ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
ELISHEBA BLOGLaura, Ivonne, and Rick
write about their lives in the Eucharist. |
By Laura Worhacz Mary’s adoration of Thanksgiving She offered herself to serve His Adorable Sacrament; she consented to delay the hour of her reward, in order, that she might remain an adorer on earth, commissioned to guard, to serve the Eucharist, happy to die at the foot of the divine Tabernacle. In her adoration in the Cenacle, Mary daily renewed her thanksgiving: “How good thou art, my Savior and my Son!” His heart must have rejoiced at having left Mary His Sacramental Presence for her consolation! Mary’s Thanksgiving was furthermore, most agreeable to Jesus because the recognition of benefits received and gratitude of them please Him above all else.” - St. Peter Julian Eymard (Eymard Library Volume 7) Dearest Eucharistic Family, Eucharistica; Thanksgiving! The sacrament of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ really, truly, and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine. Thinking of the many blessings in life, the greatest comes from the depths of our souls in thanksgiving for the grace to know Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Mary remained on earth after the death of her Son to “guard, to serve the Eucharist…Mary renewed her thanksgiving daily.” St. Peter Julian reminds us that Mary agreed to wait to go to Heaven, so she might adore on earth and further fulfill the commission of her love. Our Father allowed us this example of Mary’s thanks, so the Glory of His Son’s resurrection would be manifested to us in a humble piece of bread, Thanksgiving! The body of Christ is further adored when we care for our loved ones, when we teach, preach, nurture, and console. Mary remained on earth, but the memory of Jesus with her was surely etched deeply in her heart. Our Lady’s adoration of the Blessed Sacrament brought the memory to the present moment. The magnanimity of Mary enabled her to feel the heartbeat of Jesus. It continued to beat with her heart, Heaven on earth. By our Eucharist attentiveness we too have the gift to bring the memories of love and traditions of past Thanksgiving Days alive through faith, hope and charity. Our loved ones that have gone before us, our loved ones that have moved away, and our loved ones that have moved on remain with us in the power of God’s eternal love. Eucharistica; thanksgiving for all the Almighty has given us and continues to give us in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Thanksgiving Blessings! 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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By: Ivonne J. Hernandez “The offering of an incense is a generous and beautiful rite. The bright grains of incense are laid upon the red-hot charcoal, the censer is swung, and the fragrant smoke rises in clouds. In the rhythm and the sweetness there is a musical quality; and like music also is the entire lack of practical utility: it is a prodigal waste of precious material. It is a pouring out of unwithholding love.” - Romano Guardini, Sacred Signs Whenever I attend a Mass where incense is used, my senses help increase my awareness of the invisible reality present at that moment. I can almost see the silhouettes of angels and saints in the smoke all around the altar, bowing before the presence of God. And when the minister turns towards us, the congregation, and proceeds to bow and incense us, the reality of who we are is clear before my eyes. “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet 2:9) I attended a Catholic high school, and whenever the nuns were around, the behavior of the students changed. If a foul word escaped someone’s mouth in front of one of the nuns, they would immediately and instinctively be embarrassed and apologize. There was this sense of the sisters’ ears being more sensitive than ours, like we would hurt them or profane them with our worldliness. It is easy for us to be aware of the “holy” or “set apart” status of a priest wearing his clerics, or a religious wearing their habit, but we are all holy, consecrated, set apart for a purpose. “By Baptism, (the baptized) share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission” (CCC, 1268). How often do we think of this? Probably not often enough. If we allowed the full reality of our identity in Christ to permeate our minds and hearts our lives would have to change. If the land where Jesus walked is holy, how much more holy is the person in which the Holy Trinity dwells? We need to guard our eyes, our ears and our tongues. We need to make conscious decisions of what movies we watch, what conversations we listen to and what thoughts we give a voice to. We need to strive to live lives of integrity, where each aspect of our being is aligned towards love of God and neighbor: “Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called” (CCC, 826). In this way our whole lives will become an offering of praise, rising to God as incense, “a pouring out of unwithholding love.” This is the gift we bring to the altar. And when we receive from that same altar the Body and Blood of Jesus in return, we will have everything we need to fulfill our “prophetic and royal mission”: to announce the praises of Him who called us “out of darkness into His wonderful light.” By: Laura Worhacz _______________________________________________________ St. Peter Julian Eymard’s words: “The grace of the most Blessed Sacrament. She [Mary] gave me to her Son as his servant, his tender child. She alone led me by the hand to the priesthood! And then to the Blessed Sacrament! “ “Jesus died on the mountaintop in full view of all, to teach us that God’s [work] prevails over everything. What kind of Catholic would say: “I go only to my parish”? A catholic heart must be as wide as God’s! So, avoid narrowness in your piety, narrow virtue which shrinks the soul; on the contrary, devotion is like a life-giving sun which expands the heart as it sets it ablaze! Be magnanimous in your view of things, broad in your desires, great in your love!” [1] ________________________________________________________ Dearest Eucharistic Family,
We are invited to take Mary, the mother of God and our mother, by the hand. Mary is the one who will help us view life from the mountaintop, the one who will be a gentle guide in finding God's love, in finding true charity. Mary, in the likeness of her Son, was the first to become a pure gift of self. Loving Jesus in the way Our Lady loved Him is possible if we follow St. Peter Julian’s guidance. “A catholic heart must be as wide as God’s!” A mother can teach a child the lessons of the family traditions, the zeal of the present moment, and the proper planning for the future. We are being conditioned daily for our eternal salvation, and every breath of our lives can be inspired through this gift when we walk with Mary to the Cross. By her comfort the promise of Our Father will be found. We carry Heaven by receiving the Eucharist, and Mary is the one to lead us to this holy place. St. Peter Julian expands his thoughts in that a catholic must ultimately be magnanimous in love. We are not bound to a parish, but to the family of God, which we have received through our Baptism. We learn in today’s scriptures that St. Paul found true Christians, not in a place, but in the heart of those who gave. “When I left Macedonia, not a single church shared with me, in an account of giving and receiving, except you alone.” Looking at all things through the Eucharist, our Mother will direct us in our journey of life, "to teach us that God’s [work] prevails over everything". Charity is our key to the kingdom, found in Jesus through the heart of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Have a blessed day in the Lord. 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. [1] Excerpts taken from Praying 15 Days with PETER JULIAN EYMARD The Apostle of the Eucharist, By Fr. Manuel Barbiero SSS |
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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. |