Meditating on the Sorrows of the Eucharistic Jesus
The quotations below are taken from Divine Mercy in My Soul: The Diary of Blessed Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska (Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press, 1987). [Bl. Sr. Faustina was pronounced a universal Saint of the Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000.]
(1) Jesus living and waiting daily in the Tabernacle is being forgotten and abandoned by the vast majority of humanity, including Christians, for whom He has come.
Jesus said to Sr. Faustina: "My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially poor sinners… For whom I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. Oh, how indifferent are souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the world. They have time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for graces." (paragraph 367) "See, I have left My heavenly throne to become united with you [souls]." (paragraph 1810) "In return for My blessings, I get ingratitude. In return for My love, I get forgetfulness and indifference. My Heart cannot bear this." (1537)
Prayer after each sorrow: O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving, be every moment Thine!
(2) Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is being received in a great hurry, indifference and tepidity of heart by countless souls.
The Lord said: "But I want to tell you that eternal life must begin already here on earth through Holy Communion. Each Holy Communion makes you more capable of communing with God throughout eternity." (1811) "It pains Me very much when religious souls receive the Sacrament of love merely out of habit, as if they did not distinguish this food. I find neither faith nor love in their hearts. I go to such souls with great reluctance. It would be better if they did not receive Me." (1288) "Know, My daughter, that you caused Me more sorrow by not uniting yourself with Me in Holy Communion than you did by that small transgression." (612)
(3) Jesus is painfully wounded by our ingratitude and infidelity.
Jesus told Sr. Faustina: "Ingratitude in return for so many graces is My Heart's constant food… Their love is lukewarm, and My Heart cannot hear it; these souls force Me to reject them… This distrust of My goodness hurts Me very much… They use My graces to offend Me." (580) "The infidelity of a soul specially chosen by Me wounds My Heart most painfully. Such infidelities are swords which pierce My Heart." (367) However, "I commune with your soul in such an intimate manner because you do not steal My gifts, and this is why I pour all these graces upon your soul… You will not hoard them for yourself." (1069)
(4) The real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is being explained away rationally by both non-Christians and Christians. In a recent poll, only about 30% of the Catholics in North America believe in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus moaned: "Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy." (1447) "Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat Me as a dead object." (1385)
(5) Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is being received in venial and mortal sins by many chosen souls.
Jesus said, "I am more deeply wounded by the small imperfections of chosen souls than by the sins of those living in the world." (580) "The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through." (1702) "My daughter, I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today. I have experienced sorrow unto death." (886) "My daughter, know without doubt, and once and for all, that only mortal sin drives Me out of a soul, and nothing else." (1181) "I [Sr. Faustina] felt within my soul, a great disgust for sin." (866)
(6) Jesus is unspeakably mistreated by us.
"Souls without love and without devotion, souls full of egoism and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full of deceit and hypocrisy… There is neither penance nor atonement. O heart, which received Me in the morning and at noon are all ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart… chosen by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain?" (1702) "Jesus gave me to know in detail the gravity of the malice of these ungrateful souls: You see, this is a torture greater than My death." (445)
(7) Eucharistic Jesus sees priceless souls perishing in sins and into Hell.
"There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me. You, who are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My good, and thus you will comfort My Heart." (580) "Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My great mercy." (1396) "The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness… The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion for sinners." (1397) "I want adoration to take place… for the intention of imploring mercy for the world." (1070)
"The Angel of th Eucharist," by St Therese of Lisieux
Gaze on, dear Angel, heavenward flown,
Gaze, while our King ascends on high;
But I, to seek His altar throne,
Down to the distant earth will fly.
Veiled in His Eucharist I see
The Almighty Lord, the Undefiled,
The Master of all things that be,
More tiny than the humblest child.
Here will I dwell in this blest place,
The sanctuary of my King;
And here, before His veiled Face,
My hymns of ardent love will sing.
Here, to my heaven strung angel lyre,
My praise I'll chant, by night, by day,
To Him, the Feast for saint's desire,
To Him, the sinner's Hope and Stay.
Would that by miracle, I too
Could feed upon this heavenly Bread;
Could taste that Blood forever new,
That Blood which was for all men shed!
At least, with some pure longing soul,
I'll share my fires of love divine,
That so, all fearless, glad and whole,
It may approach its Lord and mine.
