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“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” – John 6:51 “Adoration is recognizing that Jesus is my Lord, that Jesus shows me the way to take, and that I will live well only if I know the road that Jesus points out and follow the path he shows me. Therefore, adoration means saying: ‘Jesus, I am yours. I will follow you in my life, I never want to lose this friendship, this communion with you.’ I could also say that adoration is essentially an embrace with Jesus in which I say to him: ‘I am yours, and I ask you, please stay with me always.’” -Pope Benedict XVI The first National Eucharistic Congress since 1941 will take place from July 17 – 22 in Indianapolis, Indiana!
“Encountering the True Presence of Jesus: The Transforming Power of the Eucharist” Excerpt from an article by Bishop Andrew Cozzens
Jesus becomes present, really present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, all that is Jesus—in the Blessed Sacrament. He does this so that we can encounter him and so that he can transform us through this encounter.
At the heart of our teaching on the Real Presence is this very simple but very important truth: the same Jesus who was in Bethlehem, who walked the earth, who suffered and died on the cross, who rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father—that same Jesus Christ is really, truly, substantially present in every Tabernacle and at every Mass. He is there so that you can receive him in Holy Communion and become one with him. He is there so that you can encounter him, adore him, and be changed into him.
From the beginning, the Church has taught that there is a personal presence of Jesus in the Eucharist—so much so that when we come before the Eucharist, we give him the reverence due to God. This is a hallmark of our Catholic faith: Jesus becomes present sacramentally—a mystery still, but really and truly present. So when I pass before the Tabernacle, I bend my knee because I know that God is there.
This is why Adoration can provide such a powerful encounter with Jesus. Of course, the most powerful encounter is to receive him in Communion. But when I come before him in Adoration, it can also have a profound effect on me. When you ask a young man who went to the seminary or a young woman who entered the convent about their vocation, almost all of them will say, “It was really spending time in Adoration with Jesus that allowed me to discern my vocation.”
When I was a young priest, I took some young people in our parish youth group to a conference in Saint Paul, Minnesota. One night we had Adoration, and as often happens at these events, there was one young man who was clearly there only because his parents made him come. And he was letting us know in all kinds of ways that he didn’t want to be there.
On Saturday evening before Adoration, I had an inspiration. I went up to this young man and put my finger on his chest and said, “God wants to do something in you tonight.” He was a little taken aback and said, “What? What do you mean?” After the Adoration time, he came up to me with tears in his eyes and said, “How did you know?” I said, “I know Jesus.” In fact, for the rest of high school that young man never missed youth group. It changed his life because he had a real encounter with Jesus through Adoration. (The Word Among Us magazine) |
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“I offer my soul to Christ the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and my body to Christ in the Lord,hanging on the Cross.” (St. Kateri Tekakwitha, feast day, July 14) In speaking of Eucharistic Adoration, St. Clare of Assisi (feast day, August 11) said, “Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him.” July is the month of the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Blood of Jesus, inebriate me! O Jesus, my Beloved Saviour, ever present in the Tabernacle, to be the strength, the joy and the food of souls, I come to consecrate myself to Thy Precious Blood, and to pledge Thee my sincere love and fidelity. Pierced with sorrow at the remembrance of Thy sufferings, the contemplation of the Cross, and the thought of the outrages and contempt lavished by ungrateful souls upon Thy dear Blood, I long, O my Jesus, to bring joy to Thy Heart, and to make Thee forget my sins, and those of the whole world, by consecrating my body and soul to Thy service. I desire, my Jesus, to live henceforth, only by Thy Blood and for Thy Blood. I now choose It as my greatest treasure and the dearest object of my love. O merciful Redeemer, deign to regard me as a perpetual adorer of Thy Most Precious Blood, and be pleased to accept my prayers, my deeds and my sacrifices, as so many acts of reparation and love. (From the Act of Consecration to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus) |
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Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Patron of World Youth Days, Incorrupt, Italy (190 1-1925)—Feast, July 4:
St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, Priest, Physician, Incorrupt, Italy (1502-1539)— Feast, July 5:
St. Maria Goretti, Patroness of Youth, Children of Mary, and Rape Victims, Italy (1890-1902)—Feast, July 6: “St. Maria Goretti, you, too, experienced great joy as you learned about Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist as you were preparing to receive Him for the first time. Just like Mary you could not contain your joy when you finally received Him. You shared this joy with your family, friends and neighbors. just as Mary's physical condition assured her and Elizabeth that they would meet God face to face in nine months, so, too, was the reception of Christ in the Eucharist your assurance, as it should be ours, of that ultimate meeting with Him in eternity.” (Novena prayer)
St. Benedict, Priest, Benedictine founder, Patron of kidney disease, Italy (c.480-547)—Feast, July 11:
St. Camillus de Lellis, Founder, Patron of Hospitals, Nurses, and the Sick, Italy (1550-1614)—Feast, July 18: St. Camillus loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and spent a long time in daily adoration. It was from our Eucharistic Lord that he drew strength to serve the sick, including those who were contagious, with Christ’s love.
St. Mary Magdalene, Repentant Sinner, Disciple of Jesus, Apostle to the Apostles—Feast, July 22: “St. Mary Magdalene seeks the Lord, and when she finds him, she adores him . . . . Adoration takes first place. Mary Magdalene reminds us of the need to recover the primacy of God and the primacy of adoration in the life of the Church and in the liturgical celebration.” (Cardinal Robert Sarah)
St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest, Hermit, Miracle Worker, Lebanon (1828-1898)—Feast, July 24: St. Sharbel’s life was so centered on the Holy Eucharist that he would arise before dawn, and pray continuously in preparation for receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. Then, he would spend the rest of his day in thanksgiving.
St. James the Greater, Apostle, Martyr, Patron of Spain and Santiago de Compostela (d. 42)—Feast, July 25:
Sts. Joachim & Anne, Parents of the Bl. Virgin Mary, Patrons of parents and grandparents—Feast, July 26: Most Holy Saints Anne and Joachim, come close to us and guide our hands and our hearts in the way of virtue. Help us to parent our children and grandchildren with a gentle heart as you did. Show us how to raise our children in faith and bring our families into the Light of Jesus.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose Son blessed by his presence the home of Lazarus and Mary and Martha in Bethany: grant that, like Martha, we may serve Christ faithfully in the person of our brothers and sisters; and that, like Mary, we may feed on his Word and grow in his love and grace; and that, like Lazarus, we may be brought forth from death to new life in him; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, Founder of Jesuits, Spain (1491-1556)—Feast, July 31: According to St. Ignatius, the Eucharist is “the greatest mark of [Christ’s] love,” (Spiritual Exercises, 289) which culminates in the final meditation on God’s love, contemplation.
August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Doctor, Lawyer, Patron of Arthritis, Italy (1696-1787)—Feast, Aug. 1: “Friends that love one another dearly long to be united so as to be as one. God's immense love for men and women ensured not only that he gave himself wholly to them in the eternal kingdom, but that also on this earth he let himself be possessed by human beings in the most intimate union, giving all of himself to them under the appearance of bread in the Sacrament.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists)
St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest, Founder, Apostle of the Eucharist, France (1811-1868)—Feast, Aug. 2: “Look upon the hour of adoration assigned to you as an hour in paradise. Go to your adoration as one would to heaven, to the divine banquet. You will then long for that hour and hail it with joy. Take delight in fostering a longing for it in your heart. Tell yourself, “In four hours, in two hours, in one hour, our Lord will give me an audience of grace and love. He has invited me; he is waiting for me; he is longing for me.” (St. Peter Julian)
Feast of the Transfiguration—Aug. 6: “The Eucharist, like the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, ‘strengthens our hope, fires us with greater love, and urges us to take up the cross and follow Christ,’ using the words of Pope Saint Leo.” (Fr. Jeremy Hazuka)
St. Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers, Defender of Faith, Spain (1170-1221)—Feast, Aug. 8: “After celebrating Mass, St Dominic prolonged his conversation with God without setting any time limit. Sitting quietly, he would pause in recollection in an inner attitude of listening, while reading a book or gazing at the Crucifix. He experienced these moments of closeness to God so intensely that his reactions of joy or of tears were outwardly visible. In this way, through meditation, he absorbed the reality of the faith. Witnesses recounted that at times he entered a kind of ecstasy with his face transfigured, but that immediately afterwards he would humbly resume his daily work, recharged by the power that comes from on High.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Audience, 8/8/12)
“This heart, it beats for us in a small tabernacle where it remains mysteriously hidden in that still, white host.” (St. Teresa Benedicta, The Hidden Life)
St. Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr, Patron of Deacons and Third Patron of Rome (d. 258)—Feast, Aug. 10: “The Eucharist held a central place in Saint Lawrence’s life and ministry. He understood the transformative power of the Eucharist — the body and blood of Christ — as a source of spiritual nourishment and communion with God. Lawrence’s profound reverence for the Eucharist fueled his dedication to administering it to the faithful, ensuring that they could partake in the sacred mystery. His actions underscored the belief that the Eucharist was not only a symbolic ritual but a tangible connection to Christ’s presence and sacrifice.” (Gyaviira Luwaga)
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, Franciscan Priest, Martyr, Poland (1894-1941)—Feast, Aug. 14:
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (Aug. 15) and Queenship of the B.V.M. (Aug. 22): “Mary’s Assumption gives us hope that bearing God through the reception of the Eucharist will draw us into eternity with God. When Mary bore Jesus in her womb, her nature as a woman was elevated to a sacred purpose. The same is true of the eucharistic bread and wine: when it is transformed into the presence of Christ, its nature too is elevated to the sacred. And when we receive the Eucharist, we are elevated ourselves into agents of the presence of God. Bearing God in our bodies, through the Eucharist, makes us bearers of the presence of Christ in our families and in our communities — the Eucharist transforms us into the mystical body of Christ and thus makes us sharers in the life of the Trinity.” (Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila)
St. Augustine, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, North Africa (354-430)—Feast, Aug. 28:
Passion of St. John the Baptist—August 29: “Behold.” We hear this word at every Mass. The priest holds up the Eucharist and says, “Behold the Lamb of God.” It is a moment of adoration, prayer, and silence. This moment is always powerful for me as a priest. I’m talking to the Body of Christ, the Church, as I behold the Body of Christ, the Eucharist. I’m holding Christ in my hands, lifting Jesus so that all may behold him. I pause for a moment, just for a moment, so that we all may worship him. Then I cry out with the people, “Lord, I am not worthy!” It’s true! And we continue, “but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” We look at the Eucharist and cry out to him, “Lord!” This is a conversation. We’re not just looking; we are speaking and listening. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. We behold him as he beholds us. He shares His Body and Blood with us at every Mass. (Fr. Joe Laramie, S.J.)
September is the month of Our Lady of Sorrows.
St. Gregory the Great, Pope, Church Doctor, Italy (540-640)—Feast, September 3: “The heavens open and multitudes of angels come to assist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” (St. Gregory)
St. Teresa of Calcutta, Rel. founder, Ptn of the Gutters & World Youth Day, Albania (1910-1997)—Sept. 5: “Every holy hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it will be recorded in Heaven and retold for all eternity. It opens up the floodgates of God’s merciful Love upon the world.” (St. Teresa of Calcutta)
St. Peter Claver, Jesuit Priest, Spain, Patron of Black Missions (1580-1654)—Feast, Sept. 9: St. Peter’s family had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary. Despite resistance, he became a “slave to the slaves,” catechizing and baptizing more than 300,000. He tirelessly worked to bring the sacraments to the slaves, and spent his nights in prayer and penance.
Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Blessed Be Thy Holy Name!—Feast, Sept. 12: “Keep seeking Jesus in the Eucharist, and you will live with Him as the Most Holy Virgin did in Nazareth.” (St. Teresa of the Andes)
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Orators, Syria (c. 347-407)—Feast, Sept. 13: Saint John Chrysostom, with his stirring eloquence, exhorted the faithful: “I too raise my voice, I beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this sacred table with a sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact, can never be called ‘communion,’ not even were we to touch the Lord’s body a thousand times over, but condemnation,’ ‘torment’ and ‘increase of punishment'” (Pope St. John Paul II)
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross—September 14: “Through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we have the gift of the Holy Eucharist. Good Friday follows Holy Thursday because the passion and death of Jesus was the price that He paid so that we may have divine, immortal, everlasting life in Him in the new and everlasting covenant of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist flows from our Lord's passion. He poured out His very last drop of Blood on the Cross so that He may fill you with His divine love each time that you receive Him in Holy Communion. What a wonderful opportunity we have in thanking Him for this great gift! Your sacrifice of spending an hour with Jesus in the middle of the night is thanking Him for all the sufferings that He endured to give us the gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist.” (From the “Value of Sacrifice” pamphlet, available through us)
Our Lady of Sorrows: “Behold your Mother!” (Jn 19:27)—Feast, Sept. 15: “Virgin Immaculate, you were present at the death of your Divine Son on Calvary, and you offered your immense sorrow in union with His Sacrifice. Again after the Resurrection you were present at the real but unbloody, Sacrifice of your Son in the Holy Mass. Teach us to unite ourselves with Jesus at the Consecration as you did; obtain for us the grace to understand the reality of the Mass; and awaken in us the desire to assist at Mass often, even daily.” (From the “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament” novena pamphlet, available through us)
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Franciscan Priest, Stigmatist, Mystic, Italy (1887-1968)—Feast, Sept. 23: “In the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist, in this sacrament of love, we have true life, a blessed life, and true happiness.” (St. Padre Pio)
St. Vincent De Paul (1581-1660) Priest, Servant, France—Feast, September 27: “St. Vincent spent one hour each morning before the Blessed Sacrament before celebrating Mass. Vincent visited the Blessed Sacrament before and after his meals, and he would frequently make short visits to the chapel before leaving and upon returning from his responsibilities.” (St. Vincent de Paul Society manual)
St. Jerome, Priest & Doctor, Patron of Librarians, Dalmatia (c. 340-d. 420)—Feast, Sept. 30: St. Jerome was devoted to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and God’s word in the Sacred Scriptures. |
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