Finding our place...

 "Do you not know that God has placed churches in the cities as ports in

the sea, that those who come tither for shelter from the

storms of this world may find perfect peace?" - St John Chrysostom

 

St Michael's Cathedral ~ Toronto, Ontario ~ Canada

 

"When the adorer crosses

the threshold of the sacred temple,

when he sees the mysterious lamp which,

like the star of the Magi,

indicates the presence of Jesus,

oh, then, with what faith and joy,

with what transports of love he prostrates himself

at the foot of this tabernacle of love!"

 

St. Peter Julian Eymard

 

 

 

Catechism of the Catholic Church [1994]

§1379. The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent, outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Code of Canon Law (1983)

Can 940: "A special lamp to indicate and honor the presence of Christ is to burn at all times before the tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved".

"Not only while the sacrifice is offered and the sacrament is received, but as long as the Eucharist is kept in our churches and oratories, Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, 'God with us'.  Day and night He is in our midst, He dwells with us, full of grace and truth.  He restores morality, nourishes virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak." -Pope Paul VI

His presence wherever I go...

Excerpted from letters and diaries of Ven John Henry Cardinal Newman -

particularly reflecting on his experience in Milan and Rome as a new Catholic,

wandering the streets which were filled with many churches and oratories...

  

"Nothing moves there [on the high altar]

but the distant glimmering Lamp

which betokens the Presence of our Undying Life,

hidden but ever working."

Z

"Here are a score of Churches which are open to the passer by... and the Blessed Sacrament ready for the worshipper even before he enters. There is nothing which has brought home to me so much the Unity of the Church, as the presence of its Divine Founder and Life wherever I go--All places are, as it were, one..."

 Z

 

"It is really most wonderful to see the Divine Presence looking out

almost into the open streets from the various Churches...

I never knew what worship was,

as an objective fact, till I entered the Catholic Church."

Ven John Henry Cardinal Newman