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“My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Lk 2:30-32) What the Heart of Jesus Does and Says in the Tabernacle Excerpt from the newly reprinted book by St. Manuel González “The Heart of Jesus in the Tabernacle looks at me. He always looks at me. He looks at me everywhere. He looks at me as if He had no one else to look at but me. Why? Because He loves me, and those who love each other long to look at each other. Ask a mother who spends idle hours without speaking and almost without breathing next to her sleeping child, and she will tell you what she does: ‘I look at my child.’ Why? Because she loves him with all her heart, and her affection prevents her from getting tired of looking at him. And her sorrow, do you know what it is? It is not being able to always follow the child of her heart with her gaze, now as a child and later as an adult. If she could not lose sight of her child, how would she enjoy herself, how would she defend, how would she accompany her son or daughter...! How mothers suffer not having an omnipotent love! But the Heart of Jesus loves us, I mean me, with a love as great as His power, and His power has no limits! An omnipotent love! Yes, He watches me with His gaze, as my mother would if she could! Soul, stop for a moment to savor this word: The Heart of Jesus is always looking at me.”
Remain at His Feet “When people go to Mass, they don’t know how to pray the Mass,” Fr. Matthew MacDonald, parochial vicar of St. Mary’s in Washingtonville in the Archdiocese of New York, shared. “So often people struggle with ‘how to lift up my heart and receive Him into my heart.’ Silent prayer, in addition to vocal prayer and devotion, help us in entering into His presence at adoration and in Mass.” Lectio Divina is one way to enter into deeper prayer that Fr. MacDonald, who is a frequent contributor at spiritualdirection.com, suggests. To make the Eucharistic Revival truly take root, the faithful are called to “Make sure that whenever they go to Mass they prepare to go with intentionality, that they can bring before the Lord their life with the good, bad and ugly, their hopes and dreams,” he continued. “In the Holy Eucharist, Christ comes to us. We do that one thing necessary which is be at His feet like Mary or like John was at the Last Supper amid the turmoil, and at that is the Eucharistic Revival, allowing grace to be present to us.” (From the catholicexchange.com article “The Need for Ongoing Eucharistic Revival”)
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Jesus is inviting you to spend a special hour with Him!
The only time Jesus asked His friends for anything was when He was in agony at the Garden of Gethsemani. Jesus said to them, “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” (Mt 26:40) Is Jesus important enough to you to set aside one special hour each week to be with Him? Just one hour, once a week, is all He is asking. This is simply a matter of putting first things first. In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success. (Prov 3:6-10) Your faith will make this commitment easy! Your willingness to choose a specific hour is a precious expression of your faith in Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Think of the words of St. John Paul II, “Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love” (Dominicae Cenae, Art 3). By spending a special hour adoring Jesus each week, you show Him that you love and welcome Him. When you get to heaven, Jesus will spend all eternity thanking you and loving you for your fidelity in spending one specific hour with Him in the Blessed Sacrament each week. (Excerpts from the A-3 “Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration: One Lord, One Body, One People” pamphlet, available through us) |
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Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord—January 6: “Christ reveals Himself; and He manifests Himself to us today, as He did to the magi, in the Sacraments of His Church, especially the Holy Eucharist. And these epiphanies are signs of hope for us and proofs to us that God is with us in Jesus, and He is more powerful than all the epiphanies of evil.” (Rejoicing in Our Hope, Bishop Robert Baker)
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord—Feast, Jan. 8:BAPTISM OF THE LORD: NEW LIFE: This Eucharistic Prayer Companion is designed to help you spend thirty minutes to an hour in meditation and silent prayer with Jesus during Eucharistic adoration. Even if you cannot be physically present in a church or adoration chapel with the Blessed Sacrament, you can unite yourself spiritually to Jesus in the Eucharist as you spend this time in prayer. (Source: eucharisticrevival.org)
THE GRACE I SEEK: to live the graces of my Baptism so as to be guided in all things by the new life I have received through the Holy Spirit
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. Pause for a few moments, and allow yourself to become aware of Jesus’ gift of himself in the Eucharist. Realize that, at this very moment, the Lord of Life is gazing upon you with great love. Allow yourself to receive his loving gaze. You are his beloved child. Rest in his loving gaze. Thank Jesus for the gift of himself in the Eucharist.
ASK FOR THE GRACE: Jesus, please help me to generously share the new life I have received through the gift of being reborn by water and the Holy Spirit at my Baptism. SCRIPTURE MEDITATION: Read slowly, 3–4 times. Allow the words of Scripture to wash over your mind and heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through this passage. “I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6)FOR REFLECTION: Allow yourself to sit with these questions for a while, being attentive to how the Lord is speaking in your heart. How is the Lord calling me to live my identity as a beloved child of God and member of his Body, the Church, fully obedient to his loving plan for me?SCRIPTURE MEDITATION: Read slowly, 3–4 times. Again, allow the words of Scripture to wash over your mind and heart. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you in a personal way through this passage. “‘One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” (Mark 1:7–8)FOR REFLECTION: Contemplate the humble, filial obedience of Christ at his Baptism, and give thanks for the gift of your own Baptism. Ask our Lord for the grace to fully live your identity and mission as a beloved child of God. Ask Jesus to help you believe in his self-sacrificial love for you. Remain in silence with the Lord. Allow him to speak in the silence, in your heart. Receive his presence. If it helps, write down what you sense the Lord communicating to you during this time of prayer.CLOSING: Almighty and ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect, The Baptism of the Lord)
Day of Penance for Violations to the Dignity of the Human Person—Jan. 22: “The Eucharist unites and strengthens us in our efforts to secure justice for the unborn, and to create a culture wherein every human life is cherished, nurtured and protected from the moment of conception until natural death.” (Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities)
St. Francis de Sales, Bishop, Doctor, France (1567-1622)—Feast, Jan. 24: “Between the mystery of the Eucharist and that of the Incarnation there is only one difference: In the incarnation we see the incarnate God in his own Person, and in the Eucharist we see him under a more hidden and obscure form. In both instances it is the same God-Man who was born of the Virgin.” (St. Francis de Sales) The Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle, Turkey (died c. 64)—Feast, Jan. 25: “Like Saint Paul, we can recognize that Jesus’ Presence in the Blessed Sacrament is an invisible gift that can transform our lives if we allow Him to do so. We can share our personal experiences of God’s peace through the sacrament with other people … [and] by reading about the Eucharist. And we can be thankful that we didn’t need to be struck blind to find out that God loves us and comes to us in the Blessed Sacrament at every Mass.” (D. Buetner)
St. John Bosco, Priest, Salesian Founder, Patron of Editors, Italy (1815-1888)—Feast, Jan. 31: “My dear ones, the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament is an extremely necessary way to conquer the devil. Therefore, go often to visit Jesus and the devil will not come out victorious against you.” (St. John Bosco)
The Presentation of the Lord and Jubilee of Consecrated Life—Feast, February 2: “The Presentation of Our Lord is the feast of Christ ‘light of the people’ and of the encounter (‘Ypapanti’) of the Messiah with his people in the Temple at Jerusalem . . . . The Eucharistic liturgy will seal this encounter with Christ and this offering, with him, of the consecrated life until He is ‘the light to illumine the people.’” (vatican.va)
St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, Armenia (d. 316)—Feast, February 3: St. Blaise was devoted to the Holy Eucharist. While imprisoned for his faith, he ministered to others and saved a child who was choking to death on a fish bone. News of the miracle spread and this led to the custom of the blessing of throats, with two candles, in Church on his feast. St. Blaise was beheaded for his witness to Jesus.
St. Agatha, Consecrated Virgin, Martyr, Patroness of Nurses, Breast Cancer, Italy (251)—Feast, February 5: “For in ancient Christian piety, the Eucharist was the sacrifice banquet, nourishing the life of grace. This theology underlies the words by which St. Agatha describes her cure .... The Eucharist has power to heal; the healing of Agatha’s wounds is repeated spiritually in our regard through the medicine of the Eucharist .... Usually the texts tells of the saint’s transfiguration or glorification, a privilege we come to share through the Eucharist.” (Dr. Pius Parsch) St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs—Feast, Feb. 6: A native of Japan, St. Paul’s family converted to Christianity when he was a child. Strengthened by the Eucharist, he proclaimed and defended the Catholic faith. St. Paul and 25 other Catholics were crucified during a persecution. While hanging on the Cross, St. Paul encouraged spectators to give their lives for Christ and forgave his enemies. He said: “Like my Master, I shall die upon the cross. Like him, a lance will pierce my heart so that my blood and my love can flow out upon the land and sanctify it to his name.”
St. Josephine Bakhita, Religious, Africa (1869-1947)—Feast, February 8: Following her kidnapping from Darfur, Sudan, St. Josephine was tortured and enslaved. Later, she was bought by a good family, eventually freed, and went to Italy with them at the age of 21. She was attracted to Catholicism because of the true Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. She converted and became a Canossian Sister. St. Josephine spent many hours daily in Eucharistic Adoration. She said: “I will send from heaven lots of graces for the salvation of souls.” St. Josephine, please pray for the people of Sudan!
St. Scholastica, Benedictine Nun, Abbess, Italy (480-547)—Feast, February 10: Lord, may our reception of the body and blood of your Son keep us from harmful things. Help us by the example of Saint Scholastica to grow in your love on earth that we may rejoice forever in heaven. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. (Prayer after Communion).
Ash Wednesday—February 14: “During Lent, catechumens prepare for the Paschal Mystery in order to be able to plunge into this history of love. We who were baptized long ago—are we so used to this reality that we are no longer moved by it? Lent awakens us so that we become conscious anew of this mystery, and it rouses our sense of amazement and adoration. Let us find the footmark of love on every page of the Bible, and let us fix our gaze on the Eucharistic bread to contemplate the mystery of love.” (Cardinal Zen’s Lenten Reflections) |
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St. Claude de la Colombiere, Priest, Jesuit, France (d. 1682)—Feast, February 15 “When one has discovered in Eucharist adoration and meditation the Heart of Jesus ‘ever burning with love for human beings’ (Retraites, n. 150), how could one let oneself be seduced by forms of meditation which turn in on the self without welcoming the presence of the Lord?” (St. John Paul II, canonization Mass for St. Claude, 5/31/1992) St. Peter Damian, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, Doctor of the Church, Benedictine Monk—February 21 St. Peter Damian witnessed the following Eucharistic miracle. “A sorceress asked a woman to bring her a consecrated Host. The woman went to Mass and during Communion she managed to hide a Host in her handkerchief. The priest noticed what happened and ran after the woman and ordered her to show him what she was hiding. The woman opened the handkerchief, and to their surprise they saw that half of the stolen Particle had been transformed into Flesh and the other half looked like a Host.” (therealpresence.org) The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle—Feast, February 22: O God, who in your providential design willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter, whom you set over the other Apostles, look with favor, we pray, on (name) our Pope and grant that he, whom you have made Peter’s successor, may be for your people a visible source and foundation of unity in faith and of communion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (The Roman Missal, Prayers for the Pope, p. 1243)
St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Patron of Clerics & Youth, Italy (1838-1862)—Feast, February 27: As a teen, St. Gabriel spent much time with Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. It was through these visits and devotion to Our Lady that he received his calling to the religious life. St. Gabriel was handsome, popular, and loved to dance. He became a Passionist Brother, taking the name of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and died at the age of 24 St. John of God, Religious, Patron of Heart Patients, Portugal (1495-1550)—Feast, March 8 St. John was a holy youth and spent the first part of his life as a shepherd. As a young man St. John joined the military and veered from his faith, but later converted and dedicated his life totally to God. St. John founded the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God who tirelessly care for the sick. St. John wrote, “Love our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist above all things in the world.” He is the patron of those suffering from heart disease.
St. Joseph, Patron of Universal Church, Spouse of Blessed Virgin Mary—Feast, March 19 Order our D-14 St. Joseph prayer card today! Go to Joseph in thy joys, thou wilt rejoice the more. Go to Joseph in thy grief, when death knocks at thy door. Go to Joseph no matter when, thy refuge he will be. He holds the key to Jesus’ Heart, Its treasures are for thee.
Holy Thursday—March 28: “Could I but make known to all souls the loving sentiments with which My Heart overflowed at My Last Supper, when I instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist...! The Holy Eucharist is the invention of Love!... Yet how few souls correspond to that love which spends and consumes itself for them! I live in the midst of sinners that I may be their life, their physician, and the remedy of the diseases bred by corrupt nature. And in return they forsake, insult and despise Me ... Poor pitiable sinners, do not turn away from Me... Day and night I am on the watch for you in the tabernacle. I will not reproach you... I will not cast your sins in your face... But I will wash them in My Blood and in My Wounds. No need to be afraid... Come to Me... If you but knew how dearly I love you. And you, dear souls, why this coldness and indifference on your part?... Do I not know that family cares, ... household concerns,... and the requirements of your position of life... make continual calls upon you?... But cannot you spare a few minutes in which to come and prove your affection and your gratitude? Do not allow yourselves to be involved in useless and incessant cares, but spare a few moments to visit and receive this Prisoner of Love!... Were you weak or ill in body surely you would find time to see a doctor who would cure you?... Come, then, to One who is able to give both strength and health to your soul, and bestow the alms of love on this Divine Prisoner who watches for you, calls for you and longs to see you at His side.” (Words of Jesus to Sr. Josefa Menendez, Way of Divine Love)
Good Friday: Start the Divine Mercy novena today!—March 29: “The Eucharistic soul has two places of honor, then: at the foot of the cross and on the bosom of Jesus. One demands the other; both complement each other. They must remain loyal to Jesus, loyal to their vocation, loyal to their special mission, so that the divine Victim, looking down from the Sacred Host in the monstrance, as He looked down from the cross, might always see, at His feet, His chosen souls, of whom it may be said as it was of John ‘They were standing by the cross.’” (The Holy Eucharist, Rev. Jose Guadalupe Trevino)
Holy Saturday—March 30: “Sometimes Eucharistic contemplation just means keeping Jesus company, being there under His gaze, giving Him the joy of contemplating us, too. Although we are but useless creatures and sinners, we are still the fruit of His passion for whom He gave His life” (Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa).
The Resurrection of the Lord—March 31: “Jesus lives today in the Blessed Sacrament, Alleluia! The Eucharist is Our Risen Lord! The power of His resurrection flows out to all who come into His Eucharistic Presence, transforming us into His image. We pray— Jesus, increase our faith in Your Real Presence in the Eucharist.” (From the A-13 pamphlet “The Eucharistic Rosary,” available through us) |
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We wish you Holy Lent and Happy Easter!
Prayer Intentions: Please send us the names of loved ones and any special intentions that you would like us to pray for throughout these holy days before Jesus, Our Eucharistic Lord! We especially remember all of the sick, suffering, and our beloved deceased.
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