“Sadness is looking at oneself; joy is looking at God” (Dom A. Guillerand)

“The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)
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“…he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
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“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
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“Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
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“Now, where is Jesus Christ, so that we can live with him and abide in him? In heaven for the elect, and in the most Blessed Sacrament for men who are traveling.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)
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“This then is the Eucharistic center for the Christian: the Holy Eucharist – here is the abode of love for a Christian. It is his divine and human center, for Jesus is God and man, a living center, actual, personal, ever accessible to man. Can man on earth have a holier and more loveable center! The Holy Eucharist – isn’t this heaven on earth? It is here, says the conqueror of death and hell, that I have created a new heaven and a new earth. Here is the Tabernacle of God with men. God abides with them, he will be their God, and they will be his people, his family [cf. Ap 21,3]. It is no longer in heaven, then, that the loving soul should look for Jesus, it is not yet the time nor the place for that, but it is really in the most Blessed Sacrament. That is our unique treasure on earth, our unique pleasure.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

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.

“Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world. ...charisms are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ and the perfection of charity.” (CCC 798-800).
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‘The Holy Spirit is “the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body.” He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: by God’s Word “which is able to build you up”; by Baptism, through which he forms Christ’s Body; by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ’s members; by “the grace of the apostles, which holds first place among his gifts”; by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special graces (called “charisms”), by which he makes the faithful “fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.’ (CCC 798)
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The 24 Catholic Charisms: Administration, Celibacy, Craftsmanship, Discernment of Spirits, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faith, Self-Giving, Healing, Help, Hospitality, Intercessory Prayer, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Mission, Music, Pastoring, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom, and Writing. (Catherine of Siena Institute – List of Charisms)

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:2)
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“The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:4-7)

“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O LORD, my God... And now, come to help me, an orphan.” (Excerpt from the Prayer of Queen Esther)

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.

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT 

ARTICLE 8 

"I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT" 
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687 "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who "has spoken through the prophets" makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who "unveils" Christ to us "will not speak on his own. " Such properly divine self-effacement explains why "the world cannot receive [him], because it neither sees him nor knows him," while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them. 

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.