Satisfying His thirst...

 “Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels,

the Refreshment of holy souls,

our daily and super substantial Bread.” - St. Bonaventure

"As Lent is the time for greater love,

listen to Jesus' thirst...

'Repent and Believe' Jesus tells us. 

What are we to repent?  Our indifference, our hardness of heart. 

What are we to believe?

Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor --

He knows our weakness.  He wants only your love,

wants only the chance to love you."

Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,

and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Thy Holy Spirit.

Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh,

a heart to love and adore Thee, a heart to delight in Thee,

to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake. Amen. - St Ambrose of Milan (+397)

So sweet... yes, so sweet!

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow
and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and

the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Col 2:8

“There is more sweetness

in one hour of prayer before Jesus 
in the Blessed Sacrament
than in all the world's crowded theaters,

and brilliant drawing rooms,

and giddy diversions, and social gatherings.”

St Gabriel Possenti

Passionist clerical student

Italy ~1838-1862

Exemplary devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Day: February 27

 

“Love Mary! She is lovable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity." - St Gabriel 

Our Lady of Sorrows

Click here: Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (His Resolutions) - YouTube  (4:30 mins) 

St Gabriel is remarkable because he obediently and willingly converted in a very short time from a life of excess and devoted to the pleasures of this world, to becoming inextricably linked to the Passion of Our Lord. He shows us that we are all blessed with the graces to fall in love with Our Lord, no matter what the cost.

Gabriel died at age 24 of tuberculosis and was buried the day of his death. 
A companion in the novitiate, Bernard Mary of Jesus, exclaimed:

"Tears come to my eyes and I ama filled with shame for having been so far 
from the virtues that he attained in such a short time.”

Click here: St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

St Gabriel, pray for us! 

Test of fidelity

"Intimacy is openness which keeps back no secret and which reveals

the heart open to Christ." - Ven Fulton J Sheen

 

Pope Francis

“The Eucharist is so essential to our one-ness with Christ that as soon as Our Lord announced It in the Gospel, It began to be the test of fidelity of His followers.  First, He lost the masses, for it was too hard a saying and they no longer followed Him.  Secondly, He lost some of His disciples:  ‘They walked with Him no more.’  Third, it split His apostolic band, for Judas is here announced as the betrayer.

So the Holy Hour, quite apart from all its positive spiritual benefits, kept my feet from wandering too far. Being tethered to a tabernacle, one's rope for finding other pastures is not so long. That dim tabernacle lamp, however pale and faint, had some mysterious luminosity to darken the brightness of 'bright lights.'

St Andrew Apostle Catholic Church ~ Silver Spring, Maryland ~ USA

The Holy Hour became like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world. Even when it seemed so unprofitable and lacking in spiritual intimacy, I still had the sensation of being at least like a dog at the master's door, ready in case he called me.

The Hour, too, became a magister and teacher, for although before we love anyone we must have a knowledge of that person, nevertheless, after we know, it is love that increases knowledge. Theological insights are gained not only from the two covers of a treatise, but from two knees on a prie-dieu before a tabernacle. ”

Ven Archbishop Fulton J Sheen

Treasure in Clay (pg 192)

This is a fantastic read!

The blessing of fellowship

 You will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:13

 

 

"The purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage

deep personal encounter with Christ.

The holy and glorious God is constantly inviting us

to come to Him, to hold converse with Him,

to ask for such things as we need

and to experience what a blessing

there is in fellowship with Him."

 

Archbishop Fulton J Sheen 

Treasure in Clay: the Autobiography of Fulton J Sheen

Sound Fatherly advice...

 "This life must be a continual preparation for the next."

- Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati

 

Blackfriars Church ~ England

 

"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

The Spiritual Life in the Modern World (1982)

 

 

 

 

The Advent Season is approaching -

perhaps an ideal time to commit to a weekly Holy Hour.

One heart of prayer

“Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then,

she is much too busy with her children.” – St John Vianney

"When we pray the rosary in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we love Jesus with the heart of Mary. ... We unite our love for Jesus to the perfect love and praise of Mary. Jesus receives our Holy Hour as if Mary herself were making it ... ... The Immaculate Heart of Mary repairs and makes up for what is lacking in our own heart."

 

Fr Martin Lucia, S.S. C.C.

 

 

 

 

"Eucharistic Adoration Rosaries" have “Our Father” beads in the shape of drops of the Precious Blood of Jesus and “Hail Mary” beads that are in the shape of the Sacred Host. The center piece of the Rosary is a Chalice with elevated Consecrated Host, and the Crucifix is in the form of a monstrance.

This is a tremendous reminder that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and thus she is the Mother of the Blessed Sacrament. It is hoped that this Rosary will promote Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.  All sales benefit the Seminarians of the Fathers of Mercy.  In addition to the Rosary you can opt to receive a booklet of Meditations written by Fr Louis Guardiola, C.P.M.

Order from www.fathersofmercy.com ~Click here: The Fathers of Mercy

 

October - the month of the Rosary

How do I end a Holy Hour?

You turned my wailing into dancing;

You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to You and not be silent. 

O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever. ~ Psalm 30:11-12

“A good way to end a Holy Hour is to thank the Lord.  Thank Him for His presence, for His Love, for all that He has done and will do in your life.  You can call to mind and thank Him for the specific graces or resolutions you received during the hour. 

Then, again, express your adoration with your whole body and soul, and renew your commitment to try to live each moment of your life in such a way that you will be a living sign of His presence, of His mercy to the world.”

Fr. George W Kosicki, CSB

Remaining in the silence

  

 

 

 

 

"Once you feel the attraction to remain in the

silence of adoration in God's presence, you must

give yourself entirely to the Holy Spirit and remain

there in pure faith.  If God gives you no feeling,

no sentiment, no distinct thought, just be there

before Him in silent love.  During such moments

He operates insensibly in the soul and does

more for her perfection that she could in

a lifetime by her own thoughts."

 

 

Bl Columba Marmion

 

 

 

 

 

Lent begins three weeks from today - on March 9.  

Prayerfully consider committing to a Holy Hour every day

- remaining in the silence - and trusting.

 

 

 

 

 

In union with Christ

 

“The holy hour in our modern rat race is necessary for authentic prayer. Our world is one of speed in which intensity of movement is a substitute for lack of purpose; where noise is invoked to drown out the whisperings of conscience; where talk, talk, talk gives the impression that we are doing something when really we are not; where activity kills self-knowledge won by contemplation…
There seems to be so little in common between our involvement with the news of the world and the Stranger in whose Presence we find ourselves. The hour means giving up a golf game or a cocktail party, or a nap…

Sometimes it is hard, especially during vacation when we have nothing to do. I remember once having two hours between trains in Paris. I went to the Church of Saint Roch to make my holy hour. There are not ten days a year I can sleep in the daytime This was one. I was so tired, I sat down at 2:00p.m.--too tired to kneel--and went to sleep. I slept perfectly until 3:00p.m. I said to the Good Lord: "Did I make a holy hour?" The answer came back: "Yes! That's the way the Apostles made their first one."

 

The best time to make a holy hour is in the morning, early, before the day sets traps for us. By being faithful to it, and letting nothing interfere with it, we use it as the sign and symbol of our victimhood. We are not called to great penances, and many would interfere with our duty, but the hour is our daily sacrifice in union with Christ.” 

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Consider offering a HOLY HOUR

in union with Christ -

every day during Advent!

Holy Preparation, Holy Fruit

 

“The Hour of Adoration prepares one

for Holy Mass and Holy Communion.

Frequent encounters and

familiar conversation with Jesus

produce friendship,

resemblance, and identity

of thought, of feeling

and of willing with Jesus.”

Blessed James Alberione