“Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13, 1).
First Prelude: In spirit enter the Supper Room and behold Jesus giving His Sacred Body and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine, as food to His Apostles.
Second Prelude: O my Jesus, give me grace to realize the miracles that Thou dost work in the Sacrament of the Altar, that my heart may be incited to make a grateful return of love.
First Point
THE CONTINUAL PRESENCE OF JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE, A PROOF OF HIS INFINITE LOVE FOR US
Jesus could give us no more brilliant proof of His love than the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. It is peculiar to love to be in the company of the beloved, and to feel His absence keenly. Knowing that the hour was come when He would go to the Father, Jesus would not leave us, but in His love found a means to remain with us in the adorable Sacrament of the Altar, to the end of time. Thus He proves that it is His delight to be with the children of men. Here in the solitude of the tabernacle, He is incessantly occupied with us; He thinks of us, is mindful of our needs and forgets us neither by day nor by night. He awaits with longing the hour when we will again appear in His presence to commune with Him in prayer. Here, particularly, He fulfils what was said by Osee: “I will speak to their hearts” (Os. 2, 14). Oh, how great is the love of Jesus, that He condescends to converse with us poor mortals!
As of yore, whilst on earth, He was wont to work miracles for the relief of suffering humanity, so now, in His sacramental presence Jesus does not cease to aid all who have recourse to Him. Verily, all who come to Him with confidence experience that but one thing is impossible to Him—not to have compassion with our misery. “Come to Me all ye who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you,” is the merciful invitation from His altar-throne. He gives us all that He has—Himself, His Sacred Humanity with all the merits of His mortal life and His Divinity, with all the treasures of His wisdom, power, and infinite love. Oh, how justly did the saints designate this august mystery the Sacrament of love, the sublime pledge of the love of God! When St. Augustine meditated on the excellent gift Jesus left us in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, he was so completely overpowered that he cried out: “Though God is almighty, He could not give us more; though He is all-wise, He could not devise a more excellent gift; though He is the wealthiest, He possesses no more.”
Let us ponder well, this excess of love, we who are so easily touched by a small gift at the hands of a poor mortal. Let us contemplate the greatness of the love of our God, who gives Himself to us to elicit a return of love and excite our gratitude. What is my opinion of this excess of the love of Jesus? Does it frequently impel me to go to the foot of the tabernacle? How do I employ the moments that I am privileged to spend there?
Second Point
THE INFINITE LOVE OF JESUS DEMANDS A RETURN OF LOVE
The infinite love that impelled Jesus to immolate Himself for us on the cross constrains Him to abide with us in the sacramental species and to perpetuate this oblation in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this way, He would teach us what return of love He expects of us. “Let us, too, sacrifice ourselves wholly to Him and we shall love Him as He desires to be loved,” says St. Bernard. Having contemplated the stupendous mystery of the love of God, could we hesitate for one moment to consecrate ourselves entirely to His love? Let us give Him our hearts, but let us give them unreservedly, for who reserves some little portion for himself, does not offer himself to God entirely. Before the tabernacle of our hidden Saviour, let us earnestly ask ourselves how this return of love is constituted. Why do we often experience so much difficulty in the practice of poverty, of obedience, in the observance of silence and recollection? Why do we abhor the mere thought of combating a pet fault, of crushing a repugnance or aversion? Why do we find the practice of humility, mortification and prayer so insipid? Alas, is not this resistance a proof that we love Jesus but slightly, and that our hearts do not belong to Him wholly? How trifling is that which Jesus asks of us, and yet we refuse Him this little!
Prostrate before our Eucharistic King, let us repent of our ingratitude, our levity and infidelity, but let us, nevertheless, confidingly trust in His almighty assistance. He can and will heal the wounds of souls who disclose their need and misery, with a burning desire for His grace; who in child-like simplicity tell Him of their lack of virtue. Let us beg Him to annihilate self-love, that His love may find room in our hearts and we, like so many zealous souls who sought Him perseveringly, may finally love Him with a powerful, contrite love, moved to compunction by the sight of our sins; with an enlightened love, which shows that He is worthy of all our affections; with a patient love, which sweetens all our labors in the service of Christ’s little ones; with a self-sacrificing love, which shrinks from no difficulty when there is question of pleasing God; with a faithful love, which unites us inseparably with Jesus in the adorable Sacrament of Love; with a love like the love of my dear heavenly Mother, the Mother of beautiful love. O holy Virgin, thou hast obtained so many favors for me during the course of my religious life; be pleased to obtain one more favor—grace to love Him ardently in life and in death.
Affections: O my beloved Jesus, I would gladly remain near Thee day and night to thank Thee incessantly for the stupendous miracles, which Thou dost work in this most holy Sacrament, for the benefit of our souls. What has not Thy love invented to captivate our love! When shall I begin at last to return love for love, oblation for oblation! I will henceforth live solely for love of Thee, my Saviour, for what would it profit me to live if I did not devote my whole life to Thy love? But, alas, my Jesus, Thou knowest full well how unreliable and inconstant I am. Confirm my resolutions with Thy almighty grace and give me strength, henceforth, to refuse Thee no sacrifice and to persevere in these magnanimous dispositions of soul until the end of my life. Most loving heart of Mary, heart of the purest among all God’s creatures, most inflamed with love of the Eucharistic Jesus, and most compassionate towards us sinners, obtain for us from the Heart of Jesus all the graces which we ask through Thee, especially the grace of final perseverance in love and devotion to the Blessed Eucharist.
Resolution: In union with our Lady of the most Blessed Sacrament, I will frequently excite acts of love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and rejoice when I am given an opportunity of testifying my love to Him.
Spiritual Bouquet: “He has loved me and delivered Himself for me.”
Prayer: Soul of Christ . . .
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