St. Rita of Cascia: Eucharistic Miracle of Cascia

More information available from the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia.

At Cascia, in the basilica dedicated to St. Rita, is also preserved the relic of the Eucharistic Miracle, which happened near Siena in 1330. A priest was asked to bring Communion to a sick peasant. The priest took a consecrated Host which he irreverently placed in the pages of his breviary and went to the peasant. When he arrived at the house of the sick man, after hearing his confession, he opened the book to take out the Host which he had placed there. To his great surprise hefound that the Host was stained with living blood, so much as to mark both pages between which the Blessed Sacrament had been placed. The priest, confused and penitent, went immediately to Siena to the Augustinian Priory to ask the counsel of Fr. Simone Fidati of Cascia, known by all to be a holy man. Fr. Fidati, having heard the story, granted pardon to the priest and asked to keep the two pages marked by Blood. Many popes have promoted veneration, conceding indulgences.

~ Excerpt and more information, including pictures, from here. ~

St. Peter Julian Eymard: "Be the Apostle of the Divine Eucharist..."

"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 don’t know him

and will encourage those who love him and are suffering."

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~

to Mme Antoinette de Grandville, July 4, 1859

Pope John Paul II: Acts of Reverence for the Blessed Sacrament

"Every act of reverence,

every genuflection that you make before the Blessed Sacrament is important
because it is an act of faith in Christ,

and act of love for Christ.

And every sign of the cross and gesture of respect made

each time you pass a church

is also an act of faith."

~ Pope John Paul II ~

St. Paschal Baylon: Saint of the Blessed Sacrament

"God is as really present in the consecrated Host as He is in the glory of Heaven,"

~ St. Paschal Baylon ~

Following excerpts are from St. Paschal Catholic Church:

The notice of St. Paschal Baylon in the Roman Martyrology tells us not only that he was a man of wonderful innocence and austerity of life, but also that he has been proclaimed by the Holy See patron of all eucharistic congresses and confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a striking fact that a humble friar, of peasant birth, who was never even a priest, whose name in his own day was hardly known to any but his townsfolk in a corner of Spain, should now from his place in Heaven preside over those imposing assemblies of the Catholic Church.

It is, however, as the Saint of the Eucharist that St. Paschal is best remembered outside his own country. Many years before the great work on annual eucharistic congresses was instituted and our saint was nominated its patron, the title-page of Father Salmeron's Spanish biography bore the heading Vida del Santo del Sacramento S. Pascual Bailon. The long hours which he spent before the tabernacle, kneeling without support, his clasped hands held up in front of, or higher than, his face, had left a deep impression upon his brethren. No wonder that he was for them the "Saint of the Blessed Sacrament." The recognition of this special characteristic goes back to his earliest biographer. Ximenes tells us how the good brother, whenever he had a moment free from his other duties, invariably made his way to the church to honor the presence of our Lord, how it was his delight to serve Mass after Mass in succession beginning with the very earliest, how he stayed behind in choir when after Matins and Lauds the rest of the community had retired again to sleep, and how the dawn found him still on his knees, eager as soon as the bell range to visit the altars at which the Holy Sacrifice was to be offered.

~ To read the entire article from which these excerpts are taken, click here. ~

Stations of the Holy Eucharist

Lord, open my mind and heart to the treasures of Your Truth as revealed in the Doctrine of the Real Presence. Grant that my eyes may see through faith’s vision, the wonders of Your Love in the Most Holy Eucharist. As I meditate on the mystery of Your Hidden Presence, I entreat You to increase my faith, enkindle my hope, and deepen my love for You, my Eucharistic King. Amen.

At each Station of the Eucharist, pray: “O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine. All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.”

~ Stations of the Holy Eucharist: here ~

~ Copies to purchase: available here ~

Pope John Paul II: "May Our Adoration Never Cease."

“The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic worship. Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never cease.”

~ Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae, February 1980 ~

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Favorite Devotion of the Saints

Hear Mass daily; it will prosper the whole day.

All your duties will be performed the better for it,

and your soul will be stronger to bear its daily cross.

The Mass is the most holy act of religion;

you can do nothing that can give greater glory to God

or be more profitable for your soul

than to hear Mass both frequently and devoutly.

It is the favorite devotion of the saints.

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~