An Escape in Buchenwald
At 6:00 p.m., on August 23, 1944, Father Leloir was standing in line, awaiting inspection along with the other prisoners. This was the same time each day that the Nazi S.S. troops inspected the prisoners at Buchenwald.
This day was different, however. Father Leloir had an envelope carefully concealed on his person. The envelope contained six consecrated Hosts that he had intended to distribute secretly among his fellow inmates.
The inspection proceeded down the line. Several of other prisoners knew of the envelope and its contents. Fear and consternation gripped them. They knew well the punishment that would be Father Leloir’s fate if his act of disobedience was revealed. They also knew of the unspeakable desecration that would be performed on the Blessed Sacrament. At last, the guards came to the quiet priest. They searched him thoroughly and, sadly, the fears of his friends were realized. A guard produced the envelope. With an air of accomplishment, he tore it open. Father Leloir stood erect, praying silently
To his amazement, the guard tossed the envelope to the ground, explaining “just an empty envelope.”
Father Leloir knew the contents of the envelope. He knew the Sacred Hosts were there earlier. Now, they were not. There was no explanation, not in human terms at any rate.
The men who were there remembered this event well. They remembered how they were saved by the Lord in the Eucharist from pain and torture. This Lent, let us remember too how the Sacrifice that gave us this Holy Eucharist has also saved us.
(Adapted from an entry in My Daily Eucharist by Joan Carter McHugh, containing an excerpt from Immaculata Magazine, the Eucharistic Adoration Issue.)
O Holy Eucharist Upon the Altar
Sometimes, thoughts flow better when you are in His Presence. You think they are your thoughts, but they are worded better, organized better, than times when you are on your own. Later, when you return home and try to capture them again, compose them and write them as well as they had been before, you find that you cannot. After several experiences with this, you realize the reason. It is more than coincidence. It is because you had help. You had opened yourself to be closer to Him and He had entered in. That part of you that was made to connect to Him was permitted the freedom to do so.
This may, in some way, be what happened when the following poem was written, during adoration. It was graciously submitted to us by Letty:
Oh Holy Eucharist Upon the Altar
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Tell me Lord, here I wait,
Tell me what you want from me,
My heart is listening for your words,
Since you set my spirit free.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Show me Lord, here I look,
Show me what you want for me,
I am blind to what you want,
But your spirit helps me see.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Use me Lord, here I am,
Use me to your hearts desire,
I am just a simple soul,
But you’ve set my heart on fire.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Guide me Lord, here I stand,
Guide me down the path of light,
I was lost and in the dark,
But your truth restored my sight.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Change me Lord, here I pray,
Change me with your gift of love,
I am weak and full of sin,
But healing flows from God above.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Bless me Lord, here I kneel,
Bless me with abundant grace,
I am humbled by your mercy,
In showing me your loving face.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Fill me Lord, here I weep,
Fill me with your gift of still,
I have such a saddened heart,
But it’s joy to know your will.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Touch me Lord, here I hurt,
Touch me with your healing balm,
I am such a tortured soul,
But your touch brings me calm.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Rock me Lord, here I sleep,
Rock me in your gentle arms,
I am just your little child,
Protect me from all spiritual harms.
Oh holy Eucharist upon the altar,
In your presence, I delight,
The paschal lamb and perfect victor,
Winning souls with love and light.
Be with me Lord, here I sit,
Be with me, as thee I adore,
As I gaze with awe and wonder,
Loving you now and forever more.
AMEN
A humble journey
Ray. Our dear Lord and our Blessed Mother are leading you on an amazing journey, both personally and for all the world in this beautiful site. Your work is bringing stories of the “true presence” to light in a new way that is a blessing to me, and to each person that reads them. Thank you for taking this journey and helping us come along. I know how hard this work has been for you, and the determination needed for it to come this far. I love you for it and for so many other reasons. May God continue to bless you and your work. With my love and in my prayers forever. Humble2
The Letter That Did Not Burn
John Nepomucene Neumann was born on March 28, 1811 in the small mountain village of Prachatitz, in Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire at the time, and now part of the Czech Republic. In 1836, he travelled to the United States in the hopes of being ordained, because there were too many priests in his native land and they were not accepting any more. After ordination in New York City, his talents and devotion to the priesthood quickly earned him notice, and in 1852 he was consecrated as Bishop of Philadelphia, head of a large diocese that encompassed two-thirds of Pennsylvania, the western part of New Jersey and all of Delaware.
Immersed in the pressing needs to build more churches and schools, John deeply felt the need to attend to the spiritual needs of his people as well. He wished to institute the Forty Hours Devotion here in the United States, an exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for forty hours of continual adoration. At the time, there was a militant anti-Catholic group called the “Know-Nothing Party.” Other bishops tried to discourage Bishop Neumann from his desire. They feared that churches would be burned, as they had in other places where the Holy Eucharist had been exposed for public worship. The young bishop could reach no decision on the matter.
One night, however, something occurred that would change his mind. He had been working very late at his desk, writing letters, and fell asleep in his chair. When he awoke later, the papers on his desk were a mass of charred remains. One letter remained intact, except for the burn marks around its edges. It was a letter concerning the Forty Hours Devotion. Then, it seemed to him that a voice was saying: “As the flames are burning here without consuming or injuring the writing, so shall I pour out my grace in the Blessed Sacrament without prejudice to My honor. Fear no profanation, therefore; hesitate no longer to carry out your design for my glory.”
That same night, he wrote letter after letter to institute the 40 Hours Devotion in every parish throughout his diocese. He knew of the immense gift that is bestowed on us by His Presence in the Holy Eucharist and wanted so much to help his people grow in love for it.
Bishop Neumann was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 and was canonized a saint by Pope Paul VI on June 19, 1977.
Before the Blessed Sacrament, From 1000s of Miles
The following story was provided by Rudy:
In August of 2002, I went on a cruise with a good friend, he had won the tickets through work so it was a free trip and we planned to have a “wild time” with drinking, dancing and meeting beautiful women. Well, that is exactly what happened initially and God was the furthest thing from my mind. We had a lot of fun partying and we did meet some beautiful women. In fact, we met women from France, Switzerland and Colombia.
Throughout the trip, little things kept happening that drew my mind to spirituality. For example, when we landed at one port, we walked through an old historic Catholic church and I saw the name of Padre Pio on the floor. He was a stigmatist priest that I knew my mother loved and I thought it was interesting that I saw his name in this church. Then we traveled to Pompeii and when I looked at the ruins of a merchant shop, I began to think about how this rich merchant was no longer here and what did his riches mean now – absolutely nothing. When we saw the outline of bodies in the hardened lava rock, it also made me consider whether these people were ready for death or not.
When we stopped in Rome, everyone warned us not to expect to see the Pope because he was too old, sick or the crowds were too large. We went to the Vatican anyways and as soon as we arrived, a bell rang and announced the arrival of the Pope! Suddenly, there he was in his Pope-mobile and he was driven to within 5 feet of us. It was the Blessing of the Brides Day and as he blessed the young brides, he also turned and blessed us! It was a very special experience and we were amazed that we had seen him so closely.
Well, on the very last day, I was on a bus on the island of Malta and I was very tired from my many days of partying and I was quite tense and just thinking that I was ready to return to my home in Texas. I decided to try and relax by closing my eyes, resting my head against the back seat and saying the Our Father prayer. Suddenly, I can’t exactly explain how this happened; I felt an incredible power come over me and into me. It seemed to fill every fiber of my being and I was no longer in control of my own body. It was the most intense experience of my life and I could actually feel all of my muscles fasciculating. Tears were streaming down my face but I wasn’t crying. I could even hear my ears vibrating. I don’t know how long this lasted, but when this power left me, it took with it all of my tension, anger, fear and tiredness. I actually felt the best that I’d felt in a long time and I knew that the experience had been an experience of God!
I felt so good that when the bus arrived back at the ship, I ran and jumped into the ocean! I went to my cabin to lie down and nap and think about what had just happened to me – it was too intense to share it with my friend. As I drifted off to sleep, I had a vision where I saw a priest laying his hands on me in prayer and I also saw my mother and another woman, Mary, that I had met during my 2001 pilgrimage to Medjugorje, both praying for me in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I knew that this gift was in answer to prayers and the blessing of my pilgrimage.
Since that time, I feel like I understand the Bible more easily – a spiritual knowledge was one of the gifts I received. I also began to feel impulses to read certain passages that clarified things for me. I felt a desire to attend the Sunday mass regularly and set a good example for my sons on the importance of staying close to God. I even felt like I understood my ex-wife and could see that she needed prayers too. This spiritual awakening was a gift from the Father to me, that even though I wasn’t really asking for it, since I turned to him during a time of exhaustion, he graced me with this gift to reveal his love for me. I thank God for this great gift and I thank my mother and Mary for praying for me in front of the Blessed Sacrament! Prayer is powerful!
For Justin & Cathy
Justin is the 25 yr old son of Cathy – he’s struggling with drug addiction and has lost his faith in God despite having been raised by a very faithful mother. He just left on a trip to “find himself” – kind of like the prodigal son story – but has very little money and isn’t sure how he’s going to earn money. Please join Cathy in praying for Justin’s heart to be open to God again, for his healing and deliverance from drugs and for him to remember that he has a family that loves him very much. While he’s away from home, please wrap him in your mantle, Mother Mary, and draw him ever closer to Jesus. Amen.
My own experience with adoration
I was raised Catholic by conservative parents in the 1960s, and I insisted my husband take RCIA before marrying. He did and we got married in church. For the next 25 years we were weekend Catholics out of habit. We had no personal convictions whatsoever until I took a pilgrimage to Europe with my teen daughter in April 2010. We converted into fervent Catholics immeditely; two years later, my husband followed. I felt called by God to become a committed weekly adorer right after the pilgrimage. My teen daughter freely gave up her wild friends, rock music & video games without coercion from me. That was the first miracle. There are others.
1. Marytown is a special place. When I had trouble conceiving, I’d go there to adore & ask. One day, I got overwhelmed by the scent of flowers 3x during adoration. Three years later, I got pregnant to the day.
2.Another time, I caught influenza, got hospitalized twice and lost my job. As I was leaving adoraion, Jesus appeared to my mind and reassured me He’d always be with me. I was cured and hired 3 months later.
3.My daughter lost my valuable gem earring during gym class. Knowing I’d be angry, she went to adoration and asked God to help her find it, to wit: “Please consider my position.” When we left church to return to the car, the earring was returned, safe & sound, sitting in the middle of the car seat.
4.My daughter was losing confidence in her ability to become a persuasive Catholic writer one day. When we went to adoration, I had no idea she was asking God for an answer. I was praying about something else. My meditation was interrupted by a persistent message from nowhere that said, “How does she know I haven’t already used her writings to evangelize others.” I stopped praying and asked her if she’d requested an answer from God, since I got a message that made no sense to me. She admitted she had, and wondered why I got the answer instead of her. I told her, “Because God figured you wouldn’t have trusted the source of that message otherwise.” Little miracles happen in this world.