Blessed Virgin Mary's Sentiments About Receiving Holy Communion

I wish thee also to hear, my dearest daughter from my own mouth, what were my sentiments when in mortal life I was about to receive holy Communion. In order that thou mayest better understand what I say, reflect on all I have commanded thee to write about my gifts, merits and labors in life.

 

I was preserved from original sin and, at the instant of my Conception, received the knowledge and vision of the Divinity, as thou hast often recorded. I knew more than all saints; I surpassed the highest seraphim in love; I never committed any fault; I constantly practiced all the virtues in a heroic degree and in the least of them I was greater than all the saints in their highest perfection; the intention and object of my actions were most exalted and my habits and gifts were noble without measure; I imitated my most holy Son most closely; I labored faithfully; I suffered with eagerness and co-operated with the doings of the Lord exactly as was becoming to me; I ceased not to exercise my love and gain new supereminent merits of grace.

 

Yet I thought myself to have been fully repaid by being allowed to receive Him even once in the holy Eucharist; yea, I did not consider myself worthy of this one favor.

 

Reflect then what should be thy sentiments, and those of the rest of the children of Adam, on being admitted to the reception of this admirable Sacrament.

 

And if for the greatest of saints one holy Communion is a superabundant reward, what must the priests and the faithful think, when they are allowed to receive it so frequently?

 

Open thy eyes in the deep darkness and blindness which overwhelm men around thee, and raise them up to the divine brightness in order to understand these mysteries.

 

Look upon all thy works as insufficient, all thy sufferings as most insignificant, all thy thanksgiving as falling far short of what thou owest for such an exquisite blessing as that of possessing in the holy Church, Christ my divine Son, present in the holy Sacrament in order to enrich all the faithful.

 

If thou hast not wherewith to show thy thanks for this and the other blessings which thou receivest, at least humiliate thyself to the dust and remain prostrate upon it; confess thyself unworthy in all the sincerity of thy heart. Magnify the Most High, bless and praise Him, preserving thyself at all times worthy to receive Him and to suffer many martyrdoms in return for such a favor.
 

~  Virgin Mother of God to Venerable Mary of Agreda, from  City of God ~

Gloria Polo Testimony: Even the Demons Adore Our Lord

Gloria Polo died after being terribly burned by a lightning bolt on May 5, 1995 in Bogotá, Colombia; she was judged, and then came back to life. This is her testimony.

But first I must tell you something, brothers: I was a “dietetic (cafeteria) Catholic”, I was for my whole life, because my relationship with God was taken care of in a 25 minute Sunday Mass, and that’s all. I went to the Mass where the priest spoke less, because I got tired! What anguish I felt, with those priests who spoke a lot! This was my relationship with God! For this all the worldly currents drug me along: I lacked the protection of prayer well done with faith, even in the Mass!

...When I cried out again that I was Catholic, brothers, I heard a Voice, so sweet, but so sweet… So beautiful, that it filled everything with peace and love, and made my soul jump. Those horrible creature that were clinging to me, at hearing it, immediately prostrated themselves in adoration, and asked permission to withdraw themselves, because they could not stand the sweetness of that Voice: then something was opened, like a mouth hanging down, and they fled with fear. Just imagine this! When I see those beings, those horrific demons, there prostrated… At the mere hearing the Voice of the Lord, (notwithstanding the pride of Satan, and thus they hear it as something very unpleasant), they throw themselves on their knees!

Then, I saw the Most Blessed Virgin prostrated, when the priest elevated Our Lord in the Host, during the Mass that was celebrated for the soul of my cousin. The Virgin Mary interceded for me! Prostrated at the feet of Our Lord, she gathered all the prayers that the people of my earth made for me, and she presented them to Him.

You know, at the moment of the elevation, when the priest lifts up the Host, one feels the presence of Jesus, everyone prostates themselves on their knees, even the demons! … And I, who went to the Mass without the least of respect, without giving any attention, with gum to chew in my mouth, sometimes dozing off, looking around, lost in a thousand banal thoughts…! And then I had the guts to complain, full of pride, that God did not listen to me when I asked something from Him!

Believe me, it was staggering to see how, at the passing of Our Lord, all those creatures, all those frightening beings, threw themselves on the ground, in an impressive adoration.

I saw the Virgin Mary, graciously prostrate at the feet of the Lord, praying for me, in adoration before Him. … And I, a sinner, with my rubbish, treating Him without any respect, and saying that I was good… Yes, miserably good! Denying and blaspheming the Lord!

Imagine what a sinner I was, when even the demons prostrated themselves on the ground, at the passing of the Lord Jesus Christ…!

...Jesus continued to show me how I was in no way grateful in regard to Him, and the laziness that I had in going to Mass. When I still lived with my parents, and my mother obliged me to go, I said to her: “But, Mom, if God is everywhere, what need do I have to go to church for the Mass?” Clearly, for me it was very convenient to talk like this… And Jesus showed this to me. I had the Lord twenty-four hours a day for me, all my life God took care of me, and I so lazy to dedicate to Him a little time on Sunday, to show Him my gratitude, my love for Him… But the worst thing was to know that, to frequent the church, meant to nourish my soul. I, instead, dedicated myself totally to the care of my body, I became a slave to my flesh, and I forgot this particular: that I had a soul! And never did I take care of it.

~ Gloria Polo:  excerpts from here ~

Visit to Our Lady After Holy Communion

Mother, upon my lips today,

Christ's Precious Blood was laid;

That Blood which centuries ago,

Was for my ransom paid.

And half in love, and half in fear

I seek for aid from thee,

Lest what I worship, wrapt in awe,

Should be profaned by me.

Wilt thou vouchsafe, as Portress dear,

To guard those lips today?

Lessen my words of idle worth

And govern all I say.

Keep back the sharp and quick retort

That rise so easily;

Soften my speech with gentle art,

To sweetest charity.

Check thou the laugh or careless jest,

That others harsh may find;

Teach me the thoughtful words of love,

That soothe the anxious mind.

Put far from me all proud replies,

And each deceitful tone,

So that my words at length may be

Faint echoes of thine own.

Oh Mother, thou art mine today,

By more than double right:

A soul where Christ reposed must be

Most precious in thy sight.

And thou canst hardly think of me

From thy dear Son apart;

Then give me from myself and sin,

A refuge in thy heart.

~ From an old prayer card ~

Our Lady of Akita, Japan: Eucharistic Prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist

"In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my Son I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a legion of victim souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger. I desire this also from your community. That it love poverty, that it sanctify itself and pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men. Recite the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist with awareness of its meaning; put it into practice; offer in reparation (whatever God may send) for sins. Let each one endeavor, according to capacity and position, to offer herself entirely to the Lord."

~ Our Lady of Akita to Sr. Agnes ~

PRAYER OF THE HANDMAIDS OF THE EUCHARIST

"Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist,

I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart,

being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father,
pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.

Please receive this humble offering of myself.

Use me as You will for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.

Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from your Divine Son.

Please defend and protect me as your special child.

Amen."

Purity Needed for Those Who Receive the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus

"Oh, if we could only understand Who is that God

Whom we receive in Holy Communion,

then what purity of heart we would bring to Him!"

~ St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi  ~

St. John Bosco: The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Protect the World

"Were it not for the Blessed Virgin and the Blessed Sacrament, the world would now be in ruins. Those who want to work in the light - that is, along the way to heaven – must draw closer to these two sources of light, or at least one of them. Those who walk away from them move in darkness and in the shadow of death."

"Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians and you will see what miracles are."

~ St. John Bosco ~

~ St. John Bosco:  Related post ~

St. Peter Julian Eymard: Hearing Mass by Meditation on the Passion

“Know, O Christian, that the Mass is the holiest act of Religion.

You cannot do anything to glorify God more

nor profit your soul more than devoutly assisting at It,

and assisting as often as possible.”

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~

Prayer to Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Virgin Immaculate,
perfect lover of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament,
we ask you to obtain for us the graces we need
to become true adorers of our Eucharistic God.

Grant us, we beg of you,
to know Him better,
to love Him more,
and to center our lives around the Eucharist,
that is, to make our whole life a constant prayer
of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition
to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
Amen.

V. Pray for us, 0 Virgin Immaculate,
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of
Jesus Christ may come among us!

Blessed Mother: Perfect Adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament

"Mary's adoration was profound, interior, intimate.

It was the gift of herself.

She offered her whole self to the service of love of the Eucharistic God.

For love lays down no conditions, makes no reservations;

it thinks no longer of self, lives no longer for self;

it is a stranger to itself and lives only for the God which it loves.

Everything in Mary was directed to the Blessed Sacrament

as Its center and end.
A current of grace and love established itself

between the Heart of Jesus-Hostia and the heart of Mary-Adoratrix.

These hearts were like two flames blended into one.

God was then perfectly adored by His creature."

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~

St. Padre Pio: The Mystical Calvary of the Altar

"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. Padre Pio ~

Fr. John Hardon: No Eucharist Without Mary

It is remarkable how widespread is the ignorance of so many professed Catholics in just what happened when the angel appeared to our Lady at Nazareth.

When Mary told the angel, “Be it done to me according to your word,” God, who was present as God on earth from the dawn of creation, began to be present on earth as the God-man. In other words, God began to exist as man the moment Our Lady consented to becoming the Mother of her Creator.

Once God became man, He intended to remain Incarnate for all eternity. He lived a human mortal life until His death on the cross. When He rose from the dead, He remained on earth visibly for forty days. Then He ascended into heaven and, as we profess in the Creed, He is seated at the right hand of His heavenly Father.

But on the night before He died, He ordained His apostles as priests, mainly to continue doing what He had done when He changed bread and wine into His own living Body and Blood. Why did He do this? In order to be not only in heaven, but to remain on earth as the God-man in the Holy Eucharist until the end of time.

It is impossible to exaggerate the role of Mary in the Holy Eucharist. Except for her, there would not have been any Incarnation, and without the Incarnation there could be no Eucharist.

Christ in the Eucharist, therefore, is identical with the Christ of history in possessing the same human nature. But this presents two more possibilities. Having the same human nature can mean that in both cases He has only the same human soul, or that He also has the same human body.

Orthodox Catholic doctrine teaches, of course, that the identity of Christ’s human nature covers both body and soul. Consequently we find a stress in the documents of the Church on a bodily presence in the Blessed Sacrament, as a counterpoise to the error of spiritualizing Christ in the Eucharist to the exclusion or at least the oversight of His body. The Church’s infallible teaching could not be clearer. In the Eucharist is present the whole Christ, humanity and divinity, body and soul. Everything which makes Christ, Christ is present in the Blessed Sacrament.

As Jesus told the crowd, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood you shall not have life in you” (John 6:54).

As Catholics we believe that Jesus Christ is present on earth in the fullness of His humanity. Unless this were true, there could be no adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There could be no Sacrifice of the Mass, and no Holy Communion.

All of this we owe to the Blessed Virgin Mary once she agreed to conceive the Incarnate Son of God and give Him birth at Bethlehem. (Source)

~ Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, S.J. ~

St. Peter Julian Eymard: Prayer to Mary, Mother of Eucharistic Adorers

"Eucharistic adorers share Mary’s life and mission of prayer at the foot of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is the most beautiful of all missions, and it holds no perils. It is the most holy, for in it all the virtues are practiced. It is, moreover, the most necessary to the Church, which has even more need of prayerful souls than of powerful preachers; of men of penance rather than men of eloquence. Today more than ever have we need of men who, by their self—immolation, disarm the anger of God inflamed by the ever increasing crimes of nations. We must have souls who by their importunity reopen the treasures of grace which the indifference of the multitude has closed. We must have true adorers; that is to say, men of fervor and of sacrifice. When there are many such souls around their Divine Chief, God will be glorified, Jesus will be loved, and society will once more become Christian, conquered for Jesus Christ by the apostolate of Eucharistic prayer."

"O Mary! teach us the life of adoration! Teach us to see, as thou didst, all the mysteries and all the graces in the Eucharist; to live over again the Gospel story and to read it in the light of the Eucharistic Life of Jesus. Remember, O our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, that thou art the Mother of all adorers of the Holy Eucharist,"

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~