The heavens have distilled honey...

Make merry therefore on this beautiful day, 
on which the sun of the Eucharist is rising.  Let your gratitude 
never separate the Crib from the Altar, the Word made Flesh from 

the God-Man made Bread of Life in the Most Blessed Sacrament."

- St Peter Julian Eymard

 

 “In this midnight Mass . . . I shall see a crib on 
the altar, and the sweet Babe with his two eyes 
filling with tears more precious than pearls, 
I will offer him to God his Father 
with his Mother’s approval, 
and will ask him for you, 
that he may ever be heart of your heart 
and the sole Beloved of your soul.”

St. Francis de Sales

"Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day,
even every moment,
in the interior temple of your spirit."- St Paul of the Cross

 

 Adoration of the Shepherds ~ Guido Reni

Each of us must sink to child-level before the Crib. 
Each of us, at the same time,
must rise to the Incarnation-level - Msgr Ronald Knox

Today is the dawn of the new redemption,

of the old restoration, of eternal happiness:

today, the heavens have distilled honey

throughout the whole world." - St Bonaventure

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth." - Pope St John Paul II

"Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born;
let us rejoice. 
Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. 
The fear of death has been swallowed up; 
life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. 
No one is shut out from this joy;
all share the same reason for rejoicing.”

From a sermon of St Leo the Great, Pope

Our abiding Bethlehem...

Behold, when the fullness of time had come,

God sent his Son into the world. – Gal 4:4

“Above all else, 
this is what Christmas bids us to do:

give glory to God, for He is good, He is faithful, He is merciful. 

...Let us allow ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of God;

we need His caress. God’s caresses do not harm us.

They give us peace and strength. We need His caresses.

God is full of love: to Him be praise and glory forever! - Pope Francis

"The Bethlehem of that night …

has never passed away. 

…It lives a real, unbroken, unsuspended life, not in history only, 
or in art, or in poetry, or even in the energetic

fertile worship and fleshly hearts of the faithful,

but in the worshipful reality of the Blessed Sacrament.

Round the Tabernacle, which is our abiding Bethlehem, 
goes on the same world of beautiful devotion 
 which surrounded the new-born Babe, real, out of real hearts, 
and realized by God’s acceptance. "

Fr Frederick W Faber

Bethlehem

 

"The mystery of Bethlehem is renewed upon the altar,

and the cry goes forth:

'Christ is born to us.  Come, let us adore!' "

Fr Karl Adam

From Heaven to the heaven of heart...

“Jesus, when You come to me in Holy Communion, You Who together

with the Father and the Holy Spirit have deigned to dwell in the

little heaven of my heart, I try to keep You company throughout the day…

my heart is always united…  St Faustina (Diary 486)

"In order to penetrate a whole human life

with the divine life

it is not enough to kneel once a year before the crib

and let ourselves be captivated by the charm of the holy night. 

To achieve this,

we must be in daily contact with God. ...

Just as our earthly body needs its daily bread,

so the divine life must be constantly fed.

'This is the living bread

that came down from heaven.'"

~ St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)

Beloved of our souls, You are here! ...

Make merry therefore on this beautiful day, 
on which the sun of the Eucharist is rising.  Let your gratitude

never separate the Crib from the Altar, the Word made Flesh from 
the God-Man made Bread of Life in the Most Blessed Sacrament."

- St Peter Julian Eymard

 

 “In this midnight Mass . . . I shall see a crib on
the altar, and the sweet Babe with his two eyes
filling with tears more precious than pearls,
I will offer him to God his Father
with his Mother’s approval,
and will ask him for you,
that he may ever be heart of your heart
and the sole Beloved of your soul.”

St. Francis de Sales

"Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day,
even every moment,
in the interior temple of your spirit."- St Paul of the Cross

Jesus Christ, God's Final Word - John of the Cross  

(very rich, recommended by Fr Spencer Howe for today)

 

 Adoration of the Shepherds ~ Guido Reni

Each of us must sink to child-level before the Crib. 
Each of us, at the same time,
must rise to the Incarnation-level - Msgr Ronald Knox

Today is the dawn of the new redemption,

of the old restoration, of eternal happiness:

today, the heavens have distilled honey

throughout the whole world." - St Bonaventure

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth." - Pope St John Paul II

"Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born;
let us rejoice. 
Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. 
The fear of death has been swallowed up; 
life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness. 
No one is shut out from this joy;
all share the same reason for rejoicing.”

From a sermon of St Leo the Great, Pope

Felix dies Nativitatis

May God, who by the Incarnation brought together the earthly 

and heavenly realm, fill you with the gift of His peace and favor 

and make you sharers with the Church in heaven.  - Missale Romanum

 Adoration of the shepherd - Ribera

Felix dies Nativitatis

Merry Christmas - Glædelig Jul - Veselé Vánoce - Vrolijk Kerstfeest - Häid Jõule - Hyvää Joulua - Joyeux Noël - Fröhliche Weihnachten - Boldog Karácsonyt - Gleðileg Jól - Nollaig Shona - Buon Natale - Il-milied It-tajjeb - God Jul - Wesołych Świąt - Feliz Natal - Un Crăciun Fericit - C Pождеством Xристовом - Nollaig Chridheil - Vesele Vanoce - Feliz Navidad - Noeliniz Kutlu Olsun

...and a HAPPY NEW YEAR of the LORD!!

Let us continue in earnest and zeal

to know, love and serve our Eucharistic Lord

day by day, more and more -

and invite all that we meet to embrace the same!
Please pray a MEMORARE every day for this intention
when you open this daily Eucharistic reflection.

United in prayer and mission  ~ Janette

Entering through the 'door'

 “Freed from the heavy burden of my own will, I may breathe freely

under the light load of love…”  St. Bernard of Clairvaux

 

 

"Let us enter into the mystery of Christmas . . .

through the 'door' of the Eucharist;

in the grotto of Bethlehem let us adore the Lord Himself who,

in the Sacrament of the Eucharist,

desired to make Himself our spiritual food to transform the world

from within, starting with the human heart."

 

Pope Benedict XVI

14 December 2006

 

Make merry!

Make merry therefore on this beautiful day,

on which the sun of the Eucharist is rising.  Let your gratitude

never separate the Crib from the Altar, the Word made Flesh

from the God-Man made Bread of Life in the Most Blessed Sacrament."

St Peter Julian Eymard

Pope Francis ~preparing the altar for Christmas Mass 2014 ~ St Peter's Basilica~Roma

"If we approach with faith,

we too will see Jesus . . .

for the Eucharistic table takes the place of the crib.

Here the Body of the Lord is present,

wrapped not in swaddling clothes

but in the rays of the Holy Spirit."

 

St. John Chrysostom

 

 Each of us must sink to child-level before the Crib. Each of us, at the

same time, must rise to the Incarnation-level - Msgr Ronald Knox

 

 

Adoration of the Shepherd ~ Angelo Bronzino

 

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth."

 

Pope St John Paul II

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God

and World Day of Peace

January 1

 

Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King,

who rules heaven and earth for ever.

(Entrance Antiphon, Today's Liturgy)

 

 

 

"Let us invite the Blessed Virgin to preside maternally over the Eucharistic life of the entire Church.  May she, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, implore from Him the attainment of that Life which Christ offers to all through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, celebrated and received in the power of the Spirit of Life and Love."

Pope Blessed John Paul II

 We have received this heavenly Sacrament with joy, O Lord:

grant, we pray, that it may lead us to eternal life,

for we rejoice to proclaim the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary

Mother of your Son and Mother of the Church, 

Through Christ our Lord.

~ Prayer after Communion, Today's Liturgy

 

Virgin Immaculate, you are the perfect model of adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. You adored Jesus in the little white Host with the same faith, reverence and wonder with which you adored Him on the first Christmas night and during all the years you lived with Him. Teach us not to forget that the small white Host is truly our God, infinite, eternal and omnipotent. Help us to conduct ourselves at all times in His presence with the modesty and reverence we owe to our God...

Virgin Immaculate, perfect lover of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we ask you to obtain for us the graces we need to become true adorers of our Eucharistic God. Grant us, we beg of you, to know Him better, to love Him more, and to center our lives around the Eucharist, that is, to make our whole life a constant prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

~ From "Treasury of Prayer: Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament"

 

 

“We serve a Mother who seems to grow more beautiful

as new generations call her blessed."  ~ GK Chesterton

Sharing the JOY

“Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice.  Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life.  The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.  No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing.”

From a sermon of St Leo the Great, Pope

 

 

"The Holy Eucharist is the continuation

of Christ’s incarnation on earth.

The mystery of the Eucharist gives us the joy

of having Christmas every day."

Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta

  

  Each of us must sink to child-level before the Crib. Each of us, at the

same time, must rise to the Incarnation-level - Msgr Ronald Knox

 

Relic of the crib of Jesus ~ Basilica of St Mary Major, Rome ~ Photo Credit: Juliette Carter

 

 

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth."

 

Pope Bl John Paul II

His perfect Gift

“Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice.  Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life.  The fear of Death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.  No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing.”  ~ St Leo the Great, Pope

 

 

 

"Christmas is the day on which God

gave Himself to humanity,

and in the Eucharist this gift of His

becomes, so to speak, perfect."

 

Pope Benedict XVI

14 December 2006

 

 

May our Eucharistic Lord bless you abundantly!

 

 

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth."

 

Pope Bl John Paul II

Felix dies Nativitatis

 Behold, the Virgin shall be with Child

And bear a Son, and they shall name Him

Emmanuel, which means

GOD IS WITH US (Mt. 1:23).

 

 

Felix dies Nativitatis

Merry Christmas - Glædelig Jul - Veselé Vánoce - Vrolijk Kerstfeest - Häid Jõule - Hyvää Joulua - Joyeux Noël - Fröhliche Weihnachten - Boldog Karácsonyt - Gleðileg Jól - Nollaig Shona - Buon Natale - Il-milied It-tajjeb - God Jul - Wesołych Świąt - Feliz Natal - Un Crăciun Fericit - C Pождеством Xристовом - Nollaig Chridheil - Vesele Vanoce - Feliz Navidad - Noeliniz Kutlu Olsun

 

...and a HAPPY NEW YEAR of the LORD!!

 

Let us continue in zeal to know, love and serve our Eucharistic Lord

day by day, more and more.  United in prayer and mission  ~ Janette

Felix dies Nativitatis

May God, who by the Incarnation brought together the earthly and heavenly realm, fill you with the gift of His peace and favor and make you sharers with the Church in heaven. 

Missale Romanum

Photo credit:  Loci Lenar

Felix dies Nativitatis

Merry Christmas - Glædelig Jul - Veselé Vánoce - Vrolijk Kerstfeest - Häid Jõule -
Hyvää Joulua - Joyeux Noël - Fröhliche Weihnachten - Boldog Karácsonyt - Gleðileg Jól -
Nollaig Shona - Buon Natale - Il-milied It-tajjeb - God Jul - Wesołych Świąt -
Feliz Natal - Un Crăciun Fericit - C Pождеством Xристовом - Nollaig Chridheil -
Vesele Vanoce - Feliz Navidad - Noeliniz Kutlu Olsun

...and a HAPPY NEW YEAR of the LORD!!

Let us continue in zeal to know, love and serve our Eucharistic Lord

day by day, more and more.  United in prayer and mission  ~ Janette

Make merry!

“Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice.  Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life.  The fear of Death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.  No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing.” 

~ St Leo the Great, Pope

 

 

 

"(At Mass) we really go to Bethlehem and we find there not a memory, not a picture, but the divine Infant Himself. ...And see how the Eucharist began at Bethlehem.  He was even then the EMMANUAL, "God with us", Who was come to dwell among His people. On the first Christmas Day He began to live in our midst; the Eucharist perpetuates His Presence.  At Bethlehem the Word was made flesh...

We even find there the inauguration of Eucharistic worship in its chief form, adoration. Mary and Joseph were the first adorers of the Word Incarnate...The shepherds and Magi also adored Him in union with Mary and Joseph. ...A new era was beginning... The Eucharist completes the restoration begun in the Crib.

Make merry therefore on this beautiful day, on which the sun of the Eucharist is rising.  Let your gratitude never separate the Crib from the Altar, the Word made Flesh from the God-Man made Bread of Life in the Most Blessed Sacrament."   

 Excerpts from the writings of St Peter Julian Eymard

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth."

 

Pope Bl John Paul II

O Come Let Us Adore Him, Our Eucharistic Savior!!!

"Raise Your tiny hand, divine Child,

and bless these young friends of Yours,

bless the children of all the earth."

Ven Pope John Paul II

"Christmas is the day on which God

gave Himself to humanity,

and in the Eucharist this gift of His

becomes, so to speak, perfect."

Pope Benedict XVI

Dec. 14, 2006

May our Eucharistic Lord bless you abundantly!