Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: All
Vultus Christi

God Hidden and Unknown

 

Saturday, 24 May 2014 17:58

 

The Auction

Someone informed me, yesterday, of an auction being held this weekend at a farm not far from the priory. Among the old furniture and various objects being put up for sale, there were, I was told, a monstrance, a chalice, a ciborium, a tabernacle, and other ecclesiastical appointments. I thought it worth my while to investigate the situation more closely.

Entering the farm, I found myself in a kind of central yard surrounded by outbuildings or sheds filled with furniture and bric–a–brac. The public auction is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Entering a shed, I saw an array of statues of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints. One of them, a carved statue of Our Lady, was especially beautiful. Next to it I saw a monstrance (complete with the lunula), a ciborium, a couple of communion patens, and a tabernacle that looked as if it had been wrenched out of a stone altarpiece or wall. The key was in the tabernacle door.

The Discovery

Something moved me to open the tabernacle door. I was not prepared for what I saw. There, lying on the stained and mouldy floor of the tabernacle — once lined with immaculate white silk — were a dirty corporal and two Hosts. My sense was that these were consecrated Hosts: the adorable Body of Jesus Christ. Unconsecrated hosts would not have been left lying in a locked tabernacle.

The Price

I attempted to explain to the young attendant what I had just discovered in the tabernacle. He was unable to grasp what I was saying and seemed never to have heard the word “host” before. Moments later the gentleman conducting the auction arrived. I told him that among his wares were things belonging to God, sacred things, and that I wanted to rescue them so as to restore them to God’s house. Looking at the monstrance, the ciborium, and the tabernacle containing its priceless Treasure, I offered him a price for the lot of things. He accepted my offer, and allowed me to make my purchase in advance of the public auction. . The transaction completed, I returned to the priory with my acquisitions; I was sorrowful but grateful.

Reparation

At the priory, I called the brethren together. We carried the tabernacle to the sacristy, where I opened it and transferred the Sacred Hosts to a pyx. Accompanied by a brother bearing a lighted candle and by the rest of the community, I went to the Oratory and placed the pyx in the tabernacle. Kneeling, we prayed the Collect of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and made an act of reparation. And then I wept. Would that I could, in some way, make reparation for the irreverence, coldness, and ignorance that surround Our Lord in the Sacrament of His Love! Would that I could preach the surpassing wonder of His Real Presence over the entire length and breadth of this island!

God Hidden and Unknown

Not only is Our Lord hidden — Vere tu es Deus absconditus — He is also unknown. Even among those who frequent their churches Sunday after Sunday, there are souls in darkness concerning the mystery of the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Two or three generations have come to understand the Blessed Sacrament as mere holy bread. Jesus the Host —meaning the Victim, the Lamb of Sacrifice — is forgotten. His adorable Body is treated as a thing, as an object of little worth apart from the subjective sentiments one chooses to attach to it. Once, in this very island, men shed their blood for the Host. Once, in this very island, men deemed Him their all, wanting nothing on earth apart from Him.

The Green Wood and the Dry

What can I pray? I ask Our Lord to reveal Himself. I ask Him to give words to His priests that they might proclaim the adorable Sacrament of the Altar and make known Its wonders at every opportunity. I ask Our Lord to inspire His priests to speak of Him and, even more, to give a worthy example of faith, of adoration, of reverence, and of burning love. “For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31)

Guardians, Sentinels, Friends

Who are the guardians of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ if not His priests? Who are the sentinels charged with keeping watch before Him? Who are His chosen friends, called to tarry in His presence and to prefer His company to all else? Who are the men set aside to handle His most pure Body and to touch the chalice of His Precious Blood? These are His priests, my own brothers.

Prayer for Eucharistic Light and Fire

Send, O Jesus, a penetrating light upon thy priests. Enkindle a fire of love in their hearts. Increase their faith and grace them with an angelic reverence in Thy presence, lest by treating Thee carelessly, or with indifference, they scandalize the little ones who look to them for an example of living faith and of humble adoration.

The light of the true faith that once illumined Ireland has grown dim; the hearts of the multitude have grown cold. Reveal, O Jesus, Thy Eucharistic Face! Let the flames that escape from Thy Eucharistic Heart enkindle a great body of adorers, especially among Thine own priests, lest Thy Church suffer too great a darkness, too piercing a cold. Amen.


31 posted on 05/24/2014 6:44:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies ]


To: Salvation
Regnum Christi

The Master and the Slave
U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

 

John 15: 18-21

Jesus said to his disciples: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ´No slave is greater than his master.´ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, help me to embrace my cross joyfully.

1. Bearing the Burden: “The world hated me first.” This is the incredible story of the Gospels. Christ came and the culture was against him. As the story of Christ in the Gospel progresses, the forces of antagonism get worse: The dangers increase with the turning of every page. This was a real burden for Christ, the burden of a parent whose children turn against him. Perhaps I, too, feel that burden. Perhaps I experience that rejection from those who love me or from those who don’t believe.

2. Loving Acceptance: Christ courageously and lovingly accepted that burden. He did not complain. Perhaps he asked his Father for an easier way. It is the same in our lives. I often face problems, even when I want to do good. There comes a moment in life when I must accept my limitations and the limitations imposed on me by others. This is a memorable moment in life—the moment I accept my cross, like Christ did. That acceptance isn’t easy, but at the same time it fills my heart with a deep peace and sometimes even joy.

3. Seeking Solutions: After I accept my cross, I experience a new courage, and my imagination fires up. Love always looks for solutions: Christ never stopped searching for ways to get through to the culture. I must do the best I can to evangelize, even though I may encounter opposition. With Christ’s help, no obstacle is too great. He will help me to overcome all the problems I may encounter. The important thing is that I keep focused on the fulfillment of his will out of love. He will take care of the rest.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know my burden. You know what makes me lose sleep, what I wake up worrying about. Help me to accept it, as you accepted your cross.

Resolution: I will stop complaining and see what I can do to alleviate the burdens and sufferings of others.


32 posted on 05/24/2014 7:01:59 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson