Eucharistic Reflection - Don't Let The Devil Keep You Away!

 

"Oh! How well the devil knows that by keeping souls away from the Eucharist he is destroying the Christian family and fostering selfishness in us. For there are only two loves: the love of God and the love of self. We must give ourselves to the one or to the other.   How unhappy are they who no longer have the Eucharist! What darkness! What lawlessness of mind! What coldness of heart! Satan alone reigns as master and with him every evil passion! As for us, the Eucharist delivers us from all evils!"  (Excerpted from 30 Day Eucharistic Retreat - A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard by Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC)

Monday Musings - Lamentations and Praise!

As You know Lord, for much of my life, I rarely gave You any thought. You were not important to me. I went about my life without You, foolishly thinking I did not need You. I never considered how my disinterest in, and lack of love for You, made You feel. The audacity of a sinful creature to treat his Creator in such a despicable unloving way!

But that began to change, slowly.

Oh, how bitter I was when mom became ill and suffered so! How oblivious I was to being on the brink of eternal damnation when you sent people into my life to drag me back from the precipice.

Oh, how upset I became when I could not understand why my efforts to come closer to You were thwarted? Why I caused so much pain to those who loved me.

How often Lord did I scream out in anger and pain asking You. "Where have You had gone?" The more I prayed, the more I attempted to come closer to You, the further from You I felt.

I realize now Lord that You have never abandoned me. You have always been at my side. It is I who has refused to welcome You, to trust You, to rely totally upon You. It is I who failed to love You and those You placed in my life, as I ought and as You and they deserved.

Let me never forget Lord that you are always at my side, not as the official heavenly scorekeeper, but as a loving God. You are constantly gazing upon me, showering me with the graces I need to remain strong and offering Your mercy and forgiveness when I fail.

Thank you, Lord, for always inviting me to get up and start anew!

What a Treasure! What a Gift! What a God!

Lord, may I always trust in You!

Eucharistic Reflection - The Unworthy Reception of Holy Communion

[If you have not read (and completed) Father Donald H. Calloway's  30 Day Eucharistic Revival - A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard - go get a copy now and begin! Father courageously writes the Truth - Truth that too many others have been unwilling or afraid to speak - Truths upon which authentic and lasting Eucharistic Revival must rest.

Read this excerpt and you will understand:

“…God’s goodness should not be taken advantage of or abused. In our times, some in leadership positions, warn people not to ‘weaponize the Eucharist’ and offer very confusing messages by seemingly encouraging everyone to receive Holy Communion, regardless of the state of their soul. For example, people living in unnatural relationships, those committing intrinsically disordered actions, and those who are in adulterous relationships are encouraged to receive Holy Communion. This is wrong. Such thinking is very dangerous and destructive to souls and their ultimate well-being. We must never forget what Saint Paul told the early Christians in Corinth about sacrilegious reception of the Holy Eucharist see 1 Corinthians 11:26-30). Our Retreat Master [Saint Peter Julian Eymard] makes a very strong point on this matter: ‘Sinners who receive Him unworthily crucify Him in their soul and unite themselves to a demon, who are their own sovereign master’.

Without a doubt, the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect. Every devout Catholic understands that. Every pious follower of Jesus also knows that the Eucharist is nourishment for the weak and a powerful medicine for the soul, but they also know that Holy Communion is not food to be given to those in mortal sin. Unworthy reception of Holy Communion does no good to a person who receives it in a state of mortal sin. In fact, it does the opposite. Unworthy reception of the Eucharist greatly harms the soul and their relationship with God and the Church. Unworthy reception of Holy Communion does not heal a person but rather compounds sin leading to confusion and scandal. That is not what God wants, and people should not take advantage of God's goodness in such a manner.

God's goodness is meant to be respected and treasured, not abused and insulted. This is why God's goodness provides us with the ability to go to Confession. Repentance through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is the medicine applied first for the soul in mortal sin, not Holy Communion.  God's goodness in the Eucharist wants to be consumed, but in the proper order and manner. Good medicine applied to the wrong wound does no good. Confession reconciles those in mortal sin to God and puts them back in the state of grace so that they can partake of the goodness of God in the Eucharist. It doesn't work the other way around.”

(From 30 Day Eucharistic Revival – A Retreat with Saint Peter Julian Eymard by Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC)

 

Monday Musings - What's Keeping You From Placing Your Full Trust in God?

It is easy to say "I Trust in You, Lord" but it is difficult to live that truth throughout the challenges, disappointments and toils of life -  at times, very hard if not seemingly impossible.

For more than three years now, I keep returning to the following reflection from Mary's Mantle - Consecration Prayer Journal  - Write the Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit on Your Soul. Each time I re-read it and my journal notes on trust, I thank God for leading me to this book. I highly recommend this journal to you. It is a treasure that never stops giving hope and inspiration.]

Please take the time to read and ponder these words:

"Is there anything the Lord, Jesus Christ, would refuse to suffer, if He knew it would help you? Jesus profoundly grieves when one of his own is critically wounded; He aches when you are hurt even, in the slightest way; and He mixes his tears with yours so that not a drop of your shared suffering should be wasted.

This same Man holds the world in His hands. He commands the stars to move and to see to calm. Is there anything outside of His control? Is it possible that the struggle you are facing is too unmanageable for Him? No!

In everything Jesus Christ wills or permits in your life, His ultimate plan is nothing less than to carry you in His arms to heaven, where He will free you from all suffering and wipe away your every tear – forever. If this is His goal with you, and if there is nothing He cannot do, is there something still keeping you from placing your full trust in Him?”

(From Mary's Mantle - Consecration Prayer Journal- Write The Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit on Your Soul)

Eucharistic Reflection - Thank You

"My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament."

                                                          (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

Monday Musings – Measuring Authentic Success of Our Eucharistic Revival Efforts

(Photo©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. - Used With Permission)

I appreciate the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Bishops to reawaken and foster greater belief in our Lord’s Real and Substantial Presence here with and within us. The number of Eucharistic processions and Holy Hours with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament that have taken place throughout this nation have been heartening. The excellent homilies, posts, videos and testimonies of lay Catholics that our bishops have shared on social media are inspiring. I have no doubt that countless souls have been touched by these efforts. 

We pray that the bishops’ efforts (as well as our own and those of our individual parishes) 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 the U.S. Bishops’ efforts as well as our own individual and parish endeavors?

Simply and radically!

If we actually believe that God is really, truly and substantially present in the consecrated Hosts in our tabernacles and in those placed on our tongues, we will flock to our Churches to be with the God who loves us and lives among and with us. We would recognize that we are on holy ground. We would eat of His Body and drink of His Blood frequently. Our Churches would be filled with reverent silence. They would never be empty and never be locked.

If we really believe God is there waiting for our visit, nothing would keep us away! Nothing! We would spend some time with Him every day! That's what lovers do!

Pray God that we witness such authentic belief!  

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - July 4, 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.

Cardinal Francis Arinze

“The lay faithful as parishioners are the people who are called upon to witness to Christ at the level of the family, the place of work or recreation, in trade and commerce, in politics and government, and in other social areas of daily life. From them, people in society see what the parish is or should be.” 

(From The Evangelizing Parish)

St. Vincent de Paul

"I am sent not only to love God but to make Him loved. It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love Him." 

(From Always A Joy)

St. Philip Neri

“If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the Our Father, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.”

 (From The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri)