More Than Mary First Received
St. Peter Julian Eymard, who was known for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, used to advise people to approach going to Eucharistic Adoration, “as one would to heaven.”
He also related that:
… in communion we receive the glorified Body of Christ, we receive more than Mary received in the Incarnation. The body Mary carried in Her womb was simply the human body of the Savior; we receive His impassible, celestial Body. Mary carried the Man of Sorrows; we carry the Son of God crowned with glory!
Source: Kaczmarek, Louis, Hidden Treasure, The Riches of the Eucharist (Plattsburgh, N.Y., Trinity Communications, 1990) p. 82.
A Wish Granted
Santarem is a city in the central region of Portugal. It is remembered still to this today as the site of one of the greatest Eucharistic miracles in the history of the Catholic Church. According to an official record of the event commissioned by King Alfonso IV, that event took place in the year 1266.
Only one year earlier, in 1265, a lesser-known event also took place. It seems that two boys from the neighborhood wanted to become what we would refer to today as altar boys. A Dominican priest by the name of Fr. Bernard was given charge over them for this purpose.
Every morning, after Mass, they would retire to a small side chapel to eat a little meal, often some bread and a piece of fruit. They would spend the entire day at the cloister, learning grammar and the Catechism from Fr. Bernard. Thus, they needed to eat something to sustain them for the time to be spent there.
It was also the case that the side chapel contained a depiction of the Blessed Mother, holding the Babe Jesus in her arms. Each day they would greet the Infant as they came in. It came to be that the Infant would often ask them to give Him some of their food, which they proceeded to do, and thus, they would share their meal together.
Eventually, they informed Fr. Bernard of these happenings. He was astonished, but did not doubt they were being truthful. They also had a question for Fr. Bernard. The Child takes some of their food, but never does He bring any food to give them. They inquired, “what shall they do?”
Fr. Bernard’s advice was to ask, the next time this happened, to dine with the Child in His Father’s house. The children did as was suggested. The next day, after having made their request, the Child replied, “You could not give me a greater pleasure than to make such a petition. Yes, I invite you as you desire. Inform your master, that he prepare himself by the Feast of the Ascension. On that day, as you wish it, I will entertain all three.”
The children did as they were told and related all of this to Fr. Bernard. He then prepared himself for what was to come.
On the Feast of the Ascension, after having said Mass, Fr. Bernard prostrated himself on the steps of the altar, signaling to the boys that they should do the same.
After the brothers of the monastery had their dinner, they went into the church as was their custom. There, they saw Fr. Bernard and the two boys, still lying on the steps. They first thought all three slept, but soon discovered that all three were dead; they had passed to their eternal reward in the Father’s house.
The brothers turned to the confessor of Fr. Bernard and asked whether he could shed any light on the passing of all three at the same time, including two so young, without any external injury or apparent cause.
The confessor was aware of the circumstances recounted above, and he boldly told all assembled of these matters.
The bodies of all three, with great ceremony, joy and thanksgiving, were laid in the same grave, and a plaque, bearing the substance of this story, was placed there.
Shapcote, Emily Mary, Legends of the Blessed Sacrament (London, Burns & Oates) p. 43-44, and “The Eucharistic Miracles of the World,” a Vatican international exhibition, as reported by The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association,
The Moment of Consecration
The following words are those of St. Faustina, taken from entry 684 of her “Diary:”
Holy Hour – Thursday. During this hour of prayer, Jesus allowed me to enter the Cenacle, and I was a witness to what happened there. However, I was most deeply moved when, before the Consecration, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and entered into a mysterious conversation with His Father. It is only in eternity that we shall really understand that moment. His eyes were like two flames; His face was radiant, white as snow; His whole personage full of majesty, His soul full of longing. At the moment of Consecration, love rested satiated-the sacrifice fully consummated. Now only the external ceremony of death will be carried out-external destruction; the essence [of it] is in the Cenacle. Never in my whole life had I understood this mystery so profoundly as during that hour of adoration. Oh, how ardently I desire that the whole world would come to know this unfathomable mystery!
The Boy From The Marketplace
The following story was told by Fr. Joseph, a priest from India, on September 8, 2018, at a parish church in Manning, S.C. called Our Lady of Hope.
Once, back in India, a boy who was 17-18 years old had come home from school. He had completed his studies to be a teacher and was given 10 days off to prepare for his final exam. While in the marketplace, he was suddenly struck dumb and could not speak. All his studies had been rendered a waste. He could no longer teach any of the children for whom he had wished to devote his life.
Wanting to help, I decided to pay a trip he could take. There was a priest known for having the gift of healing known as Fr. Ju. Perhaps he could help the boy.
That night, however, I could not sleep. I was troubled by questions about myself. “Why am I a priest?” kept going through my head.
In the morning, I sent for the boy. The whole poor, little village came to watch as I prayed for him in our church. An entire hour passed. Nothing happened.
Perhaps in some degree of desperation or with new fervor, I prayed to the Tabernacle, “so that they may know You are here; please help this boy so that they may know You are here.”
Then, I dipped a Host in holy water and gave it to the boy. He received it and drank the holy water.
Immediately, he was cured.
Fr. Joe told this story to illustrate a reading from the Mass that day. It was from Isiah, chapter 35:
Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared.