The post An Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The post Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat! first appeared on AirMaria.com.

And Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary,

of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Mt.1:16)

Among the Jews, as among other peoples of nomadic origin, the genealogical tree was of vital importance. A person was known fundamentally of the clan or tribe to which he belonged rather than by the place where he lived.  Among the Hebrews we have the added circumstances ­of belonging to the chosen people through ties of a person’s ancestry being traced through the male. Joseph, as the husband of Mary, was the legal father of Jesus and, as such, carried the duties of a true father. Joseph, like Mary, was of the house and family of David of whom would be born the Messiah.

It would also be Joseph’s responsibility to name the Word incarnate, in accordance with the instructions given him by the angel: You shall call his name Jesus.

God had foreseen that his Son would be born of the Virgin Mary, in a family just like any other, and that in her he would develop in his humanity. The life of Jesus had to be in this respect the same as that of other men. He was to be born defenseless, in need of a father who would protect him and teach him the things that all fathers should teach their sons. The essence and ultimate meaning of Joseph’s life had to lie in the fulfillment of his mission as Mary’s husband and as the father of Jesus. He was born into the world to act as the father of Jesus and to be Mary’s most chaste spouse, in the same way that every person who comes into the world has a specific vocation from God, in which is rooted the whole meaning of his life.

When the angel revealed to him the mystery of the virgin birth of Jesus, Joseph quietly accepted the vocation to which he was to remain faithful until death. St Joseph’s whole glory and happiness lay in his knowing how to understand what God wanted of him and in his having faithfully carried it out to the end.

Let us contemplate Joseph at the side of the Blessed Virgin, who is with child and soon to give birth to her only begotten Son. And let us resolve to spend the time of Christmas at St Joseph’s side, a place as unnoticed as it is privileged: How good Joseph is!

Joseph’s relations with Jesus:

Joseph, we read in a sermon of St Augustine, not only claims the name of father, but has a greater claim to it than any other. And then he adds: How was he a father? All the more effectively, the more chaste the paternity. Some thought that he was the father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the same way as other fathers, who beget sons of the flesh and do not receive them only as the fruit of a spiritual love. This is why St Luke says: ‘he was thought to be the father of Jesus.

St Joseph was deeply in love With Mary. He must have loved her so much and with such generosity of heart that, when he learned of her desire to preserve the consecration she had made to God, he agreed to marry her. He would rather renounce having children than live apart from the woman he loved.  His was a pure, refined and deep love. It was full of respect with no hint of selfishness. God himself had definitively sealed their union with a new and even stronger bond, which was their joint earthly mission of bringing up the Messiah. And they had already been betrothed, which was why the angel had said: Do not be afraid to take Mary to be ‘your wife’.

What kind of relationship would Joseph have had with Jesus? Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting his own skill to him. So the neighbors in Nazareth would call Jesus the son of the craftsman. Jesus worked in Joseph’s workshop and by Joseph’s side. What sort of man must Joseph have been, and how must grace have been active in him, that he was able to carry out the task of bringing up the Son of God?

For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the traits of his character and in his way of speaking. Jesus’ realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations in his teaching – all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.

We stay close to Joseph as we meditate on the approaching Nativity. He only asks us to be simple and humble in our contemplation of Mary and her son. There is no room for the proud in that little group in Bethlehem.

Go to Joseph, so that he may teach us to live side by side with Jesus and Mary:

Joseph is only a silent witness to the Holy Maternity. Joseph, full of admiration, unspeak­ing and respectful, contemplates the child and its mother. After Mary, he was the first person to see the Son of God made man. No one could have experienced more happiness than he when he took in his arms the Messiah, who in no visible way could be distinguished from any other child. Initially, Joseph’s participation in the mystery had come about through the knowledge given him by the angel’s revelation of the mission he was to carry out for these two exceptional people.

St Joseph was present later when the shepherds arrived. He saw them approach the cave, timid and curious, to see for themselves the ‘babe wrapped in swaddling clothes’. He heard them explain to Mary about the apparition of the heavenly messenger who had told them about the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem and about the sign by which they would recognize him, describing how a multitude of angels had gathered with this first herald envoy, glorifying God and promising peace on earth to men of good will … Joseph also contemplated the radiant happiness of the woman who was his wife, this marvelous lady who had been entrusted into his keeping. Enthralled by the way she gazed at her son, he saw her own unspeakable joy, her own overflow­ing love, her every gesture so full of exquisite tenderness and meaning.

If we stay close to Joseph during these few days between now and Christmas, he will help us to contem­plate this tremendous mystery of which he was a silent witness and to gaze lovingly at Mary as she holds in her arms the Son of God made man.

From the very start Saint Joseph grasped the fact that his whole reason for living was this child, precisely because he was a child, and as such, in need of help and protection, as Mary was too, for God himself had commissioned him to take her into his home and give her protection.

How grateful Jesus would be for all the vigilance and attention that Joseph paid to Mary. That is why the Church has always paid him great tribute and been fervent in his praise, having recourse to him in times of greatest difficulty. Saint Joseph, pray for them (for our loved ones), pray for me (for I too need your help). In whatever need, the Holy Patriarch, together with the Blessed Virgin, will hear our prayers. Today, we ask him to make us simple of heart so that we will know how to show our love for the child Jesus as he did.

From “In Conversation with God” by Fr. Francis Fernandez

…Joseph likewise draws near to adore. The earthly shadow of the Eternal Father rests softly on the Child. Joseph draws near, that most hidden of all God’s saints. His soul is an abyss nameless graces, of graces deeper than those from which ordinary virtues spring. We can give no name to the character of his sanctity. We cannot compare him with any other of saints of God. As his office was unshared, so was his grace.  It followed the peculiarities of his office; it stood alone.

He stood to Jesus visibly in the place of the Eternal Father. The human soul of Jesus must have regarded him not only with the tenderest love but also with deep reverence and an inexplicable submission. Meek and gentle, blameless and loving as St. Joseph was, it is not possible to think of him without extreme awe, because of that identity with the Eternal Father which belongs to him  We cannot describe his holiness, because we have no term of comparison. It was not only higher in degree than that of the saints but it was different in kind. But it was eminently hidden in God.

From “Bethlehem” by Father Faber

MEDITATION FROM ST. PETER JULIAN EYMARD (to be an adorer like St. Joseph): But I think it is no less necessary to leave in the hands of Divine Providence the care of our spiritual life and of our perfection; for it is nothing else than our excessive solicitude for ourselves that makes us lose our peace of mind and puts us into strange and changeable moods. When we commit a fault, however small, we think that everything is lost. You may be so often troubled with dryness that you are not close to God Who is so full of consolation… we must be like St. Joseph, who was calm in trial and leave it to the Lord to free us when it pleases Him. (Sadness returns as we fall back on ourselves and cease to dwell on the thought of Our Lord’s goodness)

I love you, St. Joseph…

And Jesus and Mary too!

The post The Mission of St. Joseph first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria Meditations

 A Eucharistic Meditation from St. Peter Julian Eymard  (feast day is August 2nd) on the Blessed Sacrament

 THE EXCESS OF LOVE 

WHAT shall we say of the Eucharistic abasement of our Lord Jesus Christ?  To remain with us Jesus Christ exposes Himself to ingratitude and insult.  Nothing disheartens Him.  Let us contemplate this good Savior Whom we ill-treat as we would no one else, and Who nevertheless persists in remaining with us.

I 

Our Lord certainly deserves our gratitude for coming to us and bringing us infinite treasure of grace.  After all, He is king; He is God! What poor or sick man could receive the visit of a grandee of this world, especially of a king, without being moved to gratitude for such condescension?  Envy, and even hatred, yields to the greatness that abases itself. 

Does not our Lord deserve to thanked and loved?  For He does not visit us only in passing; He remains in our midst.  Whether we ask for Him or not, He is there to do us good even without our desiring it. He is the only one not to be thanked for the good He does.  Through His presence in the most Blessed Sacrament He works wonders of char­ity but they are not appreciated; they are not even considered. 

Men consider it a disgrace to be ungrateful; but with regard to our Lord one would think ingratitude were a commandment.  And all this did not dishearten our Lord; He knew it all when He instituted the Eucharist.  He had but one thought: Deliciae meae, “My de­lights are to be with the children of the wretched.”  Love reaches a point where it is so strong that it wants to be with those it loves, even with no hope of return.    

II

Our Lord seems to seek outrages.  He does not take care of His honor.  It is frightful to think of it.  Ah! How terrified we will be on the day of judgment for having lived with so much love at our side and paid no heed to it!  Our Lord, in fact, comes without pomp or majesty.  Upon the altar, beneath the Eucharistic veil our Lord looks like a nondescript that has no longer any being.

Is there need of greater self-abasement?  In order to abase Himself thus, our Lord has to display all His power. He sustains the accidents by a miracle.  He contradicts all the laws of nature in order to humble and abase Himself.  Who could envelop the sun in a cloud thick enough to intercept its light and heat? That would be a very great miracle.  Our Lord performs it in His own Person beneath the Eucharistic Species, which in themselves are so frail and common, He is glorious and luminous; He is God… 

Oh! Let us not put our Lord to shame for His being so lowly and little!   His love has willed it! 

III 

Our Lord could have a whole retinue of visible and armed angels for His protection, but He is unwilling to have it: these angelic armies would frighten us or humiliate us with their faith and their respect.  Our Lord comes alone and abandoned in order to abase Himself the more.  Love never ceases condescending to the one loved. 

IV 

Our Lord denies Himself personal glory in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  He veils His beautiful countenance.  He imposes silence on His divine lips, the lips of the Word, because these things would bring Him honors and would place Him too far above us.  He wants to come down to our level.  Oh! Let us then respect the lowliness of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. 

V 

Our Lord gives Himself without any defense whatever.  He loses His own power of action.  No longer can He complain or flee or call for help.  He has forbidden His angels to help Him or to punish those who insult Him.  We instinctively run to help one who is being attacked or is in danger; but no one will help our Lord.  He is Man and He is God; but He retains only the power to love and to abase Himself.

 VI 

But, Lord, why dost Thou do this?  Why this excess?  (Jesus replies): “I love them; I see them; I am wait­ing for them; I am coming to them; My delights are to be with the wretched.” 

In the meantime people attend to their pleasures, their ambitions, their friends, their business; to everything before our Lord.  He is the last to be attended to, perhaps by way of Viaticum-if there is time for it-is not that enough?  Lord, why dost Thou come to those who do not care for Thee?  Why dost Thou insist on remain­ing with those who reject Thee? 

VII

Who would agree to do what our Lord does:  He institutes His Sacrament to be honored therein by man, and He is more insulted than hon­ored; the bad Christians outnumber the good.

Our Lord is taking in only losses. Why does He keep up this business?  Who would want to run a business at a total loss?

Ah, the Saints who see and understand so much love and abasement must be seized with a holy anger and feel indignant at seeing us so ungrateful!  And the Father says to His Son, “We must put a stop to this; You are getting nothing out of it. Your love is lighted; Your abasements are made nothing of.  You are losing out of it; let us be done with it!”

But Our Lord will not listen.  He stays on; He hopes, He contents Himself with the adoration and love of a few good souls.  Oh! We at least, let us not fail Him.  Does he not deserve by His abasements that we honor and love Him?

The post His Love Has Willed It first appeared on AirMaria.com.

My Daily Eucharist: 

On awakening, make the sign of the cross.

On arising say: “O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine!  All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.”

Adore our Lord as your King who has called you today to work in his amiable service and for his honor and glory. Render him this day the homage of your mind, your heart, your body and your life for he deserves it all.

Thank our Lord for having kept you alive; thank him for all the graces received during your life (baptism, first communion, vocation). Rejoice at the honor and the happiness of spending this whole day in union with our Divine Lord in his Sacrament of love: such a day may be worth an entire life, the whole of Paradise.

Acknowledge your weakness and your defects in your particular vocation. Confess your offenses of yester­day. Detest the power of self-love, the feebleness of your will, the distractions of your mind. Promise our Lord that you will correct your ruling passion; foresee the occasions of relapse and the opportunities of practicing opposite virtues. Remember your resolution for this month and determine for yourself a certain penance in case of failure to keep it.

Ask our Lord for the grace of being more faithful today. Recommend yourself to the Blessed Virgin, to your Guardian Angel and begin work with the help of God’s grace.

Consecrate the whole day to our Eucharistic Jesus. Place yourself in spirit, in his presence and humbly adore him on his nearest throne of Perpetual Exposition or in the nearest Taber­nacle.

O sweet Jesus, your goodness and your might have brought me to this morning’s light. Keep and preserve me every hour, from sorrow. sin, temptation’s power. Grant me your blessing, Lord, this day, on all I think and do and say. Jesus for your help I plead. Mary for me intercede.

After making this offering, form your intention to gain all the indulgences of the day. Then hasten to the church for your morning prayers, Holy Mass and Communion.

MORNING PRAYERS

Most holy and adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I believe that you are here present; I adore you with the deepest humility and with my whole heart render to you the homage which is due to your sovereign majesty.

ACT OF FAITH

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that your Divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because you have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

ACT OF HOPE

O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

ACT OF LOVE

 O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.

Say the Our Father, Hail Mary and the Creed. 

PRAYER

Adorable Jesus, my Savior and Master, model of all perfection, I resolve and will endeavor this day to imitate your example; to be like you, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable and resigned. I will redouble my efforts that I may not fall this day into any of those sins which I have heretofore committed (here name any besetting sin), and which I sincerely desire to forsake. I have the intention to gain all the indulgences I can in favor of the poor souls in Purgatory.

O my God, you know my poverty and weakness, and that I am unable to do anything good without you; deny me not 0 God, the help of your grace, propor­tion it to my necessities, give me strength to avoid any­thing evil which you forbid and to practice the good which you have commanded and enable me to bear pa­tiently all the trials which it may please you to send me.

MORNING OFFERING

O my God, in a spirit of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation and petition I offer you the actions and sufferings of this day in union with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, in order to render to that adorable Heart dwell­ing among us, the debt of justice and love due to his august Presence, and moreover to offer to your Divine Majesty through him, with him and in him the glory that he himself renders you here on earth. Lastly, I make this offering to obtain by means of that Almighty Mediator peace for the Church, salvation for our country and all the other graces for which we call on you.

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Eternal rest give unto them, o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

St. Peter Julian Eymard

The post My Eucharistic Day first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Our Lord’s Last Will is expressed in His words spoken shortly before He began His Sacred Passion: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remain on the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4). This union with Christ is made perfect in Holy Com­munion. Hence Holy Communion is God’s best means of sanctify­ing you.

But you may remain closely united with Jesus even after Holy Communion. The act of Communion is passing, but the effect it produces, namely, union with Christ, is meant to be permanent. Jesus does not dwell with you by His bodily presence, yet He does so by the outpourings of His love, by the lights and graces He sends you without ceasing from the tabernacle.

It is by visits to the Blessed Sacrament that you open your soul to His transforming action. Share with Him your joys and sorrows, your feelings and affections, your plans and desires.  Youe whole life is meant to be a sharing with Christ, gradually transforming you into Christ. This is the marvelous effect of prayer before the tabernacle.

Jesus wishes to be your friend in the Blessed Sacrament. There is always something lacking in friendship that is only human. You need His divine friendship, for there are times when you are very much alone, when everyone seems weary of you, when you are discouraged. But Christ is close to you in the tabernacle as your best friend, as your companion in exile, with a heart, human like your own; a heart that can understand your sorrows and problems, since it has experienced all that you must bear. His heart can sympathize with you and befriend you in your hour of need; He can love you with the love of the best of friends.

Like a real furnace of fire His heart burns all for you with a love that knows no end because it has its source in the depths of Godhead-all for you, as if there were no other to share its in­finite warmth. Not all the tender affection He pours out upon countless other souls lessens His love for you. Even when you forget Him, He thinks of you; even when you offend or disappoint Him, He sacrifices Himself for you at Mass; when you have trials, He is ready to console and strengthen you.

St. Peter Julian Eymard

The post On Visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament first appeared on AirMaria.com.

May 13th is not only the anniversary of Our Lady’s apparition at Fatima but is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.

FIRST DAY

THE TITLE OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine 

Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God! 

O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of Jesus and our tender Mother, we invoke thee under the title of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, because thou art the Mother of the Savior who lives in the Eucharist, and because it was from thee that He took the Flesh and Blood with which He there feeds us! We invoke thee under that title because, again, thou art the sovereign dispensatrix of all graces and, consequently, of those contained in the august Eucharist, also, because thou didst first fulfill the duties of the Eucharistic life, teaching us by thy example how to assist properly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how to communicate worthily, and how to visit frequently and piously the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

V. Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 
R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us! 

Let us pray: 

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in The Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever! Amen. 

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. 

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. 

SECOND DAY

MARY AND THE HOLY MASS

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, after having been present at the death of thy Divine Son on Calvary, where thou didst unite thy immense sorrow to the Redeemer’s sacrifice, thou didst frequently assist at the real, though mysterious, renewal of that adorable sacrifice in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Teach us by thy example to esteem as it deserves the divine action performed at the altar, and obtain for us the grace to be able often, and even daily, to assist piously at the Holy Sacrifice. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

THIRD DAY

MARY AND HOLY COMMUNION

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, thy Communions were the most fervent, the most holy that were ever made! When thou didst possess thy Divine Son in thy breast, thou didst love Him with a love exceeding that of any other creature soever for his God. Teach us to make Holy Communion the center of our life, and may that life be spent in preparing us for so great an action and in thanking God for so inappreciable a benefit!

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

FOURTH DAY

MARY AND THE REAL PRESENCE

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, who after the ascension of thy Divine Son, didst console thy exile on earth by thy Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament, and didst spend before the tabernacle the greater part of thy days and even thy nights, make us comprehend the treasure we possess on the altar. Inspire us to visit often the God of Love in the Sacrament in which He abides to receive the homage that He deserves by so many titles, and to guide. protect, and console us in this exile! 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

FIFTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF ADORERS

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, thou art our perfect Model in the service of the Divine Eucharist. With the most lively faith and the most profound respect thou didst adore Jesus 

hidden under the sacramental veils. After thy example we desire to render to the Sacred Host all the honor due the Divinity and the glorified Humanity of the Son of God made Man. We wish to maintain at all times in the holy place the modesty and recollection becoming true adorers. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

SIXTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF THANKSGIVING

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, who didst return to Jesus so perfect a Thanksgiving for the institution of the Divine Eucharist and the ineffable Gift in which the Savior exhausted His power and the treasures of His Heart, teach us to thank thy Divine Son for this great benefit, and especially to make our thanksgiving well when we have had the happiness of receiving Him in Holy Communion. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

SEVENTH DAY 

MARY, THE MODEL OF REPARATION

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc.
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate thou didst adore thy Divine Son in His state of perpetual Victim, always immolated on our altars, incessantly demanding, by His death, grace and mercy for sinners. We unite with thy dolors and thy perfect reparation. We desire to accept our daily trials for love of Him, and with thee to console Jesus for the ingratitude of men and the outrages He daily receives in the Blessed Sacrament. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

EIGHTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF PRAYER

O Sacrament most holy, etc.
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, while the Apostles went to preach the Gospel, thou didst remain close to the tabernacle, supplicating for them the goodness of the Savior, and thy prayer obtained for them the grace to convert the world! Teach us to pray, above all, to pray near the tabernacle, where Jesus wills to abide continually in order to hear our petitions. Teach us to pray for the extension of the Eucharistic kingdom, for the salvation of the whole world, for the exaltation of the Holy Church, and most especially for the sanctification of the clergy and the conversion of sinners. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

NINTH DAY

MARY, THE DISPENSATRIX OF EUCHARISTIC GRACES

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

0 Virgin Immaculate, Mother most loving and admirable Model of adorers of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, thou art also the dispensatrix of the graces necessary to fulfill that great duty! Grant us, then, we beseech thee, as the fruit of this novena, the virtues that will render our adoration less unworthy of thy Divine Son. Teach us to honor so well this Mystery of mysteries that we may receive here below the graces it contains, in order to enjoy in heaven the eternal life of which it is the pledge! 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

Taken from Volume VII of the Eymard Library
Courtesy of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

FIRST DAY

THE TITLE OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine 

Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God! 

O Virgin Immaculate, Mother of Jesus and our tender Mother, we invoke thee under the title of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, because thou art the Mother of the Savior who lives in the Eucharist, and because it was from thee that He took the Flesh and Blood with which He there feeds us! We invoke thee under that title because, again, thou art the sovereign dispensatrix of all graces and, consequently, of those contained in the august Eucharist, also, because thou didst first fulfill the duties of the Eucharistic life, teaching us by thy example how to assist properly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how to communicate worthily, and how to visit frequently and piously the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

V. Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 
R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us! 

Let us pray: 

Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God, who having become Man to make us sharers in The Divinity, art truly our Bread in the adorable Eucharist, grant, we beseech Thee, that in venerating so great a Mystery, we may be mindful of the most sweet Virgin Mary, of whom Thou didst will to be conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost! Grant, also that we may imitate the worship that she rendered while on earth to this most august Sacrament, so we may behold Thy Eucharistic Kingdom spread and flourish throughout the whole world! O Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever! Amen. 

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

O Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the glory of Christians, the joy of the universal Church, and the hope of the world, pray for us. Kindle in all the faithful a lively devotion to the most Holy Eucharist, so that they may be worthy to receive Holy Communion every day. 

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us. Let us with Mary Immaculate adore, thank, supplicate, and console the most sacred and beloved Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. 

SECOND DAY

MARY AND THE HOLY MASS

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, after having been present at the death of thy Divine Son on Calvary, where thou didst unite thy immense sorrow to the Redeemer’s sacrifice, thou didst frequently assist at the real, though mysterious, renewal of that adorable sacrifice in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Teach us by thy example to esteem as it deserves the divine action performed at the altar, and obtain for us the grace to be able often, and even daily, to assist piously at the Holy Sacrifice. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

THIRD DAY

MARY AND HOLY COMMUNION

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, thy Communions were the most fervent, the most holy that were ever made! When thou didst possess thy Divine Son in thy breast, thou didst love Him with a love exceeding that of any other creature soever for his God. Teach us to make Holy Communion the center of our life, and may that life be spent in preparing us for so great an action and in thanking God for so inappreciable a benefit!

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

FOURTH DAY

MARY AND THE REAL PRESENCE

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, who after the ascension of thy Divine Son, didst console thy exile on earth by thy Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament, and didst spend before the tabernacle the greater part of thy days and even thy nights, make us comprehend the treasure we possess on the altar. Inspire us to visit often the God of Love in the Sacrament in which He abides to receive the homage that He deserves by so many titles, and to guide. protect, and console us in this exile! 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

FIFTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF ADORERS

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, thou art our perfect Model in the service of the Divine Eucharist. With the most lively faith and the most profound respect thou didst adore Jesus 

hidden under the sacramental veils. After thy example we desire to render to the Sacred Host all the honor due the Divinity and the glorified Humanity of the Son of God made Man. We wish to maintain at all times in the holy place the modesty and recollection becoming true adorers. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

SIXTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF THANKSGIVING

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, who didst return to Jesus so perfect a Thanksgiving for the institution of the Divine Eucharist and the ineffable Gift in which the Savior exhausted His power and the treasures of His Heart, teach us to thank thy Divine Son for this great benefit, and especially to make our thanksgiving well when we have had the happiness of receiving Him in Holy Communion. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

SEVENTH DAY 

MARY, THE MODEL OF REPARATION

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc.
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate thou didst adore thy Divine Son in His state of perpetual Victim, always immolated on our altars, incessantly demanding, by His death, grace and mercy for sinners. We unite with thy dolors and thy perfect reparation. We desire to accept our daily trials for love of Him, and with thee to console Jesus for the ingratitude of men and the outrages He daily receives in the Blessed Sacrament. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

EIGHTH DAY

MARY, THE MODEL OF PRAYER

O Sacrament most holy, etc.
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

O Virgin Immaculate, while the Apostles went to preach the Gospel, thou didst remain close to the tabernacle, supplicating for them the goodness of the Savior, and thy prayer obtained for them the grace to convert the world! Teach us to pray, above all, to pray near the tabernacle, where Jesus wills to abide continually in order to hear our petitions. Teach us to pray for the extension of the Eucharistic kingdom, for the salvation of the whole world, for the exaltation of the Holy Church, and most especially for the sanctification of the clergy and the conversion of sinners. 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

NINTH DAY

MARY, THE DISPENSATRIX OF EUCHARISTIC GRACES

O Sacrament Most Holy, etc. 
Blessed be the holy, etc. 

0 Virgin Immaculate, Mother most loving and admirable Model of adorers of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, thou art also the dispensatrix of the graces necessary to fulfill that great duty! Grant us, then, we beseech thee, as the fruit of this novena, the virtues that will render our adoration less unworthy of thy Divine Son. Teach us to honor so well this Mystery of mysteries that we may receive here below the graces it contains, in order to enjoy in heaven the eternal life of which it is the pledge! 

Versicle, Response, and Prayer as on the first day

Taken from Volume VII of the Eymard Library
Courtesy of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

The post Novena to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament first appeared on AirMaria.com.

With the Solemnity of the Assumption in the same month as the Feast of St. Peter Julian Eymard (founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers whose feast day was August 2nd), here is a meditation from him on Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament:

Our Lady: Model of Eucharistic Devotion 

Our Lady’s offering of the bloody sacrifice of Calvary is the per­fect model for your offering Holy Mass. She suffered with her divine Son. Never did a mother love her son as she loved Jesus; and so never did a mother share in her son’s agony so deeply as she shared the Passion. Jesus died because He willed to die. Mary must have willed her Son’s death, because, hard as it was to make this sacri­fice, it would have been quite impossible for her will to be the least separated from His. He died out of love for us; this was His final proof of love. Aside from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, no human heart ever loved mankind so deeply as Mary’s Heart, and therefore she wanted to unite her will to His, offering to Almighty God this Holy Sacrifice out of pure charity for the human race. 

Mary is truly your model in offering Holy Mass. Ask Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament to help you to share actively in Holy Mass by sharing in her spirit. She will teach you to imitate her by accepting willingly all the suffering which your service of God involves, your struggles against temptation, your difficult acts of virtue, your little penances-in union with the Victim Jesus on the altar out of love for God and mankind.

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament earnestly invites you to come and partake of this Bread of Life. It is through her that you are able to eat the Bread of Heaven even every day. It is through her prayers that God inspires you to receive It and grants you the grace to receive It frequently, even daily. Each time Jesus becomes present in the hands of the priest, the Life given to us by the words of Consecration comes originally from her. Surely it is through her special influence as Mediatrix of Graces that this Life is shared with you. Therefore, offer Jesus to the Father through her hands, and in Holy Communion ask for graces through her.

From her early years Mary adored the one true God in the Temple at Jerusalem. She adored her God Incarnate within her chaste womb from the time of the Incarnation to His birth. In Bethlehem she first adored Him in His visible presence as He lay in all His helplessness before her joyful eyes. From that time for­ward until His Ascension into heaven, she was the constant adorer of the Word-Made-Flesh in all the mysteries of His earthly life. The early Christians, all lovers of the Eucharist, who visited her frequently during her hidden life of adoration, must have taken away with them the spirit of her Eucharistic devotion. As she knelt before the sacred species, she truly influenced them to be ardent lovers of her loving Son in the Blessed Sacrament. 

Ask Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament to teach you to prove your love for Jesus by visiting Him frequently in His taber­nacle home, where He lives as the best Friend you have upon earth, ready to console and strengthen you in your trials. 

It is the Eucharistic work of Mary to draw souls to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Since the Eucharist is the Source from which the graces of Redemption continually flow to mankind, what an ardent longing must burn in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the flourishing of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. How earnestly she must stand at the side of the priest at the altar, en­couraging him with devotion; how her loving hand guides her children to the Communion rail! The more the love and veneration of Mary is fostered, the more does devotion to the Eucharist flourish.

Through Mary we receive every grace, and consequently those graces contained in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. The graces which come to us through the intercession of Our Lady are such as to move men toward the fruitful reception of the Blessed Eucharist. Dwelling now and forever in the glory of heaven, she draws those for whom Christ died on the cross to the Eucharist and disposes them to live even more perfectly with the Eucharistic life. She was the first to practice the duties of a truly Eucharistic life, showing us by her example how we ought to assist at Mass, receive Holy Communion, and visit the Most Blessed Sacrament. Consequently, the Church of God delights in hailing her as Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Choose Mary as your model of Eucharistic devotion.  Offer Holy Mass, receive holy Communion, and visit Jesus in the tabernacle in full union with her, in the spirit in which she herself did so. Just as in your tenderest years you learned to love God at your mother’s knee, so now learn to love your Eucharistic God, as it were, at her knee, for you can safely believe that Mary is the shortest and surest way to the Heart of the Eucharistic Christ.

May Our Lady lead you to your sacramental Jesus!  May she make you a fervent apostle of the Eucharist. May she make you Eucharist-minded to the extent that your very life may be the Eucharist-in union with her, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

St. Peter Julian Eymard

The post Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament first appeared on AirMaria.com.

From St. Peter Julian Eymard: A Eucharistic Meditation based on the Our Father Prayer

Our Father Who art in Heaven
in the heaven of the Eucharist, to You Who are seated on the throne of grace and love, be benediction, and honor, and power and glory forever and ever!

Hallowed be Your Name
first in ourselves, through the spirit of Your humility, obedience, and charity. May we in all humility and zeal make You known, loved, and adored by all men in the Holy Eucharist.

Thy kingdom come
Thy Eucharistic kingdom. Rule Thou alone forever over us for Your greater glory through the power of Your love and triumph of Your virtues and the grace of a Eucharistic vocation in my state as a layman. Grant us the grace and mission of Your holy love so that we may be able to effectively extend Your Eucharistic kingdom everywhere and realize the desire you expressed: “I have come to cast fire on the earth; and what would I, but that it be kindled?” Oh! that we might be the incendiaries of this heavenly fire!

Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
grant us the grace to find all our joy in wanting You alone, in desiring You alone, and in thinking of You alone. Grant that by denying ourselves always and in all things, we may find light and life in obeying Your good, acceptable, perfect Will. I will what You will. I will it because You will it. I will as You will it. I will it as long as You will it. Perish our thoughts and desires if they are not purely from You, for You, and in You.

Give us this day our daily bread
You are our Eucharistic Lord and You alone will be our food and clothing, our riches and glory, our remedy in illness, and our protection against all evil. You will be all things to us.

And forgive us our trespasses
Forgive me Jesus, for I am sorry for all my sins just as they stand in Your eyes.

As we forgive those who trespass against us
For anyone who has offended us in any way, with our whole heart we forgive them  and desire for them the gifts of Your love.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
Deliver us Jesus, from the demon of pride, impurity, discord and complacency. Deliver us from the cares and worries of life so that with a pure heart and a free mind we may joyfully spend our life and devote all that we are and all that we have in the service of our Eucharistic Lord.

Amen.
In You, O Lord Jesus, have I hoped; let me not be confounded forever. You alone are good. You alone are powerful. You alone are eternal. To you alone be honor and glory, love and thanksgiving forever and ever.

The post May Thy Eucharistic Kingdom Come first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Christus vincit, regnat,  imperat; ab omni malo plemem suam defendat.

Christ conquers, He reigns, He commands. May He de­fend His people from all evil.

Pope Sixtus V had these words engraved on the obelisk which stands in the center of Saint Peter’s Square at Rome. These magnificent words are in the present tense, and not in the past, to indicate that Christ’s triumph is always actual, and that it is brought about in the Eucharist and by the Eucharist.

+++

CHRISTUS vincit. Christ conquers.

Our Lord has fought; He has won control of the field of battle, on which He has planted His flag and pitched His tent: the Sacred Host and the Eucharistic tabernacle. He conquered the Jew and his temple, and He has a tabernacle on Calvary where all the nations come to adore Him beneath the sacramental Species.  He conquered paganism and has chosen Rome, the city of the Caesars, for His capital.

He conquered the false wisdom of the sages; the divine Eucharist rose on the world and shed its: rays over the whole earth, darkness withdrew like the shades of night at the coming of day. The idols have been knocked down and the sacrifices abolished. Jesus Eucharistic is a conqueror Who never halts but ever marches onward; He wants to· subject the universe to His gentle sway.

Every time He takes possession of a country, He pitches therein His Eucharistic royal tent. The erection of a tabernacle is His official occupation of a country. In our own day He still goes out to uncivilized nations; and wherever the Eucharist is brought, the people are converted to Christianity. That is the secret of the triumph of our Catholic missionaries and of the failure of the Protestant preachers. In the latter case, man is battling alone, in the former, Jesus is battling, and He is sure to triumph.

CHRISTUS regnat. Christ reigns.

Jesus does not rule over earthly territories but over souls, and He does so through the Eucharist. A king must rule through his laws and through the love of his subjects for Him. The Eucharist is the law of the Christian: a law of charity and of love, which was promulgated in the Cenacle in the admirable discourse after the Supper: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

This law is revealed in Communion; the eyes of the Christian are opened in Holy Communion as were those of the disciples of Emmaus, and he under­stands the fullness of the law. The “breaking of bread” is what made the first Christians so brave in the face of persecution and so faithful in practicing the law of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s law is one, holy, universal, and eternal. . It will never change or be impaired in any way; ‘Jesus Christ Himself, its divine Author, is defend­ing it. He engraves it on our hearts through His love; the Legislator Himself promulgates His divine f law to each of our souls.  His is a law of love. How many kings rule by love? Jesus is about the only one Whose yoke is  not imposed by force; His rule is gentleness itself . .His true subjects are devoted to Him in life and death; they would rather die than be disloyal to Him.

CHRISTUS imperat. Christ commands.

No king has command over the whole universe; there are other kings equal to him in power. But God the Father has said to Jesus Christ: “I will give Thee all the nations for Thy inheritance.” And our Lord told His lieutenants when He sent them; throughout the world: “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Go and teach ye all nations, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you.”

He issued His commands from the Cenacle. The Eucharistic tabernacle, which is a prolongation or replica of the Cenacle, is the headquarters of the King of kings. All those who fight the good fight receive their orders from there. In the presence of Jesus Eucharistic all men are subjects, all must obey, from the Pope, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, down to the least of the faithful.

CHRISTUS ab omni malo plebem suam defendat.

May Christ defend His people from all evil.

The Eucharist is the divine lightning-rod that wards off the thunderbolts of divine justice. As a tender and devoted mother presses her child to her bosom, puts her arms around it, and shields it with her body to save it from the wrath of an angry father, so Jesus multiplies His presence everywhere, covers the world and envelops it with His merciful presence. Divine Justice does not know then where to strike; it dares not.

And what a protection against the devil! The blood of Jesus which purples our lips makes us a terror to Satan; we are sprinkled with the blood of the true Lamb, and the exterminating angel will not enter. The Eucharist protects the sinner until time for repentance is given him. Ah! Were it not for the Eucharist, for this per­petual Calvary, how often would not the wrath of God have come down upon us!

And how unhappy are the nations that no longer possess the Eucharist! What darkness! What a confusion in the minds! What a chill in the hearts! Satan alone rules supreme, and with him all the evil passions. As for us, the Eucharist delivers us from all evil. Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Chris us imperat; ab omni malo plebem suam defendat!

₊St. Peter Julian Eymard: The Real Presence

The post Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat first appeared on AirMaria.com.