Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

INFINITE LOVE OF THE DIVINE EUCHARIST (continued)

HEART OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE EUCHARIST

Adorable Heart of Jesus, Thou art the source of the Divine Eucharist in the same manner that Thou were the seat of the temporal Life of Jesus, truly the seat of His sacramental existence.

Before the Precious Blood which redeemed us was spilt, It received in Thee warmth and movement. Since It has flowed on the Cross, It is by Thee that It flows on our souls to purify them, to strengthen them and keep them in the life of grace. Yes, the Blood of Christ is spilled on our souls because His Heart is the instrument of the affections of the God-Man, the throne of His Mercy, the source of His Love and the furnace of His Charity. From this source only flows all the graces and all celestial benedictions. It thus belongs only to Thee to produce, by the Divine Eucharist, the masterpiece of Infinite Love. What do I say, Lord Jesus? By this Sacrament, Thou hast found the means to unite mankind so intimately to Thee that, being one with him, Thy Heart becomes the basis of his spiritual life, just as his own heart is the basis of his temporal life.

Thou dost create in him who receive Thee with dignity, a spiritual man, composed of a spiritual body and a divine soul. His soul is sanctified by Thy adorable Presence. Thy Soul, Itself, becomes the soul and the life of his being, renewed and, as if, absorbed in Thee.

As a result of this marvelous union, man’s material body is reformed. Thy Heart becomes like the driving power of his heart; Thy Blood becomes like the activity of his blood and Thy Flesh becomes like his flesh. Man lives in Thee and Thou dost live in him so much, Lord! It is astonishing to me that he does not also die bodily as soon as he is unhappy enough to separate himself from Thee by mortal sin. And why, then, does he not lose corporal life? Who can sustain him and prevent him from succumbing? O Jesus, I seem to understand. It is that the love Thou dost have for him is not all concentrated in Thy adorable Sacrament.

I see Jesus crucified like a Fountain of Life, placed on the summit of Mount Zion from whence gushes the source of Grace and of Salvation. These vivifying waters fall in an immense Reservoir, which is the Eucharist. The sinner wishes to depart from this mountain, yet the vivifying waters flow in such abundance that they overflow the edges and fall the length of the whole mountain. They moisten the earth which he tramples afoot. In spite of himself, they follow him everywhere. He tries to get away. They, in turn, pursue him. He finds himself caught in a second Reservoir which is fed by a waterfall from the mountain. This flow of Water represents the Sacrament of Penance. The graces wrought in the ‘bath’ of reconciliation purify the sinner of his iniquities and of his ingratitude. He, then, can return to the primary source, the Fountain of Life, from which he voluntarily departed through sin.

O! Why, unfortunate sinner, why do you shudder at the power of the Sacrament of Penance which is the remedy for your injuries? Why do you prefer to remain in your misfortune? Why are you irritated that this Grace impels you to leave the cruel slavery of your sin? Can you fail to recognize that, if your feet were not soaked in the Sacred Waters of the Tabernacle, you would die at once in your sin, like a fish that loses its element? Being lost, you would no longer be able to glorify God’s Mercy but would go surely into Hell, there to manifest His Justice.

SHELTERING THE DIVINE OUTCAST (continued)

“Thine own soul a sword shall pierce.” (St. Luke 11, 35)

Capacity for suffering is the measure of friendship. Only the intimacy, which has grown strong enough to forget self and suffer pain, can unite two hearts. I can do and ask of a friend what I could ask of no other, and the closer the beloved, the more I may ask and never hear denial. Thus, it is with friendship with Christ the Lord. It is of His friends that He can, and does, ask sacrifices. Am I intimate enough with Christ for Him to ask any sacrifice of me? Am I one of His chosen few, from whom He knows no refusal will ever come?

Deep down in the soul of everyone who determinedly follows Christ, there is peace which the world is as powerless to steal as it is to give. Union with Christ cannot be accomplished except through our sufferings – physical, intellectual and moral. These, Jesus permits to cleanse our hearts and bring us to perfect purity of love. And, did not Mary, His own beloved Mother, and even He Himself have to undergo suffering? In the process of His Passion, Jesus was forsaken by His own Apostles, denied vehemently by St. Peter, betrayed by Judas and abandoned by His Heavenly Father as He hung upon the Cross. We, too, must abandon ourselves to God’s Will.

Somebody Else had a heavier cross than the one I bear today.
And the path was far too steep for me had Somebody Else not led the way.

Somebody Else had a sadder Heart than the weary one in my breast;  Somebody’s aching thorn-crowned Head had nowhere to lie in rest.

Somebody Else’s tired Hands and Somebody’s wounded Feet
Were never too weary to minister and Somebody’s smile was sweet.

“Love Him and keep Him for thy Friend! When all go away, He will not leave thee, nor suffer thee to perish in the end.”

There are moments and moods in life’s experience when the momentous reality of God and the utter inadequacy of all else but God, do come home with startling force and vividness.

To us who keep close to Christ, there will come much disillusionment, bringing us much pain. We shall meet with deceit, injustice, infidelity and jealously, and these will cause us much suffering. Why should we allow these things to damage our soul when they have such power to beautify it? We will never become accustomed to these weaknesses of human nature but, as we broaden under the influence of Grace, we will find less difficulty in bearing them silently, alone with our Tremendous Lover, Who is enthroned in the ‘secret place’ of our innermost soul. Holding no grudge toward the offender, we are gracious and humble of manner. As our spiritual life blossoms into maturity, we become so absorbed in the interest of Our Divine Guest that the sayings and doings of others do not reach us. They have lost their power over us or, if they touch us at all, they seem to bring us peace, rather than annoyance.

Each soul has its own secret place where none may enter in,
Save it, and God – to them alone!  What goeth on therein is known to it, and God alone!

O my God, behold me before Thee, poor, humble and needy. I am here at Thy Feet, steeped in my own nothingness. Would that I had something to offer Thee, but I am nothing but wretchedness! Thou art my ALL! Thou art my wealth!

O my God, I thank Thee for having willed that I should be as nothing before Thee. I love and accept my humiliation and my nothingness. I thank Thee for having removed from me any of the consolations of affection. I thank Thee for all disappointments and all ingratitude. I acknowledge that I have need of them and, that otherwise, I might have strayed far, far from Thee.

Thou art my Lord, my Master, and I am Thy property! O Jesus, how gentle is Thy Hand upon me in the depths of my trials! Amen.