Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

INFINITE LOVE OF THE DIVINE EUCHARIST (continued)ANNIHILATION OF JESUS CHRIST

In other times, the sanctuary was hidden by a veil or by a separation which almost concealed it entirely from the gaze of the faithful. Today, it is completely visible. The preliminaries can take place even at the foot of the Altar and in some churches, the sanctuary is brought so close to the nave that one could say, in a way, there exists no separation. Formerly, the least function in the Church was considered a signal favor and men found themselves happy to avail themselves of these. Today, service in the Lord’s temples, decoration of the sanctuary and care of the Altars, is entrusted to servants, the poor and even to children. O, God! Is there nothing that will stir the ungrateful and insensitive hearts of man? The mighty of the land are served with respect and magnificence. Distinguished men find themselves honored to serve their monarch in the most abject functions, and Thou dost permit valets, even unfortunates without faith and without love for Thee, to approach Thy august Tabernacle. Oh! Profound annihilation of my God! Of old, the Church doors were opened and closed only by deacons clothed with minor orders; now-a-days, the keys to God’s house are given to obscure men, often to those who hardly know the mystery of the Eucharist. This function is carried out with little faith and much indifference. We would be right to ask ourselves if it has not been given to jailers rather than adorers of Jesus Christ to guard this angel’s Treasure. And I, myself, so miserable, have many times closed Thee in Thy temple, O adorable Prisoner of Thy Love! I have brought with me the keys of the Treasure of the angels and of the saints. I was given the privilege to open Thy Tabernacle at my will, to derive from It the strength, the hope, the love, and the consolations necessary to my happiness.

My God, what could I offer Thee in thanksgiving for the inestimable favor Thou hast given me in permitting me this conversation, one to One with Thee, in the secret of Thy Tabernacle? I have only my heart. Thou doest seem to sigh for the heart of each one of us in particular. In the Eucharist, Thy Love is brought to all men. I am but mud and Thy design is to make this clay, watered by Thy Precious Blood, an instrument in Thy Hands. By Thy plan, I, who am so miserable, am made to feel most suited to carry out Thy plans.

THE TABERNACLE

On entering certain churches out in the country, or within the city, the greed of the inhabitants and their weakening faith is visibly evident by the poverty of Thy dwelling. One would even be tempted to say: ‘In the name of Thy glory, why dost Thou remain in such places, so outraged and scorned?’ We must leave aside vile appearances and penetrate this new secret of Infinite Love. Jesus Christ, by His submission, His patience and His humiliations, renders more glory to His Father than is possible for man. He contents His Heart, infinitely loving, by lavishing on mortals all good possible even without cooperation of their will. It seems that His Love wishes to offset their indifference by the multiplicity of Its sacrifices. Nothing rebuffs this generous God from living with us, neither the dust in which His Tabernacle is buried, nor the scraps which cover His Altar, nor the slovenliness and the negligence which certain sacristans permit to reign in all that serves for the Sacrifice. He is not rebuffed by the solitude and the neglect to which He is reduced in a multitude of churches in the country.

The solitude and poverty which prevail in some of the sanctuaries of Jesus Christ are a source of concern and scandal as sure as they are an indication of a superficial and faltering faith. The incredulous are tempted to doubt the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist when they hear of the horrible crimes which are committed so frequently against this Adorable Mystery. Our weak faith is evident when Altars are soiled, Tabernacle doors are broken or missing, Sacred Hosts are found on the ground and other sacrileges and impious deeds even more abominable are present. It is then that men, weak and filled with the prejudice of pride cry out: “No! No! Jesus Christ is not there. A God would not let Himself be treated in so outrageous manner.”

Oh, you, who are revolted by such horrible scenes, if your sentiments were confined to a profound and holy indignation, nothing would be more just and more reasonable. But, to be so lazy as to falter in the faith for such reasons is to understand nothing of the mystery of the Love of God for man. Reflect and you will see that these dreadful profanations at which you have unjust indignation, far from enfeebling your faith, should prove to you in a manner striking and irresistible, the grandeurs of God.

Jesus Christ, the Supreme Victim, has freely and voluntarily consented to suffer. He willingly suffers all the malice of man and all the malice that man is capable of inventing, no matter how atrocious or infernal. The more the glory of God is outraged by the abominations of blind mortals, the more the Divine Victim humbles Himself, and exhausts Himself in order to repair the injury done to Sovereign Majesty! Such is the great secret of the mediation of Jesus Christ on Calvary and even more so in the perpetual Sacrifice on our Altars. The more Jesus is humbled the more grand the Father appears to me. By the humiliations and the prostrations of Jesus Christ, His divine perfections are manifested in a manner incomparably more marvelous than by all the magnificence of Paradise. This noble and superb truth is made to transport with admiration all those who have a soul capable of feeling and of reasoning. That is not all. Another truth presents itself, which is no less worthy of our meditations. If Our Lord Jesus Christ, by His humiliations, avenges the glory of His Heavenly Father, must He not avenge, also, His proper honor? Let us strive to know better our generous Savior. When He cannot win the souls of man by the spiritual blessings with which He gratifies them in His adorable Sacrament, He tries to win them by temporal blessings. It is for this reason He has solemnities established in His Church. The Blessed Sacrament is carried in triumph before our dwellings as if to mark them with the Blood of the Supreme Victim in order to preserve us from the visit of the exterminating angel, whose coming is so often provoked by our crimes. In olden times, the children of Israel were preserved from this fatal visit by the blood of the Paschal Lamb, prefiguring Jesus Christ. For this same reason, the God of Goodness, hidden beneath the august veils of the Eucharist, during solemn processions, travels not only our cities but also the market towns, the hamlets, the narrow roads, the fields and the prairies, to bless by His Divine Presence, both man and the products of nature which serve to conserve his health and life.

Let us never forget that it is truly Jesus Christ Who assures the bounty of the countryside, the prosperity of the cities, the strength of armies and the preservation of kingdoms. If our faith were strong, we would see each step of the way, the imprint of His generous Blood. But, by an inconceivable prodigy of blindness, man enjoys the innumerable blessings which Jesus Christ procures for him in the temporal order without feeling any gratitude toward Him. They do not even ask Him to continue His blessings. What can I say? For the most part, they do not doubt that it is to Him they owe their blessings. Yet, in their enterprises, they go here and there and everywhere, except to Him alone Who can insure their success.

How thankless we are toward this good Master! How ungrateful, also, to His clergymen! We have never understood that they are doubly our fathers and our mothers. In calling down upon our Altars Our Lord Jesus Christ, they procure for us both the life of the soul and the life of the body. Often, we have very little esteem for the poor priest of our parish. In the bosom of this one man reposes the salvation of all who are under his care. Every time, he offers the august Sacrifice or he carries the Holy of Holies, be it in procession or to the sick, he sows benedictions upon us and our surroundings.

O Jesus, Infinite Goodness, how Thy Love is generous and constant! How different it is from the love of creatures! The friendship of man is always announced by flattering words which accompany the most seductive promises. He is always glad to inform all those who will listen to him of the sacrifices he had made for his friends. He wishes to collect praises as payment for his gifts. Soon all this pretty fire, all this display of sentiment evaporates and leaves regrets, indifference, and a thick smoke. Thy Love, on the contrary, a thousand times more ardent, more sincere, more generous than we could ever conceive, keeps the most profound silence in our midst. It is expressed only by a thousand prodigies of kindness, always old and always new. O man! Learn to know the Divine Friend Who descended from Heaven to save you. Follow Jesus Christ from His birth in Bethlehem’s stable up until His last breath on Calvary. Consider Him in His crib, in the home at Nazareth, in the course of His evangelical preaching, in the Garden of Olives, before the tribunals of Jerusalem and on the mountain of sacrifice. Could a human friend love in this manner?

These proofs of love, are they not authentic enough? YES! Without any doubt, it is enough for us, but not enough for Him. It was not sufficient for Him to leave this legacy of Love by His tears, by His sweat, by His Blood. It did not suffice for Him to die in the midst of torments and disgrace. Even the Cross itself, was not a brilliant enough sign in His Eyes to show His Love for us. After His death, the soldier’s lance opened the wound which led to His Heart and from this sacred Fountain flowed the Blood and Waters of perpetual Sacrifice which is to inundate the entire universe. These waters flow on us by means of the Sacraments until the consummation of the centuries. Then, and only then, will Jesus Christ have finished proving His Love for us. Here is what He has done and here is what He is still doing and HE KEEPS SILENT.

Yes mortals, Jesus gave you everything except the power of preventing Him from doing good to you as long as you live. And for which one of His kindnesses do you insult Him? Why do you abandon your most faithful Friend? Is it because He has loved you too much? Ingrates! Whatever your malice, know that you will not change His Heart! In vain must you persist in dragging the shameful chains which crush you; in vain will you disregard the Infinite Graces of His mediation. As long as you be in the century of mercy, He will always interest Himself in you in a most generous and kind manner. Be content to know to what extreme He loves you. He will never speak to you of His Love, or reproach you. He will simply redouble His kindnesses.

SHELTERING THE DIVINE OUTCAST (continued)

SECRETS FOR JESUS

If the ungenerous and self-seeking souls only recognized the graces they lose by airing their grievances and whining over their little sufferings, inconveniences and miseries – looking out for sympathy – how saints would multiply! If there is one time more than another that our heart and soul should be filled with silence and secrecy, it is when we possess the priceless gift of pain. There is no greater proof of God’s Love than when He introduces the soul to sorrow. Suffering was always our dear Lord’s closest and constant companion. There is, in every sorrow and affliction, a resemblance to the Divine Victim. During life, the Cross is brought into the inner chamber of the soul where God abides and, with Him, the hidden sweetness of the pain is shared.

The Divine Victim surrounds the Cross with even higher walls of secrecy than those He claims for Prayer. Suffering naturally turns the soul outward for sympathy, but this outward turning wastes much of the purifying and sanctifying effects of the Cross. It is for this reason that the Divine Master urges us to complete secrecy. Thus, enclosed within the walls of silence, rich with the secrets of love, fragrant with the prayer of pain, flooded with light from the Cross, filled to overflowing with God, we will sing our way to Heaven.

Why were the Saints, Saints?

Because they loved Me much, hence they never complained.
They were cheerful when it was hard to be cheerful.
Patient, when it was hard to be patient.
They pushed on when they wished to stand still.
And kept silence when they wished to talk;
And were agreeable when they wished to be disagreeable.

“O MY GOD, I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN!”

You will get to Heaven by keeping, to the best of your ability, this one resolution: NEVER TO COMPLAIN! We forget the little compact that God enters into with each one of us, and this is it: “My child, walk submissively down the stormy path I have marked out for you during your few years of trial here and, in reward for your obedience to My Will, I will bestow upon you an eternity of happiness.”

This compact really exists. It has been made with each one of us. We are pleased with this compact of our dearest Lord, for it shows His loving tenderness for us. But, base cowards that we are, instead of walking bravely on our thorny path, we are perpetually complaining. All of us complain, except God’s true servants, and these never complain, for they totally and completely understand God’s simple little compact.

For us, then, the making of this one resolution will help stop all outbursts of temper, and all uncharitableness. It will make our interior calm and patient like Our Divine Lord Himself Who dwells within us… Never complain!

“Dearest Jesus, take my heart and make it Your home of love and rest. There, let me lavish on You many little attentions, and confide to You many secrets I know that bring heart¬aches, and my many struggles with self-love. But my reward: Union with You, my Loving God! So, do not hesitate to pierce my little soul till the last drop of self-love has been drained away, and You possess the entire love of my heart.”

Let me retire, then, with my Divine Guest into the secret chamber of my soul. There, I will be His altar that He alone may know how close I am to Him – that from Him alone I may receive recompense – His Love. There is but one LOVE strong enough for the heart to keep all secrets for its Beloved!

I’ll come and tell Thee, Jesus, the trouble that my nature finds.
The pleasant news that has reached me, that I long for others to know.
I’ll keep it, though, for Thee, my Jesus, and thus my love I will show.