Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Souls who are well grounded in faith on earth should bear a close resemblance to the Blessed in Heaven. What the blessed in Heaven behold unveiled, the same we will behold on earth in the light of faith, if we are penetrated with a lively sense of the presence of God. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Lack of a lively faith in the Holy Eucharist is the reason why lukewarm Catholics lose their faith and turn their backs upon the Church. We shall never be able to lead a spiritual life and attain  to familiarity with God, nor draw abundant fruits from Holy Communion, if the virtue of faith is wanting. And alas, how many are lacking in a firm, lively faith!  O Faith, thou marvelous virtue! O sublime virtue, how little are thou known! Oh, let us pray for a most fervent, lively faith! Then will the Holy Eucharist be our life and our All, and our souls will be enriched with heavenly treasures. The just man lives by faith. Experience has  proved that lukewarmness ...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Streams of graces and blessings flow from the living and personal presence of our Divine Savior in the holy Tabernacle into the hearts of those who approach Him with humility and confidence...Never does a soul that is penetrated with a lively faith approach Jesus and go away without being enriched. If we ourselves did not sow many weeds in the garden of our soul, He would soon have it covered with the treasures of grace...Nothing, not even the sense of our unworthiness and sinfulness, should deter us from appearing before Him: Yea, the poorer we are, the more often should we hasten to the Divine Treasury that we may become enriched. The weaker we are, the more frequently should we approach the Divine Fountain of Grace, that we may be revived and strengthened.   Here, in the holy Tabernacle, is the wonderful pool of Bethsaida , that is, the 'house of mercy' or 'place of healing,' in which the Divine waters of grace are c...

Were our Savior not present in His Adorable Sacrament, where could we find Him? In His Holy Scriptures? Yes, but in these He speaks from afar, and the past cannot satisfy us. Contemplating Him in His glory in Heaven would but increase our longing. We cannot live on meditation and desires alone. But, oh, mercy and love of our Savior! He foresaw all this and for that reason instituted this Miracle of Love, the Holy Eucharist. (Image Source - Wikimedia Commons ) When Jesus gives Himself to us in this Sacrament, we possess Him as holy Simeon did when he held Him as an infant in his arms; as Magdalen did when she caressed and kissed His feet; as St. John did when he reposed on His Heart. Jesus has unweariedly followed us from the Crib to Calvary; from Calvary to the Tabernacle; from the Tabernacle to the hands of the priest; from the hands of the pries to our heart. (Father Lukas Etlin, O.S.B. from The Holy Eucharist - Our All )

In the first ages of the Church, as Justin, Tertullian and other spiritual writers relate, the faithful were permitted to take the Sacred Hosts with them to their homes, so that if captured for martyrdom, they might yet communicate. Even on their journeys these faithful Christians did not wish to be separated from their Lord, and for this reason they carried the Holy Eucharist with them, so that although far from a priest or church, they could still venerate the Blessed Sacrament. (Photo©Michael Seagriff) Interesting anecdotes could be mentioned of the hermits who took the Holy Eucharist with them into the desert. And nowadays, alas, so many Christians who live near the church do not find a moment's time to pay a visit to their Lord! But they have plenty of leisure for worldly visits, for useless conversations or harmful reading. To them apply the words which St. John Chrysostom addressed to his people. 'What excuse shall we have, or how shall we obtain pardo...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “Without the Holy Eucharist, earth would seem to us empty, the temple of God desolate, the soul cold, the heart isolated. Oh God, this earth is a vale of tears where I weep and sigh! Here I cannot remain alone – alone with people who are careless and indifferent to my suffering; I have need of Thee.” (From The Holy Eucharist: Our All by Father Lukas Etlin, O.S.B.)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) AFTER the Sacrifice of the Mass and the reception of Holy Communion, visiting the Blessed Sacrament is one of the richest sources of grace for souls. The memorable words of Pope St. Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist, show us clearly how he regarded such visits: "The daily adoration or visit to the Blessed Sacrament is the practice which is the fountainhead of all devotional works." In these daily visits, therefore, St. Pius X recog­nized the root of Eucharistic devotions.