Eucharistic Reflection - God Is Not Loved!

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

“Think about it: If a person treated his friends the way so many Catholics treat the Holy Eucharist, they would soon find themselves having no friends. Yet how many Catholics receive Holy Communion in the haphazard way? How many commit a sacrilege by receiving Holy Communion in mortal sin? How many priests and bishops allow liturgical abuses, idols and false gods to be set up in sanctuaries, immodest attire in church and tabernacles to be placed in closets or locations where nobody can find Him? Has Jesus done something wrong that His Real Presence in the tabernacle is so often banished to corridors and corners of the church? Why has He been hidden behind a wall out of view of the entire congregation? It's horrible what has taken place in recent years. Love is not loved!”

(Father Donald H Callaway MIC from 30 Day Eucharistic Revival Retreat – A Retreat with St. PeterJulian Eymard)

 

Monday Musings - Jesus Speaks to St. Catherine of Siena

Today we Dominicans joyfully remember our beloved sister, St. Catherine of Siena. 

 

[I am re-publishing this post since the words of this fearless servant of God are as relevant today as they were when she wrote them more than 800 years ago.]

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

What a treasure St. Catherine of Siena is! One does not become a Doctor of the Church by being fearful to express, teach and live God's Truth in its entirety. 

How ill-advised we are to discount, ignore or try to nuance the wisdom God has shared over the centuries through such faithful servants as she.  Less likely would we be to commit this error if our primary concern was the salvation of souls. No wonder those who wish to only tickle our ears and destroy our consciences ignore these great spiritual writers, abandoning God's Truth for a less demanding and counterfeit one.

The following words  Jesus shared with St. Catherine in the 14th century are clear and unambiguous directions to his shepherds - not only those living then but for those among us today. May we and they be given the grace, humility and wisdom to hear and follow His Inerrant Voice:

"No rank, whether of civil or divine law, can be held in grace without holy justice.  For those who are not corrected and those who do not correct are like members beginning to rot, and if the doctor were only to apply ointment without cauterizing the wound, the whole, body would become fetid and corrupt.

So it is with prelates or with anyone else in authority. 

Eucharistic Reflection - You Wait for Me

What follows is just one of 175 Eucharistic Reflections intended to draw you closer to our Eucharistic Lord. 

Have you gotten your copy yet?

Here You are, quietly waiting…waiting for me to come and spend some time with You.

I could have chosen not to come…You give me the freedom to say no. A thousand and one excuses could have kept me away. Even so, You would have waited patiently for me.

Why do You wait? You wait only for me to give back to You a few minutes of the precious time that You have given me as a gift…time I often fill with mindless activity or useless worry.

Of what value is my time to You? You created the universe and hold everything in existence. You created me. You know me through and through—better even than I know myself. You know my every thought. And still, You wait for me in silence.

I come. Do I realize the privilege of being alone with You in this quiet place? Or am I distracted, thinking of the many other things I could be doing? Again, you wait, while I settle myself and still my soul in your presence.

I kneel to pray. Rote prayers first: a prayer of reparation, acts of faith, hope, and love, a litany to your Sacred Heart. I read a gospel passage. I close my eyes to meditate. My unruly mind wanders. I focus on my breathing, telling myself I am in the Presence of God. I struggle to believe this immense reality.

I open my eyes and gaze at You in the monstrance. I long for a sign, a feeling, a response from You, that I may know that You are truly here.

You wait for me…wait for me to quiet my mind, to let go of the endless distractions, to stop thinking only of myself.

The moments slip by. The world fades away. I gaze at You, and You gaze at me. I sense Your love.

You are here in this quiet chapel. You are waiting for me.

Mrs. Angela Martin, OP, from Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration)

Monday Musings - He Pleaded With Us

 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 18, 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.

Father Jacques Philippe

 

“The fact that we can’t save ourselves is something we acknowledge in words, but in fact we find it very hard to accept. We’d all like to be saved by our own efforts…to shine in other people’s eyes, even on the spiritual level. Worldly people want to be highly regarded because they have luxurious cars, expensive watches, designer clothes, professional prestige, and go around with beautiful people. As good Christians, we may want to stand out for our virtues, charisms, experience, and sound judgement. Then we consider that we are on the right path. But in fact we’re in danger of ending up with exactly the same mindset as the worldly people described above. Very often, without realizing it, we have a worldly outlook on the spiritual life: self-fulfillment, self-affirmation, expansion of the ego, etc. And spiritual pride, we must be aware, is sometimes more destructive than social, worldly pride.”

(From The Way of Trust and Love)

 

 

Judson Carroll

“… as I have explained before, Protestants believe that all that is necessary for salvation is that one believe that Jesus is God and accept Him as Savior. But that isn’t what the Bible says. Jesus said that although people called Him Lord and did mighty works in His name, He would say, “I do not know you.” Our Lord says that those who love Him must follow His commandments…

 

This is extremely important. One may be validly baptized and confirmed; one may believe in Jesus as God…. But one may lose salvation through sin. Mortal sin kills the soul. I would go so far as to say that each book of the Bible emphasizes this fact in various ways. To deny the reality of the consequences of sin is to deny Christianity itself. Why did God give Moses the 10 Commandments if sin is no big deal? Why was Jesus crucified if there was no penalty for sin? Why would Jesus and His Apostles emphasize over and over again that Christians must strive to avoid sin if sin has no bearing? To put it bluntly, the teachings of many Protestant denominations endanger souls. Those who follow their doctrine are in grave danger of hell.

 

It is extremely important to point out though, that Protestants have an excuse… most of them believe what they are taught. Yes, they should read the Bible and realize what they are taught is wrong, but God will judge them individually, based on their understanding and actions. We, as Catholics, have no excuse. We have the fullness of the Truth. We all, certainly, sin. But we cannot deny the consequences of sin. God gave us His teachings through the Bible and Sacred Tradition. He gives us infallible instruction through His Church. He also gives us recourse for forgiveness when we sin. We have the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have all that is necessary to attain eternal salvation in Heaven. We have only to assent and do as God said. This is such a tremendous gift! For millions of years, man wandered in confusion. We are so very privileged to have the Fullness of the Truth. But we must remember another teaching of our Lord, 'To whom much is given, much will be required'.”

 

(From Sin Kills - the April 11, 2024 Gospel Reflection on Missio Dei )

 

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

“My work, then, is not finished until I take Your place upon the Cross, for unless there is a Good Friday in my life, there will never be an Easter Sunday; unless there is a garment of a fool, there will never be the white robes of wisdom; unless there is the crown of thorns, there will never be the glorified body; unless there is the battle there will never be the victory; unless there is a thirst, there will never be the Heavenly Refreshment; unless there is a cross, there will never be the empty tomb. Teach me, Jesus, to finish this task, for it is fitting that the sons of men should suffer and thus enter into their glory.”

(From The Seven Last Words)

Eucharistic Reflection - A Prayer at Eucharistic Adoration

“I adore you, O Christ, and I praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

 

I come before you, Lord, in adoration, kneeling before Your Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

I bow before Your Body and Blood broken and poured out on the cross. The image of the Annunciation embossed on the golden door of the tabernacle fills my mind with wonder and gratitude for the gift of Your incarnation.

You are here. I am here.

You are God. I am not.

You are the creator. I am your creature.

You are life. I am alive.

You are the Redeemer. I am redeemed.

You are the Savior. I am saved.

You are mercy. I am forgiven.

You are love. I am loved.

You are Lord. I am Your unworthy servant.

You are the way. I am a pilgrim.

You are the truth. I believe.

You are the life. I live in You.

You are the master. I am your disciple.

You are the Bread come down from heaven. I receive You.

You are God made man. I share in Your divine life.

In humbling Yourself to become man, in Your death on the cross, in Your gift of the Holy Eucharist, You are the embodiment of self-giving love.

Lord, teach me to love. 

(Mr. Bart Pollock, OP, from Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration)

Monday Musings - How Do We Look Upon Others?

The previous quotation is from Fire & Light - Learning to Receive the Gift of God.  The following questions follow Father Philippe's quotation and are excerpted from Pondering Tidbits of Truth, Volume 6:

PAUSE AND PONDER:  How welcoming and inviting am I to those I encounter daily? Do people feel comfortable around me? Am I able to treat everyone as God would?

Eucharistic Reflection - Love Him

"At this time in history, with news crashing on upon us from every side - mostly bad news, and some of it frankly scandalous in the extreme, as it reveals the callous complicity with, approbation of, and dedication to evil on the part of many in the hierarchy of the Church, who were supposed to be our guides to holiness and our models of it - nothing could be better than for us to go regularly before the Lord in Adoration. 

Fair weather or foul, super-busy or at loose ends, it doesn't matter; this is what we should be doing for our Church, for our clergy, for ourselves. This is what Our Lord is waiting for: a sign from us, an unmistakable sign, that we love Him for His own sake, and above all things on earth. When enough of us are taking real steps to love Him in exactly this way - with our whole mind, our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole strength - we may then count on a new flood of graces inundating the Church."

(Dr. Peter Kwasniewski from The Holy Bread of Eternal Life - Restoring Eucharistic Reverence in an Age of Impiety.  

PAUSE AND PONDER: What is preventing me from spending an hour of Adoration with our loving Lord each week? Aside from participation in Sunday Mass, what could possibly be more important or needed? Is not God waiting for me?

(These questions follow Dr. Kwasniewski's reflection in Pondering Tidbits of Truth, Volume 6).

Monday Musings - Eucharistic Revival

 

It should come as no surprise that the efforts of the Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province to help  promote Eucharistic Adoration are bearing fruit. Here is one Adoration Chapel where two copies of  their book, Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration, have found a home. The reflections in this book are stirring souls and touching hearts.

Have you gotten your copy yet? Is there one in your Adoration Chapel? 

Why not?

May Father' Bruno's observations  encourage you to do so:

“Hidden within these pages, the reader discovers the God who has chosen to dwell within the Tabernacle of the human heart. Each reflection is its own monstrance, bearing the shape of its unique human author, while manifesting our heavenly Father's Spirit of Truth. Here you will find thoughts and events that are ordinary and surprising, instructive and lyrical, worthy of both cross and crown. The common life of the early Dominicans was called ‘the holy preaching.’ The sons and daughters of St. Dominic who have contributed to this volume continue in that apostolic witness to the divine mercy of our Eucharistic faith.”

(Fr. Bruno M. Shah, OP Assistant Professor at Providence College, and Religious Assistant to Our Lady of Divine Providence/St. Thomas Aquinas Fraternity in Providence, RI) 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 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.

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

“So long as mercy is available for all who despair of their own confusion and conflicts and inner incompleteness, it follows that sin is never the worst thing that can happen to man. The worst thing is the refusal to recognize his sins. For if we are sinners, there is a Savior. If there is a Savior, there is a Cross. If there is a Cross, there is a way of appropriating it to our own lives and our lives to it. When that is done, despair is driven out and we will have the 'peace which the world cannot give’.”

(From the Fulton Sheen Institute - March 17,  2024)

 

St. M. Faustina Kowalska

“[Let] the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy...Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me! To such souls, I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy...[b]efore I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice." 

(From Divine Mercy in My Soul - Diary 1146)

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

“There is no power as strong as the uplifted hand of an absolving priest. There is no joy like the return of a prodigal. There is no peace like the peace of sin forgiven. There is no hope like the hope the thief gives us: paradise may still be stolen.”

(From the Fulton Sheen Institute - March 12, 2024)

Eucharistic Reflection - The Tabernacle

[The tabernacle should be a Bethany for us] a quiet and pleasant place where Christ resides. A place where we can tell Him about our worries, our sufferings, our desires, our joys, with the same sort of simplicity and naturalness as Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. 

 (St. Josemaria Escriva from Christ is Passing By)

 

PAUSE AND PONDER: Do I make a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament a priority in my life? Do I look froward to spending time in His Presence? How comfortable am I in pouring my heart out to Him?

[This is just one of the 150 challenging quotations you will find in Pondering Tidbits of Truth, Volume 6  to fuel your contemplation.] 

Monday Musings - Open Your Heart to God

"To a crowd surrounding Segatashya [purported visionary to whom our Lady of Kibeho spoke] asking for a miracle from Jesus, Segatashya replies, 'our Lord says to stop asking for miracles… because your lives are miracles. A true miracle is a child in the womb; a mother’s love is a miracle; a forgiving heart is a miracle. Your lives are filled with miracles, but you’re too distracted by material things to see them. Jesus tells you to open your ears to hear his messages and open your hearts to receive his love. Too many people have lost their way and walk the easy road that leads away from God. Jesus says to pray to his mother, and the Blessed Virgin Mary will lead you to God Almighty. The Lord has come to you with messages of love and the promise of eternal happiness, yet you ask for miracles instead. Stop looking to the sky for miracles. Open your heart to God; true miracles occur in the heart'.”

(Excerpted from the February 26, 2024 gospel reflection on Missio Dei, entitled Open Your Heart to God by Lexis Challen)