Visit 09 Jesus Eucharistic Our Hidden God

I. The disciples of Jesus were afraid when a great tempest arose in the sea because their Master was asleep. Within the tabernacle He seems to sleep, but "His heart watcheth." (Cant. v. 2).

II. In every tempest of trial or temptation, let us seek Him there, and call Him to our aid.

III. Though He is a hidden God, though He seems not to waken or to break the silence of the tabernacle, still to our hearts He whispers: "Peace, be still." (Mark iv. 39).

CONSIDERATIONS.
When we meditate earnestly on Jesus Christ, His birth, His life. His death, but, above all, His Divine Eucharist. we are struck with the force of the expression in the Canticle of Canticles, "I sleep and my heart watcheth." It explains to us Jesus Christ entirely. In the fulness of time the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.

He was born in a poor stable; behold Him an Infant asleep on the bosom of His Mother! Scarcely motion announces life, scarcely a sigh or a tear, I sleep, says the Infant, but fear not, My heart watches—"Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat" His heart watches; yes, truly; for already what love in this little Child; what love in this humiliation; what love in this Mother, who is to be ours; what love in this crib, in this first sigh, in this first tear!

Already His heart, which watches, has gathered around Him the rich and the poor, the great and the lowly. The voice of the angels, which calls the shepherds, is His heart, that watches and says to them: "Peace to men of good will."

The star that conducts the Magi is His heart, that watches and guides them. Jesus Christ passes thirty years of His life—a hidden life—in the solitude of Nazareth; there you might believe that His life, thus hidden and obscure, is a slumber. I appear to you to sleep, does not Jesus Christ again say to us; but see how My heart watches; I know that obedience is repugnant to the independence of your nature; I know that meekness and humility are opposed to the pride of your heart; it is not too much for Me to pass thirty years in giving you examples of these sublime virtues; I do not sleep so profoundly, that My heart does not watch to say to you: "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart" (Matt. xi. 29).

In His public life, Jesus one day embarked with His disciples on the Lake of Genesareth; a tempest arose, the waves threatened to engulf the fragile vessel; "But," says the Evangelist, "He was asleep." The terrified apostles surround Him and waken Him, crying: "Lord, save us, we perish"; and Jesus answers: " Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little faith?" as if He had said: " I slept, it is true, but My heart was watching over you—Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat." Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the waves and there was a great calm.

When, finally, the Savior of the world, to accomplish the will of His Father and to finish the work of our redemption, is raised on the Cross of Calvary, does He not seem to say to us: " I sleep and My heart watches"—"Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat." But this death is a slumber, which reaches not My heart; all My bones are dislocated, a lance opens My heart, and from this heart, thus opened, and always watching, gush forth for you, two fruitful fountains of salvation —water and blood—Baptism and the Eucharist.

Ah, The Eucharist! Let us draw near to the tabernacle; let us contemplate Jesus Christ under the eucharistic veil. What annihilation! What uninterrupted silence'! What profound slumber! Be not deceived, He says once more to us. The more I annihilate myself, the more I love you; the greater My silence, the more I listen to your voice; the more I conceal Myself under these veils, the more I discover Myself to you; the more I seem to sleep, the more I watch—" Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat."

0 men! whosoever you may be; how great so ever may be your desolation and your misery, your anxieties or your pains, your infidelities and your faults, before the altar and in presence of the Eucharist, be consoled, be calmed, be reassured. In the tabernacle Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is hidden; He sleeps that this lowly slumber may soothe the terror that His majesty would excite; here the heart of Jesus watches, that this vigil may give you confidence. Weak, unhappy, sinful though you be, fear not, in the Eucharist the heart of God watches. Here is your strength, your joy, your salvation. 0 my Jesus I grant that I may never be wanting in that confidence, which Thou seekest in Thy faithful followers. 0 Heart of Jesus! watch over me; give me grace to love Thee more and more.—From the Meditations of de la Bouillerie.

My God and my All! may the sweet flame of Thy love consume my soul, that so I may die to the world for the love of Thee, Who hast vouchsafed to die upon the cross for the love of me.— St. Francis of Assisi.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Sacrament, Mother and model of adorers, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.

St. Joseph, pray for us, that like thee, we may die in the arms of Jesus and Mary.


PRAYER TO THE HOLY GHOST
0 Holy Ghost, Thou Teacher and Sanctifier, Who givest light and strength to my soul, bless me that I may be more faithful to Jesus, my Savior and my God, Who is hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, and that I may love Him more and more. In the light of the tabernacle I ask of Thee, 0 Holy Spirit, to fill my heart with pure desire for Jesus, the Living Bread. Give me grace to adore Him with the zeal and humble ven­eration of the holy angels; grant that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that His will be done in my soul. Help me to thank Him for all His gifts, and, most of all, for Himself. By this Holy Sacrament He strengthens souls on earth, gives rest to souls in purgatory, and gladdens souls in heaven. He is the hidden manna, promised by Himself to all who overcome them­selves and love Him. May I taste the sweetness of Jesus! Set up more and more Thy kingdom in my soul, that I may keep my body under and bring it to subjection, lest I should be a castaway from Jesus and from Thee.

SPIRTUAL COMMUNION
0 Jesus, my Savior, Who art truly present in the Blessed Sacrament for the nourishment of our souls! since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, I humbly and earnestly beseech Thee to re­fresh me spiritually. I love Thee above all things and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Come into my mind to illumine it with the light of heaven; come into my heart to enkindle therein the fire of Thy love. Unite me so intimately with Thee, that it may be no more I that live, but Thou that livest and reigneth in me forever.



FRUIT OF THE VISIT.
I. Behold Christ seated in thy heart as a bloodstained Spouse; regard thyself as one very ungrateful, for thou hast never yet learned to die to the world, though thou dost daily, at Mass, show forth the death of thy Lord (Ex. iv. 25 ; also 1 Cor. xi. 26).

II. Love Him with a brave love, as the holy martyrs loved Him; that so thou mayest dare to say: "Who, then, shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? ... or the sword?" (Rom. viii. 35.)

III. Ask Him for "Health-Giving Sorrows," that as the sufferings of Christ abound in thee, so also may abound in thee the greatness of His comforts (2 Cor. i. 5).

Aspiration.
A bundle of myrrh is my Beloved to me: He shall ever abide in my understanding, and ever direct my will " (Cant. i. 12).

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
Our tabernacle is holier than the Holy of Holies, yea, than the Ark itself; for it contains the most sacred and life-giving flesh of Our Savior Jesus Christ.—St. Nicephorus.

Peace, Be Still! Sweet Jesus! by this Sacrament of Love
All gross affections from my heart remove;
Let but Thy loving kindness linger there,
Preserved by grace and perfected by prayer;
And let me to my neighbor strive to be
As mild and gentle as Thou art with me.
Take Thou the guidance of my whole career,
That to displease Thee be my only fear:
Give me that peace the world can never give,
And in Thy loving presence let me live.
Ah 1 show me always, Lord, Thy holy will,
And to each troubled thought, say: "Peace, be still."

LEGENDA.
The Blessed Sacrament in the Catacombs.
Without the walls of the city of Rome there exists a subterranean city, belonging to the first ages of the Christian Church, and known to us as the Catacombs—the city of the Christian dead. Their ancient name was cemeteries, or sleeping places. History has handed down to us the names of many noble women—e.g., Domitilla, Lucina, Priscilla, Cyriaca—who made use of their properties as Christian graveyards, and received into their own family vaults the bodies 'of the blessed martyrs. In many cases the name of some specially distinguished martyr has been given to the cemetery which gave him a resting-place. As, for example, that of St. Praetextatus, St. Agnes, and St. Calixtus.

This city of the dead comprises a series of long corridors or streets, intersected by certain little rooms or vaults for the use of private families, called for this reason "cubicula." In many of these is to be seen a vaulted niche or arcosolium, under which, upon the flat ground, stands a raised stone coffin, covered with a stone or marble lid. In such a coffin one or more of the bodies of the holy martyrs would be laid; and its lid or slab was used as an altar, where the cubiculum in which it was placed served as a chapel.

In times of persecution the faithful were wont to assemble in these sacred hiding-places, in order to assist at the divine mysteries and receive the "daily bread" of holy communion. Here, too, the Father of the faithful not unfrequently lived, concealed from the eyes of the world; and here, too, from time to time, the blood of the martyrs flowed in the very presence of the Most Holy.

Legend of St. Xystus, P.M.
It was the year 258AD, under the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. The imperial decree had for the first time forbidden the Christians to frequent their cemeteries, and the satellites of the emperor were employed to watch the entrance to the larger ones, of which that of St. Calixtus was the chief; for this reason, on the 6th of August of that year, the holy Pontiff Xystus selected another (afterwards called of Preatextatus, one of his deacons who suffered with him), wherein to celebrate the divine mysteries. His deacons, Felicissimus and Agapitus, prepare the altar, while Praetextatus and Laurence vest the venerable Pontiff.

The Mass proceeds, the faithful have received from the hands of Xystus the Bread of Life, and he, seated on the stone chair beside the altar, begins to address the faithful. Suddenly the cry of alarm is raised, as the clatter of arms and trampling of many feet are heard approaching. A traitor leads the myrmidons of Valerian into the recesses of the catacomb; they seize the seven deacons, and lay their hands upon the sacred person of the Vicar of Christ.

On reaching the city the guards are about to separate the Deacon Laurence from the rest. "0 Father," cries he, in an agony of sorrow,"whither goest thou without thy son—whither, 0 priest, without thy deacon? wherein have I displeased thee?"

"I leave thee not, my son," replies the venerable old man. "A more glorious victory is in store for thee. -Within three days thou shalt follow me!"

Once more the cemetery echoes with the tramp of armed men, but the Deacon Laurence is no longer by the side of the holy Pontiff. The venerable man is thrust into his episcopal chair; a soldier strikes off his head, so that the seat is dyed with his blood. Felicissimus and Agapitus receive their crowns at the same time, afterwards to be buried by the faithful .in the chapel where they have fallen; but the remains of the Pontiff were transferred to the adjoining cemetery of St. Calixtus, where so many of the martyred Popes already lay. St. Laurence, as we know, did follow his beloved Father three days later, through the glorious death which awaited him by fire.

Legend of St. Tarcisius.
The day following the martyrdom of the holy Pontiff St. Xystus it was thought expedient to send the Holy Eucharist from the secret altars of the cemeteries to the faithful in the city, in order to prepare them for the threatened trial. Tarcisius, a young acolyte, was chosen for this high commission, and the Blessed Sacrament, wrapped in fair linen, was concealed in his bosom. Being met by a party of soldiers, he was seized, interrogated on the nature of his errand, and bidden to show them what he carried so carefully in the fold of his tunic.

In obedience to the rigid rule of secrecy, Tarcisius held his peace, and answered nothing. Thereupon he was furiously assailed, and fell almost immediately under a shower of stones and blows, thus yielding up his young life in defense of the Blessed Sacrament. The soldiers turned his dead body over and over, and searched in vain through his garments; they found therein nothing. Thus did Our Lord Himself vindicate His honor, by concealing the sacred mysteries from the eyes of His enemies, to their great terror and confusion.