Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) God will test us during the course of life with a variety of challenges, all of which are intended to strengthen our belief in and resolve to follow Him. We need to embrace these challenges if we are to grow spiritually and closer to Him.   These challenges and the gift of the Eucharist should be a constant reminder of His love for us and of our obligation to love and trust Him in return. It is not bread and wine we eat and drink but the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ! We should approach and respond to Him with a mindset and in a fashion deserving of such great a gift. It is understandable why so many were repulsed and walked away from Our Lord after He told them that they had to eat His Body and drink His Blood if they wished to have eternal life. It made no sense. Cannibalism was not a concept easily embraced by anyone. Jews weren’t even permitted to drink the blood of slaughtered animals. Even if one was i...

"St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, an exceptional religious who no one would dare regard as a traditionalist, fundamentalist or extremist, whose faith, holiness and total gift of self to God and the poor are known to all, had a respect and absolute worship of the Divine Body of Jesus Christ. Certainly, she daily touched the 'flesh' of Christ in the deteriorated and suffering bodies of the poorest of the poor.  (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) And yet, filled with wonder and respectful veneration, Mother Teresa refrained from touching the transubstantiated Body of Christ. Instead, she adored Him and contemplated Him silently, she remained at length on her knees and prostrated herself before Jesus in the Eucharist. Moreover, she received Holy Communion in her mouth, like a little child who has humbly allowed herself to be fed by her God." Cardinal Robert Sarah 

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, ...

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) “If you want to experience true peace, come to the Tabernacle.  Oh, what love you will feel.  My Father waits for you: He waits until you are ready to sit and honor His Son.  He waits for you to open your heart: to believe He is there, so that He can give you the warmth of His Love and His Peace.  For if you believe I am there, all things are possible.  What happened?  Your families before you, honored Me.  They sat with Me: talked with Me.  Churches were full, and because of their love for Me, and the one who sent Me, they did all they could for my Church.  A lot has happened in the last 30 [40+] years.  I am the same God, yet there is no reverence for Me or my Son.  You come with your hands in your pockets, not folded in prayer; children eat, laugh and play in the real presence of my Son.  Some look away, as if they don’t know what to do; most don’t know who I am.  Come to...

  Polls tell us that a majority of Americans identifying themselves as Catholic no longer attend Sunday Mass. They do not know what is happening at or Who is present at the Mass. We must address this deficit in catechesis , as well as the  widespread lack of belief in and reverence for the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. Monsignor Charles Pope shared a video that helps put these issues in proper perspective. Please take a look.  

When I travel and enter unfamiliar Catholic Churches, I don’t really ask for much: an atmosphere of reverent silence and a tabernacle in front of which I may momentarily kneel and worship my Eucharistic Lord. One would expect our Lord to be in "a distinguished place ... conspicuous, suitably adorned and conducive to prayer". But often His whereabouts are unknown. Far too often, instead of kneeling before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I have to assemble a search team to scour the Church building to find out where they have taken Him! This should never be! But it occurs far too frequently. My daughter and her family recently moved to a new town in a new State. We went to visit them. We also went to visit our Lord in the two Catholic Churches located in this town. He was no where to be seen! After searching for Him in the larger of the two Churches, I found Him in a chapel set apart from the area where the congregation gathers and celebrates Mass. I never did find wher...

More than a century and half ago, St. Peter Eymard made the following observations:   “Alas, it is but too true: Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is not loved! He is not loved by millions of pagans, by millions of infidels, by the millions of schismatics and heretics who either do not know anything of the Eucharist or have no notions about it. Among so many thousands of creatures in whom God has placed a heart capable of loving, how many would love the Blessed Sacrament if only they knew it as I do! Must I not at least try to love it for them in their stead? Even among Catholics, few, very few love Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.   How many think of Him frequently, speak of Him, come to adore Him? What is the reason for this forgetfulness and coldness? People have never experienced the Eucharist, its sweetness, the delights of His Love. They have never known the goodness of Jesus! They have no idea of the extent of His love in the Most Blessed Sacrament.   So...

We can not get to know another person or develop a loving relationship with that individual unless we spend time with that person. To say that you love someone, but never visit, engage in conversation with or spend time with that person would be to live a lie and deceive yourself. God is calling each of us to a personal and intimate encounter and relationship with Him.  But how can we experience such a relationship if we do not get to know Him, or spend time with Him, or talk to Him, or lay our burdens before Him, or listen to Him, or trust Him? Just as we could not maintain our physical health by limiting physical nourishment to one hour a week, we are foolish to think that our mere presence in a Church building on Sunday for an hour can create and sustain the type of intimate spiritual relationship God offers and desires with each of us.   Oh, how He Who is love is not loved in return! He hungers to have you acknowledge His Real Presence in the Eucharist. ...

What if you had given everything you had (including your life) in order that others might live but only a handful of those for whom you died seemed to care?   What if you returned ready to comfort, strengthen and sustain them through life’s daily challenges and struggles, but only a small number acknowledged your presence among them and even fewer spent time with you or sought your aid? What if the majority of people totally ignored you and acted as if you were not even there?   If you or I were treated this way, we would cry.   Jesus, the King of King and Lords of Lords, is treated that way day after day by many who claim to be Catholic.   Yet, so great is His love for us that He chooses to remain locked in the tabernacles of His churches, day after day, waiting for us to acknowledge His presence among us, to visit and speak to Him, and to ask for His help.   He too must have recently cried.   I’ll tell you why. A man entered a Catholic church...