Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

[I wrote this more than 10 years ago. It seems both appropriate and necessary to share this post again today, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.]   Too often we have taken God for granted. So sometimes He asks others “to shake things up.” Today may be one of those days. Here is a question worth pondering now and in the days to come: “What if God loved you only as much as you loved Him?” ( Father Francis Hudson, S.C.J.) Have you ever loved someone so much that you could hardly wait to hear from them, to speak with them and to see them? How often have you looked forward to a visit from someone you deeply love only to have that person not come? How hurt have you felt when you were ignored and your love not returned? Imagine then how God - Who is Love – Who loves us more than words can describe - feels when we fail to demonstrate our love for Him? He waits in our churches hour after hour just to hear our voices and to see our faces. Yet, f...

When we entered Church yesterday on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, was it any different than walking into a movie theater, a school auditorium or other public place?  How much consideration was given to He Who is really truly and substantially present here among us?  Or was most of our attention showered on the people around us? Did the din of idle conversation, loud voices and banter belie any authentic belief in the Real Presence of our Lord and Savior behind the tabernacle’s locked doors? (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) How painful such conduct is to the Lord who suffered and died for us in order that we might live eternally with Him. Not even a Solemnity that He requested caused some to focus their attention on Him. For many, Sunday is the only day they come into His Presence. Yet they act like He is not there. In far too many parishes, it is more important to be friendly and chatty with each other than to spend time in silence, ...

Monsignor Charles Pope has an excellent Corpus Christi sermon which you can read here.  I thought a good way of ending this day as preparation for tomorrow's great Solemnity would be to share one of the videos he posted:

(Source: Vultus Christi ) Take a pictorial tour of the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi at their Silverstream Monastery.  They are "an embryonic community of monks...who intercede for the sanctification of priests" and whom God is using to reach those of His brother priests and Catholics whose fervor and  love for the Eucharist has disappeared or been severely diminished. They are in need of, and worthy of, your financial support. You can contribute to their work by clicking on the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration image in the column to the right and/or by purchasing a copy of my book, I Thirst for Your Love , whose net profits will be shared with this community.

[ I have shared the following post in several different forms over the years. I share it again convinced that the linked videos have the power to touch hearts and stir souls. It was my intent to share this in Sunday. I changed my mind. I want to do so now so that you will have the weekend to savor and enjoy their magnificent beauty. ] Still trying to rediscover a sense of awe and amazement in the Eucharist?  Perhaps our beloved St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, has just what you need this Corpus Christi.     (Source: Wikimedia Commons )  There are arguably no more beautiful and moving hymns than the three he composed for this great feast day:  Pange Linga , Tant um Ergo and Adore te Devote . But they are in Latin, you say, and you don't understand that language. But your heart can, if you just let these hauntingly beautiful melodies penetrate it. Your mind can certainly "rap itself around" the English translations...

[ Sometimes we must repeat ourselves - even if our words are not appreciated. It is vital that the Truth be shared, as many times as is necessary. This day is one of those days – a day when I feel compelled to republish (with some slight editing), observations I made nearly a year ago:] (Source: Wikimedia Common s) Today, in a small upstate New York Village, thousands of adoring and appreciative boxing fans will come out to cheer and pay tribute to several boxing legends and the current Miss America who will process and parade through the Village’s streets. The numbers of spectators at this parade will far exceed the total number of individuals who will attend all of the Village’s Church services this Sunday morning. Months of preparation and hard work went into this annual event. Many will come several hours before the parade begins in order to stake claim to prime viewing positions. This weekend event attracts national television and media coverage, as well as visit...

Thank you Holy Father Francis for calling the entire world to adore our Lord! So many ignore His invitation to do so. Let us run to kneel before Him, not just on Corpus Christi but as often as we can. I could not pass up sharing this photograph and article from Crisis Magazine :

On June 9, 2012, I had asked my readers to pray for the spiritual and physical well-being of my twin sister Jane who was about to begin treatment for an aggressive form of lung cancer. It is long past time for me to let you wonderful people know the results of your prayerful support. So many have been praying for her and many of you mentioned her by name as Jesus processed past you on Corpus Christi . We are eternally grateful for all your prayers. She just completed five weeks of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation. God in His mercy spared her from the most dire and debilitating side effects she could have experienced from this treatment. Moreover, some preliminary testing midway through her course of treatment indicated the tumors were shrinking. Our God is great and merciful. Praise God! Tomorrow she is scheduled to have some scans and x-rays to determine to what extent her treatment has been successful in getting rid of the cancer in her lungs. She will have to w...

I am with my twin sister Jane as she begins her struggle with a recently diagnosed and rapidly spreading form of cancer. She will be having an MRI later today and will be meeting with her oncologist on Monday to find out the exact nature of the beast that resides within her and what treatment she might receive. This is understandably a difficult time. May I ask each of you who may be reading this post to keep her spiritual and physical well-being in your prayers and to pass this request on to your family, friends, parishes and prayer groups? If you will be blessed to participate in a public procession with Our Eucharistic Lord tomorrow, would you mention Jane by name as He passes you by? In lieu then of posting something new to commemorate tomorrow’s Feast of the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), I will simply refer to two previous posts ( here and here ) in hopes one or both might in some small way enhance your personal celebration of this Feast day...

For the first time in at least 32 years (and probably much longer than that) the Bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, assisted by a few of his brother priests,  carried our Eucharistic Lord in procession through the streets of that city on Corpus Christi Sunday. What an awesome and blessed experience for all those privileged to be present! Several hundred faithful Catholics prayerfully and reverently accompanied their Lord and Bishop Robert J. Cunningham during the nearly mile and a half procession from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to the Franciscan Church of the Assumption. Thank you Bishop Cunningham and all those who worked so hard to bring this gift to fruition! No doubt, our Lord was immensely pleased by this public display of belief in His Real Presence. Only He knows how many hearts of onlookers were touched as their eyes glanced at the King of Kings, majestically encased and held aloft in His Monstrance. May this public p...

Still trying to rediscover a sense of awe and amazement in the Eucharist?  Perhaps our beloved St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, has just what you need this Corpus Christi .  There are arguably no more beautiful and moving hymns than the three he composed for this great feast day:  Pange Linga , Tant um Ergo and Adore te Devote . But they are in Latin, you say, and you don't understand that language. But your heart can, if you just let these hauntingly beautiful melodies penetrate it. Your mind can certainly "rap itself around" the English translations of these classics if you would but invest some time pondering and reflecting on these heavenly lyrics. Settle down. Close your eyes for a few minutes. Be silent for a time. Cast aside the trials and tribulations of this day. Ask God to allow the words you are about to ponder, the melodies you will hear, and the images you will see penetrate your entire being and bring this great...

Although polling information varies, there is likely somewhere between 68 and 70 million Catholics in the U.S. and (shockingly) another 30 million or so who identify themselves as being "former" Catholics. Other polls claim that more than 70 per cent of those who claim to be Catholic no longer attend Sunday Mass and 70 percent of those who do attend Mass no longer believe that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Sacred Eucharist. What a tragedy, if true, that so very few people who identify themselves as Catholics believe an essential dogma of their faith.  What an affront to our Lord who remains far too often an ignored and unappreciated prisoner in the tabernacles of His Churches. Instead of cursing this darkness, ignorance and disbelief, let's do something affirmative this Corpus Christi (Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) to console Our Lord, to reinstate a sense of the "sacred"...

Our Church’s teaching on the Eucharist is long standing, clear and includes the following: the Eucharist must be the source and center of our daily lives; whenever possible Catholics Churches are to keep their doors open for some period of time each day to facilitate visits before the Blessed Sacrament; pastors are to encourage such visits; they are also to promote and encourage their parishioners' participation in Eucharistic Adoration, setting an example for their flock by doing so themselves; and they are to support the establishment and continuation of  regional chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration when their own parishes are unable to sustain such a vital devotion solely by themselves. What a different world this would be if we were to follow these life-changing practices! As someone who has spent more than ten years coordinating Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in a local parish and encour...