Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) On the day that we receive Holy Communion we should endeavor to keep our hearts as living tabernacles of our Eucharistic Jesus, and then visit Him often with acts of adoration, love, and gratitude; this is what Divine love will teach us.                                                          Saint Paul of the Cross

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) As we face the tragic reality that so few Catholics believe our Lord is really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist, we must be honest in assessing the reasons why this has occurred. While there are many possible explanations, there is one common denominator: we abandoned sacred rituals and conduct for the banal - discarding that which elevated our minds and hearts to the heavenly King, for practices that center on ourselves and the mundane. So many Catholics today either do not remember or never experienced the sacred practices of days gone by. It is important then that those practices and the reasons for them be shared anew if we are ever to re-establish belief in, awe and amazement for our Eucharistic Lord. Actions do indeed speak louder than words: Toward that end, let me share again the observations of columnist, James Monti:

“To approach the holy altar, one must have an upright intention, that is to say, one should not receive Communion under constraint or on account of habit, human respect, vanity, or any other motive, but for the sake of uniting himself to the intentions for which Jesus Christ instituted this Sacrament, namely to transform us into Himself, to obtain from Him some graces for ourselves and for others, or again, to perpetuate and resurrect in us the memory of His Passion,   as He Himself commanded in the Upper Room.” (Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, O.P. from Instructions for Novices )                                        

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) “In vain would one justify his estrangement from Holy Communion by vain pretexts. Such excuses turn against us and serve only to prove that we should receive Communion more often. Do we shudder, for example, for not having much piety? Then one must approach the Divine Eucharist, since it is a consuming fire , capable of kindling the most lukewarm hearts. Do we feel ourselves filled with weaknesses and imperfections? We should have recourse to Holy Communion: it is the bread of the strong, the milk of the weak, the remedy for the sick, the energy for the traveler who advances in the ways of perfection up to the mountain of God. Do we experience temptations, especially against purity? Do we notice other passions rising up in our soul? The wheat of the elect and the wine which makes virgins flower will produce in us chaste thoughts, well-ordered desires, and affections completely spiritual and angelic. Do we find ourselves too attached to ourselves, t...

“…Friendship is based on union, on a certain equality, two things that are found with God only in the Eucharist. Who, I ask you, would dare call himself the friend of God and believe himself worthy of His particular affection? A servant would insult his master in presuming to treat him as a friend; he must wait until his master grants him the right by first calling him by that name. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) But when God Himself has come under our roof; when He has come to share with us His life, His possessions, and His merits; when He has thus made the first advances, we no longer presume, but with reason call Him our Friend. So, after the Last Supper, our Lord tells His Apostles, ‘I will not now call you servants. I call you friends. You are my friends, because all things whatsoever I have received of my Father I have given to you; you are my friends, because to you I have confided the secret of my majesty.’…