Faustina: “…in this hour…if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant.” [4] St Peter Julian calls St Mary Magdalene “the patroness and model of a life spent in the adoration and service of Jesus in the Sacrament of His love.” [5] Love moved her to follow and serve her master, sitting at His feet often, and following Him all the way to the Cross. It is from there that she received the Graces to be the “Christian heroine”, a model of love and holiness for us. [1] Eymard, St Peter Julian. The Real Presence (p. 294). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition. [2] Kowalska, Saint Maria Faustina. Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul (Kindle Locations 4644-4645). Marian Press. Kindle Edition. [3] https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20161120_misericordia-et-misera.pdf [4] Kowalska, Saint Maria Faustina. Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul (Kindle Locations 9996-9997). Marian Press. Kindle Edition. [5] Eymard, St Peter Julian. The Real Presence (p. 290). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition. By Laura Worhacz "She prostrated herself with profound respect and devotion, then composed her senses in a simple act of recollection. She kept her body erect, her hands joined or crossed on her breast or, when alone, frequently raised in supplication towards the Tabernacle, on which her eyes were constantly fixed." - (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library Vol. 7 Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.) Dearest Eucharistic Family, Our Blessed Mother was in a constant state of recollection. St. Peter Julian Eymard continues with this thought by telling us that her eyes were constantly fixed on the Tabernacle. The way to this Divine union was the reality of Our Mothers life in her espousal to the Holy Spirit. From the moment of Mary's Fiat she was overshadowed by the Power of the Most High: God! “Come O Creator Spirit Blest.” Mary invited the Holy Spirit into her heart, mind, body and soul by her trust, by her yes. "And in our souls take up thy rest." Mary's trust in her Father took up thy rest. "Come with thy grace and Heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made." This is Mary's way of being full of grace and Heavenly aid, her heart remains full of nothing but God. "Great Paraclete to Thee we cry, O Highest gift of God Most High." Mary recognized the greatness of the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit that dwelt in her entire being. "O font of life and fire of love and sweet anointing from above." Our Lady was anointed with the fire of love, the sweetness of the eternal giver. Mary held the love of God by the consciousness of His life, "O font of life." this life permeated her entire being. "Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts art known, The finger of God's hand we own;" Mary literally held the Father in heaven's hand through the eyes of her Immaculate Heart. "The Promise of the Father, Thou! Who dost the tongue with power endow." Mary leads us to the promise of Our Father through the heart of Jesus. We then need not worry what to say for it will be the Holy Spirit that will be working through us. "Kindle our senses from above, and make our hearts overflow with love:" On a natural level we cannot acquire the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Through the Sacramental life we are blessed to activate the indwelling life that longs to have our senses kindled from above so our hearts will overflow with LOVE! Mary, our Mother leads the way for her children to live in the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus Christ this side of Heaven. Please offer the prayer to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament having it direct your heart to your consecration promise. 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 By Ivonne Hernandez “I plead with you! Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” – St John Paul II Meditation: Fear. We all experience it, and each time we do, we need to decide what to do about it. Will we run or will we press on? There are times when fear keeps us safe from real danger, but many times, fear can keep us from doing God’s will in our lives. The martyrs, who endured death through an act of fortitude, teach us that God’s love is greater than all our fears. Most of us won’t be called to die for our faith, but we will all face obstacles on our road to holiness, and we will need to grow in fortitude to face them. When I think of fear I think of Peter, walking towards Jesus on the water. He takes his eyes off Jesus, looks at how strong the wind is, gets frightened, and starts to sink. Just like Peter, I often take my eyes off Jesus and look at the storm threatening me. I find myself saying “Jesus, are you sure you got this?”, and I get afraid. And, just like Peter, as I begin to sink, I cry out, Lord, save me! “Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”’(Mat 14:31) We are reminded over and over again in the Bible to not be afraid. If we look again at the passage in Matthew 14, the disciples see Jesus walking on water and become terrified thinking it is a ghost. ‘At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”’ (Mat 14:27) Jesus is telling them to DO something, to TAKE courage. This means that courage is there, available for them, but it requires an action on their part, a decision of the will. But where is this courage coming from? If we read a few verses before in Matthew, we find that right before they got on the boat, the disciples had just experienced the miracle of the “feeding of the five thousand”. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children. Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. (Mat 14:20-22) This miracle is a prefiguration of the Eucharist. Jesus feeds a crowd of five thousand with only five loaves and two fish, and there are twelve wicker baskets full of leftovers. Jesus knew the disciples had everything they needed, so He made them get into the boat and precede him. He knew the storms they would face, but He had provided the courage they needed. They still needed to take it, and so do we. Jesus makes every gift available to us in the Eucharist, and then He sends us on our mission. “The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions.” (CCC, 1808) We need courage (fortitude) each and every day as we face the challenges set before us, and we find it in our daily Bread, our Bread from Heaven. The word courage comes from the Latin ‘cor’, which means heart. We often hear the expression “take heart”. Yes, let us take His heart, present and alive in the Eucharist. He has all the courage we need there. Let us receive Him often and remain united to Him in our hearts. We will then confidently walk towards Him, wherever He may call us, even walking on water in the midst of a great storm. And, when we look away and begin to sink, let us quickly remember that He is always with us and call to Him for help. He will immediately stretch out His hand and catch us, and with a loving glance remind us: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”’(Mat 14:31) |
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AuthorsWe are Ivonne J. Hernandez, Rick Hernandez and Laura Worhacz, Lay Associates of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, and brothers and sisters in Christ. FOLLOW IVONNE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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