Leaving sadness for JOY! ...

"The Eucharist communicates the Lord's love for us: 

a love so great that it nourishes us with Himself." - Pope Francis

 

 

"The Word of God and the Eucharist

fill us with joy, always.

Remember it well!

When you are sad, take up the Word of God.

When you are down, take up the Word of God

and go to Mass and receive Communion,

to participate in the mystery of Jesus.

 

The Word of God, the Eucharist;

they fill us with joy."

 

Pope Francis

My heart, a resting place...

"I am a child of God through Baptism and my resemblance to Him 

has grown stronger through Holy Communion. May I never forget my last 

Communion and may my heart yearn for the next one." - Mother Angelica

"Heavenly Father, when Your priest

holds up the host

and says "the Body of Christ"

let my soul bow in humble adoration

before the love and humility of Jesus.

Let my heart be

a pure resting place for Your Son.

I desire, dear Father, that the image of Jesus

grow brighter in my soul after every Communion.

At that tremendous moment God and I are one."

Mother Angelica

Foundress of EWTN and the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration

Excerpt from The Mass is my Life

Painting: The Last Mass of St Benedict, Fray Juan Rizi (17th c)

No matter the cost...

"We are given graces to overcome our fears

and to accomplish great things in Adoration." - Fr John Hardon

 

 

"I strongly recommend

that each of us make a resolution 

- no matter how much

the decision may cost us -

to make a Holy Hour...

once a week."

 

Fr John Hardon

Fidelity to the mission...

After the Last Supper it was Jude who asked Our Lord why He chose 

to reveal Himself only to the disciples and not the world. He received the reply:

 Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father
will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.  

- John 14: 23 (Today's Communion Antiphon)

 

Missionaries of Charity ~Home for the dying - Khaligat ~ Calcutta, India

"The more lively the Eucharistic

faith of the people of God,

the deeper is its sharing in ecclesial life

in steadfast commitment to the mission

entrusted by Christ to His disciples."

Sacramentum Caritatis, 6

Sts Simon and Jude

Apostles, Martyrs (approx 65 AD)

St. Jude: patron saint of hospital workers,

desperate situations, and impossible causes.

Click here: St. Jude Novena

St. Simon: patron saint of sawyers and tanners.

FEAST DAY - October 28

"Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also He sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This He did so that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (cf. Mark 16:15), they might proclaim that the Son of God, by His death and resurrection, had freed us from the power of Satan (cf. Acts 26:18) and from death, and brought us into the kingdom of His Father" ~Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered 
among the glorious company of the Apostles. As they were faithful 
and zealous in their mission, so may we with ardent devotion 
make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives 
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Click here: Ss. Simon & Jude - YouTube (2 mins)

Sts. Simon and Jude, pray for us!

His friends know...

"The Eucharist acts as a magnet

for the friends of God." - St Luigi Guanella

 

 

When St Luigi Guanella was traveling by train with pilgrimages to the various shrines,

he advised the pilgrims to turn their minds and hearts to Jesus every time

they saw a church tower from the carriage window.  He would say,

 

"Every bell tower indicates a church,

where there is a tabernacle,

where Mass is said,

and where Jesus stays."

 

St Luigi Guanella

Walking in strength...

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet 

of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. - Habakkuk 3:19

"God is so good to me.

I (Columba Marmion) live now on my daily Communion.

All the morning I walk in the strength of the divine food,

and from the afternoon I live on the thought

of the following Communion, for It strengthens us

according to our desires and preparations.

Our Lord has promised that 'he who eateth Me shall live by Me.'

His life becomes ours,

the source of all our activity."

Excerpt from: Abbot Columba Marmion

by Fr Raymond Thibaut

Bread of the Strong! ...

 "May the Lord give us all light and courage:

light to know what's happening within us,

and courage to convert, to draw closer to the Lord.

It is beautiful to be close to the Lord."- Pope Francis

"This bread of the Strong

gives me all the strength I need

to carry on my mission

and the courage to do whatever the Lord asks of me. 

The courage and strength that are in me

are not of me, but of Him who lives in me -

it is the Eucharist."

St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament

Painting: Elijah Fed by an Angel, 1660-1663, Ferdinand Bol

Hearts at rest... in His presence...

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth,

and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence. - I John 3:19

"St Anthony of Claret had always been especially attracted by devotions honoring the Blessed Sacrament.  During his school days he had been so captivated by a book his father gave him, The Goodness of  Our Sacramental Lord, that he had committed it to memory!

Kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, he would pray:  "Oh, my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there, saying:  'Where are you going, unhappy one?  Back, go back!  Make a good confession.  Save your soul!  Don't come back here to be lost forever.' "

From Hidden Treasure: The Riches of the Eucharist

Louis Kaczmarek

St Anthony Mary Claret 

Spain ~ 1807-1870

Missionary, Religious founder (Claretians),

Social reformer, Queen's (Spain) chaplain,

Writer and publisher, Excellent/renowned preacher

Survived 15 assassination attempts

Great devotion to Eucharist and Immaculate Heart of Mary

Said of him... "never without a rosary in his hands"

Archbishop of Cuba 1850-57

"The spiritual father of Cuba"

FEAST DAY - October 24

     "When I see the need for Divine teaching and how hungry people are to hear it, I am atremble to be off and running throughout the world, preaching the word of God. I have no rest, my soul finds no other relief, than to rush about and preach." ~ St. Anthony Mary Claret

St Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us!
More on St Anthony Mary Claret: Click here: A Very Special Patron: Saint Anthony Mary Claret | Catholicism.org  Click here: St. Anthony Mary Claret - YouTube (2 mins) Click here: Saint Anthony Mary Claret 10-24 - YouTube (1:20 mins)

See... there is Jesus!...

"The things that we love tell us what we are." - St Thomas Aquinas

Recently ordained (1901), Fr Manuel Garcia went to visit a church in Palomares del Rio (Spain). 

There he witnessed a horrifying sight. The wooden tabernacle in the church was filthy,

had significant termite damage and surrounded by cobwebs. Fr Garcia was deeply saddened

that the Blessed Sacrament was neglected.

From that moment, he knew what his life’s work must be—to promote devotion to the Eucharist.

For the rest of his life, through writing, preaching, and inspiring, that is exactly what he did.

Bishop Garcia came to be known as “The Bishop of the Tabernacle.”

"I asked to be buried next to a tabernacle,

so that my bones, after death,

as my tongue and my pen in life,

are saying to those who pass:

'There is Jesus!'"

St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia

Spain~ 1877-1940
"The Bishop of the Tabernacle"

Canonized: October 16, 2016

In seminary he wrote: "If I would be born a thousand times;

a thousand times I would be a priest."

The Eucharistic response...

"When confronted with the abyss of evil,

the only response is the abyss of love." - St John Paul II

 

 "From the Eucharist

comes strength

to live the Christian life

and zeal

to share that life with others." 

St John Paul II

1920-2005

nee: Karol J Wojtyla (Poland)

Pope: 1978 - 2005

Apostle of the Eucharist

Prolific writer

Inaugurated (and now Patron of) World Youth Day

and World Meeting of Families

Feast Day - October 22

Photo Image above: Le Mont St Michel, France 

“If He asks much of you, it is because

He knows you can give much.” – St John Paul II

Click here: Pope John Paul II - YouTube (6 mins)

St John Paul II, pray for us!

Beseeching His gaze...

"Let us ... remember Peter: three times he denied Jesus, precisely when he should have been closest to him; and when he hits bottom he meets the gaze of Jesus who patiently, wordlessly, says to him: "Peter, don't be afraid of your weakness, trust in Me." 

 Peter understands, he feels the loving gaze of Jesus and he weeps. 

How beautiful is this gaze of Jesus — how much tenderness is there! Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God!" - Pope Francis

 

 

"Why do you look for more?

Ask Him only to deign to look upon you.

Tell Him with entire confidence: 

'Look upon me and have mercy on me' (Ps 118:132)

 

Remembering that, as soon as Jesus had looked on

that young man who came to Him, He loved him,

fear not to tell Him also:

"Look upon me and... love me!'"

 

Fr Jose Guadalupe Trevino

From The Holy Eucharist

Your heart: a living tabernacle...

"Live in the joy and the peace of the divine Majesty.
Live lost in divine love." - St Paul of the Cross

"How wonderful are the treasures which are enclosed
in the divine Eucharist! I exhort you, even though you live in the world,
to receive Communion often, but with piety.
Holy Communion is the most efficacious means 
of uniting one's self to God.

Always prepare yourself well for this sacred banquet.
Have a very pure heart, and watch over your tongue,
for it is on the tongue that the Sacred Host is laid.

Carry Our Lord home with you after your thanksgiving,
and let your heart be a living tabernacle for Jesus.
Visit Him often in this interior tabernacle, offering Him your homage,
and the sentiments of gratitude with which divine love will inspire you. 
Preserve carefully the sentiments of love
with which you are filled after Communion."

 

St Paul of the Cross
Priest, Mystic, powerful teacher/preacher

Founder - Passionist Order
To the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience they added a fourth: 
to spread devotion to Christ’s passion among the faithful.

Italy ~ 1694-1775

FEAST DAY - October 20

Painting above: First Communion ~ Jules Octave Triquet

"When you are alone in your room, take your crucifix,
kiss its five wounds reverently, tell it to preach to you a little sermon,
and then listen to the words of eternal life that it speaks to your heart;
listen to the pleading of the thorns, the nails, the precious Blood.
Oh, what an eloquent sermon!" - St Paul of the Cross

Click here: Discovering our Saints - St. Paul of the Cross - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: St. Paul of the Cross - YouTube (10 mins)

St Paul of the Cross 

St Paul of the Cross, pray for us!

They have drunk His cup...

"Who are the martyrs? They are Christians won by Christ,

disciples who learned well the meaning of “loving to the end” that took

Jesus to the Cross. There is no such thing as love in parts, in portions. 
Love is total: and when one loves, one loves to the end." - Pope Francis

“Let us honor the martyrs of the Lord
chosen out of every class, as soldiers of Christ
who have drunk His cup and were then baptized

with the baptism of His life-bringing death,

to be partakers of His passion and glory…”

St John Damascus

Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 4, 15

Sts. John de Brebeuf,  Isaac Jogues
and Companions

North American Martyrs ~ +1642-1649*
Six Jesuit priests and two laypersons

FEAST DAY - Oct. 19

 

Fr Isaac Jogues gave the original European name to New York's Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament.



Lake George, New York

*The North American Martyrs and their entrance into eternal life:

St Rene Goupil - Sept 29, 1642

St Isaac Jogues - Oct 18, 1646

St John de Lalande - October 19, 1646

St Anthony Daniel - July 4, 1648

St John de Brebeuf - March 16, 1649

St Gabriel Lalemant - March 17, 1649

St Charles Garnier - December 7, 1649

St Noel Chabanel - December 8, 1649

Prayer to the Eight North American Martyrs

Let us Pray

Protect our land, O heavenly patrons, which you have bedewed with the rich treasure of your blood. Watch over our Catholic Faith which you helped to establish in this new land. Bring all our fellow citizens to a knowledge and love of the truth. Make us zealous in spreading abroad a knowledge of Catholic teachings, so that we may continue and perfect the work which you have begun  with so much labor and suffering. Pray for our homes, our schools, our missions; for vocations, for the conversion of sinners, the return of those who have wandered from the fold, and the perseverance of all the faithful. Amen.

More on the North American Martyrs... ( a must read!)

CLICK HERE:  http://catholicism.org/eight-na-martyrs.html

Click here: North American Martyrs - YouTube (6 mins) - Christopher Stefanick

Click here: North American Martyrs - YouTube (2 mins) Apostleship of Prayer

Click here: A Forgotten Founding Father: St. Isaac Jogues | Crisis Magazine

 

Sts. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues
and Companions, pray for us!

St Luke, pray for us! ...

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings 
glad tidings of peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation! 
- Isaiah 52:7  Entrance Antiphon - Feast of St Luke

Prayer over the gifts (Today's Liturgy)

Grant through your heavenly gifts that we may

serve you in freedom of heart, we pray, O Lord,

so that the offerings we make on the feast day of

Saint Luke may bring us healing and give us glory.

Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Communion Antiphon

The Lord sent out disciples to proclaim throughout

the towns: The kingdom of God is at hand for you.

(See Lk 10:1,9)

Prayer after Communion

Grant, we pray, almighty God,

that what we have received from your holy altar

may sanctify us and make us strong in the faith

of the Gospel which Saint Luke proclaimed.

Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

St Luke

Evangelist, Martyr

Wrote Gospel and Acts of the Apostles

In Dives in Misericordia, St JPII calls Luke: "Gospel of Mercy"

Greek, Physician, Painter

Convert, then fellow-Worker of St Paul

Symbol: winged ox

Patron:  Artists, Physicians and Surgeons

Feast Day – October 18

 

St Luke, thank you for enlivening our love of Jesus 
as Friend through the holy Gospel!

This is a Friend who will not terrify you, who will not abandon you.

Hope in Him, and Heaven is yours! ~ St Joseph Cafasso

Click here: St. Luke - YouTube (2 mins)

Saint Luke, pray for us!