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ELISHEBA BLOG

Laura, Ivonne, and Rick
​write about their lives in the Eucharist.
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Seeking Consistency

3/18/2023

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By: Rick Hernandez
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“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4)
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Good wine comes from good grapes, and good grapes come from good vines, but a good vine can come from either good or bad terrain. The terrain helps determine how much effort the vine has to put in to be productive, and it also helps determine the characteristics of the grape the vine produces. In the Christian life, we often hear, “thrive where you are planted,” this is consistent with the metaphor of our lives as the branches of the vine. 

Christ can make something good out of our every situation, especially when we stay close to Him. That means that we have to embrace our life in Him, we have to become good branches of the vine wherever it is planted, and that means we want to be consistent, for we do not want our fruit to vary much from time to time. We want to be able to produce good wine consistently.
 
The good Christian strives to be consistent throughout. Let us think about food for a moment. Do you ever taste something unevenly seasoned without thinking something is not quite right? It is the same with us...

​“So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, [I] among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But, even if I am poured out as a libation[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way, you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.” (Philippians 2-12:18)

We need to work on our interior life so that the person we are may be defined by our faith in the Most-High, and that our faith may permeate and infuse our external life with the Christ-like quality we receive from communion with our Lord. The mind does control the body, the same as thought controls the action. We must remember that our minds are forged by our experience. So what are the experiences that we seek? Do they bring us closer to Christ? Do we keep Him in mind when we go out into the world?
 
Our Christian consistency is built and maintained by those experiences we seek. We forge minds and spirits by seeking to experience Christ in the world. For us believers, Heaven is partially here, for we can find Christ in the Eucharist and each other, but only if we seek it as such and recognize it as such. What is our desire while on this Earth?
 
May we stay close to our Lord and bear good fruit. Amen.

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Rick Hernandez

Rick Hernandez is a commonsense Catholic, Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and a Director for Elisheba House. He lives in Trinity, Florida, with his wife Ivonne and their children. He also writes for the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament's Daily Eucharistic Reflections and for Catholicmom.com.

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Do This in Memory of Me: Walk With Me

3/11/2023

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By: Laura Catherine Worhacz
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Image: View from Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration. Photo Creds - Laura Worhacz

"Follow the mysteries of this week. The Eucharist should not absorb your attention at this time. Follow the mysteries, and take part in them. Usually, we do this too lightly, in a superficial way. Let us enter more deeply into the sufferings and humiliations of the love of our Lord so that we may love him more." – St. Peter Julian Eymard (Paris 1861, In Preparation for Holy Week)


​Dearest Eucharistic Family,
 
I am in Israel, on a pilgrimage through the Holy Land. It is nightfall after the first-day experience of the Church of the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Church of the Annunciation, and the magnificent sacred grounds of Mount Tabor, where Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the high mountain. The breathtaking moment of being where the Apostles were with Jesus is a gift for us to think of often. 
 
For a moment in the midst of this Lenten Season, let us listen; hear the voice of Jesus say, "Thank you for loving me." 
 
As we immerse in the magnificence of God's love for us to the depths of Jesus' Passion, may all we will offer during this penitential time empower us to serve the highest calling this side of the heavens. 
 
I will be walking with seventeen pilgrims on the Via Dolorosa soon, and I think of our spiritual father, Saint Peter Julian's words above. Imagining the intensity of falling deeply into the sufferings of Our Lord and Savior on the ground on which he walked. He came to teach us to care for one another, to be attentive to one another. He came to love us beyond our sins and to serve with the same Passion of His love.
 
Walking with someone changes our relationship with them. We begin to see as others may see and grow in compassion to expound and help one another find truth, holiness, and salvation.  

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Laura Catherine Worhacz

Laura Catherine Worhacz is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and author of Consecration to Jesus Through Our Lady of The Blessed Sacrament. She is also the Director of Mothers of The Blessed Sacrament. She lives in Trinity, FL with her husband and their two daughters.

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Waiting for a Savior

3/4/2023

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By: Ivonne J. Hernandez
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​I remember when my son was a baby, and bedtime was a battle. The moment I sat with him in the rocking chair, he pushed his little legs against my body, arched his back, and wailed. He resisted sleep with everything he had. Eventually, as I persevered in rocking and soothing him, I could feel his little body melting, slowly surrendering… finally giving in. I would hold him for a while as he peacefully slept and wonder why was he fighting this? What kept him from surrendering to the peace and comfort of sleep? Then I realized how I also fight against things that are good for me. I resist change when it means giving up something I’ve grown attached to for the fleeting comfort it brings. Why do we do these things?

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) 
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Ah, the struggle! Self-preservation mode kicks in when we are in danger or perceive that we will lose something we value if we give in. The human heart rebels. The mind gets confused; We misidentify our enemy. Instead of fighting against sin and vice, we resist the medicine we need. To surrender means giving up the fight and letting the other side win. Whether or not this is good depends on whether the one we are fighting is for or against us. If we are defending ourselves or others against an enemy, then putting up a fight is a good thing. But what about when we fight against the very thing we need? The first step is then to correctly identify our enemy.

“For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12)


“So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
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People often use battle images when talking about the struggle for our souls. It is, after all, a spiritual battle. But, it is important to remember that our fight is one of resistance, of endurance, of trustfully waiting for the One who fights for us. I once saw a movie where bad guys abduct a little girl, hoping to get a hefty ransom for her. The girl was really annoying to them because she was never scared. She kept telling the bad guys they would really regret it when her dad showed up to rescue her. She was confident in her father’s love and his power to save her. She did not believe the lies they tried to tell her… she didn’t even listen to them. She resisted, and she waited. And when her dad showed up and beat the bad guys, she didn’t fight him. She ran into his arms and went home with him. 

“I have just received your letter expressing so much sadness and tears. My God! What troubles! When will they be lightened? Poor little boat, how shaken it is! And then, the shore is still far away, and heaven is still in the shadows, and no help [forthcoming]. What a situation! What can be done? Always stay at the steering wheel, throw out the water which is seeping into the little boat, and then surrender to Providence.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard, Letter to Mrs. Franchet - August 8, 1851)
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What a blessing for Mrs. Franchet to have Father Eymard on her side. He was there to guide and steer her in the storm of life. We all need someone like that. We need to have people we can turn to that can help us discern the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need someone to help us differentiate the enemy, to help us discern when to surrender and when to resist. We need the Church to teach us and guide us. Let us then help each other throw out the water seeping into our little boats and entrust ourselves to the Love of the One who died for us. We need each other so that together, we may persevere. 

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Ivonne J. Hernandez

Ivonne is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament, President of Elisheba House, and author of The Rosary: Eucharistic Meditations. She lives in Trinity, Florida, with her husband, Rick, and their children.

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  • Home
  • BOOKS
    • Consecration
    • Rosary >
      • Reviews/Endorsements
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    • SUBSCRIBE
  • About Us
    • Ivonne J. Hernandez
    • Rick Hernandez
    • Laura Catherine Worhacz
  • Contact Us