Visit 18 Jesus Eucharistic and the Holy Ghost

I. "The Holy Ghost, "Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you" (John xiv. 26). H. The Adorable Sacrament of the Altar is part of the greatest work of the Holy Ghost.

III. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit most fervently at every visit, that we may increase in the knowledge and love of the Holy Eucharist.

CONSIDERATIONS.
"It has been well said that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is part of the greatest work of the Holy Ghost; not that the Incarnation of the Son of God is His greatest work and. the Blessed Sacrament His next greatest: they are rather two parts of the greatest work that He has ever wrought. The sublime m'ajesty of the altar is a continuation of the mystery, of which St. John1 writes: ‘ The Word was made flesh.’ The Holy Ghost, Who overshadowed the Mother of God in Nazareth, overshadows the tabernacle of God from the rising to the setting of the sun.

"The mystery enacted in the remote Galilean village is repeated, in a manner, daily in our churches. In place of the humble chamber of the Virgin Mary, there is an altar and a priest in the act of saying Mass. Five words fall from the lips of the priest—‘ Hoc Est Enim Corpus Meum,’ even as the five words: ‘ Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum’ fell from the lips of Mary—and the Word made flesh dwells amongst men. These five words of consecration by a creature bring our blessed Lord Jesus Christ down from heaven to dwell in the little round host lying upon the corporal, even as the five words spoken by Mary in response to the Angel Gabriel’s salutation brought down the Son of God to take up His abode in her bosom. In both mysteries the motive cause is similar—the operation of the Holy Ghost and the co-operation of the creature. ‘ Conceptus est de Spiritu Eoncfo ex Moria Virgin*.' ' How shall this be done? ’ asked Mary of the Angel, and he replied: ‘ The Holy Ghost shall come upon, thee and, the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee ’ (Luke i. 34,35).

"'In like manner/ says St. John Damascene, ‘ if you ask me hbw is the body of Jesus Christ produced upon the altar, I will reply that it is by the power of the Holy Ghost, Who, by His ineffable virtue, operates that which- is beyond our understanding.’ In the liturgy of St. James, first bishop of Jerusalem, we find the following invocation: ‘ May the Spirit of God, by His sweet and glorious presence, sanctify this bread and cause it to become the body of Jesus Christ.’ Ip our own liturgy equally, the celebrant invokes the Holy Ghost, saying after the Offertory: ‘Veni Sanctificator, Omnipoiens ceterne Deus et benedic hoc sacrificium, tuo sancto nomini prceparalum ’— 'Come, 0 Sanctifier, almighty, eternal God, and bless this sacrifice, prepared to Thy holy name? Thus, at the solemn moment of consecration, the Holy Ghost descends upon the sanctuary in which the Mass is being celebrated and covers the chalice with His shadow, in like manner as He descended upon the little chamber at Nazareth, covering the humble Virgin with His shadow and, in an instant, without a sign, without a sound, without the slightest outward manifestation, the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ is produced upon the altar. Let us beseech the Holy Ghost—the divine Operator in this wondrous mystery—to be our guide in meditating thereon, to illuminate our understanding, and to enkindle that divine love in our souls which it is His special attribute to bestow."—" Emmanuel."

Let us pray in our visits to Jesus in the taber nacle for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear of God. Let iis also make earnest supplication for the fruits of the Holy Ghost, enumerated by St. Paul in his Epistle tp the Galatians (v. 22, 23): Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Long-suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continency. end Chastity.

These fruits, according to each one’s state, should be visible in the lives of the pious adorers of the Holy Eucharist if they wish to be true followers of Christ; for thereby it shall be known that the Holy Ghost dwells in them, just as a tree is known by its fruits. 0 Holy Ghost! let my life be hidden with Jesus in God. Give me grace to Jive for God only and to use creatures only in Him and for His glory. Let the beauty of God blind me to the beauty of the world, and let the light of God blind me to the light of the earth. Thou, 0 my God, art brighter than all things and sweeter. Take away from my soul all the-dross and purify it, giving it light and strength. To Thee, 0 Holy Spirit of deathless love, I turn fur help. Take from me all human respect, for wrong regard of creatures blights the soul, so that its fruits are withered. Help me to be more faithful to Jesus, my Love, Who dwells in the tabernacle and comes to me so sweetly and lovingly in holy communion. He is my life as Thou art my life and as the eternal Father is my life. May my soul be kept by Thee very bright for the coming of the Spouse.

0 Holy Ghost, I thank Thee for the Bread of Life which Jesus gives. It is His gift to me; it is Thy gift to me; it is a possession forever. I bless and praise Thee for the miracles which Thou daily workest in order that Jesus may be the food of His people. In a hundred lands, in thousands of churches, in the heat of summer and in the winter cold, in the midst of the morning dew and when the sun is high, a pure sacrifice is offered to God, and a banquet of heaven is spread for all. Hungry and thirsty, our souls faint within us; but we cry to Thee, and Thou leadest us in a right way, a way that brings us to Thy storehouses and to the garners of Thy grace. We kneel before the altar, and Thou dost satisfy the empty soul, and dost fill the hungry soul with good things. We wander in a wilderness, but Thy springs are always found in it. Jesus has redeemed us from the enemy. Thou art the Comforter "Whom He sent. Thou dost gather us from all lands, from the rising and the setting sun, from the north and from the sea. Thy mercies, 0 Lord, give glory to Thee, and Thy wonderful works for the children of men ever show forth Thy praise.

Holy Spirit, divine Consoler 1 I adore Thee as my true God. I bless Thee by uniting myself to the praises Thou dost receive from the angels and the seraphs. I offer Thee my whole heart, and I render Thee heartfelt thanks for all the benefits that Thou hast bestowed and dost unceasingly bestow upon the world. Thou, Who art the Author of all supernatural gifts and Who ‘didst enrich with immense favors the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, I beseech Thee to visit me by Thy grace and Thy love, and to grant me Thy seven-fold gift, in order that I may with constant love and perseverance walk in the way of my eternal salvation.

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 thy Teacher, Wbo doth teach thee the way of perfection, and doth instruct thee in all that thou shouldst do or not do; regard thyself as another Magdalen, sitting at His feet, listening to His words, and learning from Him that one thing, which alone is necessary (St. Luke x. 39, 42).

II. Love Him with thy whole mind; so that thou mayest always cleave to Him by holy thoughts, and mayest always seek from Him for that purity and tranquillity of mind’by -which thou mayest gain the reward of Heaven.

III. Ask Him for the spirit of " Knowledge and of all the Gifts of the Holy Ghost " that thou mayest know how to discern the true from the false, and mayest unwaveringly obey the dictates of faith.

Aspiration.
" Show, 0 Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths " (Ps. xxiv. 4).

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
Horta de Sancto Sacramento. Of the wondrous body, O my tongue, be telling, And the blood most precious of the Crucified, Which to quench the dragon’s fiery fang came welling For the world’s salvation from His holy side. With the twelve He sate and gave a mystic token, Teaching their true hearts with word and holy sign; For His body, saith He, is the bread thus broken, And His blood of healing fills the cup of wine. In His sacred hands He took tho bread and brake it, Likewise took the cup, and sanctified the same; Whoso shall presume unworthily to take it, God shall of a surety bring that soul to shame. Whosoever drinketh of the cup of blessing, Whoso of this bread partaketh not in vain, He shall bear true witness, worthily confessing Christ's most holy Passion till He come again. But the unbelieving eat and drink damnation, For their hearts discern not Jesus Christ the Lord; And they spurn His blood of reconciliation Which from out the spear-wound for our ransom poured Lo! the Word Incarnate is the bread from heaven ; LoI the cup is filled with Jesus* blood indeed ; Precious is the food to faithful servants given, They who feed upon Him Christ's commandments heed, Christ herein sustaineth all the faithful-hearted, Yet his body is not torn in any wise; In the smallest morsel is the whole imparted, God is truly present, veiled from mortal eyes. And the hours shall find me still devoutly musing, Lord, on Thy dear body’s awful mystery; That Thy sacramental graces rightly using, With a faith unchanging I may worship Thee. An Ancient Htmn.

Veni Creator Spiritus.
Come, Holy Ghost. Creator, come,
From Thy bright heavenly throne;
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all Thy own.
Thou Who art called the Paraclete,
Best gitt of God above ;
The living spring, the living fire,
Sweet unction and true love.
Thou Who art sevenfold in Thy grace,
Finger of God's right hand ;
His promise, teaching little ones
To speak and understand.
Oh! guide our minds with Thy blest light,
With love our hearts inflame ;
And with Thy strength, which ne'er decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.
Far from us drive our hellish foe,
True peace unto us bring ;
And through all perils lead us safe,
Beneath Thy sacred wing.
Though Thee may we the Father know;
Through Thee thy eternal Son,
And Thee, the Spirit of them both :
Thrice blessed Three in One.
LL glory to the Father be,
With His co-equal Son,
The like to Thee, great Paraclete,
While endless ages run. Amen.

Origin of the Church of the Holy Ghost at Slavings, in Moravia. a.d. 1280. The " Bauern Feuerfest." Near the frontier which lies between Lower Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia, is situated the town of Slavings, in Moravia. Some hundred paces outside this town, the traveller may see a venerable church dedicated to the Holy Ghost. It is very near a small monastery, w’hich stands alone, under the shelter of a friendly hill, removed from the noise and bustle of the world.

Upon the very spot whereon the church now stands took place the following remarkable event, of which the story is to be found in the annals of the Moravian Church: Early in the year 1280, it came to pass that on a certain stormy night the parish church of Slavings was broken into by robbers, and the sacred vessel containing the Blessed Sacrament was carried away. The perpetrators of this sacrilege were never discovered, but great was the distress among the people on account of the dishonor done to the Most Holy. Now it happened in the spring of the same year, as a cowherd was pasturing his kine near the spot whereon the church now stands, and certain countrymen were laboring in a field hard by, that there appeared suddenly a flame of fire rising fmm a little heap of ones overgrown with bushes, whereupon the cattle which were grazing close at hand knelt down as if in reverence, and the cowherd, full of amazement, cried out to the nearest laborer, " Fire, neighbor—fire 1 "

Like Moses of old in the wilderness, these coun trymen desired to examine more closely the cause of this supernatural fire, when, to their joyful astonishment, they beheld the stolen Host lying among the stones, enveloped in a heavenly light. With all speed they hastened to the city, and brought out a priest, who most carefully gathered up the sacred particle in order that it should be conveyed back to the parish church, amidst the great company of rejoicing townsfolk which had assembled there. But when the procession arrived at the gate of the city, tradition affirms that the Most Holy Sacrament disappeared from the hand of the priest and returned to the spot where it had been found. This miraculous occurrence took place no less than three times, after which both priest and people, perceiving that Our Lord had chosen it for His dwelling-place, resolved with one consent to build Him a church upon the spot, after which the priest was allowed to carry the sacred particle without further let or hindrance to the parish church.

The church thus built became an object of great veneration, and the shrine was richly indulgenced. In the year 1123 the heretical hands of the Hussites appeared before Slavings and wasted the surrounding country. The privileged chapel was razed to the ground, but the little heap of stones where the Blessed Sacrament had reposed re mained undisturbed.