Visit 28 Jesus Eucharistic Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

I. "Suffer the little children to come unto Me. and forbid them notw (Mark. x. 14). Thus spoke Our Lord when He blessed the little ones who flocked around Him and whom the disciples tried to keep back, because they feared that their Master would be fatigued.

II. What a memorable day that must have been for those children and their- happy mothers I These mothers pressed forward eagerly and were most anxious that their dear little ones should see and touch the divine Master and be blessed by Him.

III. The same good Lord and Master, the same mighty God is on our altars and bids us come to Him that He might impart His blessing and His gifts to ns. We deeply prize the blessings of priests and saintly people; we travel a great distance to secure the benediction of the Holy Father. How is it we are so utterly indifferent about God’s blessing in the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament? A living, fervent faith should make us realize and appreciate the value of Benediction.

CONSIDERATIONS.
Let us try to realize what God’s blessing means and how many benefits result therefrom. In the beginning of the world God blessed chaos, and the influence of this blessing penetrated every atom .of matter, and the result is the grandeur of the heavens and the earth. God blessed Moses, and Pharao and his army coulr1 not stand before him; God blessed Daniel and his companions, and the burning furnace was to them like the refreshing breeze; God blessed the Jews, and they trampled down their enemies like blades of grass. . dddIn the fulness of time God became Incarnate, that He might be seen and heard by His creatures, and His hands were raised in benediction;—and how marvellous were the results, that followed 1 Jesus blessed twelve poor fishermen/and they became the foundation of the Church—of a mighty empire which nothing could overthrow. Jesus blessed the weeping, penitent Magdalen, and she never again went after the allurements of sin. Jesus blessed the sick and the infirm, and they eprang from their beds and threw aside their crutches; and when His benediction fell on sinners, their callous hearts could not resist its efficacy. dddThe benediction of Our Lord Jesus Christ has not lost any of its wonderful power for producing every kind of good in the Blessed Sacrament. Yet men make so little of the graces of Benediction; men seem to be totally blind to the inestimable privilege that the blessing of God contains. How small is the number of those faithful souls who are present at Benediction on Sunday afternoons or week-day nights 1 The law of keeping holy the Sabbath is merely obeyed to the letter and not in the real spirit by many Catholics. A Low Hass only is heard by many. Amusements and even sinful dissipation occupy the rest of Sunday. God have mercy on such Catholics when it comes to Judgment. What must be the measure of their reward. Let each one answer for himself. dddSt. Philip Neri once beheld our divine Lord in the sacred Host bestowing His benediction upon the kneeling multitude with such ineffable sweetness of countenance and benignity of manner, as if this were His natural attitude and most agreeable occupation in the sacrament of His love. There are various methods of assisting at Benediction,and each person mayfollow the spirit or inclination of his own special devotion. Fervent acts of adoration and faith, of sorrow and repentance, of love, thanksgiving, and reparation, should be made. The virtues and the imitation of Christ can be made the subject of a brief meditation. Earnest prayer and confidential supplication for ourselves, the Holy Father, the Church, and the holy souls in purgatory should not be neglected. dddThe Holy Bible mentions three blessings of Our Savior, and with one or another oL these can be connected, in a spiritual manner, every Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. On one occasion Our Savior blessed the children that were led to Him. Hence we may in spirit cast ourselves in the shadow of His outstretched arms as if .we were among the number of the little ones, and desired nothing more ardently than an increase cf that childlike innocence and simplicity cf heart which please Him so much: " Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God " (Mark x. 14). Again it is narrated in the Sacred Scriptures that on the occasion of His ascension into heaven, when taking leave of His beloved disciples, He raised His hands and blessed them: " And lifting up His hands He blessed them. And it came to pass, whilst He blessed them, He departed from them, and was carried up to heaven " (Luke xxiv. 50, 51). dddThe immediate, effect of this blessing- was that the sorrow and despondency of the disciples were converted into joy, hope, and confidence. To us all without exception come Serious times, piinfal trials, and hard calls of duty, when our spirits droop and our weak natures crave for the sustaining grace of light and consolation. Where can we obtain these favors with greater certainty than at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament? dddWe read of another benediction which Our Lord Jesus Christ will pronounce in these words: " Come ye blessed of My Father; possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world " (Matt. xxv. 34). Mindful of this benediction at the Last Judgment, we can pray to God that we may be numbered among the elect: we can ask of Jesus the grace of final perseverance, the most precious of His gifts, which will secure for us the crown of immortal glory. Some there are who, in the multiplicity of their necessities and under the weight of their sorrows and perplexities, express at Benediction their faith and confidence in the goodness of God, whilst they submit their hearts and bow their heads in perfect resignation to the divine will; they strike their breasts when the sacred Host is held over them at the moment of Benediction, while they whisper: "Jesus, I believe in Thee; Jesus, I place all my confidence in Thee; Jesus, I love Thee with my whole heart. Thy will be done. Bless me, my Lord, my God, and my All! ddd"Yes; great moments of grace, in deed, are the short moments of Benediction. The place itself is holy, we are in the presence of God, wc kneel nt IIm sacred feet. The angels of heaven surround the beautifully decorated and illuminated altar, as on the holy night they hovered about the manger in the stable of Bethlehem, chanting the joyful tidings of man’s redemption and salvation. dddThe hour, the flowers, the lighted candles, the scent of incense, the sweet and mellow tones of the organ, the sacramental hymns—all attune the heart and excite the mind to pious acts, serious reflections, consoling thoughts, and holy aspirations. Earth vanishes in these blessed moments; we feel as if transported to heaven, uniting our prayers with the supplications of the saints, and our praises with the music of angelic choirs. Here is found a balm for every wound—a solace in every sorrow. dddHere the high and the low, the learned and the ignorant, the sick and the weary, the anxious and the unhappy, can find sympathy with Jesus, Who opens His heart and His hand, and cries out to us from His throne of grace: " Come to Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will refresh you." Great and manifold are the graces that come to us from the hands of our blessed Savior at Benediction. The light and warmth of divine grace flow upon us to illumine the dark spots of our soul, to strengthen us in our weakness, to enlighten us in our doubts, to enliven us in our faith, to fill us with consolation in our misfortunes, to drive away the evil spirits that tempt us, and to inspire our guardian angels with the best means for our guidance and protection. At Benediction a peace comes over us that is not of earth, a calm resignation which comes from intimate union with God, Who alone is immutable, and without Whom all is vanity and affliction of spirit. We leave the church strong and willing to fight the battle of life; we leave with an abiding faith and confidence in God; and as the scent of incense lingers about the sanctuary long after Benediction, so do the graces of this devotion accompany and sweeten our actions long after we have left the house of God to mingle again with the busy throngs and to engage in the distracting scenes of life. dddOh! may thoughtless children of the Blessed Sacrament ponder well these things and let us all resolve to take advantage of every opportunity of being blessed by God; for if the blessings of holy people are so fruitful of good, how much more so will be that of Him, Who is the source of " all good "—the all-holy and all-powerful God I dddWe once read of a certain noble lady, who, real izing the value of a Benediction, was not content with being present at one, but would drive, as rapidly as her horses could take her, from church to church, in order .to receive as many blessings as possible. We have been acquainted with souls, who, possessing that lady’s devotion, without her means, have, in default of carriages and horses, hurried on foot'from church to church, absolutely indifferent to fatigue and weariness so long as .they succeeded in their object. Let us at least resolve never to miss a Benediction when we can obtain one easily, even though we put ourselves to some trifling inconvenience. dddSurely we shall be amply repaid for our efforts, when we kneel before the Master’s throne and know, that besides gaining incalculable good for ourselves, we are giving pleasure to Him, Whose " delight " is to " be with the children 'of men." Adoremus in ceternum Sanctissimum Sacramenturn.

LEGENDA.

Apparition of Our Lord in the Host.
The following apparition took place in the Loreto Chapel, at Bordeaux, in the year 1865: The Sisters of St. Joseph with their pupils were, one Thursday, assembled in their chapel for Benediction. The priest, a venerable man attached to the Cathedral of Bordeaux, knelt in profound recollection at the foot of the altar, while the " Pango Lingua " was being sung. The server was the first to observe a change in the appearance of the monstrance. Gently touching the priest upon the shoulder, he whispered with emotion: "Father! Father! Behold the dear Savior appeareth1 " The priest on raising his eyes beheld the same miraculous, appearance, but endeavoring to conceal his surprise he replied that it might be the effect of the light; nevertheless he directed his whole attention to the apparition. There could be no doubt: the beloved form of the Savior became every moment more distinctly visible. The servant of God fell trembling prostrate on the ground. Two little girls Who had lately received their First Communion next perceiving the bright countenance of Our Lord, exclaimed in a whisper: " See! the beloved Savior is there!" and both did reverence before the Divine Majesty. dddSoon these words were in every mouth, and when the moment for giving the Benediction was come, the form of our blessed Lord was still visibly enthroned upon the altar. With a courage almost supernatural, the priest approached, and after adoring the King of.kings, he took the Savior—to use his own words—in his hands, and turned Him towards the congregation, in order that He might Himself give the blessing. His eyes fell upon the head of the apparition, upon which he observed a tonsure, also a broad red band which hung over the shoulders and breast, the two ends of which were joined on one side of the God-Man. The apparition continued until the genuflexion after the Benediction, and then vanished, when the Host alone was to be seen in the monstrance. dddThe Archbishop of Bordeaux was at once ap prised of this miracle, and the holy man, deeply moved at the recital, commanded perfect silence on the subject. In reward for the obedience of tue Sisters, our blessed Lord renewed the samo a • parition for eight days, for which reason the Archbishop instituted a yearly commemoration as a memorial of the same. dddApparitions in a Crucified Host.
The following account is taken from Lasausse, ‘‘Explic. du Cat. de 1’Empire," 498:
There exist a great number of hosts that are called miraculous, from the prodigies connected with them. The history of that St. Jean-en-Gr&ve at Paris is one of the most celebrated. It is as follow's: A woman had borrowed from a Jewish usurer a small sum of money, and had given him in pledge all her best clothes and linen. The feast of Easter being near, she entreated him to lend her, at least for that one great day, what she had left in his hands. He promised to do this, and even to forgive her debt, on condition that she would bring him the Host which she should receive in holy communion.1 The poor woman unhappily could not resist the temptation, gave the promise, and the following day,'after receiving the sacred Host, took it secretly in a handkerchief, and brought it to the wretched Jew. ‘This man then treated it with the greatest'indignity. dddHe first put the Host on a table and pierced’it repeatedly with a pen-knife; blood immediately flowed from it in abundance, which caused the man’s wife and children to shi’dder with horror. He then nailed it to a wall, and brutally struck it; then he pierced it with a lance, in memory of Our Lord’s Passion, It then shed blood anew, as though to prove to the unhappy man that it was something other than material bread. He threw it into the fire, and it was seen flying about in the flames without receiving any injury. The deadly rage which animated the Jew led him to throw it into a pot of boiling water; the water took the color of blood, and the Host then appeared visibly under the form of Jesus Christ crucified. This sight so terrified this deicide, that he strove to hide himself in a dark corner of the house: but his crime was discovered in this way: one of his children, seeing the people going to church, cried out in all simplicity: " Do not go to church any more to seek your God; do you not know that my father has killed Him-? " A. woman, hearing this, entered the house on some pretext, and saw the Host which was still under the form of Jesus Crucified; but immediately it resumed its proper form, and came to repose in a little vessel the woman carried in her hand. Wonder-stricken, she took her treasure with great devotion to the church of St. Jean-en-Gr&ve. Information was given to the magistrate. The Jew, who showed no signs of sorrow for his crime, was condemned to death, but his wife and children and many other Jew’s were converted. The house wherein these wondrous apparitions took place was converted into a church, which, was in course of time served by the Carmelite monks. These religious were charged with the office of making reparation, by a perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for the outrage offered to our blessed Lord in the sacrament of His love. dddMiraculous Deliverance of the Parish Priest of Moncadu in Valencia from Painful Scruples by an Apparition in the Blessed Sacrament
(About the Middle of the Sixteenth Century.)
This good man had for a very long time cele brated holy Mass without any scruples of conscience, when suddenly his mind was tormented with a doubt about the validity of his Orders. This scruple became so strong that he could only continue to offer up the holy sacrifice in obedience to the-wise and careful advice of his director. At length the doubt became so painful that he resolved to betake himself to his bishop in order to entreat him to give him conditional Ordination, when it pleased God to relieve his mind in the following miraculous manner:
On Christmas Day, as the priest said the first Mass, a child of five years saw at the elevation, in the Host he had consecrated, a beautiful little infant. This happened again at the second and third Masses. The child was delighted, and related what he had seen to his mother, and the circumstance at last reached the ears of the priest, who felt .the greatest consolation, at.this unexpected, witness to the validity of his Ordination. However, he desired that the little one should be brought to him, and he questioned him carefully on the subject. The boy answered him to his satisfaction; but as the doubt was still clinging to his mind, the priest desired that he should be taken to the .Mass the following high festival. On this occasion the priest took three hosts, two only of which he con\secrated, one for the monstrance, and one for himself. He then had the child brought to the altar, 'and required him to distinguish the consecrated Hosts from the unconsecrated particle. This the child did without any hesitation, and this time the mind of the priest was perfectly freed from the suspicion which had so grievously tormented him.

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, in the act of blessing thee; pouring out upon thee thi- riches of His love; regard thyself as the poorest of the poor, telling Him all thy wants, and all thy miseries.

II. Love Him more than all the pomp and all the riches of the world; that those things, which were gain to thee may be counted as loss for His sake, and reckoned as nothing, that so thou mayest gain Him (Phil. iii. 7, 8).

III. Ask Him for the virtue of "Counsel;" that thou mayest know how to choose what is good for the salvation of thine own soul, and the souls bf those for whom thou carest.

Aspiration.
" My Beloved is mine and I am His " (Cant. h. 16).

EUCHARISTIC GEMS.
"Jesus in the Eucharist is that Man-God Whose gentleness, Whose discourse, and Whose fascinating charms filled with admiration the woman of Samaria; that Man, Whose presence inspired so chaste an affection, and enraptured Magdalen; that Man, Whose power banished devils, diseases, and death."—Fr. de la Colombiere. dddPrayer for Benediction.
0 Jesus, my merciful Redeemer I Who hast vouchsafed in Thy goodness to leave us Thy prei tious body and blood in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, I adore Thee with the most profound reverence. I thank Thee for all the blessings which Thou hast bestowed upon us, especially for the institution of the Holy Eucharist. I am sorry for all my sins, by which I have so grievously offended Thy infinite goodness. I love Thee with my whole heart. And as Thou art the source of every blessing, I beseech Thee to pour down Thy benediction this day upon us and upon all those or whom we offer up our prayers. Look upon me with favor and- banish from my heart whatsoever is displeasing to Thee. Purify and sanctify my soul; bestow on me a blessing like that which dddThou didst grant to the innocent children that were brought to Thee, and to Thy beloved disciples at Thy ascension into heaven ; grant me a blessing, that mhy sanctify me and unite me perfectly to Thee;, give me a blessing, which may fill me with Thy Spirit, and be to me in this life a-foretaste of those blessings, which Thou reserves! for the elect in heaven. Bless me, that, on the great Day of .Judgment, I may be numbered among those happy souls, to whom Thou wilt turn with divine benignity, andjsay: " Come ye blessed, of My Father; possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. xxv. 3,4). dddHYMNS FOR BENEDICTION
"0 salutaris Hostia"
O saving Victim I opening wide
The gate of Heav'n to man below!
Sore press onr foes from every side ;
Thine aid supply, Thy strength bestow.
To Thy great Name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, One in Three!
Oh, grant us'endless length of days,
In our true native land, with Thee!
Ave Regina Coelorum.
Hail, O Queen of Heav’n, enthroned!
Hail, by angels Mistress own’d!
Boot of Jesse! Gate of morn!
Whence the world’s true Light was born :
Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,
Beautiful surpassingly!
Faire t thou, where all are fair!
Plead for us a pitying prayer.
Tantum Ergo Sacramentwn.
Down in adoration falling,
Lo 1 the sacred Host we hail;
Lo I o'er ancient forms departing,
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
When the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high,.
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from each eternally.
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty. Amen
—St. Thomas AQUINAS.
V. Thou didst give them bread from heaven;
R. Containing in itself all sweetness.
Let us Pray.
0 God, Who, under a wonderful sacrament, hast left us a memorial of Thy Passion; grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy body and blood, that we may ever feel within us the fruit of Thy redemption. Who livest and reignest world -without end. Amen. Let us adore forever the Most Holy Sacrament. dddDevout Acts of Praise.
Blessed be God.
Blessed be His holy name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His most sacred heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of
the Altar.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most
holy.
Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and
Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph her most chaste Spouse.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints.