Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

Our Greatest Treasure!

When the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is not revered and loved, scandals will abound, faith will languish and the Church will mourn. What an abundance of Graces are lost in consequence of the ignorance and indifference of mankind!
(Dec. 8, 1867 – Fr. Michael Muller, CSSR)

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is present in the consecrated bread and wine: whole and entire, Body and Soul, flesh and blood, His whole humanity and Divinity, and in each particle thereof. Objection to the Real Presence is but a proof of the blindness into which man fell when led astray by pride. The devil has, from the beginning, had a special hatred of this doctrine. He knows that, according to the promise of Christ, they who receive Holy Communion worthily will not fall into his power, but will obtain eternal life. Why does Our Lord hide Himself under the outward appearances of bread and wine? Chiefly, for two reasons: the first being that we may not lose the merit of faith. Were we to see Him, we would no longer be able to make an act of Faith in His Real Presence. ‘Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe.’ The second reason is to inspire us with confidence. If He were to show Himself in all His glory, as He appears to the angels and saints in Heaven, who would dare to approach Him? Surely, no one!

Sadly, the words of the Evangelist are, alas, all too true: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”

Our Blessed Lord silently remains enclosed in our Tabernacles, by day and by night with no display of His heavenly glory. He remains, as it were, in a poor, miserable dress, under the appearance of bread and wine, unattended and abandoned. Let us not be astonished if we hear of infidels or heretics treating Our Lord with irreverence in the Holy Eucharist. How often do we render to Him the same insults, we who are His chosen ones! They do not believe, but we have been given the gift of faith. Do we really believe or is our faith cold and dead? If we believed in His presence with a lively faith, our churches would be filled with worshipers, whose deportment would give evidence of this belief; modest attire, guarded eyes, bended knee, meekly folded hands: reverence, adoration and prayer would permeate the House of God. Our Heavenly Guest would seldom be left alone. At all hours, His children would present themselves to Him.

What could have induced our dear Lord to remain with us on earth in the Blessed Sacrament? Was it to gain honor? Alas, He receives the same treatment in the Blessed Sacrament as He received during the 33 years He lived on earth. Was it to increase His own happiness? By no means! His happiness is so great, it cannot be increased. He sits at the right Hand of God and has all power in Heaven and on earth. Ah! Christian soul, there is no other motive for His presence on earth than love, the great and excessive Love of Jesus Christ toward man! Love alone, and nothing but love, has induced Him to remain among us in the Blessed Sacrament. He bestowed this gift upon us at the last moment of His Life. It was well calculated to leave a deep impression on mankind. From His death bed of the Cross, He gave to us the last memorial of His Love. Instead of withdrawing His Love from mankind on account of its great ingratitude to Him and hatred for Him, He manifested His Love for us all the more. What a wonderful manner is there in the goodness of God! What return can I make Him? Receive Jesus often in Holy Communion! Thank Him, praise Him, trust Him, love Him and place Him first in your life!

The Magi journeyed from afar to visit the Infant King. He could be found in one place only. And we, who have Him so close by, perhaps, never make the effort to visit Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament outside of Holy Mass on Sunday. Where can we find a better, more faithful and more liberal friend than Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament? But, you say, “I am too busy, I cannot find the time.” Dear Christian, do not say this, be honest and say, “I have too much love and affection for the goods of this world, and too little love for Jesus Christ.” You find time to drink and eat, to rest and to sleep; you find time to talk and to laugh, time to amuse yourself, time for temporal affairs and time even to sin. And, how is it that you find time for all these things? It is because you like them. If you appear but seldom before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, it is evident that you love Him little. Love Him more and you will make time to visit Him. He invites us to come to Him: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” Visit the Blessed Sacrament often. Share with God your troubles and affairs, and you will be blessed. Upon God’s blessing depends everything! Were you to visit Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament for a quarter hour each day, from how many trials and hardships you would be delivered, from how many accidents, misfortunes, temptations and attacks of the devil you would be preserved; how few sins you would commit and how much more consolation and peace of heart you would enjoy! Jesus dispenses favors liberally to those who visit Him. “Taste and see!” Most assuredly, there is one hour in your life that remembrance of these visits will give you indescribable pleasure – at the hour of your death! If you have neglected this great duty during your life, on your death bed, you will be filled with shame and confusion.

God created us, He redeemed us and now He comes in the Most Blessed Sacrament to pour out upon us all the riches of His Love; He comes to give us light to know and strength to do His Will; He comes to repair what is decayed, to restore what has been lost and to forgive our rebellion: in a word, to receive us as children, to clothe us with the first robe, to put a ring on our finger and shoes on our feet. He has prepared for us a wonderful banquet and asks us to sup at His table. As did the prodigal son, say: “I will arise and go to my Father.” I must return Him love for love. I have no treasure to offer Him; I have no station to renounce for Him; I have no occasion to die for Him; I cannot do for Him what He has done for me, but I can give Him that which He values more than anything else: MY HEART! I will give Him this pleasure; I will offer myself to Him, to be disposed of as He pleases, to receive at His Hand bitter and sweet indifferently, to serve Him with all the fervor I can muster, to avoid sin and to lead a Christian life. If I do this, the devil will lose his power over my soul and I will be sanctified: My heaven will have begun upon earth.

SWEET HEART OF JESUS, BE MY LOVE!

PRAYER:

Through Mary’s heart, dear Lord, I come to seek a rest divine; and through the wound in Thy blest Side, I place my heart in Thine! O take it Lord and, in return, I ask one gift of Thee, that Thou wilt fill it with Thy Love for all Eternity!

Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love! Oh! Be my love I pray; erect Thy throne within my heart and reign there night and day!

O Virgin Mary! Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, glory of Christian people, joy of the Universal Church, salvation of the world, pray for us, and awaken in all the faithful devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist, that we may be made worthy to receive Communion every day.
(300 days Ind. every time.)

The Courage Of Trust

It is lack of trust that wounds Our Blessed Lord’s Heart the very most. When those who are closest to Him do not trust Him, a sword is again thrust into His Heart. When good things come our way, we must trust Him. When sickness and tragedy overtake us, we must trust Him. We stand at the bottom of the Hill of Calvary, looking up the Hill where Jesus hangs upon the Cross. Jesus is surrounded by a very large unruly crowd of people who mock and insult Him, laugh at Him and spit upon Him. He loves them but His Heart is broken because of their rejection of Him, which means their own death, for He is Life! Many dark shadows skirmish among the crowd. They are demons who stir up the crowd to mock and torture Christ more. A crow lands on my shoulder and says “”You don’t belong here, you have other things to do, besides aren’t you the reason for this Man’s torture? Take off! What difference do you make anyway?” Yes, we are sinners. We hesitate. Jesus suffers alone. Then, suddenly, there is a beautiful sound amidst the blasphemy. “Listen, my child, do not let this disturb you! Are you not in the hollow of my arms, under the mantle of my protection?” Mary is with us! She takes us by the hand and we speed to the foot of the Cross. The ugly mob parts like the Red Sea. We arrive on Calvary and look up. Behold that Heart which loves us so much and yet is so little loved! I speak to Jesus, “I am sorry I was afraid to come to You, but here I am. I am going to try to do better.” Rest assured, your little acts of love and trust delight the Heart of God.

I will trust Him! If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him!
In perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him!
If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him!
He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about!

“Believe me, my dear friends; believe an experience ripened by thirty years in the Sacred Ministry. I do affirm all deceptions, all spiritual deficiencies, all miseries, all falls, all faults and even the most serious wanderings out of the right path – all proceed from this single source – a want of constancy in prayer. Live the life of prayer; learn to bring everything, to change everything into prayer: pains and trials, and temptations of all kinds.

PRAY in the calm; PRAY in the storm;
PRAY on awakening and
PRAY during the daytime.
Going and coming, PRAY!
Tired out and distracted, PRAY!
Whatsoever your repugnance may be, PRAY!
PRAY, that you may learn to pray.

“TEACH US, O LORD, HOW TO PRAY!” St. Luke 11:1

“But I Cannot Pray!”

That is a heresy. Yes, you can always pray. If you feel a disgust for, nay a horror of prayer, pray on, pray in spite of yourself, against yourself. Beg for the courage in prayer that our agonizing Savior merited for you by His pangs in Gethsemane and upon Calvary. Pray, for Prayer is the strength that saves, the courage that perseveres, the spiritual bridge cast over the abyss that joins the soul to God.”

“and being in agony, he prayed the longer.” St. Luke 22:43

AN ACT OF FAITH

O my God, I firmly believe all the truths that the Holy Catholic Church believes and teaches; I believe these truths, O Lord, because Thou, the Infallible Truth, hast revealed them to Her; in this Faith, I am resolved to live and die. Amen.