THE REAL PRESENCE

CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST

Quotes on the Most Blessed Sacrament 9

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"Let us never forget that an age prospers or dwindles in proportion to its devotion to the Holy Eucharist. This is the measure of its spiritual life and its faith, of its charity and its virtue."

- St. Peter Julian Eymard

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"The encouragement and the deepening of Eucharistic worship are proofs of the authentic renewal which the Council set itself as an aim and of which they are the central point."

- Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae

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"When we ingest the Eucharist in reality we are ingesting the Godhead
.....because His Body and Blood are diffused through our members we become
partakers of the divine nature."

- St. Cyril of Alexandria

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God was not content with giving us His only Son once for all, willing Him to take flesh in the womb of a Virgin - flesh like ours, so that He might suffer and die for us on the Cross - but He wished Him to remain with us forever, perpetuating His real presence and His sacrifice in the Eucharist. Aided by the Gospel narrative we can reconstruct and relive in our heart the sweet mysteries of the life of Jesus. Had we nothing but the Gosepl, however, we would have only nostalgic memories; Jesus would no longer be with us, but only in heaven at the right hand of the Father, having definitively left the earth on the day of His Ascension. With what regret we would think of the thirty-three years of our Savior's earthly life passed centuries ago! Oh, how different the reality! The Eucharist makes the presence of Jesus with us a permanent one.

- from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

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"What Christ gives us is quite explicit if his own words are interpreted according to their Aramaic meaning. The expression 'This is my Body' means this is myself"

- Karl Rahner

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O Jesus, You are always with us, "yesterday and today, and the same forever!" (Heb 13, 8). Always the same in eternity by the immutablity of Your divine Person; always the same in time, by the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

- from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

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"Not as common bread or as common drink do we receive these.....We have been taught that the food that has been Eucharistized by the word of prayer, that food which by assimilation nourishes our flesh and blood, is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus."

- St. Justin Martyr

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"Since Christ is the only way to the Father, in order to highlight His living and saving presence in the Church and the world, the International Eucharistic Congress will take place in Rome, on the occasion of the Great Jubilee. The Year 2000 will be intensely Eucharistic: in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the Savior, who took flesh in Mary's womb twenty centuries ago, continues to offer Himself to humanity as the source of Divine Life."

- Pope John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente

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In the consecrated Host we find the same Jesus whom Mary brought into the world, whom the shepherds found wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger; whom Mary and Joseph nurtures and watched over as He grew before their eyes; the Jesus who called the apostles to follow Him, who captivated and taught the multitudes, who performed the most startling miracles; who said He was the "light" and "life" of the world, who forgave Magdalen and raised Lazarus from the deas; who for love of us sweat blood, received the kiss of a traitor, was made one enormous wound, and died on the Cross; that same Jesus who rose again and appeared to the Apostles and in whose wounds Thomas put his finger; who ascended into heaven, who now is seated in glory at the right hand of His Father, and who, in union with the Father, sends us the Holy Spirit.

- from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

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"Father Col, an intrepid defender of the Faith during the French Revolution and the pastor of Bourg-d'Oisans where these good people were married [M/M Eymard], had foretold to them that they would have a son who would become a priest and founder of the Order of the Blessed Sacrament.

During the months she bore Peter Julian, Mrs. Eymard used to visit the parish church and offer him to the hidden God of the tabernacle."

- from Saint Peter Julian Eymard: Apostle of the Eucharist

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"We discovered, like infants opening their eyes for the first time, that God's coming upon earth out of love for us had radically changed the world, because he had remained with us.

"As we walked about the city, or traveled to different cities and countries, it was not the beautiful and interesting things around us that attracted us. Not even Rome's wonderful monuments and precious relics seemed so important. Rather, what gave a sense of continuity to our journeying through the world for Jesus, was His Eucharistic presence in the tabernacles we found wherever we went."

- from May They All Be One, by Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement

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"Upon reception of the Communion Host, we are in Christ and Christ is truly within us. Upon receiving Communion, we have all power over the enemy. As one of the documents from Vatican II proclaimed: 'From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of His Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree (SC 7). From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain, and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God to which all other activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, are achieved with maximum effectiveness' (SC 10)."

- Michael H. Brown, Secrets of the Eucharist, p.46.

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"The temples of those who deny the Real Presence are like corpses. The Lord was taken away and we do not know where they have laid Him."

- Francois Mauriac

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This begins a series of short letters written by Mother Agnes of Jesus (St. Therese of Lisieux's sister Pauline) to St. Therese in preparation for her First Communion.

February 1884

Jesus!

My Theresita,[1]

This morning I promised Marie to give you the little note-book [2] by the beginning of March. I do hope that my Benjamin [one of St. Therese's nicknames] is also working hard at cultivating her little plot. If such lovely flowers as those in this note-book are to be sown in it, she must not leave a single blade of grass... Oh, to think that in three months Jesus will come and dwell in a child's heart, in my Theresita's heart...

Darling, you must leave nothing undone to make your heart into a heaven where Jesus will want to stay forever! Even now let this beautiful Child be the King, the Love of your heart. What is there on this earth lovelier than Jesus? Jesus in His cradle, Jesus sleeping in Theresita's heart among the flowers!

Your Agnes.

 

[1] The Carmelites called Therese by this name in memory of a niece of the Great St. Teresa of Avila's, who had entered one of the first reformed monasteries at an early age.

[2] A little collection of prayers and devotions composed by Mother Agnes of Jesus and called: Two months and nine days of preparation for my First Communion.

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Letter from Mother of Agnes of Jesus to St. Therese (her sister) in preparation for First Communion:

February 1884

Darling,

I imagine you are still busy turning up the ground in your heart. You must, for we shall begin planting flowers in a few days. Just think, my Therese, barely three months and Jesus will come into your heart for the first time! And who is this little Jesus? The very same Child whom the Blessed Virgin held in her arms, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in the manger, cuddled on her lap! The same exquisitely beautiful Child who is now the delight of Heaven, the very same...

A First Communion day is the best day in one's life, a day come down from Heaven! Just ask Celine [another of St. Therese's sisters]... But if you want to enjoy it to the full, you must make your heart like an angel's. Don't forget that, my Benjamin...

Good-bye, darling. How lucky you are! I send you a hug.

Your Agnes.

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From Mother Agnes of Jesus to St. Therese in preparation for her First Holy Communion

End of February 1884

Darling little Sister,

This is just to tell you that the note-book is arriving this evening. Just think! on Saturday morning, my Theresita will be beginning her great preparation. In two and a half months, Jesus will come into your heart for the first time! What a lot of work there is to do, what a lot of flowers have to be sown, and how little time there is to do it in! But look at Nature: on almost the same day as you, she will be beginning to make herself beautiful; you can see buds already on the trees in the garden, and soon the flowers will be there; by May, all will be lovely to look at. Nature is only doing it to please us, but couldn't you do the same, Theresita of the Child Jesus, to welcome and delight the Beloved Child at His first awakening in your heart?

But I hear your answer, and I know that a good little heart like my darling's has no need of urging. I feel that Jesus Himself is encouraging His little Sister from afar to work for Him, and beside Jesus' own persuasive words, what value have your poor Agnes's incitements?...

Good-bye Theresita, if there are lots of flowers in your garden, if everything is ready for the great day, you may be quite sure that Jesus will not come empty handed either! If you only knew what treasures are hidden in the tiny Host for a well-prepared First Communion! Thousands of kisses.

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Excerpts from the Catholic Network's biography of Blessed Kateri's Tekakwitha:

"Every morning, even in bitterest winter, she stood before the chapel door until it opened at four and remained there until after the last Mass."

"Out from her Caughnawaga cabin at dawn and straight-way to chapel to adore the Blessed Sacrament, hear every Mass; back again during the day to hear instruction, and at night for a last prayer or Benediction. Her neighbors sought to be near her when she received Holy Communion, as her manner excited devotion."

 

LITANY OF BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the World have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Kateri, lily of purity, pray for us.
Kateri, consoler of the heart of Jesus, pray for us.
Kateri, bright light for all Indians, pray for us.
Kateri, courage of the afflicted, pray for us.
Kateri, lover of the cross of Jesus, pray for us.
Kateri, flower of fortitude for the persecuted, pray for us.
Kateri, unshakeable in temptations, pray for us.
Kateri, full of patience in suffering, pray for us.
Kateri, keeper of your virginity in persecutions, pray for us.
Kateri, leader of many Indians to the true faith through your love for Mary, pray for us.
Kateri, who loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
Kateri, lover of penance, pray for us.
Kateri, who traveled many miles to learn the faith, pray for us.
Kateri, steadfast in all prayer, pray for us.
Kateri, who loved to pray the rosary for all people, pray for us.
Kateri, example to your people in all virtues, pray for us.
Kateri, humble servant to the sick, pray for us.
Kateri, who by your love of humility, gave joy to the angels, pray for us.
Kateri, your holy death gave strength to all Indians to love Jesus and Mary, pray for us.
Kateri, whose scarred face in life became beautiful after death, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, 0 Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, 0 Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

LET US PRAY

0 Jesus, who gave Kateri to the Indians as an example of purity, teach
all men to love purity, and to console your immaculate Mother Mary
through the lily, Kateri Tekakwitha, and your Holy Cross, Amen.

Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.

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"Like Mary, let us be full of zeal to go in haste to give Jesus to others. She was full of grace when, at the annunciation, she received Jesus. Like her, we too become full of grace every time we receive Holy Communion. It is the same Jesus whom she received and whom we receive at Mass. As soon as we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us go in haste to give Him to our sisters, to our poor, to the sick, to the dying, to the lepers, to the unwanted, and the unloved. By this we make Jesus present in the world today."

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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Our Lady: Whosoever shall die wearing my Scapular shall not suffer the flames of Hell.

The Soul: My Dear Mother of Carmel, I thank thee for thy holy Scapular.

Flower of Carmel,
Blossoming Vine,
Splendor of Heaven,
Mother Divine,
None like to thee.
Mother of Our King,
Peerless and fair;
To thy children of Carmel,
Favors grant ever,
Star of the Sea.

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"At the time of Holy Communion I sometimes picture my soul under the figure of a little child of three or four years, who at play has got its hair tossed and its clothes soiled. These misfortunes have befallen me in battling with souls. But very soon the Blessed Virgin hastens to my aid: quickly, she takes off my dirty little pinafore, smoothes my hair and adorns it with a pretty ribbon or simply with a little flower... and this suffices to render me pleasing and enables me to sit at the Banquet of Angels without blushing."

- St. Therese of Lisieux, Counsels and Reminiscences

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"This God who, as the psalmist said, built His tabernacles in the sun, now establishes Himself in the very core of the flesh and the blood."

- Francois Mauriac

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"The Bread of heaven puts an end to symbols."

- Office for the Feast of Corpus Christi

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"I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God. I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. He has been tutoring me from my most tender years."

- from St. Faustina Kowlaska of the Blessed Sacrament's Diary Divine Mercy in My Soul

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As St. Gertrude was about to receive the Sacred Host, she asked "O Lord, what gift are You going to grant me?"

And Jesus answered, "The gift of My Whole Being with My Divine nature, as formerly my Virgin Mother received it."

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"O Lord, how clear, how precise, how strong, how powerful are Your words. Hardly are the words pronounced: 'Woman, you are cured' - and she is cured immediately. 'This is My Body' - and it is His Body. 'This is My Body' - and it is His Body. 'This is My Blood' - and it is His Blood."

"Who can speak in that manner if not the One Who holds everything in His hand? Who can be trusted if not the One for Whom doing and speaking are one and the same thing? My soul, accept these words without reservation: believe as firmly as the Lord spoke. Believe with as much humility as He shows authority and power. The Lord wants to find in your faith the same simplicity which He put in His words."

- Bousset

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"The faith of Francis beholds behind the crystal of the monstrance, on the linen of the altar, and on the tongue of the communicant, the hands and feet, the eyes and mouth, the flowing blood and throbbing heart, the majestic personality and the saving grace of Him who once walked the fields of Galilee and Judea, and to whom he himself had sworn allegiance as a knight of the cross."

- from The Ideals of St. Francis by Fr. Hilarion Felder, O.M. Cap.

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"I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved Me as a bride, following Me in the desert, in a land unsown." - Jeremiah 2:2

Remember when you first fell in love with Jesus? Remember what a joy it was to pray? How you loved to be with God and with His people! How you would praise Him!... Remember when...

Many, however, have lost their first love (Rv 2:4). They still believe; they still pray and serve the Lord. But it's not the way it was... The Spirit is quenched (1 Thes 5:19). The flame is no longer burning bright.

Repent! Return! Revive! Renew! "The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, His mercies are not spent; they are renewed each morning, so great is His faithfulness" (Lam 3:22-23). There's so much more, and eternity of "more" with Jesus.

The Lord is saying to you: "I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart." "She shall respond there as in the days of her youth" (Hos 2:16-17). Give in, fall into His arms, let Him love you as of old. "Greater will be the future glory...than the former" (Hg 2:9).

He calls: "Arise, My beloved, My beautiful one, and come! (Sg 2:10) Will you love Him again? Will you feel the touch of His nail-scarred hands?

"There is no greater love than this" (Jn 15:13). Live in His love (Jn 15:10).

- Excerpts from Presentation Ministries, "One Bread, One Body"

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"O Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I would like to be filled with love for You; keep me closely united with You, may my heart be near to Yours. I want to be to You like the apostle John. O Mary of the Rosary, keep me recollected when I say these prayers of yours; bind me forever, with your rosary, to Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament. Blessed be Jesus, my love, blessed be the Immaculate Virgin Mary."

- Pope John XXIII, Journal of a Soul

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"Being for every man the touchstone of faith and love, the Eucharist, like on the Cross, divided the minds as soon as it was announced... Nothing engages a man as much as does the Eucharist"...

..."The man who partakes in the breaking of the bread dares to build his house on the very core of love. He becomes, as it were, Godlike, but regardless of the strength he derives from it, his free will remains. We are always free to disown this immense grace, to abuse it. The Greatest Love may be betrayed. Fed on the Living Bread, we nevertheless conceal a part of ourselves which longs for swine's food."

"The Eucharist engages us unreservedly; it is a pact of love, an alliance signed in the deeper recesses of our being. All our potentialities are called upon to warrant the protection and fulfillment of this pact."

- from Francois Mauriac's Holy Thursday: An Intimate Remembrance

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"Why did Jesus not limit His Eucharistic Presence to the solemn moments of Holy Mass? Why does He not continue it only during those hours when, amid lights and flowers, He receives the adoration and homage of His sons? Why does He remain also during the nights, even in tabernacles where He is abandoned and forgotten and sometimes subjected to sacrilegious profanation?"

"It would seem that this persistent miracle of the Real Presence of Jesus under the appearances of the consecrated bread, even in times of profanation, is an excessive prodigality, both useless and incompatible with the Divine Majesty."

"And yet, this is the very reason why Jesus chose to do so; to love with a love that knows no measure and does not shrink from excess. This was the purpose for which He invented and instituted the Holy Eucharist as we have it: 'He loved to the end.'"

- from The Holy Eucharist, by Jose Guadalupe Trevino

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"At last there dawned the most beautiful day of all the days of my life. How perfectly I remember even the smallest details of those sacred hours! The joyful awakening, the reverent and tender embraces of my mistresses and older companions, the room filled with white frocks, like so many snowflakes, where each child was dressed in turn."

- St. Therese

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"Lord, I shall see you no more with the eyes of the flesh..."

- St. John of the Cross (to the Host which had been brought to him)

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"As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist."

- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

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"We do not sin when we adore Christ in the Eucharist; we do sin when we do not adore Christ in the Eucharist."

- St. Augustine

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"Certainly amongst all devotions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds the first place, is the most pleasing to God, and the most useful to ourselves. Do not then, O devout soul, refuse to begin this devotion; and forsaking the conversation of men, dwell each day, from this time forward, for at least half or quarter of an hour, in some church, in the presence of Jesus Christ under the sacramental species. Taste and see how sweet is the Lord."

- St. Alphonsus Ligouri

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Thirty years later, Father Eymard had tears in his eyes as he spoke of his first Holy Communion. "When I pressed Jesus to my heart, I said to Him: 'I will be a priest. I promise You!' ...Oh, what graces Our Lord gave me then! Yes, I believe my conversion at that time was sincere and perfect."

- from Saint Peter Julian Eymard: Apostle of the Eucharist

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"Let us give ourselves to the Immaculata. Let her prepare us, let her receive Him in Holy Communion. This is the manner most perfect and pleasing to the Lord Jesus and brings great fruit to us."

- St. Maximilian Kolbe

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"How happy I will be if I keep my heart free from attachment to anyone, and chained to Jesus, my God, alone... I will devote all my efforts to this end... I will go before the Blessed Sacrament, and there sign these resolutions with my blood."

- St. Peter Julian Eymard

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From The Cure of Ars: Patron Saint of Parish Priests, by Father Bartholomew O'Brien:

A man who lived near the church wondered what the new Cure was doing in there so very early each morning. One morning, long before dawn, when the man saw a tiny candle making it way from the rectory through the darkness across the cemetery, he sneaked over to the church and peeked in to find out for himself. There was the pastor, pouring out his heart to Jesus hidden in the Blessed Sacrament! "Ah," said the man, "he is not like other men!" What did the Cure say to his blessed Jesus? Henri Ghoen has given us his version of the Cure's prayer. Prostrate on the floor or kneeling with outstretched hands, the Cure thus prayed or groaned or wept out his heart:

"My God, my all, You see how I love You, and I do not love You enough.

My God, You have given me all; behold the little that I give You. Give me the strength to give more.

My God, here is all - take all; but convert my parish. If You do not convert it, it will be because I have not deserved it.

My God, I count my merits as nothing, but Yours are infinite. May they win for me the grace of suffering.

My God, I consent to suffer all that You may wish for all my life...for a hundred years...and the most bitter suffering, but convert them..."

(The Secret of the Cure D'Ars, Henri Gheon, p. 53)

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"The Eucharist is the heart of the Church. Where Eucharistic life flourishes, there the life of the church will blossom."

- Pope John Paul II

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"And since so few people now hear the words, 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened,' let each of us, when he approaches the Holy Table, look upon himself as the delegate of all those he loves or has loved, living or dead. When God makes His way into our souls, He does not find us alone. All those from whom we proceed and who have gone to sleep before us may receive, in Purgatory, some benefit of grace pervading us, their living children, when we pray for them. And all our friends who are kept away from the Source of grace by sin, indifference, ignorance, and incredulity - those who have helped us and those we have harmed - are present in our thoughts in this ineffable instant."

- Francois Mauriac

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"When I give way to the kindness of My Heart," said Christ to St. Gertrude, "When I humble Myself in the Sacrament of Life to be united to a soul which is free from mortal sin, all those who dwell in heaven, on earth, and in Purgatory receive inestimable favors."

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"I want to shine like a little candle before His altar."

- St. Therese of Lisieux

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It pleases me to consider Mary Magdalen, the divinely enamored of the Gospels, as the precursor of Eucharistic souls who are daily increasing in number and becoming more and more select and inflamed with love. Did not Magdalen, in utter disregard of scorn and criticism, feel and follow a special attraction to honor the Body of Christ, the same body we venerate under the sacramental species?

It happened the first time in Galilee, on the day of her conversion, at the dining hall of a wealthy Pharisee, amid the noise and merriment of a banquet. Wrapped in folds of luxurious cloak, she made her way through the guests to the feet of Jesus, who was "reclining at table." Kneeling down, she embraced and kissed those sacred feet, and wiped them with the mass of her loosened hair. To express her profound contrition and obtain forgiveness, her lips uttered not one word: she spoke only with the silent language of the heart, so well understood by my beloved Christ, namely, her tears.

- from The Holy Eucharist by Fr. Jose Guadalupe Trevino

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"When the army of Frederick II was devastating the valley of Spoleto some of the soldiers placed a ladder against the convent wall. St. Clare caused herself to be carried to a window, and holding the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament in sight of the enemies, she prostrated herself before the Eucharistic God. Her prayer was heard, and the enemies, struck with a sudden panic, fled in terror."

- Hoever

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"The brothers and sisters who would like to work for the conversion of souls, should try to participate every day in the sacrifice of the Mass. Let them remember that Mass is both Christmas and Calvary. A single Mass gives more glory to God than the martyrdom of the whole of humanity, united with the praises of all the angels and the saints. Where you have the Blessed Sacrament, there you have the living God, the Saviour, as really as when he was living in Galilee and Judea, as really as when he is now in heaven. Never lose a Communion by your own fault. Communion is more than life, more than all the goods of this world, more than the entire universe. It is God Himself, it is Jesus. Can you prefer anything else? If you love Jesus sincerely, can you willfully lose the grace of his coming within you? Jesus asks you to love him with all the energy and the simplicity of your heart."

- Charles de Foucauld

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"Sister Briege McKenna, O.S.C. speaks about a young priest who had cancer of the throat and expected to have his voice box removed in three weeks. "Father," she told him, "every single day at Mass... when you take the sacred Host, you meet Jesus.. you ask Jesus to heal you." He followed Sister's advice. Three weeks later he did not need surgery. The doctors realized the cancer had gone and that the young priest had brand new vocal cords."

- Roland Huot, S.S.S.

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"Niepokalanow is a home like Nazareth. The Father is God the Father, the mother and mistress of the home is the Immaculata, the firstborn son and our brother is Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament of the altar. All the younger brothers try to imitate the elder Brother in love and honor towards God and the Immaculata, our common parents, and from the Immaculata they try to love the divine elder Brother, the ideal of sanctity who deigned to come down from heaven to be incarnated in her and to live with us in the tabernacle...

"The whole world is a large Niepokalanow where the Father is God, the mother the Immaculata, the elder brother the Lord Jesus in all the tabernacles of the world, and the younger brothers the people."

"My aim is to institute perpetual adoration," he said, for this is the "the most important activity."

- from the writings of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe

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Our Lady and the Eucharist

A critic once said, "One cannot look at the Mother of God, with her pure, restful and happy countenance, without feeling impelled to fall down and join her in Adoration."

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"Each morning at Holy Mass, the Bread of Life will help the body as well as the soul, if we have faith. If we but touch the hem of His garment...and how much more have we than that! We can find Him, at every moment, on the altar. Be with Him there. Better than all books! Thank the Trinity over and over again for this Gift. Rest in His presence, and my guardian angel will adore Him for me.  Silence."

- Edel Quinn

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"This Food which no hunger can expel,
This is the Bread which the Spirit has baked in a holy fire.
This is a liquid which no thirst can destroy,
This is the Wine which the grape of a virgin's womb has brought forth."

- Matthew of Riveaulx

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"We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks. People ask, 'Where do the sisters get the joy and the energy to do what they are doing?' The Eucharist involves more than just receiving; it also involves satisfying the hunger of Christ. He says, 'Come to Me.' He is hungry for souls."

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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"A short time after his birth it became clear that a baby suffered from septicaemia. The doctors felt nothing could be done. The grandmother of the child attended the Mass offered at her request "for a special intention" in the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in Paris. The following day she found out that at the very moment when she received Holy Communion her son and his wife stood dumbfounded before the child who had been so thoroughly cured that the disease left no trace."

- from The Healing Power of the Eucharist by Roland Huot, S.S.S.

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"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, Phoenix Park, Sept. 29, 1979

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"If we did not have the adorable Eucharist here below, Jesus our God-with-us, this earth would be much too sad, this life too hard, and time too long. We must be grateful to the divine goodness for having left us this hidden Jesus, this pillar of cloud and fire in this desert,"

- St. Peter Julian Eymard

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"Jesus asked, 'Who touched me? I felt the power going out from Me.' In the same way, because Christ is present on the earth in the Eucharist, He radiates grace. Grace emanates from Him - grace goes out from Him,"

- Fr. John Hardon, S.J.

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"We cannot please God unless we resemble Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Sacrament [was] instituted for the very purpose of perfecting in us this likeness."

- Edward Leen, CSSp.

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"It is not the man who is responsible for the offerings as they become Christ's Body and Blood; it is Christ Himself who was crucified for us. The standing figure belongs to the priest who speaks these words. The power and the grace belong to God. 'This is My Body,' he says. And these words transform the offerings."

- St. John Chrysostom

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