Visit 21 Jesus Eucharistic The Memorial

I. "This do for the commemoration of Me." "As often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come " (1 Cor. xi. 26).

II. These words of the Holy Spirit remind us that the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,is a "Memorial " of the love and of the passion of our divine Savior.

III. Foster a great devotion to Our Savior’s Passion and remember that the same love which caused Him to suffer so much in Gethsemani and on Golgotha still subjects Him to many painful injuries and irreverences in the tabernacle, for which thy love should make reparation.

CONSIDERATIONS.
The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar has been appropriately called the last effort of the boundless love of Our Savior for man. Consider the Holy Eucharist in this visit as a memorial. Every tabernacle is surmounted by a cross, because the Blessed Sacrament is a memorial of Our Lord’s passion and death. " As often as ye shall eat this bread and drink this chalice, ye shall show the death of the Lord, until He come." Why? First, because it was given as a parting gift on the eve of the Passion, and, secondly, because it contains O.ur Lord and perpetuates Him as the Victim of the cross. dddThe author of "The Lover of Souls " beautiful ly discourses on these two points in the following words:—"Let us recall ihe touching episode of the Last Supper. Jesus and His apostles are seated at the table for the celebration of the Paschal solemnity. It is the last meal they are to take together, for He is about to leave them. They have lived in His company for almost three years. He has been the kindest of masters and truest of friends, and now He is to part from them. Their hearts are filled with sorrow. Our Lord,is sorrowful too. He knows how they will miss Him. He knows their weakness. * You shall all be scandalized in Me,’ He says to them. Every farewell makes a pathetic scene. ddd He is going to "The Memorial" to meet death; to-morrow evening at the same hour He will be in His grave, and they .will have shamefully forsaken Him; their head and chief will have even thrice denied Him. Jesus foresees all this, yet He will not cast them off. ‘ Having loved His own, He loved them unto the end.’ Even in those last hours of His life, when His soul is sorrowful unto death, He will give them a token of His undying love. He will give them a pledge of affection which shall compel them to remember Him. A death-bed gift is always a precious gift, more especially if it be a souvenir to which the heart of the dying one clings, and around which entwine all the tenderest memories of the dear departed one. What gift will He bestow in that last hour? The Father had. so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son. dddWhat will the Son bequeath to us—He Who is not only God, but also man, Whose kind human heart with all its human love is shrinking from the impending separation, and bleeding to leave those He loves, alone, like poor sheep, scattered without a shepherd? ‘ My delight is to be with the sons of men! ’ ‘ 0 Lord,’ we may exclaim,f abide with us.’ The greatest gift Thou couldst bestow would be Thy lasting presence in our midst! Alas I that cannot be, since Thou art to die and to return to Thy Father. But lo! The loving pledge we hear: ‘I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.’ " ddd" Yes, love makes all things possible; His pres ence among us is indeed the gift He is about to confer upon His children. He is to die and yet to remain living amid these scenes, until the end of time. Listen to His words: ‘ I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven, . . . whosoever eateth Me, the same shall live by Me. . . . Take ye and eat, this is My body. Drink ye all of this, for thr is My blood.’ And then He adds: ‘ This do ye for the commemoration of Me’—this do, as you have seen me do. You also take bread and wine and consecrate them into My flesh and My blood, and do this in memory of Me. And, ‘as often as ye shall eat this bread and drink this chalice, ye shall show the death of the Lord, till He come.’ ddd" 0 Lord, is it possible? Is this indeed Thy dying gift? Ah! yes, we, too, shall be Thy guests. Blessed be Thy holy name. Thou hast fed us, as Thou didst feed Thy apostles and disciples, and Thou art still as truly, really, and substantially present here on the altar as Thou wert that blessed night with Thy chosen ones in Jerusalem’s ‘ upper room.’ ddd"The Blessed Eucharist is a ‘Memorial,’ because it is the parting gift of Our Lord to the apostles and to us. But it is also a ‘ Memorial,’ because it contains Our Lord as the Victim of the cross and perpetuates Him, as it were, in that state. How does it do this? First, that Divine Victim of the Cross was silent. It had been prophesied of Him: ‘ He shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearers, and He shall not open His mouth? He was reviled, but He did not revile; He suffered, but He threatened not; He was curst and blasphemed, but He cursed not His guilty blasphemers. And when He was dead, His ears did not hear the wails of His Mother and’ of the women, His eyes did not see the tears of the dear ones around Him; a corpse feels not, hears not, speaks not. dddSuch is the state of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He speaks not. Day and night there reigns perpetual silence in and about His tabernacle. He never breaks the stillness around His altar throne. In many a church and chapel He remains a whole day, sometimes a whole week, without receiving the homage of a single heart, but He utters no complaint. In some churches—let us blush to acknowledge it— He is neglected, His tabernacle is enveloped in dust, yet no murmur falls from His sacred lips. dddHe sees His children frivolous and irreverent even during the celebration of the divine mysteries, still He does not rebuke them. He beholds some before His very face polluting their souls with mortal sin, but not a word of indignation escapes Him. dddThe unworthy communicant approaches, opens his sacrilegious lips, receives Him and bands Him over to the demons of sin in his Judas-like soul: but Jesus is silent, except, perhaps, for a whisper of reproach breathed to that conscience stained with the infamous crime committed against his patient, long-suffering Lord. It is night; all is peaceful in the church; the little lamp alone sends a few trembling rays of light into the dark aisles. dddSuddenly the gates of the church are forced asunder by lawless, ungodly men. The tabernacle door is ruthlessly opened, the ciboiium seized, and He is made a mockery of, He is cast upon the floor, lie may be trampled upon amid diabolical laughter, and then He is left alone to be wept over in anguish by His angels, His priests, and His people: but He is silent, for He is none other than the Christ Who died on Calvary, the ancient Victim of the cross. ddd" Again, as man, Jesus was, until His Passion, the most attractive and the most beautiful of the children of men. But behold Him on the cross, behold Him dead in the arms of His weeping Mother. All His beauty has departed, the light has vanished from His sacred brow. Was ever a body bruised and rent as His? His face is disfigured with welts and blots of clotted blood, ashy, pale, and haggard beyond description because of the terrible agony He has endured. His whole body is disfigured by cruel blows, by piteous falls, by lash and scourge, by hunger and thirst, and by the sharp wind blowing that day over the mount of sacrifice. dddThe words of the Prophet Isaias have found their fulfilment: ‘ There is no beauty or comeliness in Him, and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness in Him that we should desire Him: He was despised and the most abject of men? Poor, outraged Jesus I Now glance at the Blessed Eucharist and behold Him there. Where is His beauty? Where Hie strength? Where His awful majesty? Where the splendor of His glory? He is so concealed that He does not show the form of a human being. dddAt the foot of the cross, in the arms of Mary,, we do not see His divinity, we see at least His body,— mangled, horribly disfigured, it is true,—still it is His body. But here He cannot be seen at all. Wo perceive a little white veil,—nothing more. Faith alone has power to penetrate the folds of that veil "0 silent Dweller of the tabernacle! Thou art indeed a hidden God; Thou art here more than ever the Victim of the cross I When we look at the sacred Host, let us recall that pathetic word of Our Lord: ‘ Remember Me 1’ Let us reflect that the Blessed Sacrament is a Memorial of the greatest sorrow men ever witnessed, a Memorial of the greatest pain a creature on earth ever endured, a Memorial of the tenderest, most faithful, most unselfish, most heroic love the world shall ever know—the last gift of a heart, that fears to be forgotten. Oh, yes I Lord, we will remember Thee! dddMay my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, and my hand wither and rot away, if I should ever forget Thee.’ "

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 Lord, Who hath bought thee with a great price; and regard thyself as His runaway slave, ever desiring to return to new fervor (1 Cor. vi. 20).

II. Love Him with thy whole soul, so that thou mayest be one of those who say: "None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for, whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord" (Rom. xiv. 7, 8).

III. Ask Him for the spirit of the "Fear of the Lord; "that thou mayest. fly from the very smallest sin, and with chaste love mayest fear Him and only Him.

Aspiration.
0 Lord, put my feet into Thy fetters; put my neck into Thy chains (Ecclas. vi. 25). "The Memorial."

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
Petitions to Jesus Crucified.
Ah! my crucified Jesus, look on me with the same love with which Thou didst look on me when dying on the cross for me; look on me, and have pity on me; give me a general pardon for all the displeasure I have given Thee; give me holy perseverance; give me Thy holy love; give me a perfect conformity to Thy will; give me paradise, that I may love Thee there forever. I deserve nothing; hut Thy wounds encourage me to hope for every good from Thee. Ah! Jesus of my soul, by that love which made Thee die for me, give me Thy love. Take away from me all affection to creatures, give me resignation in tribulation, and make Thyself the object of all my affections, that from this day forward I may love none other but Thee. ddd0 my beloved Redeemer, what gratitude do T not owe Thee I Into Thy pierced hands I commend my poor soul. Make me well understand the excess of that love which made God die for me: would that I could die for Thee 1 But what would the death of a wicked slave weigh against the death of his Lord and God? Would that I could, at least, love Thee with my whole heart; but without Thy help, 0 my Jesus, I can do nothing. Oh, help me! and, through the merits of Thy death, make me die t0 all earthly afections, that so I may love Thee only, Who dost deserve all my love. I love Thee, 0 Infinite Goodness. I love Thee, my chief Good. 0 Mary, my Mother, intercede for me. Amen. ddd"‘Having loved His own, who were in the world, He loved them unto the end.’ That is to say, the love He showed His disciples in instituting the Holy Sacrament on the evening before His death surpassed the love He had shown them in keeping -hem near Him during His life."—Lallemaxt. ddd0 the Mystery!
0 the Mystery, passing wonder, when reclining at the board,
" Eat "—Thou saidst to Thy disciples—that true bread with quickening stored;
Drink in faith the healing chalice from a dying God out poured.
Then the glorious upper chamber a celestial tent was made. When the bloodless rite was offered, and the soul’s true service paid,
And the table of the feasters as an altar stood displayed. Christ is now our mighty Pascba, eaten for our mystic bread,
As a lamb led out to slaughter, and for this world offered; Take we of His body broken, drink we of the blood He shed.
Christ to all the world gives banquet, on that most celestial meat; Him—albeit with lips all earthly, yet with humble hearts we greet, Him the sacrificial Pascba, Priest and Victim all complete
St. Andrew of Crete.