“My answer is prayer. What we need is for every Parish to come before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Hours of prayer. ” “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament … will help bring about an everlasting peace on earth” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

Nobel Peace Prize winner and foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa brought the homeless, sick, destitute and dying home to “die like angels.” She attributed her many charitable works to her daily Holy Hours of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Teresa said, “I know I would not be able to work one week if it were not for that continual force coming from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Reflections on Eucharistc Adoration from Mother Teresa of Calcutta :

“On the Cross Jesus said: ‘I thirst.’ From the Blessed Sacrament Jesus continues to say to each of us: ‘I thirst.’ He thirsts for our personal love, our intimacy, our union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. His longing for us to be with Him in the Blessed Sacrament is infinitely greater than our longing to be with Him.”

“The Eucharist is connected with the Passion. If Jesus had not established the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of his love.”

“When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now. ”

“Our lives must be woven around the Eucharist … fix your eyes on Him Who is the light; bring your hearts close to His Divine Heart; ask Him to grant you the grace of knowing Him, the love of loving Him, the courage to serve Him. Seek Him fervently.”

“To be alone with Jesus in adoration and intimate union with Him is the greatest gift of love-the tender love of our Father in Heaven.”

“All of us know that unless we believe and can see Jesus in the appearance of bread on the altar, we will not be able to see him in the distressing disguise of the poor. Therefore these two loves are but one in Jesus.”

“If we really understand the Eucharist, if we really centre our lives on Jesus’ Body and Blood, if we nourish our lives with the Bread of the Eucharist, it will be easy for us to see Christ in that hungry one next door, the one lying in the gutter, the alcoholic man we shun, our husband or our wife, or our restless child. For in them, we will recognize the distressing disguises of the poor: Jesus in our midst.”

“Through Mary the cause of our joy you discover that no where on earth are you more welcomed, no where on earth are you more loved, than by Jesus, living and truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament … He is really there in Person waiting just for you.”    “Like Mary, let us never be ashamed to do humble work. Like her, let us always accept the cross in whatever way it comes. (We must) stand near Our Lady to listen to the thirst of Jesus and to answer with your whole heart.”

The Servant of the Poorest of the Poor, beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003

Eucharistic Adoration Increases Vocations

“If you are looking for vocations, as a community have adoration every day. It was not until 1973, when we began our daily Holy Hour that our community started to grow and blossom … In our congregation, we used to have adoration once a week for one hour, and then in 1973, we decided to have adoration one hour every day. We have much work to do. Our homes for the sick and dying destitute are full everywhere. And from the time we started having adoration every day, our love for Jesus became more intimate, our love for each other more understanding, our love for the poor more compassionate, and we have double the number of vocations. God has blessed us with many wonderful vocations. The time we spend in having our daily audience with God is the most precious part of the whole day.”

“Our holy hour is our daily family prayer where we get together and pray the Rosary before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, the first half hour, and the second half hour we pray in silence.”

“I am very glad to know about the perpetual adoration rnovement .. Thank God for His love for you-for His presence in you and the joy with which you love and serve Him in the Blessed Sacrament and in each other. Each one of us is a co-worker of Christ-we must labor hard to carry Him to the hearts where He has not yet been known and loved. But unless we have Jesus we cannot give Him; that is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament and He will fill you with His strength and His power. Tell Him, ‘Come to our hearts Lord and stay with us.’ Then you will become instruments of His love, peace and joy.”

“We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks. People ask, “Where do the sisters get the joy and energy to do what they are doing?” The Eucharist involves more than just receiving; it also involves satisfying the hunger of Christ. He says, “Come to Me.” He is hungry for souls. When the sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work, when all seems to go awry, they spend and hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit; they experience peace and strength.”

“Perpetual adoration with exposition needs a great push. Perpetual adoration is the most beautiful thing you could ever think of doing. People are hungry for God. Perpetual Adoration, Eucharistic Adoration offers to our people the opportunity to join those in religious life to pray for the salvation of the world, souls everywhere and peace on earth. We cannot underestimate the power of prayer and the difference it will make in our world. Ask your parish priest to have Perpetual Adoration.”

“Be only all for Jesus and give Jesus to others. That is why Jesus made Himself the Bread of Life. That is why He is there twenty- four hours. That is why He is longing for you and for me to share the joy of loving. And He says: ‘As I have loved you.’ If I can give you any advice, I beg you to get closer to the Eucharist.”

“I beg the Blessed Mother to touch the hearts of all parish priests that they may have Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in their parishes, and that it may spread throughout the entire world.”

The fruit of silence is PRAYER

The fruit of prayer is FAITH

The fruit of faith is LOVE

The fruit of love is SERVICE

The fruit of service is PEACE.

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY:

Mother Teresa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, died on September 5, 1997, in her convent in India. She was 87. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, she joined the Sisters of Loreto in 1928. She took the name “Teresa” after St. Teresa of Lisieux, patroness of the Missionaries.

In 1948, she came across a half-dead woman lying in front of a Calcutta hospital. She stayed with the woman until she died. From that point on, she dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name “Saint of the Gutters.” She founded an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India dedicated to serving the poor. Almost 50 years later, the Missionaries of Charity have grown from 12 sisters in India to over 3,000 in 517 missions throughout 100 countries worldwide.

In 1952, she founded the Nirmal Hriday Home for the Dying in a former temple in Calcutta. It was there that they would care for the dying Indians that were found on the streets. Mother would see Jesus in everyone that she met. It didn´t matter whether they were dying of AIDS or Leprosy. She wanted them to be able to die in peace and with dignity. For over 50 years, she worked selflessly helping the poor. That devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

In the last two decades of her life, Mother had suffered from heart problems. She suffered a heart attack during a 1983 visit with Pope John Paul II. She suffered another, and more serious, heart attack in 1989. It was then that a pacemaker was installed.   She also had suffered from malaria and was treated for a chest infection.   Particularly recently it has come to light that she also suffered from great spiritual aridity or dryness.  She lived for decades in great and heroic faith and trust in God from whom she was receiving no consolations. She is a wonderful example not only of heroic charity in dealing with the physical and spiritual needs of people, but also a pattern of spiritual greatness in the midst of many sufferings both of body and soul.

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With all the many things that could be said about the Apostle of Divine Mercy, St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament, let us look at this beautiful litany of love to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament composed by the Saint.

Prayer of St. Faustina While in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the testament of God’s mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially to poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities, flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and without.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which inundate the earth.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will understand us.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life.

O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the efforts of hell.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat moistens my brow.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by others.

O Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy.

(357) +Most Holy Trinity, I trust in Your infinite mercy. God is my Father and so I, His child, have every claim to His divine Heart; and the greater the darkness, the more complete our trust should be.

(358) I do not understand how it is possible not to trust in Him who can do all things. With Him, everything; without Him, nothing. He is Lord. He will not allow those who have placed all their trust in Him to be put to shame.

from http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=510

St. Faustina

Feastday: October 5
1905 – 1938

Saint Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in a small village west of Lodz, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was almost twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women. The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added, “of the Most Blessed Sacrament”, as was permitted by her congregation’s custom. In the 1930’s, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God’s mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God’s plan of mercy for the world. It was not a glamorous prospect.

Her entire life, in imitation of Christ’s, was to be a sacrifice, a life lived for others. At the Divine Lord’s request, she willingly offered her personal sufferings in union with Him to atone for the sins of others; in her daily life she was to become a doer of mercy, bringing joy and peace to others, and by writing about God’s mercy, she was to encourage others to trust in Him and thus prepare the world for His coming again. Her special devotion to Mary Immaculate and to the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession that gave her the strength to bear all her sufferings as an offering to God on behalf of the Church and those in special need, especially great sinners and the dying.

She wrote and suffered in secret, with only her spiritual director and some of her superiors aware that anything special was taking place in her life. After her death from tuberculosis in 1938, even her closest associates were amazed as they began to discover what great sufferings and deep mystical experiences had been given to this Sister of theirs, who had always been so cheerful and humble. She had taken deeply into her heart, God’s gospel command to “be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful” as well as her confessor’s directive that she should act in such a way that everyone who came in contact with her would go away joyful. The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; her diary, Divine Mercy in my Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to the Divine Mercy.

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 Unite me to Yourself, O adorable Victim, life-giving heavenly Bread, feed me, sanctify me, reign in me, transform me to Yourself – live in me, and let me live in You, let me adore You in your life-giving sacraments as my God – listen to you as to my Master – obey you as my King – imitate you as my Model – follow you as my Shepherd – love you as my Father – seek you as my Physician who will heal all the maladies of my soul – be indeed my Way, Truth, and Life, sustain me O heavenly Manna through the desert of this world, till I shall behold You unveiled in Your glory.

 +St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

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In honor of St. Peter Julian Eymard, the founder of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers whose Feast Day is August 2nd, we present this prayer composed by a priest but one we can all embrace.  On this First Friday of the month, can we spend an hour with Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament or Tabernacle?

You do not yet understand the value and the meaning of what you are doing when you abide in adoration before My Eucharistic Face. You are participating in a divine work, in a work of grace. You are before Me as an empty vessel to be filled with the power and sweetness of the Holy Spirit, that souls might drink of My Love and, drinking, see that My Love is sweeter than any earthly delight.

You are before Me as the intercessor in whose soul the Holy Spirit is sighing with ineffable groanings, and obtaining from My Father, through Me, all that the Father desires to give My priests in this world and in the next.

You are the reparator opening yourself to receive the love that so many others ignore, refuse, or treat with indifference, coldness, and disdain. By offering yourself to Me in an adoration of reparation, you console My Eucharistic Heart, which burns with love and so desires to fill souls with My tender mercy.

When you are before Me, you are the privileged friend of My Heart, keeping Me company in My loneliness and allowing Me to share with you My sorrows, My grieving over sin, and My designs for a priesthood made pure and radiant with holiness.

When you are before Me, you are with Me a victim of love, handed over and bound to remain at your place before the altar with no desires or plans other than to love, to adore, to make reparation, and to (re)present all priests in a prayer that simple, and confident, and life-changing.

When you are in adoration before My Eucharistic Face, you are not idle; you are working in a way far more efficacious than any human undertaking can be. This is your work and it is My work in you. This is a work that many will criticize and not understand.  You are here in a divinely active collaboration with Me, who from the Sacrament of My Love, continue My priestly mediation before the Father on behalf of poor sinners.

Never doubt of the value of your hours of adoration. It is this that I have asked you to do, and I will draw from your presence in the sanctuary a great good and a superabundance of graces for My priests.

From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest

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Jesus wants me to tell you again…how much love He has for each one of you-beyond all you can imagine. I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus-one to one-you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in chapel but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus, not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it.

 Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying, “I thirst” in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person not just the idea. How can we last even one day without hearing Jesus say, “l love you”- impossible. Our soul needs that as much as the body needs to breathe the air. lf not, prayer is dead and meditation only thinking.

 Jesus wants you each to hear Him speaking in the silence of your heart. Be careful of all that can block that personal contact with the living Jesus. The devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you. This is a danger for all of us. And so sad, because it is completely opposite of what Jesus is really wanting, waiting to tell you. Not only that He loves you, but even more, He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you.

 He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy… When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes; He is the one who always accepts you. My children, you don’t have to be different for Jesus to love you. Only believe that you are precious to Him. Bring all you are suffering to His feet: only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are. He will do the rest.

 Saint Teresa of Calcutta

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I have come to spend a few moments with Thee, O Jesus, and in spirit I prostrate myself in the dust before Thy Holy Tabernacle to adore Thee, my Lord and God, in deepest humility.

Once more a day has come to its close, dear Jesus, another day which brings me nearer to the grave and my beloved heavenly home. Once more, O Jesus, my heart longs for Thee, the true Bread of Life, which contains all sweetness and relish. O my Jesus, mercifully grant me pardon for the faults and ingratitude of this day, and come to me to refresh my poor heart which longs for Thee.                 

                                                                                                                                                                   As the heart pants for the waters, as the parched earth longs for the dew of heaven, even so does my poor heart long for Thee, Thou Fount of Life. I love Thee, O Jesus, I hope in Thee, I love Thee, and out of love for Thee I regret sincerely all my sins. May Thy peace and Thy benediction be mine now and always and for all eternity. Amen.

 St.Conrad of Parzham

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Ave Maria MeditationsHeavenly Father, increase our faith in the Real Presence of Your Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. We are obliged to adore Him, to give Him thanks and to make reparation for sins. We need your peace in our hearts and among nations. We need conversion from our sins and the mercy of Your forgiveness. May we obtain this through prayer and our union with the Eucharistic Lord.

The post Adoration Prayer first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jul 08, 2020, on how the responsorial psalm tells us to seek always the face of God, which means to seek His presence. This is primarily done by realizing that He is always present to us and we simply need to turn toward Him and away from sin. This is done by repentance and confession and to develop a good prayer life, including mass, adoration of the blessed sacrament, and reading the writings of the saints.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Gregory Grassi and companions – Opt Mem
Readings: Wednesday 14th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/070820.cfm
1st: hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Resp: psa 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 0
Gsp: mat 10:1-7

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=671&r=1645

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/3105598242809646
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/w_evI6y2DAg

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The Life of S. of God Mary Teresa Bonzel, Virgin, Third Order (1830-1905) for the Franciscan Saint of the Day for Feb 5.  Mary Teresa Bonzel was born in Italy. She entered the Third Order and was the founder of the Poor Franciscans of Perpetual Adoration which was established in Europe and the Americas by the time of her death.

Reflection is on Charity to our neighbor which won so many graces from God that strengthened Mary Teresa Bonzel’s order and blessed her adoration apostolate.

For more on S. of God Mary Teresa Bonzel
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresia_Bonzel
– https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mary-teresa-bonzel/

Also on Youtube: https://youtu.be/cBKe0ajTzgw

Read by Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia, FI from Marion Habig’s ‘The Franciscan Book of Saints’ Revised Edition, Franciscan Herald Press, ISBN: 978-0819907516

Playlist of Franciscan Saints: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TxcAETrU_k&list=PLejh_e0-LN4wErRczZGry4TXytCZFiLCm

Ave Maria!

+++

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