Monday Musings – O Come Let Us Adore Him!

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In a few days, Catholic Churches throughout the world will resonate with thousands of voices singing “O Come Let Us Adore Him!” But will they?

We do not need polls to determine whether or not and/or how many Catholics believe that Jesus is really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist hidden in the tabernacles of our Churches and in the Sacred Hosts placed on their tongues.

We need only open our eyes and ears:

Our Churches are virtually empty; that would never happen if we actually believed God was present there.

Many of these Churches have been permanently closed.

More than 50 million Catholics have left the Catholic Church in recent decades.

Reportedly, less than a third of those claiming to be Catholic even attend Mass on Sundays and holy days. And of that number, less than a third of them believe that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Few Catholics understand that that the Mass is the representation of our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

In too many of our Churches, the tabernacle is no longer prominently displayed; it has been hidden and is nowhere to be seen.

We have lost the sense of the sacred.

Our Churches are no longer silent, sacred oases. The loud bantering occurring before and after Mass is no different than what we experience in social, fraternal and athletic venues.

Few genuflect when entering Church and even fewer know why they should do so.

If one believed that God Himself was present in the tabernacle and the Eucharist, would he/she:  wear casual attire, immodest clothing, chew gum, talk to those on line waiting to receive Holy Communion and/or wave to family and friends as they walk down the aisle to receive?

Would Mass only take 12 minutes to complete, including a homily and prayer petitions?

Would priests fail to say the “Body of Christ” when distributing Holy Communion while irreverently dropping or tossing the Sacred Host into the extended hands of a communicant?

Would one run out of Church every week immediately at end of Mass if they believed that God was still physically present in their bodies for up to 10-15 minutes after receiving Him?

Virtually, no one even attempts to visit our Lord during the week and the few that try to do so cannot get in because the Church doors are locked.

Many spiritual writers over the centuries have taught that when we spend time with Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament, we become more like Him. Why then are we not encouraged to do so?

Houston, we have a problem. We are afraid to teach and live the Truth.

No doubt the 60,000 individuals who participated in the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress and the thousands of others who participated in some way along the various procession routes preceding the actual five-day Congress in Indianapolis or online, were profoundly impacted by that experience. These souls will no doubt impact thousands of others as they share their experiences and try to more boldly live out their Eucharistic Faith. For this we must be eternally grateful.

But let’s be real. Most of the 72 million living in this country and identifying themselves as Catholic weren’t there and are unlikely to interact with too many that had been. Has much of anything changed in our parishes?

Our Churches are still locked. More are in the process of being closed. Lack of belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist is still sorrowfully the norm.

Belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is a gift from God – one He wants to share with everyone. But He will not force Himself on any soul. It’s time to evict the elephants of irreverence and unbelief that have tainted our Church for too long. It is time to unlock our Church doors and invite Catholics to become more like God - to come and spend time on their knees before their Lord and Savior. That’s when God will “do His thing” and the tide of unbelief will end.

This would be so simple to do. Experience suggests only a few will make the effort to do so. Our Lord will likely remain alone, abandoned, and ignored and our Churches locked or forever closed.  

 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 19, 2024

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time.

 

 

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

 “The Christian soul knows it needs Divine Help and therefore turns to Him Who loved us even while we were yet sinners. Examination of conscience, instead of inducing morbidity, thereby becomes an occasion of joy. 

There are two ways of knowing how good and loving God is. One is by never losing Him, through the preservation of innocence, and the other is by finding Him after one has lost Him. Repentance is not self-regarding, but God-regarding. It is not self-loathing, but God-loving. Christianity bids us accept ourselves as we really are, with all our faults and our failings and our sins. In all other religions, one has to be good to come to God—in Christianity one does not.

Christianity might be described as a 'come as you are' party. It bids us stop worrying about ourselves, stop concentrating on our faults and our failings, and thrust them upon the Savior with a firm resolve of amendment. The examination of conscience never induces despair, always hope…Because examination of conscience is done in the light of God’s love, it begins with a prayer to the Holy Spirit to illumine our minds. A soul then acts toward the Spirit of God as toward a watchmaker who will fix our watch. We put a watch in his hands because we know he will not force it, and we put our souls in God’s hands because we know that if he inspects them regularly they will work as they should…it is true that, the closer we get to God, the more we see our defects. A painting reveals few defects under candlelight, but the sunlight may reveal it as daub. The very good never believe themselves very good, because they are judging themselves by the Ideal. In perfect innocence each soul, like the Apostles at the Last Supper, cries out, 'Is it I, Lord' (Matt. 26:22).”

(An excerpt from Peace of Soul)

 

 Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg 

“Many are heading straight on for purgatory. They live until their last hour, even though they are seriously ill, even on their deathbed, as if everything is all right. Exclusively directed to the earthly, they don’t think at all about calling upon the mercy of God. Although by doing so they would be spared at least a severe purgatory. For God is infinitely merciful for all who call upon Him and trust Him."

 (An excerpt from Hungry Souls)

 

 St. Teresa of Avila

 "We must beg God constantly in our prayers to uphold us by His hand; we should keep ever in our minds the truth that if He leaves us, most certainly we shall fall at once into the abyss, for we must never be so foolish as to trust in ourselves. After this I think the greatest safeguard is to be very careful and to watch how we advance in virtue; we must notice whether we are making progress or falling back in it, especially as regards the love of our neighbor, the desire to be thought the least of all and how we perform our ordinary, everyday duties. If we attend to this and beg Our Lord to enlighten us, we shall at once perceive our gain or loss." 

(An excerpt from The Interior Castle)

 

 

 

Eucharistic Reflection - He Never Rests

"It is nightfall...One by one the lights go out in the dwellings of men...Millions of stars twinkle in the vast vault of heaven...But on earth one only star still glimmers - the tiny star of light in the sanctuary lamp. Its feeble rays struggle through the windows of a little church...it moves unsteadily to and fro...until it reaches you...Do you not see it? Jesus sends it to tell you that He never rests, that day and night, year in and year out, His heart is busy loving you, and the poor, and the unhappy - yes, even those who crucify Him." 

(Eucharistic Whisperings - Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S.)

Monday Musings - My Biggest Enemy

 

“There is only one thing that can stop you from reaching the goal of sainthood which Christ has chosen for you. That one thing is you.”

(Christine Watkins from Mary's Mantle)

As Christine Watkins and others have pointed out, I do recognize that the biggest enemy to my sanctification and salvation is myself.

God tells me I must trust in Him. He tells me to keep my eyes on Him at all times. He tells me to accept whatever He permits to happen to me as being what is best for my salvation. He tells me I must believe in Him even if everyone around me has rejected me, mocked me or persecuted me. He tells me that He and He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He tells me that on my own I can accomplish nothing, but that with Him all things are possible. He tells me not to put my trust in man but only in Him.

Lord, I believe these truths, yet I  am weak and ignore them far too often. How foolish I have been; how often I have offended You, Who love me so.

I have known for some time that I must listen and obey You and follow Your promptings if I wish to persevere in following You. Why Lord, as Saint Paul complained, do I continue to do the things I claim I don't want to do and fail to do what I know you want Me to do?

O Lord, fill me with an unswerving resolve to obey You at all times and under all circumstance, to persevere in my desire to love You as I ought and as You deserve and to be with You eternally. For this I pray.

Eucharistic Reflection - How Tragic

 

"…to the Real Presence of Jesus, we often respond

with our real absence!"

  

Father Florian Racine

Monday Musings - Do You Really Believe?

(Image Source)

We appreciate the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to foster greater awe, amazement and belief in our Lord’s Real and Substantial Presence here among us in the Eucharist. 

The number of Eucharistic processions that have taken place throughout this nation have been heartening. The excellent homilies, posts, videos and testimonies of priests, religious and lay Catholics that our bishops have shared on social media have also been inspiring - no doubt countless souls have been touched.

We pray that the Church’s current efforts are reaching not just the choir but the millions of non-believing Catholics and former Catholics who inhabit this great nation.

How are we going to assess the success of these efforts?

Simple: If those professing to be Catholic believe that God is really, truly and substantially present in the consecrated hosts in our tabernacles, they will flock to be with Him – He who loves them and awaits their visit. They would never miss Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

The reverent silence in our Churches evidencing such belief would be apparent and deafening. Parishes would increase the opportunities for hungry souls to make Holy Hours and adore their Lord. True believers would never leave Him abandoned and alone. Our Churches would never be empty! Someone would always be with our Lord, every hour of every day. 

Every parish in the world would have chapels of Perpetual  Eucharistic Adoration - the dream and request of our late and beloved St. John Paul II. 

Does this describe the Eucharistic Revival which you are experiencing in your parish? If not, there are more souls to reach - more work to be done.

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Give Him Five!

"There are 1440 minutes in each day. Can you give God just five of them?

Stop in and see Him! He's waiting for your visit."