More you...

"The grace flowing from this wellspring (Eucharist)

renews mankind, life and history."

 St John Paul II, Dies Domini, Pentecost Sunday, 31 May 1998

"The Blessed Sacrament

is the Sacrament of Unity; and when you receive it,

it does not merely produce in you more charity

toward your neighbor, more loyalty toward the Church,

more unselfishness in your human attachments.

It makes you more at unity with yourself;

it catches up our life into a rhythm that echoes the heavenly music...

It comes to you... full of that unifying love

which is the bond of the Blessed Trinity."

Msgr Ronald Knox

Painting above: Memoir Writing ~ August Muller

Balm to every wound...

Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. 
Get up and take care of your mat." - Acts 9:34

 

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton received great solace

by bringing her sorrows to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

and speaking heart to heart with Him there:

"How sweet, the presence of Jesus

to the longing and harassed soul!

He is instant peace and balm to every wound."

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

United States ~ 1774-1821

Convert to Catholicism
Three basic points led her to become Catholic: 

1) belief in the Real Presence
2) devotion to the Blessed Mother,
3) conviction that the Catholic Church led back 
to the Apostles and Christ

Mother, Widow, Educator, Musician, Linguist, Religious

 Established schools and orphanages

Foundress of Sisters of Charity
Two great devotions: 
1) Abandonment to God's Will
2) Ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Feast Day - January 4

"The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends, but let us not despair. 
God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. 
The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are 
to those who belong to Him. - St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Click here: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: Mother Seton: Servant of the Good Teacher | Crisis Magazine

St Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

Above all: centers of Eucharistic devotion...

FEAST of Our Lady of Lourdes*

February 11

27th WORLD DAY of the SICK

"I entrust all of you to Mary, Salus Infirmorum.  May she help us to share 
the gifts we have received in the spirit of dialogue and mutual acceptance, 
to live as brothers and sisters attentive to each other's needs, to give 
from a generous heart, and to learn the joy of selfless service to others.  
With great affection, I assure you of my closeness in prayer, 
and to all I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing." -   Pope Francis

(Full text of Letter for XXVII World Day of Sick, 2019 - BELOW)

 Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, France

  

“All the shrines of Mary,

scattered throughout the world,

have become above all

centers of devotion to the Eucharist,

as if the Mother of Jesus had appeared,

here or there,

in order to lead the faithful to the

adoration and love of her blessed Son.”

Pope St John XXIII
.  

*Lourdes, France, has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith.
It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles. Many who visit Lourdes return home 

with renewed faith and a readiness to more generously serve God. 

There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes.  Perhaps 
the best that can be said are the words that introduce the film, Song of Bernadette:

"For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary.

For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible."

27th World Day of the Sick 2019 | Francis

Click here: Our Lady of Lourdes - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: Placing a petition at the Grotto of Lourdes | Lourdes
Click here: Our Lady of Lourdes

Only known picture of St Bernadette at the Grotto

(taken after the apparitions of 1858)

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us, 
and especially the sick and  suffering!

Healing rays of the Sun of Justice...

"The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship.
Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. 
Let us not refuse the time to go to meet Him in adoration,
in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends
for the serious offenses and crimes of the world.
Let our adoration never cease." - Pope St JPII, Dominicae Cenae



"I believe that today we are entering
into the reign of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. 
In the midst of the winter in the world 
and even in the Church today innumerable little shoots
are sprouting up through the snow. 

These shoots are chapels of
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
growing up around the world. 
...I encourage you to soak up the healing rays of the Sun of Justice
and do all you can to promote Perpetual Adoration."

Rev. Harold F. Cohen, SJ (+2001)

Heart balm...

O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; 
in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. ....
Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails. - Psalm 143:1, 7

"Do not look for other excuses. 
Try it, and find out by your own experience.
Do not wait until tomorrow.

Today, 
go and spend a few moments with Jesus,

whether He is within the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance.

Let your weary and wounded heart be penetrated

by the peaceful atmosphere of the sanctuary 
and your soul be bathed in the light

streaming forth from the Eucharistic Sun.

 '

And, tomorrow, I am sure, you will return."

Fr. Jose Guadalupe Trevino
Excerpt from The Holy Eucharist

Source of LIGHT and LOVE for all...

"My job is to inform not to convince." - St Bernadette

“The Eucharist bathes the tormented soul

in light and love.

Then the soul appreciates these words,

‘Come all you who are sick, 

I will restore your health.'" 

St Bernadette

France ~ 1844-1879

Lourdes visionary and nun

Incorrupt

Feast Day - April 16*

*Some places - other places Feb 18

PHOTO: Fr Dustin Bain ~ Indianapolis, Indiana ~ USA

Said of St Bernadette by a fellow Sister, Sr Dalias:

"The Holy Eucharist was the breath of her soul."

 A tiny tot of four inquired of St Bernadette,

"You have seen the Blessed Virgin, Sister. Was she beautiful?"

"So beautiful," she replied, "that once you have seen her,

you would willingly die to see her again."

St Bernadette, pray for us!

April 16

Happy and Holy 91st Birthday,

dearest Pope Emeritus Benedict!

The Eucharist "is the great school

in which we learn to see the face of God.

We enter into an intimate relationship with Him,

and we learn at the same time to turn our gaze

towards the final moment of history,

when He will satisfy us with the light of His face."

Pope Benedict XVI
16 Jan, 2013, General Audience

The Clinic is OPEN...

"The Eucharist is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote
to prevent us from dying, but which causes that
we should live forever in Jesus Christ."- St Ignatius of Antioch

Dom Pius Parsch in The Church's Year of Grace invites us to look courageously into the Lord's Face and say: "Thou art my Physician. Cut away, cauterize, work Thy healing art on me . . . only make me well for everlasting life." He presents the Church as a sanatorium for sin-sick souls. 

"Before leaving the world our Saviour established a clinic, the Church, whose main task was to heal sick souls. The Church is a great spiritual sanatorium. All the practices and ordinances of the Church have as their ultimate purpose to heal men and keep them healthy. Think of the sacraments: baptism, penance, extreme unction. Think in particular of the medicinal power of the Holy Eucharist. Yes, the twofold purpose of the Eucharist is to nourish and to heal. Nourishment to build divine life, medicine to overcome the diseases ravaging the soul.

To our great detriment we have practically forgotten the latter significance of the Eucharist. We keep believing that Communion is only for saints, a reward for virtue. The time of Mass is the heavenly Physician's normal office hours. . .

We have a Healer who wishes to heal our infirmities; we have a clinic providing all the means needed to restore our health; we have a medicine which infallibly produces its effect if we use it as prescribed."

An eye for an eye...

“People often mistake their imagination for their heart,

and so often are convinced they are converted as soon as they 

start thinking of becoming converted.” - Blaise Pascal

 

 

"Eucharistic contemplation

also has an extraordinary power of healing. 

In the desert God ordered Moses to raise a bronze serpent on a pole.

All those bitten by poisonous snakes and then looked

at the bronze serpent were healed. (Cf. Numbers 21:4-9)

Jesus applied the mysterious symbol of the bronze serpent to Himself (Jn 3:14).

What we should do, then, when afflicted by the venomous bites 

of pride, sensuality, and all the other illnesses of the soul is 

not to get lost in vain considerations or seek excuses, but to run before 

the Most Blessed Sacrament, to look at the Host and let healing  

pass through the same organ through which evil so often passes: our eyes.

 

 

The only thing the Holy Spirit asks of us

is that we give Him our time,

even if at the beginning it might seem like lost time.

I will never forget the lesson that was given to me one day in this regard.

I said to God, 'Lord, give me fervor and I will give you all the

time you desire in prayer.'  I found that answer in my heart:

'Raniero, give me your time and I will give you

all the fervor you want in prayer.' "

 

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa

Preacher to the Papal Household 

Excerpt from This is My Body

Longing fulfilled...

As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul

pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God. ... Deep calls to deep. Psalm 42:1,2,7a

 

 

 

"The house of my soul is narrow.

O let it be enlarged by You!

It is very ruinous;

be pleased to repair it."

 

St Augustine

 

Image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Triumph of the Eucharist

Peace and balm to every wound

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you

in a dry and weary land where there is no water. - Psalm 63:1

 

 

"Beg Him, supplicate Him, that He will permit you

to receive with true faith.  O Heavenly bliss! 

Delight past all expression!  How consoling, how sweet,

the presence of Jesus to the longing, harassed soul! 

It is instant peace and balm to every wound."

 

St Elizabeth Ann Seton (+1821)

Preventing soul trouble

For he has delivered me from all my troubles,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. – Psalm 54:7

Francesco Vanni (1605)

“What would your wife say if you were a whole month without showing her any marks of affection? She would say that you do not love her. You would cause trouble in your home. Well, when you do not receive Communion God says to Himself that you do not love Him. And there is trouble in your soul. ...

Receive Holy Communion often. Our Lord cannot refuse you anything when He is there in your heart. You will find strength and solace in this act.”

 

St. André Bessette

Canada ~ 1845-1937

Holy Cross Brother, porter

Miracle Man of Montreal

Great devotion to Eucharist and St Joseph

Feast Day - January 6

 

 

 

"I am only a man, just like you," time after time Br André Bessette reminded petitioners who came to him.  Known as a miracle worker of healing during his lifetime, this humble lay brother insisted on giving all the credit to God, the faith of those healed, and the intercession of St Joseph.  Quietly, he said, 'I will pray for you.'  Time after time, healing came. 

...."He spent his whole life speaking of others to God, and of God to others," said a friend of Br André. "It is difficult to say at what point in his life work began and ended, and at what point prayer started and ended: the two seemed to flow so naturally one into the other."

 

St. André Bessette, pray for us!

 

When Alfred (later to be Brother André) Bessette came to the Holy Cross Brothers in 1870, he carried with him a note from his pastor saying,"I am sending you a saint." By his death, he was receiving 80,000 letters each year from the sick who sought his prayers and healing.  He died in 1937, at age 91.  A million people filed before his coffin.

 

 

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints

the most exquisitely beautiful pictures,” said St. André Bessette.

 

 

Click here: St. Andre Bessette, C.S.C. - YouTube (3 mins)

Throw wide the gate of your heart!

The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? -

Psalm 27: 1-2

 

 

   

"Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock

your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind,

and then you will see the riches of simplicity,

the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. 

Throw wide the gate of your heart,

stand before the sun of the everlasting light."

 

 

  St Ambrose

Italy ~ 340-397

Father* and Doctor of the Church

*One of four original Doctors of the Latin Church.

He died on Holy Saturday (April 4) in the year 397 AD.

His feast day in the Roman calendar is December 7,

the day he was ordained bishop.

Spiritual father of St Augustine

Bishop of Milan

Feast Day - December 7

 

 

"One day after he had celebrated Holy Mass, St Ambrose was approached

by a woman afflicted with paralysis who wanted to kiss his hands. 

The woman had great faith in those hands that had

consecratedthe Eucharist; and she was cured at once."

(From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love, Fr Stephano M Manelli - pg 81)

 

 

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

 

St Ambrose, pray for us!

Healing rays await...

 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases... - Psalm 103:2,3

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament ~ Chihuahua Metropolitan Cathedral ~ Chihuahua, Mexico

"Like the sick who expose their diseased bodies

to the healing rays of the sun,

expose miseries, no matter what they are,

to the beams of light streaming forth

from the Sacred Host."

Fr Jose Guadalupe Trevino, The Holy Eucharist

Eucharist: source of light and love

St Anthony Chapel, Tampa Florida - USA 

 

 

“The Eucharist bathes the tormented soul

in light and love.

Then the soul appreciates these words,

‘Come all you who are sick,

I will restore your health.'" 

 

 

St Bernadette

France ~ 1844-1879

Lourdes visionary and nun

Incorrupt

Feast Day - April 16*

*Some places - other places Feb 18

 

 

Said of St Bernadette by a fellow Sister, Sr Dalias:

"The Holy Eucharist was the breath of her soul."

 

 A tiny tot of four inquired of St Bernadette,

"You have seen the Blessed Virgin, Sister. Was she beautiful?"

"So beautiful," she replied, "that once you have seen her,

you would willingly die to see her again."

 

St Bernadette, ora pro nobis!

 

April 16

 

Happy and Holy 86th Birthday,

dearest Pope Emeritus Benedict!

 

 

The clinic is OPEN !

Dom Pius Parsch in The Church's Year of Grace invites us to look courageously into the Lord's Face and say: "Thou art my Physician. Cut away, cauterize, work Thy healing art on me . . . only make me well for everlasting life." He presents the Church as a sanatorium for sin-sick souls.

"Before leaving the world our Saviour established a clinic, the Church, whose main task was to heal sick souls. The Church is a great spiritual sanatorium. All the practices and ordinances of the Church have as their ultimate purpose to heal men and keep them healthy. Think of the sacraments: baptism, penance, extreme unction. Think in particular of the medicinal power of the Holy Eucharist. Yes, the twofold purpose of the Eucharist is to nourish and to heal. Nourishment to build divine life, medicine to overcome the diseases ravaging the soul.

To our great detriment we have practically forgotten the latter significance of the Eucharist. We keep believing that Communion is only for saints, a reward for virtue. The time of Mass is the heavenly Physician's normal office hours. . .

We have a Healer who wishes to heal our infirmities; we have a clinic providing all the means needed to restore our health; we have a medicine which infallibly produces its effect if we use it as prescribed."