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 Catherine Worhacz “The Priest is Mary’s privileged child.” Saint Peter Julian Eymard Dearest Eucharistic Family, Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. This title for our mother has been honored and invoked prominently by Saint Peter Julian Eymard. Perhaps he realized the sacredness of the priesthood to its mission, and duty to its extreme, through Mary’s heart. The indelible mark on the soul of a priest raises him to the Holy Order of an ordained minister; Our Father in Heaven makes the priest one with Christ. A high office on this side of the Kingdom. The hands of a priest, a privileged gift to consecrate, by the power of God, a simple piece of bread to be made holy into the BODY OF CHRIST. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Blessed Mother of the Eucharist, and our priests, an excellent title for Mary; she beholds the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
My parish of Saint Vincent de Paul in Holiday, Florida, is served by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. A statue of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament resides in the Church, and Mary has always been special to me and our community under this title due to her presence there. In an older 2005 journal, I wrote, “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament calling.” I did not realize some years after, on May 23, 2018, I would receive an Imprimatur for a Consecration book; the Holy Spirit inspired me to prepare in what was first on this blog site in 2017. God can do amazing things through our participation, through our yes, uniting in the mission of our Church through the heart of Mary. Since Easter, I have been on a journey with Our Lady to Pentecost. Thinking and imagining where Mary was during the 50 days in waiting for the breath of life from the Holy Spirit to be cast upon those in the Upper Room. The daily scriptures keep us in a pattern of prayer in our Church. We follow Jesus in the written Word as we are led through this season of Easter and of hope. We are on a mission with Mary to make known the Eucharistic Mystery. With Mary, we can be strong in Christ. Our world is hurting. In prayer, I sometimes cry out, “God LOVES you. God made you perfect. He does not make mistakes. You are beloved by God Our Father and redeemed in Christ and can live out of this world in grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Every year, a unique gift is given in renewing my consecration to Jesus through Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. It is not always revealed outwardly; sometimes, quiet blessings come to the heart. This year I recall uniting with Mary’s intentions evermore. In this union, we are drawn out of ourselves and even out of our sorrows to enter something greater. To be part of something more than the things of this world elevates us to Heaven now. A privilege to be a child of Mary and to care for what she cares for. In this, we support the sacred priesthood and partake in the life of the Church through our vocational call to holiness. “And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation 12:1
May 13, 1856, the commemoration of the Founding of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, Memorial of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and also remembrance of Our Lady of Fatima.
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By: Laura Catherine Worhacz Dearest Eucharistic Family, Happy and blessed Easter! There is much work to be done in the way of grace. With Mary, we can and will persevere with the fortitude to overcome every obstacle and strive for the greater good. In the Eucharist, we are raised from this life now into the Kingdom of Heaven, the fullness of the mystery to be revealed. Easter is the most magnificent season. We journey to Pentecost from the rising of Easter to remember again through the Liturgical year to be filled with and to believe in the Holy Spirit. What does this mean for us? Perhaps to abandon ourselves and let God live in us. Our enthusiasm to receive Holy Communion will increase as we leave ourselves and long for the Lord. Jesus can do all through our lives when we are set aside for God to be at work in us. Mary adored the hidden life. "Our Lady's mission is to form Jesus in us." (Saint Peter Julian Eymard) To be formed in Jesus is to come to know him. Our commitment to Eucharistic adoration time is a good beginning. I remember first recognizing Jesus in the "Breaking of the Bread." In front of the Monstrance, life beyond this world was revealed to me. An eternal conversation began between me and our Lord, Jesus. This past week I celebrated my 58th birthday. It is also the day I committed to daily Mass. This desire came from knowing I was loved, God created me, and the sadness of circumstances was to be made known to me later, in the fullness of time. Faith led me to believe everything in my life had a purpose. This past week my daughter had a two-hour consultation with a thyroid surgeon; my husband and I accompanied her. During the scope procedure, I was on my knees, holding my daughter's hand, my heart racing, praying to the angels. The male nurse was superb in his technique, and his humor brought comfort through the problematic blood draw and procedures his job called him to. I commented to the nurse about his excellent Spirit, and he responded to my extravagant way of calling to the spiritual life. We were immediately united in the quest for good. The Holy Spirit revealed to me the prayer being offered for my daughter. It transformed what could have been anxiety into grace. We had a good time in the waiting room chatting, simply being together. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 687) tells us, "The world cannot receive [him] because it neither sees nor knows him." Our surrender needs to be unveiled—a passage to give our Father everything, every pain and all we do not understand. The Eucharist and the Living Word of God will do the rest as the Holy Spirit will be sent to us in its fullness by our submission to the Incarnation of Christ. All will be made known to us, and then we will return what love has given. We unite in the mission of Christ's eternal ministry to bring souls to God, Our Father in Heaven. The Holy Spirit will stir in us to live to find forgiveness, the fullness of life, and the JOY of the Gospel amidst the mystery of our lives. Quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Dearest Eucharistic Family, Grace comes forth from doing the right.
![]() During my recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, there were many moments of grace that overtook me to the depths of my being. Walking where Jesus was sent into the world by Our Father was overwhelming and surreal, truly like a dream. Being in the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the place of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, I was captured by the view of the mosaics that overshadowed the stone building; it takes your breath away. The gift received for all of us remains in the life freely given to us out of Jesus’ love. His death to teach us to be humble and obedient to the right way of living that flows from a heart united to God is his hope for us. The immensity of Jesus’ love was found ever more on pilgrimage as the Liturgy was offered in the Garden of Olives by Rev. Father William Fickel, SSS. The seventeen pilgrims saw father in red through the olive trees celebrating Mass where the disciples were sleeping and Jesus praying through the night... intense. Walking the Via Dolorosa, praying the Stations of the Cross in the Lenten Season... unforgettable. We are truly lost without HIM. Tomorrow, we enter into Holy Week. What have I done this Lenten Season as a genuine offering from the heart? What have I learned? And how have I grown in holiness? The answer is different for each of us. Yet we are all called to be Christ’s disciples, his apostles of love to proclaim liberty to oppression, the chains that bind us. Grace is given in doing the right. The Sacraments for us to be freed from our sins and begin again our life’s journey. Our true pilgrimage of the heart made one at the cenacle of the Altar transforms us from this life to the Heavenly Jerusalem. This past week another situation of a family separated by abuse and horrifying realities was brought to my attention. What can we do? Pray the mystery, and long for the right to freely choose to love as we have been loved. To forgive as we have been forgiven and know that in CHRIST JESUS, all can be saved. All may be sanctified, be made holy. God is with us, seeing every circumstance and ready to consecrate it on the Altar to be transformed into a living faith that will change our world. Our mother, our blessed mother, is the first to be made strong in Jesus’ love. She did the right, always said yes, trusted in her father and loved His children, made them her own. Mary has taught us the way to salvation. May we follow Mary, walk with Mary as she walked with the first pilgrims of the Holy Land, still walking now with us. We belong to God. Easter is coming; much work is needed to PROCLAIM JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
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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. |