Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Let's be frank:   If we really believe that Jesus Christ is truly and  substantially present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the tabernacles of our Churches, we would be there with Him. We would do everything in our power to spend some time with Him and to encourage others to do so as well.  But we don't really believe this essential Truth. We have abandoned our Loving Lord to his prison-tabernacle and locked the doors of His Churches so that even the few drawn to be with Him are unable to get in. Stop for a moment and ponder this shocking reality from our Lord's perspective. Is this anyway to treat the Son of God? Of course it isn't. Go visit and comfort our abandoned and forgotten Lord . Bring  a copy of   Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections  with you and let the wisdom it contains draw you into His loving embrace and Presence. Enlist in His army of Adorers. Let Him change you and the world! Here is a sample of what others have...

As I have acknowledged previously,  Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P gave birth to Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore – Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration  two years ago, when he invited the Lay Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph to share their thoughts on the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration. He did this not knowing how many would respond or in what genre they would write. As a result of Father’s invitation, we now have a symphony of diverse reflections – from the simple to the sublime. Each reflection is a gem in its own right. Each one an invitation to a greater belief in, and reverence for, God’s Presence among us. Photo by  Eric Mok  on  Unsplash Try this gem on for size:                                                             In the Presence of the Lord  “Come out of ...

Let's be frank:   If we really believe that Jesus Christ is truly and  substantially present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the tabernacles of our Churches, we would be there with Him. We would do everything in our power to spend some time with Him and to encourage others to do so as well.  But we don't really believe this essential Truth. We have abandoned our Loving Lord to His prison-tabernacle and locked the doors of His Churches so that even the few drawn to be with Him are unable to get in. Stop for a moment and ponder this shocking reality from our Lord's perspective. Is this anyway to treat the Son of God? Of course it isn't! Go visit and comfort our abandoned and forgotten Lord . Bring  a copy of   Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections  with you and let the wisdom it contains draw you into His loving embrace and Presence. Enlist in His army of Adorers. Let Him change you and the world! Here is a sample of what others have...

"What would it be like to see your favorite Saint praying before the Blessed Sacrament. It would probably move you to tears. A saint’s devotion, reverence and silence before the Real Presence would leave no doubt in your mind that Jesus is truly present in the holy Eucharist. Shouldn't this be the case with all Catholics? Shouldn't this be the case with all clergy? What about you? Are you reverent in church? Are you quiet in church? Would someone who saw you praying before the Blessed Sacrament be inspired by your example of Eucharistic piety? If you are doing these things, praise God! Many are not observing these things in church. Too many people arrive late for Holy Mass and leave immediately after Holy Communion so as to get out of the parking lot before everybody else. Before holy Mass in many parishes people are conversing in and over the pews, the choir is rehearsing and those involved in various functions at Mass are running around doing last minute tasks. Some of t...

How can we Catholics credibly profess to believe that Jesus Christ is really, truly and substantially present in the tabernacles of  our Churches but rarely attend Sunday Mass and seldom visit Him outside of Mass?  If it is true (and it is) that the more time that we spend in the Presence of our God, the more like Him we will become, why are we not encouraged to do so?  Why do we keep our Churches locked so that the few who do stop for a visit, cannot get in to be with their Lord?  God wants us to visit Him. Don't we trust Him? Why have we not shared these Truths with our non-Catholic brethren? God is not in our tabernacles just for we Catholics. He is there for every soul, waiting to touch and stir their hearts, to bring them into His one, holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and His loving embrace. There are at least two likely answers to these questions: we mistakenly believe that one religion is just as good as another; and/ or we don't believe He is there!  O...

(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...

(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, tr...

 (Originally posted January 9, 2023) "In last week's post , which explored t he dishonor accorded the sacredness of the Mass, I asked: "How can we expect the current efforts toward Eucharistic Revival to bear fruit when we have not addressed the real and obvious reasons why so few Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament? This week I invite you to read the following post on lack of reverent silence and sacredness within our Churches. Are there any specific Revival efforts planned to catechize and instruct souls as to how they should conduct themselves while in the Presence of God?  Without Reverent Silence Nothing Else We Do Will Be of Any Value A Forgotten Truth :  "The Blessed Sacrament is that Presence which makes a Catholic Church different from every other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be, holy." - St. John Henry Cardinal Newman: A Catholic Church must be unlike any other building in...

 

"It is happiness to be in heaven, no doubt, because it is to be with Jesus; but have we not almost the same happiness h ere? Do we not possess Him in the Most Holy Sacrament? Did we but know how to profit by His Divine Presence, we should in some way have no reason to envy the inhabitants of the Heavenly City."   Marie Estelle Harpain

“There are so many tabernacles on earth where I am, for all intents and purposes, like one buried, hidden, forgotten and out of sight. My Divine radiance is diminished because there are so few adorers to act as the receptors of My radiant Eucharistic love and to extend My radiance through space and into the universe of souls. Where there is faith in My Real Presence, there will be Adoration; and where there is Adoration, there will also be an efficacious radiance of My Presence drawing souls to My Eucharistic Heart and surrounding them even at a distance, with the healing influence of My Eucharistic Face.”  ( F rom In Sinu Jesu - The Journal of a Priest)

  Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections Let’s be frank. We are all guilty of inattention, indifference and irreverence toward the God Who lives among us and wishes to live within us. To have the Son of God here with us and not to spend time with Him is the same as telling Him that we are not interested in getting to know or have an intimate relationship with Him and that He is not welcome in our minds, hearts or souls. Like the Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28-34), we are telling the Son of God we do not want Him in, or to interfere with, our lives. We are telling God we are not interested - to leave. May our loving and waiting Lord use the 250 quotations in this book to increase belief in, reverence for, devotion to and love of His Eucharistic Presence, touch lukewarm hearts, stir slumbering souls, and re-ignite the flame of love for Him that He placed in our hearts the second He breathed life into them. Listen t...