Visit 11 Jesus Eucharistic Our Help in All Neccesities
I.
We read in the Bible that the disciples of Our Lord, being hungry, were once permitted by their divine Master to pluck the ears of corn in a field. Not only does Jesus now allow, but He commands, us to eat the divine wheat of the Eucharist; moreover, by His divine presence He appeases the hunger of our souls for help and consolation in the vicissitudes of life.
II.
Vainly our soul tries to appease its hunger with the husks offered it by the world.
III.
But Jesus will lead us into the field of the Holy Eucharist as in a "place of pasture" (Ps. xxii. 2). There alone can we satisfy the cravings of our hungry souls by frequent and fervent visits and communions.
CONSIDERATIONS.
Jesus in the tabernacle is always silent—so silent that He might be supposed to have no being therein; yet the work of the Blessed Sacrament is unceasing. If we consider some of the offices which are the special attributes of the silent Dweller of the tabernacle, we may well ask ourselves : Where can we find a type of more universal labor, and where among creatures, where in the wide world can we find a help in our trials and necessities like that which comes to us through the Blessed Sacrament?
Jesus in the tabernacle is to us
(1) a light in darkness;
(2) counsel in doubt;
(3) help in all undertakings;
(4) solace in suffering;
(5) strength in temptation;
(6) joy in opprobrium;
(7) our resource and protection under all calamities.
When our hearts are heavy with an undefined dread, when the clouds of fear gather round us, When we feel as though God and man had forsaken us, as though none of our supplications were heard, and the heavens had become as brass, even when we cannot pray and we kneel mute before the tabernacle, have we never felt the gradual dawning of a soft light in our souls, lifting the weight of the cloud which was oppressing us so sorely, until we begin to discern the silver edge of its lining faintly gleaming in the reflection of the Blessed Sacrament?—"Light in the Darkness"
Who is there who has not felt the weariness of
spirit engendered by an unceasing round of irksome daily occupations, insignificant in themselves, but which, nevertheless, occupy the greater part of our time and leave us scarcely a moment to ourselves? We feel fretted, perhaps, by the very number and monotony of our good works.
We come before the Blessed Sacrament with this
feeling of weariness, and almost of discouragement, upon us, and gradually a sense of peace steals over us, and the calm of the Blessed Sacrament works a calm in our hearts—trifling worries and vexations fade from our minds. We feel refreshed in body and soul and we rise from our knees ready to begin anew, ready to smile at the trifles which we had found so hard to bear.— "Help in difficulties"
Again, temptations crowd upon us—temptations to anger, pride, revenge, sensuality, as the case may be—we have resisted manfully, but our strength is .well-nigh spent, and, despairingly, almost hopelessly, we come before the Blessed Sacrament in spite of ourselves, as it were, when, as our lips murmur familiar words of prayer, it seems to us as though these words were invested with a meaning which they had never had before.
A new strength fills our hearts, and we turn to face our temptations with fresh vigor, confident that the grace which we have brought from the tabernacle will put them to flight.—"Strength in temptations"
Again, we are humbled to the dust; calumny is
busy with our name, friends look coldly at us, enemies jeer at us and triumph over us ; good people are doubtful about us, the worldly shun us. We take our sufferings to the feet of Jesus, and it seems to us as though a voice came from the tabernacle, asking us to remember the sufferings of our divine Master, and bidding us look round the world and try if we can count the number of insults, the calumnies, the affronts, which are heaped upon Jesus in the sacrament of His love, and reminding us that if we will be glorified with Him we must also suffer with Him.—"Joy amid humiliations".
In fine, there is not a difficulty, not a trial, not
a sorrow, not a calamity, which we may not lay down before Jesus in the tabernacle, confident that He will either relieve us of its burden or else give us strength enough to bear it joyfully for His sake.—"Help in every need."
0 Jesus! grant that in all necessities and
eventful moments of my life I may turn immediately my heart and mind towards the tabernacle. Sweet Mother of Jesus! By the thirty years of loving intercourse with thy blessed Son which thou didst spend in the holy quiet of Nazareth, teach us, we entreat thee, to value an interior life; teach us to know Jesus better in the most wonderful of His sacraments, quicken our understanding, that we may readily hear His voice, and detach us from the love of earthly things, in order that our hearts may be wholly His.—"Emmanuel."
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, giving thee the hidden Manna which no one knoweth but he who reeeiveth it: regard thyself as sweetly and graciously hidden in His bosom (Apoc. ii. 17).
II.
Love Him more than all honors and all dignities, that so thy glory in this life may be nothing else than to be hidden in His love, and to be despised for His sake.
III.
Ask Him for the gift of "Fortitude;" that thou, looking not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, mayest despise all earthly things as utterly worthless, mayest overcome all difficulties and all dangers, and mayest always strive after what is great and high (2 Cor. iv. 18).
Aspiration.
Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest? Lo, I have gone far off flying away, and I abode in the wilderness" (Ps. liv. 7,8).
EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
Sweet is Our Lord in thought, sweet in the pages of the holy Gospels, sweet in the shadowy symbol or the devout picture, sweet yet more in the holy crucifix, but sweeter beyond comparison in the Adorable Sacrament of His Love.
Wherefore the Church sings, in the words of her saint:
Jesus! the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.