Thursday, December 30, 2010

St. Thomas Aquinas: Prayer Before Holy Communion

Almighty and ever-living God,
I approach the sacrament
of Your only-begotten Son
Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I come sick to the doctor of life,
unclean to the fountain of mercy,
blind to the radiance of eternal light,
and poor and needy to the Lord
of heaven and earth.

Lord, in your great generosity,
heal my sickness,
wash away my defilement,
enlighten my blindness,
enrich my poverty,
and clothe my nakedness.

May I receive the Bread of angels,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
with humble reverence,
with the purity and faith,
the repentance and love,
and the determined purpose
that will help to bring me to salvation.

May I receive the sacrament
of the Lord's Body and Blood,
and its reality and power.

Kind God,
may I receive the Body
of Your only-begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
born from the womb of the Virgin Mary,
and so be received into His mystical body
and numbered among His members.

Loving Father,
as on my earthly pilgrimage
I now receive Your beloved Son
under the veil of a sacrament,
may I one day see Him face to face in glory,
Who lives and reigns with You for ever.
Amen.

~ Saint Thomas Aquinas ~

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Eucharistic Miracles: The Real Presence of Jesus Among Us

John 6
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Pope St. Pius X: Devotion to the Eucharist

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

it is 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 ~