Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

  “Faith in the Eucharist opens out the whole invisible world to us. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is nothing less than radiation therapy for our cancer of the eyes.  When we gaze upon the Eucharist the healing graces that come from it are the same as the grace that Jesus unleashed upon all of those blind men He healed in the Gospels.  It is the same healing, the same mercy, the same compassion, the same transformation that He offers to us in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. ‘Do this in memory of Me.’ … the Eucharist gives us a deep gaze into the invisible world and we can trust God Who has told us it is true.”  (Monsignor James Shea at the Eucharistic Conference, Fargo, ND, September 2022, as posted on Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration,com)   ·          

"It is for us that...our divine Savior has remained day and night on our altars, that we may have recourse to Him in all our needs; and nothing so much afflicts His divine Heart as our ingratitude for such a favor, and our neglect to visit Him and ask His blessing. If we knew how profitable those visits are, we should be constantly prostrate before the altar. The Saints understood this truth; they knew that Jesus Christ is the source of all grace, and whenever they encountered any difficulty or wished to obtain any particular favor, they ran to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.  St. Francis Xavier, St. Francis Regis and others spent whole hours during the day and, frequently, a great part of the night at the foot of the altar; it was in these long interviews with Jesus Christ that they advanced the good works they had in hand, converted sinners, and obtained success in all their undertakings for the glory of God and their own sanctification." (Blessed J. B. Marcellin Cha...

 

(Image copyright Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. Used with permission) "Loving souls can find no greater delight than to be in the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love Jesus Christ much, behold we are now in His presence.  Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament sees us and hears us; shall we, then, say nothing to Him? Let us console ourselves in His company; let us rejoice in His glory, and in the love which so many enamored souls bear Him in the Most Holy Sacrament. Let us desire that all should love Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and consecrate their hearts to Him; at least let us consecrate our affections to Him. He should be all our love and our whole desire." (St. Alphonsus de Liguori)

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.   Full disclosur e: This week’s post differs from what you ordinarily find here in that its three thought-provoking quotations come from books I compiled, edited and published. The Catholic Writer’s Guild issued its Seal of Approval to each of the three books from which the following material was excerpted. They are cited here, not to promote myself, but in hopes that something you read will touch your heart and stir your soul.    Mr. Michael Seagriff, O.P. “Our God does not need any of us, not even for a millisecond. Yet, as Jesus hung from the cross more than 2000 years ago, He let us know He was thirsty – not a physical thirst - but an unquenchable spiritual thirst as our Lord, Savior and Redeemer to be loved by those He created and for whose eternal benefit He died. In the ensuing centuries, not enough of us have made suf...

"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the most tender of friends with souls who seek to please Him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the smallest of His creatures as to the greatest of them. Be not afraid then in your solitary conversations, to tell Him of your miseries, fears, worries, of those who are dear to you, of your projects, and of your hopes. Do so with confidence and with an open heart.” ( St. Damien of Molokai)  

(Photo ©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. Used with Permission) We see clearly how in lands of comfort, wealth and abundance, man destroys himself, self-destructs, because he forgets God and thinks only of his riches and earthly well-being. What saves the world is the bread of God. Man must be nourished with the bread of God - and the bread of God - is Christ Himself. What will save the world is a man kneeling before God, to adore and to serve Him. God is not at our service. It is we who are at His service. (Cardinal Robert Sarah, July 26, 2025 Homily marking the 400 th anniversary of Saint Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at her shrine in Sainte-Anne d’Auray, Brittany, France)

"You who only communicate rarely are like someone between two sleeps. You know that Jesus Christ is truly in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, that this food is absolutely necessary for your poor soul. Nevertheless, one sees in you little desire. There are long intervals between your Confessions and Communions. You decide to go because of a great feast or a jubilee or a mission, or because others are going, and not because your poor soul needs it. Not only do you not try to merit this happiness, but you do not even envy those who taste it more often. Thus you imitate the Jews.  They are reproached for refusing shelter to Jesus Christ on the first Christmas night although they did not know Him. You treat Him with the same discourtesy, you who neglect to receive Him into your hearts in Holy Communion.  Do not forget that at the Particular Judgment Jesus Christ will judge us on all the good we could have done. He will show you all the sacraments that you could have received during ...

"The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities or service to the Church and to the whole world...Let Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament speak to your hearts. It is He who is the true answer of life that you seek. He stays here with us: He is God with us. Seek Him without tiring , welcome Him without reserve , love Him without interruption : today, tomorrow, forever." (St. John Paul II  —  Address to young people of Bologna , Italy, Sept. 27, 1997)

(Photo©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. - Used With Permission) " Loving souls can find no greater delight than to be in the company of those whom they love. If we, then, love Jesus Christ much, behold we are now in His presence.  Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament sees us and hears us; shall we, then, say nothing to Him? Let us console ourselves in His company; let us rejoice in His glory, and in the love which so many enamored souls bear Him in the Most Holy Sacrament. Let us desire that all should love Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and consecrate their hearts to Him; at least let us consecrate our affections to Him. He should be all our love and our whole desire." (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

[The following post is among 175 reflections on the Eucharist  published by the Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province in a book entitled Godhead Here In Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration.   If you want to draw closer to our Eucharistic Lord,  I  highly recommend you get a copy.] God works in mysterious ways. He had a plan for me the instant He thought me into existence. Everything that has happened in my life has been intended by Him to be for the salvation of my soul. Of course, I must willingly consent to follow His plan. He will not force me to do so. It is often hard to discern that plan. Some of us spend a lifetime and may never discover our purpose in life until we are close to standing before His throne of justice. So recently, God let me glimpse back in time so that I could see with absolute clarity, how much He loves me. Looking back nearly seventy-five years, I see God’s ever-present Hand in my life more clearly than I...

(Image Source: Hands at Mass )     "How much do I love You, O my Jesus! I wish to love You with my whole heart, yet I do not love You enough. I have but one desire, that of being near You, in the Blessed Sacrament. Thou art the sweet Bridegroom of my soul. My Jesus, my love, my all, gladly would I endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold to remain always with You in the Blessed Sacrament. Amen."    St. John Neumann

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "Our churches are holy, consecrated, sacred, because God made man dwells there day and night. In early times, many Christians crossed the seas to see the holy places where the great mystery of our redemption was wrought. Oh, blessed places! they exclaimed, where so many wonders were worked to save us! And they could hardly tear themselves away from the Cenacle or the Garden of the Agony without shedding tears. On Calvary, when Jesus Christ endured such great sufferings for us, they felt their faith rekindled and their hearts burning with a new fire. But without going so far, or exposing ourselves like them to many dangers, have we not Jesus Christ in the midst of us, not only as God, but Body and Soul? Are not our churches as worthy of reverence as the holy places? What a blessed people are Christians, who see renewed each day on the altars all the wonders that Almighty God worked formerly on Calvary."   (From  THE EUCHARISTIC MEDITATIONS OF THE C...