A ESPIRITUALIDADE EUCARSTICA DE SANTA FAUSTINA

Que esta breve reflexo alimente nossa espiritualidade eucarstica, de modo a podermos dizer, como Santa Faustina,

O meu esprito (...) estava inflamado de especial amor para com a Eucaristia (n. 160). Roguemos a Jesus

Misericordioso a graa de compreendermos aquilo que Joo Paulo II nos ensinou: A Igreja vive da Eucaristia. Esta

verdade no exprime apenas uma experincia diria de f, mas contm em sntese o prprio ncleo do mistrio da

Igreja (Encclica Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 1).

medida que aprofundamos a espiritualidade de Santa Faustina, percebemos o destaque dado Eucaristia. Evidncia

desse fato o grande nmero de vezes que o tema aparece no Dirio: 9 vezes encontra-se a palavra Eucaristia, 2

vezes Sagrada Comunho e 159 vezes Santa Comunho. Evidentemente, no importa a estatstica, mas o amor de

Faustina a Jesus Eucarstico. No se pode explorar aqui toda a riqueza da espiritualidade eucarstica de Santa Faustina.

Vamos nos contentar com 7 aspectos:

1) Na Eucaristia, Faustina encontra sua fora: Todas as manhs, na meditao preparo-me para a luta durante o

dia todo, e a Santa Comunho a garantia de que vencerei, e assim acontece. Tenho medo do dia em que no tenho a

Santa Comunho. Esse Po dos Fortes me d toda a energia para levar adiante essa obra e tenho coragem de cumprir

tudo o que o Senhor exige. A coragem e a fora que esto em mim no me pertencem, mas sim quele que mora em

mim: a Eucaristia (n. 91).

2) Na Eucaristia, Faustina faz a experincia pessoal da misericrdia de Deus: Em determinado momento, eu

desejava muito receber a Santa Comunho, mas, porque tinha uma certa dvida, no fui comungar. Sofri terrivelmente

por essa razo (...) Quando fui trabalhar, cheia de amargura no corao, de repente, Jesus colocou-se ao meu lado e

disse-me: Minha filha, no faltes Comunho, a no ser quando tiveres a certeza de que pecaste gravemente (...) As

tuas pequenas faltas desaparecero no Meu amor como uma palha jogada num grande braseiro (n. 156).

3) Na Eucaristia, Faustina faz a experincia da proximidade com Deus: Durante a Santa Comunho, a alegria

inundou a minha alma. Sentia que estou estreitamente unida com a Divindade; a Sua onipotncia envolveu todo o meu

ser. Ao longo do dia senti a proximidade de Deus de uma maneira especial e, embora as obrigaes, durante todo este

tempo, no me permitissem ir por um momento sequer capela, no houve momento em que eu no estivesse unida

com Deus (n. 346).

4) Na Eucaristia, Faustina faz a experincia da presena permanente de Deus: Jesus, quando vindes a mim na

Santa Comunho, Vs que Vos dignastes residir com o Pai e o Esprito Santo no pequeno cu do meu corao,

procuro fazer-Vos companhia o dia todo, no Vos deixo sozinho, nem por um momento (n. 486).

5) Na Eucaristia, Faustina faz a experincia do amor ao prximo: Quando recebo a Santa Comunho, peo e

suplico ao Salvador que cure a minha lngua, para que eu nunca ofenda o amor ao prximo (n. 590).

6) Na Eucaristia, Faustina aprofunda a dimenso mariana de sua espiritualidade: Estou vivendo este tempo

com a Me de Deus, preparando-me para a solene vinda do Senhor. E Nossa Senhora me instrui sobre a vida interior

da alma com Jesus, especialmente na Santa Comunho (n. 840). E ainda, em outra passagem: Hoje senti a

proximidade de minha Me, da Me do Cu, embora antes de cada Santa Comunho eu pea com fervor a Nossa

Senhora que me ajude na preparao da minha alma para a vinda de Seu Filho (n. 1114).

7) Na Eucaristia, Faustina faz a experincia de sua pequenez diante de Deus: Tenho medo da vida, nos dias em

que no recebo a Santa Comunho. Tenho medo de mim mesma. Jesus, oculto na Hstia, tudo para mim. Do

Sacrrio tiro fora, vigor, coragem e luz. A busco alvio nos momentos de aflio. Eu no saberia dar glria a Deus,

se no tivesse a Eucaristia no meu corao (n. 1037).

Que esta breve reflexo alimente nossa espiritualidade eucarstica, de modo a podermos dizer, como Santa Faustina,

O meu esprito (...) estava inflamado de especial amor para com a Eucaristia (n. 160). Roguemos a Jesus

Misericordioso a graa de compreendermos aquilo que Joo Paulo II nos ensinou: A Igreja vive da Eucaristia. Esta

verdade no exprime apenas uma experincia diria de f, mas contm em sntese o prprio ncleo do mistrio da

Igreja (Encclica Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 1).

http://eucaristiadiaria.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/a-espiritualidade-eucaristica-de-santa.html

2. La Eucarista en la vida de

Santa Faustina

2.1 Los momentos ms solemnes de su vida:

1804 El momento ms solemne de mi vida es cuando recibo la Santa Comunin. Anhelo cada

Santa Comunin y agradezco a la Santsima Trinidad por cada Santa Comunin.

Si los ngeles pudieran envidiar, nos envidiaran dos cosas: primero, la Santa Comunin y

segundo, el sufrimiento.

2.2 Su fuente de santidad, fortaleza, y conocimiento celestial:

1392 Todo lo bueno que hay en m es gracias a la Santa Comunin, le debo todo. Siento que

este sagrado fuego me ha transformado totalmente. Oh, cunto me alegro de ser Tu morada, oh

Seor; mi corazn es un templo en que permaneces continuamente...

1404 Oh Jess oculto, en Ti est toda mi fuerza. Ya en los aos ms tempranos, Jess en el

Santsimo Sacramento me ha atrado hacia S. A los siete aos, cuando estaba en las vsperas y el

Seor Jess estaba expuesto en la custodia, entonces, por primera vez se me comunic el amor

de Dios y llen mi pequeo corazn y el Seor me hizo comprender las cosas divinas; a partir de

aquel da hasta hoy mi amor al Dios oculto ha crecido hasta alcanzar la ms estrecha intimidad.

Todo el poder de mi alma procede del Santsimo Sacramento. Todos los momentos libres los

paso conversando con l; l es mi Maestro.

1819 Al recibir la Santa Comunin, tuve un conocimiento ms profundo del Padre celestial y de

su paternidad para con las almas.

http://eucaristiadiaria.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/a-espiritualidade-eucaristica-de-santa.html

Hoy vivo de la adoracin de la Santsima Trinidad. Agradezco a Dios por haberse dignado

adoptarnos, por medio de la gracia, como a sus hijos.

840 23 de diciembre de 1936. Vivo este tiempo con la Santsima Virgen y me preparo a este

solemne momento de la venida de Jess. La Santsima Virgen me ensea sobre la vida interior

del alma con Jess, especialmente en la Santa Comunin. Solamente en la eternidad

conoceremos qu gran misterio realiza en nosotros la Santa Comunin. Oh los momentos ms

preciosos de mi vida!

1037 Me veo tan dbil que si no tuviera la Santa Comunin, caera continuamente; una sola cosa

me sostiene y es la Santa Comunin. De ella tomo fuerza, en ella est mi fortaleza. Temo la vida

si algn da no recibo la Santa Comunin. Tengo miedo de m misma. Jess oculto en la Hostia

es todo para m. Del tabernculo tomo fuerza, poder, valor, luz; es aqu donde busco alivio en

los momentos de tormento. No sabra como glorificar a Dios si no tuviera la Eucarista en mi

corazn.

1826 (...) Cuando mis fuerzas empiecen a disminuir, entonces la Santa Comunin me sostendr

y fortalecer. De verdad, temo el da en que no reciba la Santa Comunin. Mi alma recibe una

fuerza admirable de la Santa Comunin.

Oh Hostia viva, luz de mi alma!

223 Oh Hostia Viva, mi nica Fortaleza, Fuente de Amor y de Misericordia, abraza al mundo

entero, fortifica a las almas dbiles. Oh, bendito sea el instante y el momento en que Jess nos

dej su misericordiossimo Corazn.

814 Hoy he estado solamente en la Santa Comunin y un poco ms en la Santa Misa. Toda mi

fuerza est en Ti, Pan vivo. Me sera difcil vivir un da sin recibir la Santa Comunin. l es mi

escudo; sin Ti, Jess, no s vivir.

1233 Oh Hostia santa, fuente de la dulzura divina,

Tu das fortaleza a mi alma,

T que eres omnipotente y Te encarnaste de la Virgen

Vienes oculto a mi corazn

Y no Te alcanza el poder de mis sentidos.

2.3 Su perseverancia en la recepcin de la Santa Comunin:

105 Sin embargo, en todos estos sufrimientos y combates no abandon la Santa Comunin.

Cuando me pareca que no deba recibirla, entonces iba a ver a la Maestra y le deca que no poda

ir a la Santa Comunin, que me pareca que no deba recibirla. Sin embargo ella no me permita

abandonar la Santa Comunin; y yo iba a recibirla, y me daba cuenta de que slo la obediencia

me haba salvado. ...

2.4 La ocasin en que la Santa Comunin le fue impartida por un ngel:

1675 1676 (...) Por la noche vino la hermana que me iba a asistir. Maana usted, hermana, no

tendr al Seor Jess porque est muy cansada y luego veremos como ser. Eso me doli

muchsimo, pero contest con gran calma: Est bien. Abandonndome completamente al Seor

trat de dormir. Por la maana hice la meditacin y me prepar para la Santa Comunin, aunque

no iba a recibir al Seor Jess. Cuando mi anhelo y mi amor llegaron al punto culminante, de

repente, junto a mi cama vi a un Serafn que me dio la Santa Comunin diciendo estas palabras:

"He aqu el Seor de los ngeles". Cuando recib al Seor, mi espritu se sumergi en el amor de

Dios y en el asombro. Eso se repiti durante 13 das, sin tener yo la certeza de que al da

siguiente me la trajera, pero abandonndome a Dios, tena confianza en su bondad; sin embargo

ni siquiera me atreva pensar si al da siguiente recibira la Santa Comunin de este modo. (...) El

cliz era de cristal, cubierto de un velo transparente. Apenas me dio al Seor, desapareci.

2.5 Jess Sacramentado como su Patrono anual:

360 A Jess le agrada participar en los ms pequeos detalles de nuestra vida y a veces cumple

mis deseos secretos, aquellos que ms de una vez le oculto a l mismo, aunque s que para l no

puede haber nada secreto.

El da de Ao Nuevo hay entre nosotras la costumbre de sacar por suerte el patrono particular

para todo el ao. Por la maana, durante la meditacin, se despert en m uno de estos deseos

secretos: aqul que Jess Eucarstico fuera mi patrono particular tambin para ese ao, como

anteriormente. Sin embargo, ocultando a mi Dilecto ese deseo, habl con l de todo excepto de

aquello que deseaba tenerlo como patrono. Al venir al refectorio a desayunar, despus de hacer

la seal de la cruz, empez el sorteo de los patronos, tom una, sin reflexionar, sin leer

enseguida; quise mortificarme algunos minutos. De repente o una voz en el alma: "Soy tu patrono,

lee". En aquel mismo momento mir la inscripcin y le: Patrono para el ao 1935, la Santsima

Eucarista. Mi corazn se estremeci de alegra y me alej secretamente del grupo de las

hermanas y fui delante del Santsimo Sacramento, al menos por un breve instante y all me

desahogu de los sentimientos de mi corazn. Sin embargo, Jess me llam dulcemente la

atencin de que estuviera en aquel momento junto con otras hermanas; fui inmediatamente,

atenindome a la regla.

2.6 Su humildad ante la Sagrada Eucarista:

1827 Hoy mi alma se prepara para la Santa Comunin como para un banquete de bodas en que

todos los participantes lucen una belleza inexpresable. Y yo tambin estoy invitada a este

banquete, pero no veo en m esta belleza, sino un abismo de miseria. Y aunque no me siento

digna de sentarme a la mesa, sin embargo me deslizar por debajo de la mesa, y a los pies de

Jess mendigar al menos las migas que caigan debajo de la mesa. Conociendo Tu misericordia

me acerco a Ti, Jess, porque antes faltar mi miseria que se agote la piedad de Tu Corazn.

http://www.santafaustina.org/diario/eucaristia/vida.htm

The Eucharist Is Alive!

by Vinny Flynn

The following is an excerpt from the new book, 7 Secrets of the Eucharist (MercySong Ignatius), by Vinny Flynn,

known to many as "the man who sings the Divine Mercy Chaplet on EWTN." His book is intended to give readers a

completely new awareness that the Eucharist is not just about receiving Communion; it's about transforming your

daily life. The chapter included below is titled "Secret 1: The Eucharist is alive."

When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to

the soul. But souls do not even pay attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other

things. ... They treat Me as a dead object.

Our Lord speaking to St. Faustina (Diary of St. Faustina, 1385)

The Eucharist is alive. That may seem obvious to you. I guess it was to me, at some intellectual level, but somehow I

never really thought very deeply about what that actually meant.

The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would

he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our

bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man?

How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I

thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with graces you want to

give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this

incredibly intimate way?

Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times,

Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of

your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object?

The Host that we receive is not a thing! It's not a wafer! It's not bread! It's a person and He's alive!

I'm afraid that, in many of our churches, a stranger in our midst, witnessing a typical Sunday liturgy, would not realize

this, but would simply see a bunch of people get up from their seats, wait in line, receive a piece of bread, and then go

back to their seats.

http://www.santafaustina.org/diario/eucaristia/vida.htm

All too often, as Christ says to St. Faustina, that's all it is for us. We go up and get something and then go back to our

seats back to our daily routines without any real change taking place, without any deeper union with Christ,

without any new awareness of His life within us.

In contrast to this, there's another scene, one that helps me remember how we ought to approach the Eucharist.

In 1916, as a year of preparation for Our Lady's appearances at Fatima, the Angel of Peace appeared three times to

Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco.

The most dramatic scene is the third visit, when the angel comes with the Eucharist. Suspending the Host and the

chalice in the air, he throws himself prostrate on the ground and has the children repeat the following prayer three

times:

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus

Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with

which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of

Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.

An angel prostrates himself on the ground! We stand in line with our minds filled with distractions, walk up and

receive Communion, return to our pews, and go back to "business as usual," thinking about the football game, or the

bills we have to pay, or what we're going to do after Mass.

But an angel, a pure spirit, who lives constantly in the intimate presence of God, prostrates himself before the

Eucharist in adoration!

That's a pretty strong message. It was so strong that young Francisco spent the rest of his short life trying to console

God in the Eucharist. Every moment he could, he spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament, trying to console God for

the indifferent way that people respond to the Eucharist.

So there's our invitation; there's the contrast for us. We can treat God as a dead object, or we can prostrate our whole

beings in front of Him, in adoration, in gratitude, in love, in reparation.

I'm not suggesting that we all run up and throw ourselves on our faces in front of the Eucharist the next time we go to

receive. But interiorly we can. Whether we stand or kneel to receive, we can always, in our hearts, minds, and souls,

be prostrate in adoration of the living God in the Eucharist.

As the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship explains:

The Church has always required from the faithful respect and reverence for the Eucharist at the moment of receiving

it.

Inaestimabile Donum, 11

More and more people, feeling a need to express this reverence for Jesus in a concrete way as they go to receive

while also trying to avoid calling attention to themselves or disrupt the order of Communion make a slight bow just

before they receive.

For me, this has become a way to acknowledge Jesus in a personal way, with my whole being, not just my mind. And

it fulfills the specific instructions given by the Church:

When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament is required,

since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration. When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that,

coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the Sacrament.

Inaestimabile Donum, 11

As Pope John Paul II points out, we "need to cultivate a lively awareness of Christ's real presence," and we should

take care "to show that awareness through tone of voice, gestures, posture, and bearing."

Pope Benedict XVI also discusses this issue of how to receive, emphasizing that, instead of arguing about whether it's

better to receive kneeling or standing, in the hand or on the tongue, we need to focus on the spirit of reverence with

which the early Fathers of the Church received Communion.

First urging priests to "exercise tolerance and to recognize the decision of each person," he goes on to ask everyone "to

exercise the same tolerance and not to cast aspersions on anyone who may have opted for this or that way of doing it."

What is important is reverence:

It is quite wrong to argue about this or that form of behavior. We should be concerned only to argue in favor of ... a

reverence in the heart, an inner submission before the mystery of God.

I think part of the reason why this reverence is so often missing and Christ is so often treated as a dead object is that

the words we use can sometimes get in our way. How many times have we heard the priest repeat over and over as he

distributes Communion, "the Body of Christ ... the Body of Christ ... the Body of Christ ..."?

In our culture, the word body doesn't usually suggest fullness of life. What it always brought to my mind was the dead

body of Christ, the body hanging on the cross. And, after all, doesn't the Church teach that the Mass is the sacrifice of

Calvary re-presented, rendered present in our time and place?

Yes. But the cross is meaningless without the resurrection.

This is not the dead Christ locked in a moment of time on the cross. This is the complete and eternal Christ, the Christ

who was born of the Virgin, who came into our midst, suffered, died, was raised from the dead, and is now fully alive

in heaven, where He reigns in glory.

"The flesh of the Son of Man, given as food," explains Pope John Paul II, "is his body in its glorious state after the

resurrection."

The "Credo" of the People of God states this very clearly:

We believe that as the bread and wine consecrated by the Lord at the Last Supper were changed into His body and

His blood, which were to be offered for us on the cross, likewise the bread and wine consecrated by the priest are

changed into the body and blood of Christ, enthroned gloriously in heaven.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church adds:

Under the consecrated species of bread and wine, Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and

substantial manner.

#1415

It is this living and glorious Christ who complains to St. Faustina:

Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and

they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. I want to lavish My

graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of

love and mercy (Diary, 1447).

The Eucharist is not a thing. It is not a dead object. It is Christ, and He is fully alive. Receiving Him with this

awareness, we become more fully alive, so that we can say with St. Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who

lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

I am the living bread. ... Whoever eats this bread will live forever. ... Just as the living Father sent me and I have life

because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me (Jn 6: 51, 57).

My heart is drawn there where my God is hiding. ... It is my living God though a veil hides Him (Diary, 1591).

http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/flynn/00413.html

Sr. Faustina Kowalska: A Model for Eucharistic Spirituality

by Sr. Madeleine Grace, C.V.I.

Few Roman Catholics remain ignorant of the influence of Helena Kowalska, known by her religious name Sr.

Faustina, largely because of the Divine Mercy devotion. Our recent pontiff, John Paul II, visited her shrine daily when

he worked as a young man in the Solvay factory1 and later had her autobiography retranslated,

2 opening the way for

her canonization and bringing much notoriety to the short life of this simple Polish religious. John Paul's encyclical

Dives in Misericordia, having preceded the canonization by twenty years, provided the immediate pathway for

reiterating the importance of Divine Mercy within the plan of salvation. However, few Catholics know how Sr. Mary

Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament relied on the Eucharist in her spiritual journey.

Within the Kowalska household, only six of ten children survived infancy. Helena's parents said that she sanctified the

womb, as hers was the first uncomplicated birth. She came from a deeply religious home, typified by her father's

practice of beginning each day with the singing of the Little Office of the Immaculate Conception. She herself

received the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist at the age of nine. She received the sacrament of penance

weekly and would get up early to do her chores so that she could get to Mass each Sunday. She worked as a maid for

various families and, after engaging in this role for a short time, she conveyed to her parents her desire to enter a

convent. She was refused entrance on the grounds that her father did not have a dowry.3

However, Helena's call to religious life became steadily stronger. In fact, she envisioned Christ at her side stripped of

his clothing and covered with wounds, saying: "How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting

me off?"4 After praying for enlightenment, she came to know that she was to go to Warsaw and there enter a convent.

5

She left for Warsaw through her uncle's he with only the clothes on her back, terrified at what the future would bring.

After attending Mass there in the city and seeking the counsel of a priest, she was directed to a family where she

served as a maid. Following the direction of a woman she was working for, she knocked on several convent doors,

only to be refused because they did not accept maids. However, the Mother Superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of

Mercy told her to go to the chapel to ask the Lord if he accepted her. Helena came back with an affirmative answer.6

Yet Helena's poverty remained a major obstacle. While the Holy See could dispense the requirement for a dowry, she

still needed a wardrobe, so the Mother Superior suggested she work to pay that expense. A year later she took a

private vow of chastity at Vespers on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 25, 1925. Her favorite hymn at this time

reflected her commitment:

Jesus hidden in the Blessed Sacrament

Him I must adore;

Renounce everything for his sake,

Live only by his love.7

Although her sister Genevieve attempted to "rescue" her from the religious life, Helena remained steadfast and entered

the convent August 1, 1925. The congregation was little more than a hundred years old then, having been founded in

imitation of Christ to extend the Lord's mercy to those who are in spiritual misery.8 After only three weeks in

formation, she experienced a strong temptation to leave, but again she sensed the Lord saying to her, "It is you who

will cause me this pain if you leave this convent. It is to this place that I called you and nowhere else; and I have

prepared many graces for you."9 During her postulancy, she suffered from ill health and was sent to a summer home

for the sisters, where she prepared meals. There she experienced visions of the souls in purgatory, for whom she

offered her sufferings.10

The novitiate followed, and Sr. Faustina managed her difficult physical work through the

Lord's assistance: "From today on you will do this easily: I shall strengthen you . . . I change such hard work of yours

into bouquets of most beautiful flowers, and their perfume rises up to my throne."11

Yet, during the end of her first

year of novitiate, she began to experience a "dark night of the soul" that lasted six months. At that time she chose to

empty herself before the Lord by an active love.12

As a temporary professed sister, Sr. Faustina's poor health did not

improve. While her superiors were very solicitous toward her, rumors reached her that she was only pretending illness.

She was then told by the Lord that other souls would profit from her sufferings.13

http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/flynn/00413.htmlhttp://www.catholicculture.org/search/resultslist.cfm?requesttype=docbrowseauth&resourcetype=1&catlabel=author&catid=1034

The first image of Divine Mercy came to Sr. Faustina on February 22, 1931. After seeing this image, she was told to

paint it and include the words "Jesus, I trust in you." She was further instructed to have the image venerated in the

sisters' chapel and around the world. Christ himself would defend the image. Sr. Faustina's confessor, however, told

her to paint the image in her soul and nothing more. The Lord then conveyed to her that the image was already in her

soul and that the Sunday after Easter was to be the feast of Divine Mercy. Sr. Faustina's sisters began to openly speak

to her as if she was hysterical, and her superior asked for some sign. In all of these trials, the Lord was a great spiritual

strength to her, especially through the reception of the Eucharist.14

To her great surprise, after her sufferings within the

community, she was permitted to make final vows. It was during this preparation period that the Lord called her to be

a victim soul for others. She suffered the stigmata within her heart and body, a fact known only by her confessor

because no external signs conveyed this suffering. She was urged to pray this prayer for sinners that they might know

the grace of conversion: "O blood and water, which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I

trust in you."15

She made her final vows in 1933, stating to the Lord that she was leaving the novitiate but would

always be his novice, attentive to his lectures.16

Sr. Faustina was sent to Vilnius in 1933 where she served as chief gardener. There she met the spiritual director,

Father Sopocko, whom she had seen in previous visions. Through his intervention, the image of Divine Mercy was

placed on canvas. Sr. Faustina continued to suffer all sorts of persecution. She looked upon humiliations as her daily

food and feared that if she ever had a day without the Eucharist, she could not continue.17

At one point, on October 26,

1934, when Sr. Faustina was receiving the vision of Divine Mercy, one of the sisters saw rays of light, but not the

image of Christ, leading Sr. Faustina to make a statement regarding it.

After ten years of religious life, Sr. Faustina was given the opportunity to visit her family, as it was feared her mother

was at the point of death. In fact, her mother became well on seeing her and went to Mass with the family the next

day. Sr. Faustina was able to visit with all the family save two sisters who the Lord promised would receive necessary

and special graces.18

During the last three years of her life, Sr. Faustina was seized by the belief that the Lord wished her to found a new

community. This belief originally came to her on Pentecost of 1935. Six months later, when the local archbishop heard

of this request to leave her congregation to establish a new one, he referred to it as a serious interior temptation. One

of her confessors later echoed this belief. She, in turn, prayed for each of her confessors. Sr. Faustina herself found

that something in her resisted this movement and she entered into a deep interior struggle. When she conveyed this

struggle to her Superior, she was told, "Sister, I am locking you in the Tabernacle with the Lord Jesus; wherever you

go from there, that will be the will of God."19

During this interim, the Lord taught Sr. Faustina the Chaplet of Divine

Mercy. Through the intercession of her regular confessor, Father Sopocko, this devotion was gradually made known to

the local Catholic population. It was a time, however, when she was taunted by the devil and physical suffering. In

fact, the first signs of tuberculosis appeared in December 1936. She was likewise given a vision of heaven and called

forth to practice mercy, especially in the sanatorium for TB patients. She found herself being taken back and forth

from the sanatorium to the convent as 1936 moved toward the new year.20

When Sr. Faustina found that her physical condition was most vulnerable, she prayed that she might have strength

enough to receive the sacrament:

My Master, I ask you with all my thirsting heart to give me, if this is according to your holy will, any suffering and

weakness that you like I want to suffer all day and all night but please, I fervently beg you, strengthen me for

the one moment when I am to receive Holy Communion. You see very well, Jesus, that here they do not bring Holy

Communion to the sick; so, if you do not strengthen me for that moment so that I can go down to the chapel, how

can I receive you in the Mystery of Love? And you know how much my heart longs for you. O my sweet Spouse,

what's the good of all these reasonings? You know how ardently I desire you, and if you so choose you can do this

for me.21

Sr. Faustina found herself "perfectly well," for her faintings and weakness had ceased. However, as soon as she

returned from the sanatorium to the convent, these afflictions were waiting for her. Yet Sr. Faustina did not fear illness

as she had been nourished by the "Bread of the Strong."22

She grew in the awareness that a sacrificial love was for the

salvation of souls. The fruit of her prayer is seen as she entered into a spiritual marriage with the Lord and gained a

greater knowledge of the unity of the three persons of the Trinity.23

On August 22, 1937, she had a vision of St.

Barbara, who recommended that she offer Holy Communion for nine days for her country, thus "appeasing God's

anger."24

On the first Friday of September, Sr. Faustina chose, during the time of reception of the Eucharist, to offer

herself in total abandonment to God's will. She thus composed her own Act of Oblation which is found in its fullness

in her Diary:

Jesus-Host, whom I have this very moment received into my heart, in this union with you I offer myself to the

Heavenly Father as a sacrificial host, abandoning myself totally and completely to the most merciful holy will of my

God. From today onward, your will, Lord, is my food. You have my whole being; dispose of me as you please . . . I no

longer fear any of your inspirations, nor do I probe anxiously to see where they will lead me . . . I have placed all my

trust in your will which is, for me, love and mercy itself.25

Sr. Faustina was moved from gardener to gatekeeper due to her poor health. Since the times in Poland were so

unsettled, she asked the Lord not to send evil persons to the gate. She was told that a Cherub was there to guard it; "Be

at peace." When she returned to her gate, she saw a little white cloud and a cherub in it with folded hands. His

countenance was like lightening, reflecting the fire of the love of God.26

Even though Sr. Faustina saw all suffering as redemptive and therefore graciously took this mission on, her

consolation and delight were found in her spiritual union with the Lord through the Eucharist. One incident of this

mystical union she recorded in her Diary:

I receive Holy Communion in the manner of the angels, so to speak. My soul is filled with God's light and nourishes

itself from him. My feelings are as if dead . . . The Lord gave me knowledge of the graces which he has been

constantly lavishing on me. This light pierced me through and through, and I came to understand the inconceivable

favors that God has been bestowing on me. I stayed in my cell for a long act of thanksgiving, lying face down on the

ground and shedding tears of gratitude. I could not rise from the ground because, whenever I tried to do so, God's

light gave me new knowledge of his grace. It was only at the third attempt that I was able to get up. As his child, I felt

that everything the Heavenly Father possessed was equally mine. He himself lifted me up from the ground up to his

heart. I felt that everything that existed was exclusively mine, but I had no desire for it all, because God alone is

enough for me.27

The Lord revealed to Sr. Faustina in that same year that he is pained at the number of religious souls who receive the

Eucharist "merely out of habit as if they did not distinguish this food. I find neither faith nor love in their hearts." She

prayed that her love for Christ be set on fire. "Divinize me that my deeds may be pleasing to you. May this be

accomplished by the power of the Holy Communion which I receive daily."28

Sr. Faustina came to know that holy cards as well as pamphlets were to be printed in honor of Divine Mercy.29

A

couple of weeks later she was to know of the hour of great mercy. As the Lord told her:

At three o'clock, implore my mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in my

passion, particularly in my abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole

world. I will allow you to enter into my mortal sorrow. In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a

request of me in virtue of my passion.30

Sr. Faustina recorded in her prayer on September 29, 1937 that she knew of a special grace through the Eucharist, that

is the enduring presence of Christ through the sacrament:

I have come to know that Holy Communion remains in me until the next Holy Communion. A vivid and clearly felt

presence of God continues in my soul. The awareness of this plunges me into deep recollection, without the slightest

effort on my part. My heart is a living Tabernacle in which the living Host is reserved. I have never sought God in

some far-off place, but within myself. It is in the depths of my own being that I commune with my God.31

It is quite apparent from the above that Sr. Faustina was living in a passive state of union with the Lord. She further

experienced the presence of the Lord, especially through the grace of Eucharist.

Sr. Faustina came to know the following month (October 10) in her prayer that even though she had expressed a total

abandonment of self to the Lord, she learned that she had not offered "that which is really yours." She was told by the

Lord to offer to him her misery, as it was her "exclusive property."32

While mystical union was very much the internal fruit known only to Sr. Faustina and her Spouse, she was keenly

aware of the power of Eucharistic graces in her daily interactions. She recorded in her Diary an incident of five

unemployed men demanding entrance into the convent. The Mother Superior called on Sr. Faustina. She immediately

knew the voice within her speaking: "Go and open the gate and talk to them as sweetly as you talk to me." Sr. Faustina

did just that and the men began to speak in gentle voices and went away peacefully. Sr. Faustina credited the

resolution of the incident to Christ, whom she had just received an hour before in Communion, working in the men's

hearts through her. "Oh how good it is to act under God's inspiration!" she wrote.33

Sr. Faustina likewise writes in her Diary about the importance of faith within the practice of adoration of the Blessed

Sacrament. When her weak constitution would not allow her to participate in nocturnal adoration during the first

Thursday of the month, she united herself with the sisters who were at adoration. She was awakened between four and

five in the morning by a voice telling her to join the sisters in adoration. There was someone praying for her there. She

was transported in spirit to the chapel and there saw the Lord Jesus exposed in the monstrance. Yet in place of the

monstrance, she saw the glorified face of Jesus saying to her:

What you see in reality, these souls see through faith. Oh, how pleasing to me is their great faith! You see, although

there appears to be no trace of life in me, in reality it is present in its fullness in each and every Host. But for me to

be able to act in a soul, the soul must have faith. O how pleasing to me is living faith!34

Sr. Faustina's suffering intensified as 1938 began. She found solace in the Eucharist even when she was not receiving

it:

I went in spirit to the Tabernacle and uncovered the ciborium, leaning my head on the rim of the cup, and all my

tears flowed silently toward the heart of him who alone understands what pain and suffering is. And I experienced

the sweetness of this suffering, and my soul came to desire this sweet agony, which I would not have exchanged for

all the world's treasures. The Lord gave me strength of spirit and love towards those through whom these sufferings

came.35

It was only after receiving the Eucharist that the Lord told her how redemptive her suffering was: "My daughter, your

suffering of this night obtained the grace of mercy for an immense number of souls."36

Sr. Faustina wrote in her notebook, "My Preparation for Holy Communion":

The most solemn moment of my life is the moment when I receive Holy Communion. I long for each Holy

Communion, and for every Holy Communion. I give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity. If the angels were capable of

envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is Suffering.37

As Sr. Faustina approached her death, the Lord reminded her that the Eucharist is a preparation for the eternal

heavenly banquet, as he stated. "But I want to tell you that eternal life must begin already here on earth through Holy

Communion," he told her. "Each Holy Communion makes you more capable of communing with God throughout

eternity."38

If all of us truly believed that message, how much more eager we might be to approach the altar.

During a time when the fruit of redemptive suffering is so little understood, the life of Sr. Faustina provides a readily

needed example. While we live in a time when many of the Church faithful readily approach the altar for reception of

the Eucharist, we might again observe in the life of this saint her careful preparation for reception of the sacrament. It

is so easy to take the gift of Christ himself for granted.

Endnotes

1. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003 edition, "Kowalska, Faustina, St." by K. I. Rabenstein. 2. An earlier translation had been censured by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

3. Michalenko, CMGT, Sr. Sophia, Mercy My Mission; Life of Sister Faustina K. Kowalska, SMDM, (Stockbridge, Mass.: Marian Press, 1987), 5-10.

4. Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in my Soul (Stockbridge, Mass: Marians of the Immaculate Conception, 2003), 9:7. [paragraph followed by page number]

5. Diary, 10:7. 6. Diary, 14:8. 7. Diary, 16:9 and Michalenko, 14. 8. Diary, 17:9 and Michalenko, 15-16. 9. Diary, 19:10 10. Diary, 20:11 and Michalenko, 18. 11. Michalenko, 21. 12. Michalenko, 22-25 13. Diary, 26. 14. Diary, 47-105:24-58 and Michalenko, 31-32. 15. Diary, 187:102. 16. Diary, 228:114-115. 17. Michalenko, 51-64. 18. Diary, 400-404 and Michalenko, 73-76. 19. Michalenko, 93,101,105-106,108,110. 20. Michalenko, 84 and 92,115 - 134. 21. Diary, 876:343. 22. Diary, 876:343. 23. Michalenko, 84 and 92, 139,163-64. 24. These were the days of the rise of Hitler to power and the approaching invasion of Poland prior to World

War II. Diary, 1251:452. 25. Diary, 1264:456. 26. Diary, 1271:458-459. 27. Diary, 1278-12799:461-462. 28. Diary, 1289:464. 29. Michalenko, 174. 30. Diary, 1320:474. 31. Diary, 1302:468. 32. Diary, 1318:473-474. 33. Diary, 1377:491-492. 34. Diary, 1420:504. 35. Diary, 1454:515. 36. Diary, 1459:516. 37. Diary, 1804:638. 38. Diary, 1811:640.

Sr. Madeleine Grace, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament,

received a doctorate in historical theology from St. Louis University. Her specific area of specialization is early

Church history, coupled with a keen interest in spirituality. Sr. Madeleine has recently published in the Josephinum

Journal of Theology, The Priest and Emmanuel magazine. She presently teaches theology at the University of St.

Thomas in Houston, Texas.

Ignatius Press

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8166

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina

Kowalska

Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Divine Mercy in My Soul

http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Homiletic/index2.htmlhttp://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8166http://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?view=article&catid=34:book-reviews&id=124:diary-of-saint-maria-faustina-kowalski&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=63http://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?view=article&catid=34:book-reviews&id=124:diary-of-saint-maria-faustina-kowalski&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=63http://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?option=com_mailto&tmpl=component&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jYXRob2xpY2Fkb3JhdGlvbi5jb20vY2EvaW5kZXgucGhwP29wdGlvbj1jb21fY29udGVudCZ2aWV3PWFydGljbGUmaWQ9MTI0OmRpYXJ5LW9mLXNhaW50LW1hcmlhLWZhdXN0aW5hLWtvd2Fsc2tpJmNhdGlkPTM0OmJvb2stcmV2aWV3cyZJdGVtaWQ9NjM=

Saint Faustina was devoted to the Eucharist and writes about it powerfully in her Diary. The Catholic Church

Catechism explains that the Eucharist is a fountain of grace. The Eucharist is central to Divine Mercy and many of the

elements of the devotion are essentially Eucharistic, especially the Image of Christ requested by God and realized by

Saint Faustina, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Feast Day of Mercy the Sunday after Easter. With the eyes of

Faith we should see in every Host the merciful savior pouring Himself out as a fountain of mercy for us. (Diary 914,

1037, 1392, 1489)

Gods greatest gift to mankind is His gift of Mercy Endless Mercy from His unfathomable ocean of Mercy. In this

confused and chaotic world permeated with Satan and his minions and his works it is natural to not only question how

to gain access to the Mercy of God, but also asking yourself the question am I worthy of even trying.

Fortunately, we can with certainty answer both questions and the answers will guide us to everlasting life in Heaven, a

place without Satan or sin and therefore a place of eternal peace and happiness with God, His Angels and Saints. The

Saints being the group to which we will belong forever. Yes! Forever!

Here is how:

Read the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska born on August 25, 1905. She was canonized on April 30, 2000 by

Pope John Paul II. From the diary of this young Polish nun a special devotion to the Mercy of God is spreading

throughout the world. The message taken on a powerful new focus, The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has

to My Mercy, God said to Faustina. (Diary 723)

In the short time the world has become aware of the saint chosen by God as the messenger of His mercy the word has

and is even more and more spreading to millions of people.

Perhaps the best way to review the Diary is to quote from God to Faustina several startling comments she recorded. At

the canonizatioin of Faustina by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000 he made the Second Sunday of Easter Divine

Mercy Sunday. The Pope said, Today my joy is truly great in presenting the life and witness of Sister Faustina to the

whole Church as a gift of God for our time.

The most comprehensive revelation can be found in the astounding Diary entry 699. My daughter, tell the whole

world about my inconceivable mercythe soul that will go to confession and receive Holy Communion (on the Feast

of Mercy) shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates

through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins be scarlet. My mercy is so great

that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come

from the very depths of my most tender mercy.

http://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?Itemid=63&catid=34:book-reviews&id=124:diary-of-saint-maria-

faustina-kowalski&option=com_content&view=article

http://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?Itemid=63&catid=34:book-reviews&id=124:diary-of-saint-maria-faustina-kowalski&option=com_content&view=articlehttp://www.catholicadoration.com/ca/index.php?Itemid=63&catid=34:book-reviews&id=124:diary-of-saint-maria-faustina-kowalski&option=com_content&view=article

(quotes from any saint on the eucharist):

Holy Communion

'One of the most admirable effects of Holy Communion is to preserve the soul from sin, and to help those who fall

through weakness to rise again. It is much more profitable, then, to approach this divine Sacrament with love,

respect, and confidence, than to remain away through an excess of fear and scrupulosity.'

--St. Ignatius of Loyola

If it is "daily bread," why do you take it once a year? . . . Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that

you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a

year.

--St. Ambrose of Milan

"When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth's sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into

honey, then hastens to its hive. In the same way, the priest, having taken from the altar the Son of God (who is as

the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity), gives him to you as delicious food."

--St. Francis de Sales

If someone knows from experience that daily Communion increases fervor without lessening reverence, then let him

go every day. But if someone finds that reverence is lessened and devotion not much increased, then let him

sometimes abstain, so as to draw near afterwards with better dispositions.

--St. Thomas Aquinas

"When you approach the tabernacle remember that he has been waiting for you for twenty centuries."

--St. Josemaria Escriva

"With all the strength of my soul I urge you young people to approach the Communion table as often as you can.

Feed on this bread of angels whence you will draw all the energy you need to fight inner battles. Because true

happiness, dear friends, does not consist in the pleasures of the world or in earthly things, but in peace of

conscience, which we have only if we are pure in heart and mind."

--Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

"Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone possesses Jesus

in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace."

--St. Padre Pio

Every morning during meditation, I prepare myself for the whole day's struggle. Holy Communion assures me that I

will win the victory; and so it is. I fear the day when I do not receive Holy Communion. This bread of the Strong gives

me all the strength I need to carry on my mission and the courage to do whatever the Lord asks of me. The courage

and strength that are in me are not of me, but of Him who lives in me - it is the Eucharist.

--St. Faustina

"All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men;

but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but

the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man."

--St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4a783ea34361d38f

"Many Christians take their time and have leisure enough in their social life (no hurry here). They are leisurely, too,

in their professionally activities, at table and recreation (no hurry here either). But isn't it strange how those same

Christians find themselves in such a rush and want to hurry the priest, in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted to

the most holy sacrifice of the altar?"

--St. Josemaria Escriva

"We must understand that in order 'to do', we must first learn 'to be', that is to say, in the sweet company of Jesus in

adoration."

--Pope John Paul II

"Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one

dearest to God and the one most helpful to us."

--St. Alphonsus Liguori

"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."

--St. Maximilian Kolbe

"You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine,

Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever

imagined such!"

--St. Maximilian Kolbe

"O Lord, we cannot go to the pool of Siloe to which you sent the blind man. But we have the chalice of Your Precious

Blood, filled with life and light. The purer we are, the more we receive."

--St. Ephraem

"Jesus has made Himself the Bread of Life to give us life. Night and day, He is there. If you really want to grow in love,

come back to the Eucharist, come back to that Adoration."

--Mother Teresa

I desire to unite Myself to human souls, Know, My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy

Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any

attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things...They treat Me as a dead object.

(1385)

Now you shall consider My love in the Blessed Sacrament. Here, I am entirely yours, soul, body and divinity, as your

Bridegroom. You know what love demands: one thing only, reciprocity...(1770)

--St Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul

"If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the

thought of Christ's love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude."

--St. Angela of Foligno

"Christ held Himself in His hands when He gave His Body to His disciples saying: 'This is My Body.' No one partakes of

this Flesh before he has adored it."

--St. Augustine

"Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross, and in this chalice what flowed from His side... whatever was in

many and varied ways announced beforehand in the sacrifices of the Old Testament pertains to this one sacrifice

which is revealed in the New Testament."

--St. Augustine, Sermon 3, 2; circa A.D. 410 {original translation}

God's priest should approach the celebration and reception of this Sacrament with the deepest humility of heart and

suppliant reverence, with complete faith and the pious intention of giving honor to God.

--Imitation of Christ

"What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole

universe, God and the Son of God, should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation"

"...In this world I cannot see the Most High Son of God with my own eyes, except for His Most Holy Body and Blood."

--St. Francis of Assisi

Any devout person may at any hour on any day receive Christ in spiritual communion profitably and without

hindrance. Yet on certain days and times appointed he ought to receive with affectionate reverence the Body of his

Redeemer in this Sacrament, seeking the praise and honor of God rather than his own consolation.

--Imitation of Christ

"When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing

upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness; welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave

outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence."

--St. Francis de Sales

"Do grant, oh my God, that when my lips approach Yours to kiss You, I may taste the gall that was given to You; when

my shoulders lean against Yours, make me feel Your scourging; when my flesh is united with Yours, in the Holy

Eucharist, make me feel Your passion; when my head comes near Yours, make me feel Your thorns; when my heart is

close to Yours, make me feel Your spear."

--St. Gemma Galgani

I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ...; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love.

--St. Ignatius of Antioch

"If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it

was to teach us that it is dangerous to try to get to heaven without the Bread of Heaven."

--St. Jerome

"How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat

Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."

--St. John Chrysostom

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to

come into your heart...don't listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and

love...

"Receive Communion often, very often...there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put

this attraction in your heart for nothing..."

"The guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us - that is all He asks."

--St. Therese of Lisieux

"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master."

--St. John Vianney

"This supernatural bread and this consecrated chalice are for the health and salvation of mankind."

--St. Cyprian

"In the Mass the blood of Christ flows anew for sinners."

--St. Augustine

"There is no prayer or good work so great, so pleasing to God, so useful to us as the Mass."

--St. Lawrence Justinian

"When the Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels, who adore the Divine Victim

immolated on the altar."St. John Chrysostom

"God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar." "He remains among us until the end of the world.

He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned."

"The culmination of the Mass is not the consecration, but Communion."

--St. Maximilian Kolbe

"The Blessed Sacrament is indeed the stimulus for us all, for me as it should be for you, to forsake all worldly

ambitions. Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could

have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai; the foreseen consequence of which begins now to appear

on my skin, and is felt throughout the body. Holy Communion being the daily bread of a priest, I feel myself happy,

well pleased, and resigned in the rather exceptional circumstances in which it has pleased Divine Providence to put

me."

--Blessed Fr. Damien, Apostle of the Lepers

'The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for

salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself.'

--Pope St. Pius X

"When we work hard, we must eat well. What a joy, that you can receive Holy Communion often! It's our life and

support in this life -- Receive Communion often, and Jesus will change you into himself."

--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

"Have a great love for Jesus in his divine Sacrament of Love; that is the divine oasis of the desert. It is the heavenly

manna of the traveller. It is the Holy Ark. It is the life and Paradise of love on earth."

--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

"Live on the divine Eucharist, like the Hebrews did on the Manna. Your soul can be entirely dedicated to the divine

Eucharist and very holy in the midst of your work and contacts with the world."

--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

'He said: This is my Body; therefore the Eucharist is not the figure of his Body and Blood, as some have said, talking

nonsense in their stupid minds, but it is in very truth the Blood and Body of Christ.'

--St. Macarius the Great

How kind is our Sacramental Jesus! He welcomes you at any hour of the day or night. His Love never knows rest. He

is always most gentle towards you. When you visit Him, He forgets your sins and speaks only of His joy, His

tenderness, and His Love. By the reception He gives to you, one would think He has need of you to make Him happy.

--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

"Be the apostle of the divine Eucharist, like a flame which enlightens and warms, like the Angel of his heart who will

go to proclaim him to those who dont know him and will encourage those who love him and are suffering."

--Saint Peter Julian Eymard

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Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat - Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart

Our Lord knew well that we were too weak to walk courageously along the road of life that is often very difficult. So

His prophet who saw from afar all the treasures hidden in the Church of Jesus Christ said: "Thou hast prepared a table

before me, against them that afflict me." The food of this table is Jesus Christ Himself; His Divine Flesh, His Precious

Blood. It is He who prepares the feast and invites us to it. How is it that after so many Communions we still have so

few victories over ourselves? We receive the God of Strength and we are without courage! It is because we have not

enough faith. With a little faith, trust, and fidelity to duty, we should obtain from Our Lord all that we ask of Him.

What greater gift could He give us than Himself? A soul who is simple, faithful, who sees only Our Lord, does with

Him, so to speak, what she wills; He lends Himself to her least desires; she has all power over His Divine Heart.

St. Francis of Assisi

Kissing your feet, I implore you all my brothers, and with the utmost affection I beseech you to show the greatest

possible reverence and honor to the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Consider your dignity O

Brothers who are priests, and be holy because He is holy . . . It is a great misfortune and a miserable fault to have Him

thus near you, and to be thinking of anything else. Let the whole man be seized with dread; let the whole world

tremble; let the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of the priest. O

amazing splendor and astounding condescension! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! The Master of the

universe, God Himself and Son of God humbles Himself so far as to hide Himself for our salvation under the feeble

appearance of bread! See brothers the humility of God . . . keep nothing of yourselves for yourselves, so that He may

possess you entirely, who has given Himself wholly for you.

St. Coletta

When Your Reverence was raising the Sacred Host, I saw Our Lord Jesus Christ as if hanging on the cross, shedding

His blood, and praying to His heavenly Father in most lamentable accents: 'Behold, O My Father, in what condition I

was once hanging on the cross and suffering for the redemption of the world. Behold My wounds, My sufferings, My

death; I have suffered all this in order that poor sinners might not be lost.

But now Thou wilt send them to Hell for their sins. What good, then, will result from my sufferings and cruel death?

Those damned souls, when in Hell, instead of thanking Me for My passion, will only curse Me for all eternity. I

beseech Thee, My Father, to spare poor sinners and to forgive them for My sake; and for the sake of My passion,

preserve them from being damned forever.'

Saint Faustina Kowalska

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I often see the Child Jesus during Holy Mass. He is extremely beautiful. He appears to be about one year old. Once,

when I saw the same Child during Mass in our chapel, I was seized with a violent desire and an irresistible longing to

approach the altar and take the Child Jesus. At that moment, the Christ Child was standing by me on the side of my

kneeler, and He leaned with His two little hands against my shoulder, gracious and joyful, His look deep and

penetrating. But when the priest broke the Host, Jesus was once again on the altar, and was broken and consumed by

the priest.

After Holy Communion, I saw Jesus in the same way in my heart and felt Him physically in my heart throughout the

day. Unconsciously, a most profound recollection took possession of me, and I did not exchange a word with anyone.

February 2, 1937. Today, from early morning, Divine absorption penetrates my soul. During Mass, I thought I would

see the little Jesus, as I often do; however, today during Holy Mass I saw the Crucified Jesus. Jesus was nailed to the

cross and was in great agony. His suffering pierced me, soul and body, in a manner which was invisible, but

nevertheless most painful. (Diary 913)

Oh what awesome mysteries take place during Mass! A great mystery is accomplished in the Holy Mass. With what

great devotion should we listen to and take part in this death of Jesus. One day we will know what God is doing for us

in each Mass, and what sort of gift He is preparing in it for us. Only His divine love could permit that such a gift be

provided for us. O Jesus, my Jesus, with what great pain is my soul pierced when I see this fountain of life gushing

forth with such sweetness and power for each soul, while at the same time I see souls withering away and drying up

through their own fault. O Jesus, grant that the power of mercy embraces these souls. (Diary 914)

St. Catherine of Sienna

I have said that this body of his is a sun. Therefore you could not be given the body without being given the blood as

well nor either the body or the blood without the soul of this Word; nor the soul or body without the divinity of me,

God eternal. For the one cannot be separated from the other - just as the divine nature can nevermore be separated

from the human nature, not by death or by any other being that you receive in that most gracious sacrament under that

whiteness of bread.

And just as the sun cannot be divided, so neither can my wholeness as God and as human in this white host. Even if

the host is divided, even if you could break it into thousands and thousands of tiny bits, in each one I would be there,

wholly God and wholly human. It is just as when a mirror is broken, and yet the image one sees reflected in it remains

unbroken. So when this host is divided, I am not divided but remain completely in each piece, wholly God, wholly

human.

Nor is the sacrament itself diminished by being divided, any more than fire, to take an example. If you had a burning

lamp and all the world came to you for light, the light of your lamp would not be diminished by the sharing, yet each

person who shared it would have the whole light. True, each one's light would be more or less intense depending on

what sort of material each brought to receive the fire. I give you this example so that you may better understand me.

Imagine that many people brought candles, and one person's candle weighed one ounce, another's more than that, and

they all came to your lamp to light their candles. Each candle, the smallest as well as the largest, would have the whole

light with all its heat and color and brightness. Still, you would think that the person who carried the one-ounce candle

would have less than the one whose candle weighed a pound. Well, this is how it goes with those who receive this

sacrament. Each one of you brings your own candle, that is, the holy desire with which you receive and eat this

sacrament. Your candle by itself is unlit, and it is lighted when you receive this sacrament. I say it is unlit because by

yourselves you are nothing at all. It is I who have given you the candle with which you can receive this light and

nourish it within you. And your candle is love, because it is for love that I created you, so without love you cannot

have life.

It is with this love that you come to receive my gracious light, the light I have given you as food, to be administered to

you by my ministers. But even though all of you receive the light, each of you receives it in proportion to the love and

burning desire you bring with you. Each of you carries the light whole and undivided, for it cannot be divided by any

imperfection in you who receive it or in those who administer it. You share as much of the light (that is, the grace you

receive in this sacrament) as your holy desire disposes you to receive.

- Words of God the Father

St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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What great care she took to accompany me to the altar this morning. It seemed to me that she had nothing else to think

about except myself as she filled my whole heart with sentiments of holy love.

Asked if the Madonna had been present at Mass, he answered: "Yes, she placed herself to the side, but I could see her,

what joy! What paradise" Has she attended only once, or is she always present? "How can the mother of Jesus,

present on Calvary at the foot of the cross, who offered her Son as victim for the salvation of souls, be absent at the

mystical Calvary of the altar?" Is our Lady present at all of the Masses that are being celebrated in the world? "Yes."

Do the angels also attend? "The whole celestial court is present."

I cannot get tired, because when I celebrate Holy Mass I am not standing, but hanging on the cross together with

Jesus, and I suffer inadequately all that Jesus suffered on the cross, as much as is possible for a human creature. The

Lord has deigned to associate me with the great work of human redemption, and this despite my every demerit, and

only because of His supreme goodness.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

One day, having a little more leisure . . . I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament, when I felt myself wholly

penetrated with that Divine Presence, but to such a degree that I lost all thought of myself and of the place where I

was, and abandoned myself to this Divine Spirit, yielding up my heart to the power of His love. He made me repose

for a long time upon His Sacred Breast, where He disclosed to me the marvels of His love and the inexplicable secrets

of His Sacred Heart in a manner so real and sensible as to be beyond all doubt, by reason of the effects which this

favor produced in me, fearful, as I always am, of deceiving myself in anything that I say of what passes in me. It

seems to me that this is what took place: "My Divine Heart," He said, "is so inflamed with love of men, and for thee in

particular that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning Charity, It must needs spread

them abroad by thy means, and manifest Itself to them (mankind) in order to enrich them with the precious treasures

which I discover to thee . . ."

Blessed Mary of Agreda

O my daughter! Would that the believers in the holy catholic faith opened their hardened and stony hearts in order to

attain to a true understanding of the sacred and mysterious blessing of the holy Eucharist! If they would only detach

themselves, root out and reject their earthly inclinations, and, restraining their passions, apply themselves with living

faith to study by the divine light their great happiness in thus possessing their eternal God in the holy Sacrament and

in being able, by its reception and constant intercourse, to participate in the full effects of this heavenly manna! If they

would only worthily esteem this precious gift, begin to taste its sweetness, and share in the hidden power of their

omnipotent God! Then nothing would ever be wanting to them in their exile. In this, the happy age of the law of grace,

mortals have no reason to complain of their weakness and their passions; since in this bread of heaven they have at

hand strength and health. It matters not that they are tempted and persecuted by the demon; for by receiving this

sacrament frequently they are able to overcome him gloriously. The faithful are themselves to blame for all their

poverty and labors, since they pay no attention to this divine mystery, nor avail themselves of the divine powers, thus

placed at their disposal by my most holy Son . . . Lucifer and his demons have such a fear of the most holy Eucharist,

that to approach it, causes them more torments than to remain in hell itself. Although they do enter churches in order

to tempt souls, they enter them with aversion, forcing themselves to endure cruel pains in the hope of destroying a soul

and drawing it into sin, especially in the holy places and in the presence of the holy Eucharist.

- Words of Our Lady

St. Alphonsus Liguori

One thing is certain, that next to Holy Communion no act of worship is so pleasing to God, and none is so useful, as

the daily visit to our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament dwelling upon our altars. Know that in one-quarter of

an hour which you spend before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament you attain more than in all the good works of the rest

of the day.

Blessed Dina Belanger

If souls but understood the Treasure they possess in the Divine Eucharist, it would be necessary to encircle the

tabernacles with the strongest ramparts for, in the delirium of a devouring and holy hunger, they would press forward

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themselves to feed on the Bread of Angels. The Churches would overflow with adorers consumed with love for the

Divine prisoner no less by night than by day.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Let no one, therefore, approach this wondrous Table without having reverent devotion and fervent love, without true

penitence or without remembering his redemption. For it is the pure Lamb that is eaten in the unleavened bread . . .

Approach the Lord's Supper, the table of wholeness and holiness, child of faith, in such a way that at the end you may

enter into the wedding feast of the Lamb . . There we shall be filled with the abundance of God's house; then we shall

behold the Kind of Glory and the Lord of Hosts in His beauty, and shall taste the bread of our Father's kingdom; our

host shall be our Lord Jesus Christ, whose power and reign are without end. Amen.

St. John Vianney

Divine Savior, while I meditate on the proofs of Your Presence under the Eucharistic veils, enlighten my mind,

enkindle my heart, and inspire me with that keen and living faith which is already a vision of Your Eternal Beauty.

Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist with His Body, His Blood, His Soul, and His Divinity. Do you want clear and

convincing proof of it?

Let us cite only one example: A priest was saying Mass in a church of the town of Bolsena and, after pronouncing the

words of consecration, doubted the reality of the Body of Jesus Christ in the Sacred Host. At that same instant the

Sacred Host was all covered with blood. It seemed as though Jesus Christ would reproach his minister for his

infidelity, and make him sorry for it and, at the same time, show us by this great miracle how firmly convinced we

ought to be of His Holy Presence in the Eucharist. The Sacred Host shed blood with such abundance that the corporal,

the cloth, and the altar, itself, were covered with it.

The Pope, who was informed of this miracle, ordered that this corporal, all blood-stained, should be brought to him;

and, being sent to the town of Orvieto it was received there with great pomp and exposed in the church. Every year

this precious relic is still carried in procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Ought not that to confirm our faith? But,

my God, what need of proofs have we after the very words of Jesus Christ?

St. Cyril of Alexandria

If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, which is your God humbling and

disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will

learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to

blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who

practiced self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about

spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched

by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and

chaste.

St. Matilda

At the moment of Consecration, I come down first in such deep humility that there is no one at Mass, no matter how

despicable and vile he may be, towards whom I do not humbly incline and approach, if he desires Me to do so and

prays for it; secondly, I come down with such great patience that I suffer even My greatest enemies to be present and

grant them full pardon of all their sins, if they wish to be reconciled with Me; thirdly, I come with such immense love

that not one of those present can be so hardened that I do not soften his heart and enkindle it with My love, if he

wishes Me to do so; fourthly, I come with such inconceivable liberality that none of those present can be so poor that I

would not enrich him abundantly; fifthly, I come with such sweet food that no one ever so hungry should not be

refreshed and fully satiated by Me. Sixthly, I come with such great light and splendor that no heart, how blinded

soever it may be, will not be enlightened and purified by My presence. Seventhly, I come with such great sanctity and

treasures of grace that no one, however inert and indevout he may be, should not be roused from this state.

St. Peter Julian Eymard

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Jesus Christ, Who wishes to lead a soul to the Eucharist as to her sovereign grace, prepares her by a certain grace of

sentiment which at first may be little appreciated. On First-Communion Day the feeling of happiness caused by the

presence of Jesus is the first call; without the soul's knowing it, this initial grace grows imperceptibly, very much like

the germination of a seed in the earth. Well cared for, it later develops into a need, a disposition, a habit of thought, an

instinct. Everything then points to the Eucharist; if the Eucharist is missing, everything is missing with it. A soul under

the influence of this grace directs her piety, her virtues to the Blessed Sacrament. She experiences the need of Holy

Mass and Communion. She feels drawn to enter churches to see the tabernacle. Something continually impels her in

that direction. What is that power? The sovereign grace which, after having educated her, has become the mother of

all her other graces, the moving principle of all her actions. She says: "I feel drawn to the Blessed Sacrament. It is not

a sacrifice for me to be in Its presence. In fact, I am happy only there." It could not be otherwise, for she is living

according to her special grace. . .

The sap of a tree lies in the heart of it; it is protected by the wood and the bark. Everything in the tree tends to preserve

it during the winter frosts, because it is the life of the tree.

Well, your sovereign grace is the sap of your spiritual life. It will make all the branches of your life fruitful. Preserve it

and defend it as the heart, the soul of your supernatural life.

St. Teresa of Avila

On one occasion, when I was reciting the {Liturgy of the} Hours with the community, my soul suddenly became

recollected and seemed to me to become bright all over like a mirror; no part of it - back, side, top or bottom - but was

completely bright, and in the center of it was a picture of Christ Our Lord as I generally see Him. I seemed to see Him

in every part of my soul as clearly as in a mirror, and this mirror - I cannot explain how - was wholly sculptured in the

same Lord by a most loving communication which I shall never be able to describe. This, I know, was a vision which,

whenever I recall it, and especially after Communion, is always of great profit to me. It was explained to me that,

when a soul is in mortal sin, this mirror is covered with a thick mist and remains darkened so that the Lord cannot be

pictured or seen in it, though He is always present with us and gives us our being. Seeing this is very different than

describing it, for it cannot be properly explained. But it has helped me a great deal and has also caused me deep

regrets at the many occasions when, through my faults, my soul has become darkened and so I have been unable to see

the Lord.

St. John Eudes

You should adore our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes Himself present to us on the altar, so that we might offer him the

homage and adoration we owe. Pray that just as He changes the lower earthly nature of bread and wine into His Body

and Blood he might change and transform also the sluggishness, coldness and dryness of our earthly and arid heat into

the fire, tenderness and agility of the holy divine affections and dispositions of His divine and heavenly heart. Then

you should remember that Christians are one with Jesus Christ, as members with their head . . . .They should also be

there as hosts and victims who are but one host just as they are one priest with Jesus Christ. They need to be

immolated and sacrificed with the same Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

St. Gemma Galgani

Every morning, I go to Holy Communion. The greatest and only comfort I have, although I am in no wise provided

with what is needed to worthily approach Jesus. The loving treatment that Jesus bestows on me every morning in the

Holy Communion excites within me an unutterable sweetness and draws to itself all the weak affections of my

miserable heart. Behold O Lord, my heart and my soul; come Lord, I open my breast to Thee. Send in Thy Divine

Fire. Burn me, consume me, come and delay no longer. I would fain be the dwelling of all thy fires.

St. John Chrysostom

If you wish to honor the Eucharistic Victim, offer your own soul for which the Victim was immolated. Make your soul

all of gold. If your soul remains viler than lead or clay, what good does it do to have a golden chalice. . .?

Do you wish to honor the Body of Christ? Then do not disdain Him when you see Him in rags. After having honored

Him in Church with silken vestments do not leave Him to die of cold outside for lack of clothing. For it is the same

Jesus Who says "This is my Body" and Who says "You saw me hungry and did not give me to eat - What you have

refused to the least of these my little ones, you have refused it to me." The Body of Christ in the Eucharist demands

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pure souls, not costly garments . . . Peter thought he was honoring his Master by not letting the Lord wash his feet; and

yet it was just the opposite. Give Him then the honor which He Himself has asked for, by giving your money to the

poor. Once again, what God wants is not golden chalices but golden souls.

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The Eucharist in the Life of St. Faustina

During the celebration of Corpus Christi in Rome in 2004, the Pope announced the Year of the Holy Eucharist. Saint

Faustinas full religious name was Sister Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament and her whole life revolved

around the Holy Eucharist. If you read her diary almost every page makes reference to the Eucharist. In talking about

her life to a friend she said, The most solemn moment of my life is the moment when I receive Holy Communion and

for every Holy Communion I give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity (Diary 1804).

The sisters had a tradition that each sister drew a choice of patron for the year at the begining of each New Year. Sister

Faustina was overjoyed year after year when she drew "The Holy Eucharist" (Diary 360).

She had a special relationship to the Holy Eucharist, because Jesus gave her a clear understanding of this mystery. She

describes it as the wonderful gift of His presence on earth. During Mass, I thanked the Lord Jesus for having

redeemed us and for having given us the greatest of all gifts, the Holy Eucharist. You wanted to stay with us, and so

you left us yourself in the Sacrament of the Altar, and you opened wide your mercy to us. You opened an

inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, giving us your dearest possession, the Blood and Water, that gushed forth from

Your Heart (Diary 1747).

During a Holy Hour, in a vision of the cenacle, Sr. Faustina saw the institution of the Holy Eucharist. She came to

understand that, "At the moment of consecration...the sacrifice was fully consummated. Hereafter, only the external

ceremony of death will be carried out. Never in my whole life had I understood this mystery so profoundly as during

that hour of adoration" (Diary 684, 757, 832).

She devoted a lot of her prayers to asking God to let the world understand more the unfathomable mystery and mercy

of the Eucharist. She said, Who will ever conceive and understand the depth of mercy that gushed forth from His

Heart?

It is only in eternity that we shall know the great mystery given to us in Holy Communion. One day we will know

what God is doing for us in each Mass, and what sort of gift He is preparing through it for us.

All the tongues of men and angels united could not find words adequate to describe this mystery of Your love and

mercy. Transform me in Yourself, 0 Jesus, that I may be a living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at

each moment of my life for poor sinners.

Jesus answered her prayers telling her: You are a living host, pleasing to the Heavenly Father (Diary 1826). She

said: All the good that is in me is due to the Holy Communion. I owe everything to it.

St. Faustina lived fully the prayer of the Church: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and enkindle in them

the fire of your love.

Her expe