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“What do I do with this pain in my heart?” That has been my prayer this week. My heart is broken in so many places over the wounds of my Church, my brothers and sisters, and my own. I have found myself going from shock, to numb confusion, to anger, to sadness. That is where I am right now… and I want to move on from here. I do not like feeling sad. I bring my pain to prayer, in the hopes that He will tell me what I need to do to make this pain go away. But instead I hear Him say, “Do you also want to leave?” (Jn 6:67)
Some might take these words literally, as in “Do you want to leave the Church?”, but that is not what I hear Him asking me. I see Him up on the Cross, with Mary and John at His feet. Although most of the disciples left Him, He still loved them. He knew the pain was too much for them and that they were afraid. So here I stand with a decision to make. Do I want to run away from the pain and distract myself with stuff, or do I want to stay with Him? Jesus is on the Cross right now, suffering for His Bride, His Church, and this is where I am called to be…wherever He is. He is with me in my pain, as I am with Him in His pain. I bring to Him the pain of those who feel they cannot stay. The amazing thing is that the moment I say “yes, I will stand here, beneath the Cross with Mary,” the pain is transformed. It goes from feeling oppressive and pointless to hopeful and dare I say, joyful. “For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.” (2 Cor 7:10) The pain I felt before, I could not endure for long, but this one, sweetened by the love of His Presence, feels bearable. It is as if the second I looked at Him, He picked up my burden and placed it on His shoulders. So, I choose to stay. I choose again to believe that His promises are true. I know that through the mystery of our Communion, the tears I shed for my Church are “stored and recorded” (Ps 56:9), and that my suffering is not wasted. As long as I remain in Him, this time of suffering will bear fruit. (Jn 15:5) I do not know how long He will ask me to stay in this Good Friday. It may be a few more hours, it may be a few more days, or maybe more. I pray for the wisdom and the courage to always answer, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6:68) By: Laura Worhacz “ O Mary, my celestial Queen and my Divine Mother, I cannot accept the honor of becoming the happy servant of our Eucharistic Jesus, if thou dost not consent to form me for this service, to clothe me with thy virtues, thy merits; if thou dost not take me for thy child, O Queen, and Mother of the servants of Jesus, you who live only for Jesus , who love us only in Jesus and for Jesus. I entrust, then, to thy keeping, O good Mother, the grace and the development of my vocation.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library, Volume 7 page173) Dearest Eucharistic Family, This blog post comes to us in the middle of two glorious mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. This past Wednesday we honored the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and this upcoming Wednesday we remember the Queenship of Mary, her crowning. These glorious mysteries are an invitation for God’s life to dwell in us through the Eucharistic love we share in, the living Gospel. In the above excerpt St. Peter Julian entrusts to our good mother our vocations and the development of them. Living in the reality of our crosses being sanctified for heaven changes the way we embrace them. Mary was assumed into heaven for the “happy servant” she is. Her fiat from sin and death was our transformation to find virtue and love in this world. Her crowning was the gift for her fulfillment of God’s Incarnate life through her vocation, “the grace and the development of my vocation”. We look to Mary as a model of perfection in our maturation of our Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is what awarded Mary her crown. We pray in thanksgiving for loving Jesus through Mary in the pure gift of her motherly nurturing, developing us into our vocations as adorers of God’s love. This development will assume an eternal life for us and a crown in the promise of our Father. The alacrity of our hope is to be found in the love of our Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. 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 I was watching a special earlier about the life of Fred Rogers, the beloved Mr. Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and I was deeply moved by the life of this man. He was deep, caring, compassionate, intentional, and above all, he was kind. He was bullied as a child for being shy and overweight and was told by the grownups in his life to act like it didn’t bother him. Even as an eight-year-old, he knew that this was wrong. He was angry and sad that the bullies couldn’t see past his shortcomings to see him, and he was sad that his parents didn’t acknowledge his experience. After many years of sadness over this, his faith brought him to a decision. He decided he would always look for the essential in each person. Two of his most famous quotes, “I like you just the way you are” and, “The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self” describe how he loved his neighbor as himself. He cared, he listened, he connected. He brought Jesus Christ to the world, not by talking about Him necessarily, but by the way he lived, by the way he loved. “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” (Eph 4:32) I think we can easily forget the importance and the power of kindness. It is very difficult to be kind to someone who has hurt us or those we love. It is difficult to be compassionate to someone who just rubs us the wrong way. It is much easier to be kind, compassionate and forgiving towards someone we like. And, although it is true that there are people whose nature attracts us less than others, it does not mean that the act of liking someone is outside of our control. When we experience feelings of antipathy or even disgust towards a person, we still get to choose how we respond. “Look for the essential in each person”. What a simple yet profound idea. How do we find the “essential” in the other? By entering into a relationship with them -- by being present to them and listening to their story. If a friend is rude to us, but we know they just lost a loved one, we are more inclined to give them a pass. When we understand the “why” behind the actions, when we see the pain motivating the undesired behavior, we do not take things personally and can see the situation as it really is. We can refrain from putting up our own walls and instead reach out to the other in front of us. When we look out and truly see, we won’t see a monster threatening our very existence, but our crucified Lord calling out for us. We will see Jesus thirsty, naked, imprisoned, lonely, mourning, or hungry. When we meet the human needs of others with kindness and compassion, we will find that the essential in them will shine more brightly. When we find that reflection of God in the other, we can then join Fred and say, “I like you just the way you are. Won’t you be my neighbor?” By: Laura Worhacz “The priest, then, has duties to fulfill toward this tender Mother. He ought to be second to none in the honor he renders her, the tender love that is due her. He should most zealously make her known and loved. As for us if we love the Eucharist, if we desire to have It served, preached, loved by all, let us incessantly beg of Jesus, through Mary, to give us holy priests, apostolic workers, faithful adorers. The glory of the Blessed Sacrament and the salvation of the world are at stake.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Eymard Library Volume 7, page 142) Dearest Eucharistic Family, Awaken our souls. Hoping your summer has allowed you some time to re-evaluate your spiritual journey. In looking at my own, the gratitude of holy men that have guided my path to salvation was prominent. Also thinking of St. Mary Magdalene and the intense desire she had to respond to Jesus' attentiveness to her. She longed to give her whole life to Jesus for the great love He offered her through the forgiveness of her sins. Blessed by holy priests, who like St. Peter Julian reminds us in the above excerpt, teach us to love Jesus Eucharistic. “If we desire to have It served, preached, loved by all, let us incessantly beg of Jesus, through Mary, to give us holy priests, apostolic workers, faithful adorers.” Mary Magdalene would cling to Jesus, follow Jesus, adore Jesus, and serve Jesus in return for His mercy. Mary has chosen the better part; she chose to love and let the service she rendered flow from this love. “I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. (Lk: 7 47) Spiritual companionship is ineffable and offered to us in the Sacraments. St. John Mary Vianney and St. Peter Julian Eymardembraced the gift of spiritual friendship as they guided one another. St. John, twenty years his senior, encouraged St. Peter Julian in his holiness to found the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Along with a close union to Our Lady and prayer before Jesus Eucharistic, the reality of this inspiration was made real on May 13th, 1856. The Priest who was confessor to priests and now their great patron, St. John Mary Vianney, would offer his confessions to St. Peter Julian. How we need one another. We attribute the awakening of our souls to the love of God. We attend to this love in serving our spouse, children, family, friends, and communities nourished by the life of the Eucharist. I will be taking some more time throughout the summer to remember in my heart spiritual friendships, people, places and even things that have raised my soul to the eternal. May we, like Mary, remain close to the Eucharistic Lord and His holy mother all the days of our life. May we forever cherish our loved ones, spiritual companions, and guides. May we keep our souls awakened as we serve one another in the love of God found in the Eucharist. “The glory of the Blessed Sacrament and the salvation of the world are at stake.” St. Peter Julian Please recite the following prayer remembering 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. |
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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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