Tag: Vultus Christi

What Is Impossible For One Man to Accomplish By Himself Becomes Entirely Possible With Your Help!

Posted on by mseagrif

YOU HAVE GOT TO DO SOMETHING VITALLY IMPORTANT!

At the end of this post, I am going to ask you to help get the poignant reflection of Father Mark set forth below into the hands of every Bishop and priest in this country. We can do it!

But first I want to share a few thoughts that have long been embedded in my heart.

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 That which is most essential for our sanctification and salvation is that which we most frequently ignore  – The Eucharist.

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”.

The time for mincing words is over. Current polls, as well as what we observe with our own eyes, make it clear that a majority (an overwhelming majority of those identifying themselves as Catholic, perhaps as much as 80 percent, including 80 percent of those few Catholics who bother attending Sunday Mass) no longer believe that our Lord 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 churches we have lost the sense of the sacred and an appreciation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that are essential for fostering and maintaining a belief in the Real Presence.

Continue reading “What Is Impossible For One Man to Accomplish By Himself Becomes Entirely Possible With Your Help!” →

Because Thou Art Here

Posted on by mseagrif

(From Vultus Christ. Shared with Permission)

I am happy, Lord Jesus, to be in Thy presence.

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(Image source: Vultus Christi)

Thy psalmist said it: “To be near God is my happiness.” There are no words to describe what it is to have Thee — God from God, Light from Light, Very God from Very God — so close.
Thou art hidden, but I see Thee.
Thou art silent, but I hear Thee.

Thou art immobile, but Thou reachest out to draw me in and hold me against Thy Heart.
One who possesses Thee in the Sacrament of Thy Love, possesses everything.

Because Thou art here, I lack nothing.
Because Thou art here, I have nothing to fear.|
Because Thou art here, I cannot be lonely.
Because Thou art here, heaven itself is here,
and myriads of angels adoring Thee and offering Thee their songs of praise.
Because Thou art here, I need not search for Thee anywhere else.
Because Thou art here, my faith possesses Thee, my hope is anchored to Thee, my love embraces Thee and will not let Thee go.

You, then, be silent because I am silent;
be hidden because I am hidden;
be humble because I am humble.

Efface yourself because here I have effaced Myself in order to remain with you, in order to give you the radiance of My Face in a way that illuminates your soul without blinding you.
I withhold nothing from those who love Me and seek Me in this the Sacrament of My silent, living presence.

Those who come to Me, and abide in My presence but once, if they allow Me to touch their souls, will return to Me again and again. They will find in Me all that is necessary for happiness in this world, even when suffering abounds and when a darkness seems to have fallen over all things.

In the Sacrament of My Love, I am the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in the field. I am the lasting happiness of the man who sells all that he possesses in order to possess Me.

I am here for you, and nothing will keep Me from giving to you according to My Heart’s desire. Come to Me and receive what I wait to give you. You will never be disappointed nor will you go away empty.

Give to me, Lord Jesus, according to Thy Heart’s desire. I am an empty vessel waiting for Thee to fill me. I would remain before Thee, silent and empty, and prepared to be filled with whatever it shall please Thee to pour into me. Fill Me according to Thy desire, not only for myself, but for  souls, that I may give them something pure, something divine to drink.

(From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest)

Reparation to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

Posted on by mseagrif

[The following is printed with permission from Vultus Christi, a place you will want to visit frequently]

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I [Father Mark}  was compelled to write this prayer about ten years ago. In 2007, while preaching a retreat at the Franciscan Convent of Perpetual Adoration in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, I proposed it to the wonderful local people who came every evening to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. On the final evening of the retreat we recited it together before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. Our Lord responded with the customary divine largesse of His Heart.

Prayer of Reparation to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

O Lord Jesus Christ present in this wonderful sacrament, I desire at this hour to make reparation to Thy Eucharistic Heart and to open myself to Thy Love for the sake of those who refuse or ignore it.

Increase Thou my faith,that I may believe firmly in the truths and mysteries Thou hast revealed to Thy Church, for the sake of those who do not believe.

By my attention to Thy Eucharistic Heart, I desire to make up for indifference to Thy Love,
for coldness, and for irreverence in Thy sacramental presence.

By my gratitude to Thy Eucharistic Heart, I desire to make up for ingratitude toward Thee
Who remainest hidden and forgotten in the tabernacles of so many locked churches.

By my trust in Thy Eucharistic Heart, I desire to make up for those who do not trust Thee,
for those who are afraid to trust Thee, and for those whose trust in Thy Love has been weakened by sins of scandal, by the weight of life’s hardships, or by painful loss.

By my hope in Thy Eucharistic Heart, I desire to help those tempted to despair of Thy Mercy. Allow me, I beseech Thee, to hope for those who have no hope and, because Thou didst pour out Thy Blood for them, let not one of them be lost.

In spite of my weakness and inconstancy, I desire, by this humble act of reparation
to obtain for all who yearn for Thy friendship, a share in the unspeakable sweetness experienced by Thy beloved disciple Saint John when he rested his head upon Thy Heart on the night before Thy Sacred Side was opened by the soldier’s lance.

Let my desire to be open to the Love of Thy Eucharistic Heart serve to repair the brokenness of the most wounded and fragile members of Thy Mystical Body.
By the mysterious workings of Thy Holy Spirit and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let the reparation and adoration Thou hast inspired me to offer in Thy presence
bring reconciliation to those alienated from Thy Church, healing to souls in need of Thy mercy, and choice graces to Thy priests. Amen.

Listen My Priest!

Posted on by mseagrif

Christ Vultus Christi

From time to time, it is my privilege to share the powerful exhortations posted on Vultus Christi by Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, O.S.B. –  intended to re-ignite a passionate love for the Eucharist in all of us, and most particularly in his brother priests.

Father is the Prior of the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar at Silverstream Monastery.

And now the reflection:

Listen My Priest!

Leave aside the things
that distract you from Me.
I am the One Thing Necessary to you
in this life.
Save your eyes, your ears,
your mouth, your hands, and your heart,
your whole being for Me,
and I will unite you to Myself.

Click here to read the rest.

O Incomprehensible Miracle!

Posted on by mseagrif

[The following post appeared on Vultus Christi and is used here with permission. I highly recommend that you frequently visit that site.]

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A God makes himself our food! O astonishing prodigy! What are all the miracles worked by Jesus Christ during the course of his earthly life in comparison to this one? What a spectacle! What bounty! What charity! A God who gives Himself to us! O love! He who with three fingers sustains the universe is held by the priest. He who commands all of nature obeys a being who is nothing. He who is all-powerful makes Himself so dependent that He is in the power of His creatures; they carry Him, they bring Him wherever they choose. This is too much. Your charity, my Saviour, goes even to excess! O incomprehensible miracle! Mystery forever inconceivable! No, the thought of man would not know how to attain it.

Man cannot understand; but man can love, man can adore. We, especially, who by a special favour see the Most Holy Sacrament exposed on our altars every Thursday, with what fervour should we not be animated? The solemnity of Thursday must be for us a solemnity forever new; it must also set our hearts ablaze with a love that is new. Let us not settle for drawing people to the feet of Jesus the Host by the outward worship that we render Him more particularly on this day. Let us redouble our readiness to attend to His holy presence. Let the whole Community, if possible, remain in adoration to recognize the gift that the Eternal Father has made to the world in Jesus Christ, His Son, in this God whose love constrains Him to stay among men even unto the consummation of the ages.

(Mother Mectilde de Bar, On the Solemnity of Thursday)

Waiting For The Company of Even One Priest

Posted on by mseagrif

Imagine the pain our Lord suffers every day because of those priests who ignore Him and flee from His company.

No need to imagine. 

Read, ponder and share this post from Father Mark on Vultus Christi. These powerful words are taken from In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest, and are set forth below with his permission.

Have the courage to share this reflection with your pastor and priests. Pray for and support your priests!

[Please consider supporting the work of Father Mark’s community, the Benediction Monks of Perpetual Adoration, whose charism is to pray for the sanctification of all priests.]

Waiting For the Company of Even One Priest

 You are always welcome in My presence.

I long to receive you and to keep you close to Me.


This is your vocation, priest-adorer.
Respond to the call of My Heart.
Adore Me for your brother priests who forget that I wait for them in the Sacrament of My Love.

Seek Me out for them and in their name
and I will bless both you and them. 

Continue reading “Waiting For The Company of Even One Priest” →

Christ Waits For His Priests

Posted on by mseagrif

Monstrance Vultus Christi

(Image Source: Vultus Christi)

I long to see them enter my sanctuary
and approach the tabernacle of my abiding presence.

I wait for them
in the Sacrament that I left for their sakes
as the expression of my Divine Friendship for my priests,
as their consolation in loneliness,
their strength in weakness,
their sweetness in life’s bitterness.
Continue reading “Christ Waits For His Priests” →

Left Alone

Posted on by mseagrif

“Why art Thou left alone in this Most Holy Sacrament? Where are Thy adorers and Thy friends?

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Has Thy Church failed to announce Thy Gospel to the world, and to make Thy presence known? Why art Thou so ignored, forsaken, and left alone in Thy tabernacles, without honor and with no one to thank Thee for the gift of Thy Real Presence? Why is the world kept in the dark concerning Thee in this Most Holy Sacrament, when Thou art all that this world needs, and all that souls desire?”

                (From Father Mark, Vultus Christi –Thursday of Adoration and Reparation for Priests)