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By Laura Worhacz "If you live beyond the clouds and the storms, always under a beautiful sun, you would worry little about the winds and the mists below. Let therefore our Lord have His own way, and follow Him with love and gratitude for everything. Come! Keep your heart ever raised aloft and happy; let your mind treat lightly the trials of life and ever sing the canticle of love in time and eternity." (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Library Vol. 6 pg. 331) Dearest Eucharistic Family, Balance! The Aggregation of the Blessed Sacrament is a Lay Association, part of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament where thousands of members globally unite in the spiritual benefits as part of their commitment to the whole Eymardian family. The attraction to this Lay Association flows out of the charism of the founder, St. Peter Julian Eymard. Was he a contemplative? Was he Apostolic? Yes and Yes! St. Peter Julian Eymard became a Saint of the Catholic Church. God allowed his name to be brought to His light and calendar of the saints to bring an awareness of the spirituality his life manifested; the HOLY EUCHARIST. The desire for so many to be part of St. Peter Julian's spirituality comes from his brilliance in God. The very reality of what a Eucharistic life will breathe into our own personal life, our church as a whole and our society. We must first "Live beyond the clouds..." St. Peter Julian Eymard is teaching us to live in GOD. He is the one who will take our worries, allow us to find His Will, and keep our hearts elevated to His Divine Presence as we live out our days. The Balance of a deep relationship, Communion with Our Father, to live in the grace of His Son is accessible to us through our prayer life. This life of prayer will "let your mind treat lightly the trials of life and ever sing the canticle of love in time and eternity." We will bring our prayer into our days and all we do, never to be separated from what or rather who we have Communed with. Our lives become a living prayer. Our daily duties become a perfect balance of our hearts connected to Our Father with a return of our lives to His Will to be freely given back. We need to balance our lives in the supernatural LOVE offered to us in the Blessed Sacrament. Prayer with our lives given freely need to be perfectly combined, for one without the other in either case will not fabricate the purpose of our existence. Our contemplation becomes an Apostolic act of LOVE, like Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, who recognized her union with her creator and offered her whole self as a living sacrifice in the name of her Son for the salvation of God's People. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament carry us to your SON, keep our lives as one mass offering for the glory of His Name; JESUS. Please recite the prayer to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament uniting it to your consecration promise. 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 pray for us to become what we receive the Body of Christ your Son. Amen By Ivonne Hernandez “Return to the heart! Why do you go away from yourselves, and perish from yourselves? Why do you go the ways of solitude? You go astray by wandering about. Return. Where? To the Lord, it is quickly done! First, return to the heart. You are wandering without, an exile from yourself! You do not know yourself, and you ask by whom you were made! …Return to your heart! See there what you perceive about God because the image of God is there. In the inner person Christ dwells; in the inner person you are renewed according to the image of God.” – [1] St Augustine Meditation: There are times when the world around us seems in the verge of collapse, when evil, terrible things happen and we find ourselves angry, sad and confused. There are days when hate seems to be spreading faster than love, and that instead of the Earth being ablaze with God’s fire, it seems consumed by fire from below. We as a society don’t know what to do with our anger anymore. When the pain becomes too much to bear, we look outside of ourselves for someone to throw it at so we can be free from all these feelings we don’t like. We look for a scapegoat. The problem is that this approach backfires, as the anger we throw out bounces right back at us, and usually jumps over to the people around us, spreading like a wildfire. What are we to do instead? Return to the heart! Turn to Him who dwells in your heart, and “cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” (1Pet 5:7) Jesus does not take our pain and throw it back at us. He transforms it in Himself and renews us according to His image. He gives us His Peace in return. When we realize the Grace we have received, our hearts turn to thanksgiving. It is here then, when our hearts of stone are changed for hearts of flesh, that we are transformed. For what is a Eucharistic heart but a heart full of thanksgiving? “I will offer a sacrifice of praise and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:17) It is then from this place that we can act. From this place of Communion we can seek justice in this world, because then we will be acting in Him and through Him. Hatred will have no hold on us for there will be no room for it in our hearts. We will not return hate for hate, but will return His love. This is how the flame of His love will spread, one heart at a time. “You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) [1] http://apacweb.org/downloads/121-id418-david-kelly-osa-st-augustine-on-interiority-spirituality-of-the-heart By Laura Worhacz " O Divine King!...May Thy truth be my ensign of honor, Thy virtues, my shield of defense; Thy love, my word of command; and Thy greater Eucharistic glory, the fruit of my victory!" ( St. Peter Julian Eymard: Vol. 7 Eymard Library ) Dearest Eucharistic Family, OFFER IT UP! St. Peter Julian Eymard recommends us to truth with it being our ensign of honor. Truth brings us to virtue, the highest of all HUMILITY. In true humble offerings we live in the hidden life of Jesus Christ, a relationship between the child and the Father, a life that lives in the light of the eyes of God. The eyes of God live through the Eucharistic heart beat of Jesus Christ. He sees us live, move and have our being. We offer, we love, we then receive, and we are then called to return. "Thy greater Eucharistic glory" comes from our continued life in God. We build the City of God when we build our relationship with the living God in the quiet recesses of our heart. The structure comes from our silent time before the Blessed Sacrament. God's Love is then formed in our hearts. Trust flows out of Our Divine King. Once we Trust we fully live in God, for every hidden offering sparks life in our souls, where the union of the Divine indwelling brings something different to our world. In simple terms we exemplify LOVE. Something shines off the shield, a ray of hope to those who witness humble service. Things that may seem to be unseen are vibrant to those who long to witness LOVE. The fruit of God's victory is our humble relationship with Him. We offer acts of charity instead of retaliation in our relationships. We live in the glory of HOPE within the dark hidden sufferings of our humanity. God is omniscient. The good fruit of our lives will manifest in the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus with the full submission of our truth of self, the handing over of our hearts to the heart that can transform our humble offerings into intercessions of Divine Power. The ego is hard to die, however true love/humility brings us Divine union, which grace flows out of. When the grace is felt it is then longed to be received and the offerings are than searched for. The return of our love is something to be embraced rather than rejected. The shield we set before us is no other than the ensign of honor; The Promise of Our Father. Please recite the prayer to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament directing it 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 “The bread and wine have been changed into the Body and Blood of the Son of God. Do you see Him in this transfiguration of love and humility? We know that the sun exists even though a cloud hides it from us. Jesus never ceases being God and perfect Man, although hidden behind the cloud of bread and wine. Just as everything was glorious in the first transfiguration, so in the second everything is lovable. We see Him no longer, nor do we touch Him; but He is there with all His gifts. Love, grace, and faith pierce the veils and can recognize His face. Faith is the eye of the soul; to believe is really to see.” [1] - St Peter Julian Eymard Meditation: Yesterday I woke up and felt disoriented for a few minutes. The clock on my phone said it was mid-morning, but the room was dark, like if it was not yet dawn. As I looked out the window and saw a blanket of gray covering the sky, I realized I had slept in and the clock was right. I am so glad I had something else to point me to the truth when the reality perceived by my eyes deceived me. If I didn’t have that, I would have spent the whole day in a state of confusion, not knowing when it was time to wake or sleep, time to eat or work. The clock, which I also follow on sunny days, is a constant guide I’ve come to trust. The chime of the alarm clock telling me the sun is up reminds me of the bells during Mass that tell me Jesus is present on the altar. The Church is that guide I’ve come to trust to always point me to the Truth. On the days when my heart sees the Son clearly and when the Rays of Love from the Eucharist warm me up, the Church is my comfort, but on the days when everything is dark and I am tempted to doubt and give up, the Church, especially through the Sacraments, is my lifeline. It is what I cling to in faith, knowing it will always point me to the Truth. The veil that hides the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is like the cloud coverage on that overcast day. If you were to spend the day outside, the sun will still burn you even though it is hiding behind the clouds. The sun’s invisible light still comes through and has an effect on everything it touches. “Jesus never ceases being God and perfect Man, although hidden behind the cloud of bread and wine.” This is the Truth we need to cling to in faith. This is the Truth that tells us where to go on a dark day and find the Light we seek. Jesus is in the Most Blessed Sacrament, with all His Gifts, waiting for us to come to Him. We need more faith? We will find it in the Eucharist. We need more Hope? We will find it in the Eucharist. We need more Love? He is there in the Eucharist. Go seek Him, let His Love touch you through the veil. If you persevere, the clouds will part, and you will find the One you seek. The One Who was always there, even when you couldn’t see. [1] Eymard, St Peter Julian. The Real Presence (pp. 280-281). Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition. |
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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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