Eucharistic Reflection - Clothe Yourself In Christ

"To receive Communion fruitfully, that adorable Sacrament must produce its effects in you. In fact, I am anxious when I see someone receiving Communion frequently and she does not take on the mind of Jesus Christ and has no resemblance to Him.

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I do not tell you not to receive Communion - understand my words properly - but I do say to you, in communicating often, to live according to the grace of the Communion, clothing yourself in Jesus Christ and asking for His spirit and living only for Him. And for this, it is necessary, I repeat to you, that you die to yourself."

 (Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament from The Mystery of Incomprehensible Love)

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Grace Of Deeper Recollection

“In order to lead the soul to a high degree of virtue, God grants it the grace of deeper recollection. This incontestable truth is little known or appreciated even by persons of piety, who too often act on the belief that progress in holiness consists in external religious practices or in a greater enjoyment of God.

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Yet it is certain that the grace of recollection, by bringing us nearer to God, nearer to the divine fire of love, does increase our light and fervor. That is why we comprehend certain truths so clearly when we are in a more profound state of recollection. We discern them, in fact, by the very lights of God. Then it is that we have a peace we never knew before, a strength which astonishes us; we feel we are with God.”

(St. Peter Julian Eymard from Holy Communion)

Eucharistic Reflection - Beware Of Discouragement

 "We must beware of discouragement, for the majority of souls fall into it saying: 'For such a long time I have attended Mass and offered my imperfections, and I still have them all and I am not dead to the least of them.' Others say: 'I have received Communion so many times and I am not at all transformed into Jesus Christ, which is the effect of Holy Communion; therefore, it is not necessary to receive Communion anymore.'

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No, no, there is something you must note: it is in order to have us hear Mass  often and receive Communion many times that Jesus Christ does not effect this complete death or total transformation. Instead He leaves us our imperfections so that we may make a continual sacrifice of them in combating them constantly for Him. This is why Our Lord does not cause this [transformation] all at once; these matters for battle He leaves for the sake of our fidelity."

(Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament from The Mystery of Incomprehensible Love)

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Have You Been To This Place?

When the soul has given itself up to God, He makes it suffer, and will make it suffer constantly. This will be hard! In order to take complete possession of the soul, God annihilates it, as it were, and takes its place. And as it is continually assailed by the temptation to find itself again, God gives combat, makes it suffer; He effaces the spirit, stifles the heart.

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When the spirit will not surrender unconditionally, God plunges it into darkness, into temptations against faith, and hope and confidence. All peace is lost until the mind surrenders and totally renounces its own lights. Against such a state, the director can do nothing.

He reasons; he discourses on the goodness of God, which the soul alas, can no longer see. It is terrified by the past and trembles for the present. What is to be done? Accept everything. God wills this state for you and does not tell you why. He is waiting for you to say to Him: 'I am nothing but sin; I give myself up to Thee; do with me as Thou wilt. Thou desirest me to suffer inner turmoil and torture? Very well; that is my desire, too. Unable to see any good actions to offer Thee, I shall bring to Thee the misery Thous showest me. Though I shall not love my misery, nevertheless, I shall glorify Thee by it.'

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And the good God is still with you at that very moment. He wishes you to be like this; what does anything else matter? Above all, do not examine your state too closely, thinking God is abandoning you, wondering what will become of you; you might lose your mind. God wants you to know whether you love Him more than your own will, spiritualized though it be. So be at peace. Even tormented as you are, you glorify Him. And do you desire any other thing than His glory?

(St. Julian Peter Eymard from Holy Communion)

Eucharistic Reflection - Feel It Beating

"A great many people habitually make the mistake of talking too much in their thanksgiving, that highest of prayers; by over-much speaking they render their Communion ineffective - Do but listen to  our Lord a little after Communion. This is not the time to seek, but to enjoy. This is the time when God makes Himself known through Himself: Et erunt docibiles Dei -"And they shall all be taught of God."

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"How does a mother teach her little child what endless love and tenderness she has for it? She is content to show by her devotion that she loves it. God does the same in Communion. Remember that one who does not receive Communion will never know the Heart of our Lord or the magnitude of His love. The heart makes itself known through itself alone; we must feel it beating."

(St. Peter Julian Eymard from Holy Communion)

Eucharistic Reflection - The Most Magnificent Feast

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“My sisters, I regard the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the most magnificent feast, for in it we eat the flesh of the Son of God and we drink His Blood, so that the guests’ souls are completely filled with Jesus Christ. Consider we are filled with His divinity and His humanity, with His holy soul and all His infinite perfections and by concomitance, with the Farther and the Holy Spirit. This is what is offered in this precious mystery, which being too common is neglected and being so excellent is still understood only by a few…”

 

(Venerable Catherine Mectilde de Bar from The Mystery of Incomprehensible Love)

Eucharistic Reflection - He Comes Disguised

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“After having received the Lord, since you have the Person Himself present, strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your heart.

For I tell you again, and would like to tell you many times, that you should acquire the habit of doing this every time you receive Communion and strive to have such a conscience that you will be allowed to enjoy this blessing frequently.

Though He comes disguised, the disguise as I have said, does not prevent Him from being recognized in many ways, in conformity with the desire we have to see Him. And you can desire to see Him so much that He will reveal Himself to you entirely.”

 

St Teresa of Avila from Way Of Perfection

Eucharistic Reflection - Don't Take Away His Real Presence!

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Our Lord is in the Blessed Sacrament to receive from men the same homages He received from those who had the happiness of coming close to Him during His mortal life. He is there in order to give everybody the opportunity to render personal homage to His Sacred humanity; if that were the only end and justification of the Eucharist, we should still deem ourselves most fortunate to be enabled thereby to fulfill our Christian duties towards our Lord in person.

If you take away the Real Presence, how will you render to His sacred humanity the respect and honor it is entitled to?

Moreover, since our Lord as man is only in heaven and in the Most Blessed Sacrament, it is through the Eucharist that we can come close to our living Savior in person, see Him and converse with Him.

Through this sacramental presence we go to our Lord directly and come to Him as during His mortal life. How unfortunate it would be if, in order to honor the humanity of Jesus Christ, our memory had to travel back nineteen centuries. That would satisfy our mind, but could we render an exterior homage to a past that is so far away? We would content ourselves with giving thanks without participating in the mysteries.

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But now we may come and adore like the shepherds and prostrate ourselves like the Magi. We no longer have to deplore our not having been at Bethlehem or on Calvary. 

In fact to adore well, we must keep in mind that Jesus, present in the Eucharist, glorifies and continues therein all the mysteries and virtues of His mortal life; that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ past, present and future; that the Eucharist is the last development of the Incarnation and mortal life of the Savior; that Jesus Christ gives us therein all the graces; that all truths tend to the Eucharist, and the final word on everything is the Eucharist, since It is Jesus Christ.

(St Peter Julian Eymard from In The Light of the Monstrance)