“It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesday - Apostles of The Eucharist
Another week of “It’s Worth Revisiting”Wednesday has arrived where an ever-expanding group
of Catholic bloggers takes the time to re-share some of their favorite posts.
Show your appreciation to Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan, at Theology Is A Verb for hosting this site by visiting them from time to time.
Here is what I am sharing
this week:
Apostles of the Eucharist - St. Peter Julian Eymard
(Originally posted 8/ 21 /11)
(Originally posted 8/ 21 /11)
Saint
Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) founded the Society of the Blessed
Sacrament, and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament. He is often
referred to as the Apostle of the Eucharist. His writings, including
those on the Eucharist, are extensive and have been compiled into a 17 volume work. Even a cursory review of quotations attributable to him should set any heart afire. Let me share a few of them:
“Receive Communion often, and Jesus will change you into himself."
"Be
the apostle of the Divine Eucharist, like a flame which enlightens and
warms, like the Angel of His heart who will go to proclaim Him to those
who don’t know Him and will encourage those who love Him and are
suffering."
“…we
cannot consider the Most Blessed Sacrament attentively without
concluding: ‘I must love Him and come to visit Him. I must not leave Him
alone; He loves me too much’…”
“Unless
we have a passionate love for our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament,
we shall accomplish nothing. Certainly, our Lord loves us passionately
in the Eucharist; He loves us blindly without a thought for Himself,
devoting Himself entirely for our good. We should love Him as he loves
us."
Oh, but there are some ears desperate to hear these truths and some eyes anxious to see such love. Why don’t they?
Oh, but there are some ears desperate to hear these truths and some eyes anxious to see such love. Why don’t they?
St.
John Eudes (1601-1680), whose feast day is August 19, offered an explanation - one which was not
well received by those to whom it was directed at the time and which is
not likely to be well-received today by anyone to whom his observations
may apply:
"The most evident mark of God's anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clergy who are priests more in name than in deed…”
"The most evident mark of God's anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clergy who are priests more in name than in deed…”
This
frank but good Saint was quick, however, to point out that:
“The greatest blessing that God bestows upon a church, the most single manifestation of divine grace, is to have a saintly shepherd, be he bishop or priest. This is indeed a grace of graces and the most priceless of all gifts for it includes within itself every other blessing and grace…The [holy] priest is a sun cheering the world by his presence and bearing. He brings heavenly blessings into every heart. He dispels the ignorance and darkness of error and radiates on every side bright beams of celestial light. He extinguishes sin and gives life and grace to the multitudes. He imparts new life to the weak, inflames the lukewarm, fires most ardently those who are aglow with the sacred flame of divine love…”
“The greatest blessing that God bestows upon a church, the most single manifestation of divine grace, is to have a saintly shepherd, be he bishop or priest. This is indeed a grace of graces and the most priceless of all gifts for it includes within itself every other blessing and grace…The [holy] priest is a sun cheering the world by his presence and bearing. He brings heavenly blessings into every heart. He dispels the ignorance and darkness of error and radiates on every side bright beams of celestial light. He extinguishes sin and gives life and grace to the multitudes. He imparts new life to the weak, inflames the lukewarm, fires most ardently those who are aglow with the sacred flame of divine love…”
The
late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen echoed similar sentiments: "If only all
priests realized how their holiness makes the Church holy, and how the Church
begins to decline as the level of holiness among priests falls below that of
the people!"
We
can not have the abundant life God promises us, or the love, reverence,
and belief in the Eucharist we ought to have and to which God is
entitled, without the example of holy priests. Priests who passionately
love the Eucharist and who, by their words and actions, call their flock
to passionately love the Eucharist are holy priests!
Thank God for the many holy priests already in our midst, but let us pray for more.