Hard to Believe, isn’t it?
God invites us to be with Him. He needs our company. He listens intently to us. He focuses all His attention on us. He wants us close to Him.
So why don’t we come? Why do we leave Him alone?
Visit Father Mark at Vultus Christi and see what he has to say about praying before our Eucharistic Lord.
Those who have visited here, read my book, I Thirst For Your Love, or frequent Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation, know how much I value and promote the work of Father Mark and his community, The Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration. Father Mark graciously consented to my including several of his reflections in I Thirst for Your Love.
While I find all his postings, particularly those on the Eucharist and Adoration must shares, the article that follows is really one that deserves and needs widespread distribution. I share his increasing sense of urgency.
If, after reading it, you agree, would you pass it on to as many priests, religious and lay men and woman as possible?
O Come Let Us Adore Him While We Can!
Beloved Lord Jesus,
I adore Thee, who art present here,
with all the love of my heart.
Sinner that I am, I would offer Thee reparation
for all the irreverence, coldness, and ignorance
that surround Thee in the Sacrament of Thy Love.
Would that I could make the surpassing wonder of Thy real presence known
over the entire length and breadth of this land.
Not only art Thou hidden
— Vere tu es Deus absconditus —
Thou art also unknown.
Even those who frequent Thy churches are in darkness
concerning the miracle of Thy real presence.
Thou art forgotten.
Thou art treated as a thing, as an object of little worth.
To me, Thou art all,
and apart from Thee I want nothing on earth.
O reveal Thyself!
Give words to Thy priests
that they might proclaim this adorable Sacrament
and make known its wonders at every opportunity.
Inspire Thy priests to speak of Thee and, even more,
to give worthy example of faith, of adoration, of reverence,and of burning love.
Who are the guardians of Thy real presence if not Thy priests?
Who are the sentinels charged with keeping watch before Thee?
Who are Thy chosen friends called to linger in Thy presence
and to prefer Thy company to all else?
Who are the men set aside to handle Thy most pure Body
and to touch the chalice of Thy Precious Blood?
These, O Jesus, are Thy priests.
Send a penetrating light upon them.
Enkindle a fire of love in their hearts.
Increase their faith and grace them with an angelic reverence in Thy presence
lest, by treating Thee carelessly or with indifference, they scandalize the little ones
who look to them for an example of lively faith and of humble adoration.
The light of faith has grown dim;
the hearts of Thy people have grown cold.
Reveal, O Jesus, Thy Eucharistic Face!
Let the flames that escape from Thy Eucharistic Heart enkindle a multitude of adorers,
especially among Thine own priests,
lest Thy Church suffer too great a darkness,
too piercing a cold. Amen.
Continue reading “An Urgent Prayer And Warning – Lest Thy Church Suffer Too Great A Darkness”
[This is a slightly revised post that first ran a few years back on Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation]
[Today] in a small upstate Village in New York State, thousands of adoring and appreciative boxing fans will come out to cheer and pay tribute to several boxing legends who will process and parade through the Village’s streets.
Months of preparation went into this annual event. Many came several hours before the parade began in order to stake claim to prime viewing positions. This weekend event attracts national television and media coverage, as well as visitors from all parts of this nation and even from some foreign countries – assembled to publicly honor and pay homage to men and women who made a living by physically pummeling each other. They certainly have the right to do so.
This acclaimed group of human celebrities will parade right past the local Catholic Church, where the only
Divine Person deserving of such public acclamation and worship remained locked in a tabernacle, ignored, unappreciated and alone – save for the single soul so faithfully present in its Adoration Chapel.
Last week we Catholics celebrated the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were and have been encouraged for centuries to take Him out of the locked tabernacles in our churches on this feast day and to honor and adore the King of King and Lord of Lords, by publicly processing and carrying Him onto and over the streets of our cities, towns and villages. Few, so very few, parishes were or have been willing to do so. How can that be?
I guess we value those who punch each other with their hands more than He Who allowed Himself to be pummeled, crucified and killed out of love for us.
Doesn’t seem right to me.
[Source of Boxing Glove Image: Wikimedia Commons]
On Friday, the Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today, we remember The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Yesterday, we recalled how Jesus told St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that in exchange for His gift of infinite love, He finds ingratitude, forgetfulness, indifference and outrages. On this day, we remember how our Blessed Mother asked, for among other things, reparation to be made for sins that offend her Immaculate Heart.
Would our loving Lord and His Immaculate Mother feel any less abandoned, forgotten, offended or outraged today?
The following post from 2011 by Dom Mark at Vultus Christi [republished with his permission] provides an unambiguous and disturbing answer to the question I have posed.
I heartily encourage you all to visit Vultus Christi regularly and to consider providing financial support to Father’s community, the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration.
Oh that we would have ears to hear and hearts to love as we ought!
The 8th Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(by Dom Mark)
The 8th Sorrow of my maternal and Immaculate Heart
is that my Son is so offended in the Sacrament of His Love.
This sorrow of mine will endure until the end of time,
when the Real Presence of my Son in the Most Holy Sacrament
will give way to the sight of His Divine Majesty. Then will faith give way to vision, and hope to possession. Then will love be secure and everlasting for all who will have died in the embrace of His Divine Friendship.
Until then, know that my maternal Heart suffers and grieves
over the irreverence, the coldness, and the ingratitude of so many souls towards the Sacrament of my Son’s undying love.
It is in this Sacrament that He loves His own,
loving them to the end —
to the end of every created possibility
and to the end of this passing world.
His Eucharistic Love surpasses all the laws of perishable nature:
there is no greater miracle on the face of the earth
than the Real Presence of my Son in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Even so, He is forsaken, neglected,
and handed over to sinners to be betrayed again and again,
and this by His chosen ones, His beloved priests,
the men whom He chose to be the consolation and joy of His Heart.
This is my own Heart’s 8th Sorrow:
the betrayal and neglect of my Son
in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Continue reading “Jesus, Our Abandoned, Forgotten, Ignored But Waiting Lord!”
“…the sacramental Savior…abides on every altar as the Author and Finisher of our sanctification. We behold Him there no longer bruised and battered for our sins; no longer is there any visible evidence of the untold mental anguish, the agonizing physical pain, or the bitter desolation which He underwent to redeem us. But in the Holy Eucharist, He is the object of man’s indifference and neglect. Although He conquered sin by His death and Resurrection, He is still within the range of the sinner’s power to insult and outrage Him…
Great then and urgent is the need of reparation on our part for the pain of which the Eucharistic King is the daily silent Victim. Calm and restful though our gratitude may be in our moments of adoration, we must never forget the studied neglect, the worldliness of His wayward children, but rather strive persistently with all our powers to comfort Him in His sacramental lowliness, while the storm of sin set in motion by the thoughtlessness, if not the malice, of so many, beats Him as ruthlessly and heartlessly as the steel scourge fell upon His virginal flesh and numbered all His bones.”
(From Transforming Your Life Through The Eucharist by Father John A. Kane)
One simple step to take toward increasing reverence and belief in our Lord’s Eucharistic Presence among us to to preach it and to reinforce those words with conspicuously posted signs like the ones I discovered at the Franciscan Monastery in Kennebunkport, Maine this week:
Still trying to rediscover a sense of awe and amazement in the Eucharist? Perhaps our beloved St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, has just what you need this Corpus Christi.
If you are not ready to move on to the next hymn, it’s okay. Here’s another version. Stay here as long as you like. Proceed at your own pace.
R. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
V. Having within it all sweetness.
Go here if you want to experience a more traditional version of this hymn.
Our final hymn:
I suspect you’re looking for another version?
Let us end in prayer:
(With thanksgiving to Deacon John Setera and the Eucharistic Adoration Society in the Diocese of Buffalo, NY)
Continue reading “Celebrating Corpus Christi With Our Eyes, Ears, Minds, Hearts and Souls”
We can not get to know another person or develop a loving relationship with that individual unless we spend time with that person. To say that you love someone, but never visit, engage in conversation with or spend time with that person would be to live a lie and deceive yourself.
God is calling each of us to a personal and intimate encounter and relationship with Him. But how can we experience such a relationship if we do not get to know Him, or spend time with Him, or talk to Him, or lay our burdens before Him, or listen to Him, or trust Him? Just as we could not maintain our physical health by limiting physical nourishment to one hour a week, we are foolish to think that our mere presence in a Church building on Sunday for an hour can create and sustain the type of intimate spiritual relationship God offers and desires with each of us.
Oh, how He Who is love is not loved in return! He hungers to have you acknowledge His Real Presence in the Eucharist.
He desires to fill you with His peace, comfort and love. He wants you to come and lay your burdens down before Him. He wishes to strengthen you in your daily duties, trials and challenges. He longs to make you like Him and to equip and sustain you as you become more Christ-like to others.
But God will not force Himself on anyone. Each of us must freely respond to His invitation.
So let me ask you: Where does God rate in your life? How much do you love Him and how important is He to you in your daily and weekly lives? How much time each week do you think of Him and devote to Him in contrast to the time you spend caring for yourself and family, working, eating, watching television, using the computer, gambling, sleeping, engaging in sports, socializing with friends and families, participating in community programs?
Look at the 24 hours in each day and the 168 hours in each week and see how often you have anything to do with Him. For most of us, I would imagine the answer is not much. You get the point.
In many Dioceses of this country, we Catholics are blessed to have Churches in which someone is always present with Our Lord, praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Remarkable isn’t it? – a life-changing experience for those who (often at great personal sacrifice) spend one specific hour each week in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord; a devotion most pleasing to Him Who is deserving of our worship, adoration and praise; and the source of untold blessings to so many in our families and communities.
God has blessed our Churches with His Real Presence where He can be worshiped, adored and loved, where He changes, heals and comforts the hearts and souls (and sometimes bodies) of many. Yet few come to keep Him company or to make reparation to Him for those who do not believe in Him. Where are the courageous prayer warriors willing to get up in the early morning hours to be with Him while the rest of us sleep? How sad and lonely is Our Lord – so intimately present among us but ignored by the majority of people claiming to love Him.
Jesus asked his disciples in Gethsemane, and He is asking each of us right now: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” What an affront, insult and gesture of ingratitude it would be to such a caring, loving and merciful God if (where it exists) Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration devotions had to be curtailed because so few of His people loved Him enough to be with Him.
Belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is a gift from God. No one but He can give it to you. He will do just that if you trust Him enough to spend time with Him. He awaits you with open and loving arms. If you come to Him with an open heart, He will give you His! That’s His promise!
What are you waiting for? Consider this a personal invitation from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He will transform you, your family and the communities in which you worship, live and work.
[What follows is the Introduction to Thirst for Your Love. The book includes contributions from Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, O.S.B. Copies can be purchased here and here.]
The time for mincing words is over.
The most significant crisis in the Catholic Church today, from which all the other problems we are experiencing flow, is the fact that an overwhelming majority of those identifying themselves as Catholic, no longer believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is really, truly and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament!
The sad but truthful reality is that in far too many of our Catholic parishes we have lost the sense of the sacred and an appreciation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that are both essential for fostering and maintaining a belief in the Real Presence.
How can that be?
Our Church’s teachings on the Eucharist are long standing, clear and include the following: the Eucharist must be the source and center of our daily lives; whenever possible Catholic Churches are to keep their doors open for some period of time each day to facilitate visits before the Blessed Sacrament; pastors are to encourage such visits; they are also to promote and encourage their parishioners’ participation in Eucharistic Adoration, setting an example for their flock by doing so themselves; and they are to support the establishment and continuation of regional chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration when their own parishes are unable to sustain such a vital devotion solely by themselves.
As someone who has spent more than a dozen years coordinating Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in a local parish and encouraging this devotion elsewhere, it has been difficult to understand at times why there is so much reluctance, if not outright opposition, to promoting Adoration – this despite our Lord’s invitation for us to do so and the overwhelming evidence of the fruits that pour forth from such devotion.
The late Apostle of the Eucharist, Father John Hardon, S.J., realized ‘that everything, everything, quote EVERTHING of our faith (indeed the virtue of faith itself) depends on our faith in God being really present with us today in both His human and Divine nature, united in His Divine Person in the Holy Eucharist’.
Each of us must come to that same realization if we and those around us are to be the holy people God has called us to be.
Instead of cursing this darkness, ignorance and disbelief, it’s time to do something affirmative to console Our Lord and to help rediscover a sense of the ‘sacred’ and of ‘awe and amazement’ in this gift of the Eucharist, as Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI had so frequently urged us to do.
We do not need any more study groups or committees or commissions in our Church. All lukewarmness toward or outright opposition to the promotion of Eucharistic Adoration and spirituality must cease. We need Bishops, priests, religious and laypeople to frequently get on their knees before their Eucharistic Lord. It is He, not any of us, Who will gift us with a deep, abiding, life-changing, sanctifying belief in His Real, Human and Divine Presence here among us. Everything else we need or think we need individually or as Church will flow from Him.
Stop a minute and ponder these Truths.
Our God does not need any of us, not even for a millisecond. Yet, as Jesus hung from the cross more than 2000 years ago, He let us know He was thirsty – not a physical thirst – but an unquenchable spiritual thirst as our Lord, Savior and Redeemer to be loved by those He created and for whose eternal benefit He died.
In the ensuing centuries, not enough of us have made sufficient effort to quench His thirst. For the most part, many of us ignore His plea to love Him as He loves us. He still thirsts for our love. He is still waiting for us to love Him! Has He not waited long enough? Why have so many of us been unwilling to quench His thirst?
There is only one credible and honest answer to that question – one that should make each of us uncomfortable but spur us to action:
If we really believed Jesus Christ was truly here with us, we would go visit Him. Nothing would prevent us from doing so. We would not permit anyone or anything to take precedence over Him. But we do not come as we ought because not enough of us believe He is here! We are the only ones who can quench His thirst. All we have to do is come into His Presence and tell Him we love Him! That’s it! But most of us don’t and won’t.
He remains not only thirsty but heartbroken!
Shame on us for denying Him what He deserves, what He has asked of us and that which would be so very easy to give Him!
I am a simple man and can not offer a learned and theologically profound treatise on this subject. I am not qualified to do so. Moreover, such a book is not the type of writing those Our Lord longs to see, have the time or inclination to read.
Let me be frank.
Most of us spend little or no time on spiritual reading. We are one to two minute sound bite people. We do not like to read anything of any length. It is for those reasons that I kept the essays in this book brief – short sound bites intended to catch your attention and challenge you to come into His Presence or go there more frequently.
Mine is an uncomplicated approach. I invite the reader to take a reflective look at the issues raised in these short essays that I have divided into four basic themes: Lack of belief in the Real Presence; Adoration; the Priest as alter Christus; and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Wait a minute! If Popes, theologians, saints and brilliant lay folk have been unable to convince others to reverence, love and visit our Eucharistic God, then isn’t it foolish and arrogant to think that anything a simple man may have to say on the subject will have any better results or bear any better fruit? Absolutely! It is absurd to think so. But for whatever His reason, this is the burden and passion God has placed on my heart. I must obey it.
In the end, the essays in this book are just words, observations and opinions of a simple sinful man and (thankfully) a faithful monk. But that is all we can do in response to God’s never ending promptings and nudgings to share what He has placed in our hearts. Any value these words may have rests not in the men who typed and assembled them, but in He of Whom we write. We pray that by and through His power these inadequate words may penetrate, inspire and reignite the hearts of those He loves, for whose love He continues to thirst and whom He never ceases to invite into His Presence – ALL of us!
To have such a great gift, to have a God so easily accessible and not to reverence and appreciate that
Gift, is the greatest of all human failings.
Love Him! Reverence Him! Visit Him! Quench His thirst!
I Thirst for Your Love! 