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It is generally known, that, since Vatican II, much has changed in the Catholic Church with regard to this veneration of the Host (whic means "sacrificial gift" in Latin). Most of the forms of reverence I have described [such as kneeling for Communion] have disappeared. The liturgical reformers succeeded in convincing the faithful that reverence for the Host, worship of the Host as the real physical appearance of Jesus Christ, has been unknown in the Church of the Apostles and their early successors. This veneration of the Host was medieval, they said. The word "medieval" has an even more pejorative...

The Eucharistic Vision of Guitmund of Aversa Is there a connection between the appearance of Christ in the Eucharist and those that occur on the first Easter morning? The Eucharistic Vision of Guitmund of Aversa By Mark G. Vaillancourt On the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 10, 2004, the late Pope John Paul II said of the great mystery of Christ in the Eucharist: “Christ gives his Body and Blood for the life of humanity, and all those who nourish themselves worthily at his table, become living instruments of his presence of love, mercy and peace.” In this statement, the...

Marian Spirituality of the Eucharist The purpose of the Holy Eucharist is to transform us into Jesus Christ, so that we may become more and more like him whom we adore. A Marian Spirituality of the Eucharist By Dwight P. Campbell In his Apostolic Letter of October 7, 2004 inaugurating the Year of the Eucharist, Mane Nobiscum Domine (Stay With Us Lord), our late, beloved Holy Father, John Paul II, speaks of the need for a “Eucharistic spirituality” inspired and guided by the Blessed Virgin Mary.1 In saying this he refers back to his Encyclical on the Holy Eucharist of...

In a homily given in 1999, Pope John Paul II said, “The Heart of the Lord is the starting point of the holiness of each one of us.” I have always had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My favorite image is the one distributed by the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Wisconsin. Our Lord’s eyes seem to say, “I love you, come to Me.” As a youth, I wanted to go to Him often but I was easily distracted. After parochial grade school, I attended public high school and soon became lukewarm in my faith. Once...