"Mary, mother of Jesus, give us your heart, so beautiful, so pure, so  immaculate, so full of love and humility, that we may be able to receive Jesus in the bread of life, love him as you love him, and serve him in the distressing disguise of the poor."(Mother Teresa)

    "Contemplate Jesus lying in His Crib, wrapped in the might of divine peace and redemptive suffering.  Mary, kneeling, enraptured, in ecstasy, watches over the Child, over the Eternal One.  She meditates on another

Bethlehem, on quite another Crib, a crib of apparent repose, but of real and perpetual immolation, the Altar!     "Looking ahead through the centuries to come, the loving Queen, the sorrowing Virgin contemplates this lasting Bethlehem, indestructible through the ages, where this same adorable Child will be born thousands of times upon the Altar.  She sees Him placed, like a mild prisoner, between the walls of a humble and silent Tabernacle.  Glancing down at her sleeping Child, she beholds the same Jesus her God humbled even more in each ciborium, than He is in the manger.     The vision of Bethlehem has become reality.  On every altar Jesus-Host seems to sleep, and Mary still continues to guard this Eucharistic crib from which Jesus constantly watches over us." (Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey)

"...You, Jesus Christ become Man; You, bread!  Oh, to annihilate oneself, how little that would be!  If you had left us a relic of Yourself it would be a sign of love worthy of our veneration, but you yourself remain knowing that you would be the object of profanation, sacrilege and ingratitude, abandoned.  Are you, Lord, mad with love?" (St. Teresa of the Andes)

"Let all mortal flesh keep silence And with fear and trembling stand Ponder nothing earthly minded For with blessing in His hand Christ our God to earth descendeth Our full homage to demand

"King of kings yet born of Mary As our Lord on earth He stood Lord of lords in human vesture In the body and the blood He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food..." (From the French Carol, "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence")

"The Lord whom the Mother bears and the Lord in the Host are the same, and this one Lord has only one thought: to give himself away, to share his very substance, in an infinite manner.  The Mother understood this from the  beginning and never bore anything in mind except giving the Son to the  world." (Adrienne von Speyr)

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had only one life, one purpose: To glorify the Heavenly Father.  That is what we also must want.  To achieve it, we have to enter into union with Mary and Joseph, share their life family life, the intimate interior life of which God alone is the secret.  What happiness to be called to this life.  Our love will consist in living with Mary and Joseph on the love of Jesus Eucharistic." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

John is the Apostle whom Jesus brought close to Himself on Holy Thursday night.  At the last Supper, as John reclined near the Heart of Christ, he experienced the deep, personal love of the God-Man.  As he rested on the Savior's breast, he drank from the springs of salvation, from the living waters of eternal love that flowed from the Heart of Christ.  From that moment on, John saw himself as "the one Jesus loved", the Beloved Apostle of the Lord.  All of the writings of John are animated with the theme of the Incarnation God becoming Man and dwelling among us whom we have "heard", "seen", and "looked upon".  

The Eucharist is the continuation of Christ's incarnation on earth.  In St. John's prologue we understand the beauty and the meaning of the Eucharist: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we have seen His glory; the glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love."  John really believed that Jesus loved him.  That is what Jesus wants everyone to do to really believe that He loves us in a deep, personal, unconditional way in spite of our sins and how many times we have failed in the past.  John represents each and every one of us.  We are all special in Christ.  Because of the Eucharist, everyone should see themselves as "the one Jesus loves" (Jn 20:2).  (From the book Come to Me in the Blessed Sacrament)

"The Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem is not an event which can be consigned to the past.  The whole of human history in fact stands in reference to Him: our own time and the future of the world are illumined by His Presence.  He is 'the living one' (Rev 1:18), 'Who is, Who was and Who is to come' (Rev 1:4)." (Pope John Paul II) "Our Lord is hidden there, waiting for us to come and visit him and ask him or what we want.  He is there, in the Sacrament of his love, sighing and interceding unceasingly for sinners before God his Father.  He is there to console us ...  See how good he is!  He adapts himself to our weakness...  In heaven where we shall be triumphant and glorious, we shall see him in all his glory; if he had appeared before us now in glory, we should not have dared to approach him; but he hides himself like one in prison, saying to us, 'You do not see me, but that does not matter; ask me for all you want, and I will grant it you.'"  (St. John Vianney)

"The dynamic seed which is the Eucharist has already germinated in the mother of God, blossoming into a beauty beyond compare.  Her sinless self now  represents the first fruits of her Son's Parousia.  As the New Eve, Mary is the dawn of glorious fulfillment for her human family, her multitudinous human family.  And her maternal heart yearns to welcome every precious one of them into the new world of the City of God, the City of Mary." (Fr. Richard Foley, S.J.)

In his encyclical to the laity Christifidelis Laici, Pope John Paul II  repeats the words with which he began his papacy, Open, indeed, open wide the doors to Christ!  Open to his saving power!  

Words of Pope John Paul II:

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, (Tertio Millenio Adveniente).

For 2,000 years, the Church has been the cradle in which Mary places Jesus and entrusts Him to the adoration and contemplation of all peoples.  May the humility of the Bride cause to shine forth still more brightly the glory and power of the Eucharist, which she celebrates and treasures in her heart. (Incarnationis Mysterium) 

The best the surest and the most effective way of establishing everlasting peace on the face of the earth is through the great power of Perpetual  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, December 2, 1981 address when he began Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in a chapel at St. Peters Basilica in Rome.

Take an active, conscientious and responsible part in the mission of the Church in this great moment in history made especially dramatic by occurring on the threshold of the Third Millennium. (Christifidelis Laici)

(The above quotations were taken from the pamphlet "Eucharistic  Evangelization 2000")

"Her [Mary's] motherhood extends beyond view.  In the will of the Son, she becomes at once mother and maid: sheltering him, but sheltered in him,  forming him, but formed by him ...  When she pronounces the words: 'Be it doneto me according to thy word', the Mother conceives the mystery from the Trinity, in order to give it to the Son.  The Son gives the word back to the Trinity by giving everything he has back to the Father in the Spirit.  Then, after the Father has received it again, it is distributed to mankind by means of that extravagant expansioning the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit."  (Adrienne von Speyr)

"When the shepherds and Magi came to adore Him, they brought Him so much joy with their humble visit to Bethlehem that their visit has been praised and retold down through the centuries.  God has never stopped honoring them for  honoring His Son in Bethlehem.  So too, your humble visit to Jesus today in the Blessed Sacrament brings Him so much joy that it will be retold for all eternity and bring the world closer to His promise of peace on earth.

"We are as privileged in being called to adore Him today as were Mary,  Joseph, the shepherds and Magi then, because here Jesus continues His  incarnation on earth.  Here Jesus loses His Heart to us in love.  Love  expresses itself to the object of its affection; the Eucharist is the  continual expression of Gods perfect, unselfish love for man.  The Word again becomes flesh and dwells among us, veiled under the Species of the Sacred Host, where the same Jesus born two thousand years ago as a little babe in Bethlehem is truly, really, bodily, and personally present to us in this Most Blessed Sacrament."  (From the book Rosary Meditations: Loving Jesus With the Heart of Mary)

    "In choosing to be born for us, God chose to be known by us.  He  therefore reveals himself in this way, in order that this great sacrament of his love may not be an occasion for us of great misunderstanding.     "Today the Magi find, crying in a manger, the one they have followed as he shone in the sky.  Today the Magi see clearly, in swaddling clothes, the one they have long awaited as he lay hidden among the stars.     "Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body.  As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die.     "So the Gentiles, who were the last, become the first: the faith of the Magi is the first fruits of the belief in the Gentiles.     "Today Christ enters the Jordan to wash away the sin of the world.  John himself testifies that this is why he has come: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.  Today the servant lays his hand on the Lord, a man lays his hand on God, John lays his hand on Christ, not to forgive but to receive forgiveness.     "Today, as the psalmist prophesied: The voice of the Lord is heard above the waters.  What does the voice say?  This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.     "Today the Holy Spirit hovers over the waters in the likeness of a dove.  A dove announced to Noah that the flood had disappeared from the earth; so now a dove is to reveal that the world's shipwreck is at an end for ever.  The sign is no longer an olive-shoot of the old stock: instead, the Spirit pours out on Christ's head the full richness of a new anointing by the  Father, to fulfill what the psalmist had prophesied: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.     "Today Christ works the first of his signs from heaven by turning water into wine.  But water [mixed with wine] has still to be changed into the sacrament of his blood, so that Christ may offer spiritual drink from the chalice of his body, to fulfill the psalmist's prophecy: How excellent is my chalice, warming my spirit." (St. Peter Chrysologus)

BE NOT AFRAID!

"Peoples of the entire world need to hear these words. Their conscience needs to  grow in the certainty that Someone exists who holds in His Hands the destiny of this passing world... And this Someone is Love, Love that became Man, Love crucified and risen, Love unceasingly present among men. It is Eucharistic Love." (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

"The high point of the Jubilee is the encounter with God the Father,  through Christ the Saviour present in his Church and in a special way in the Sacraments. For this reason, the whole Jubilee journey, prepared for by pilgrimage, has as its starting point and its conclusion the  celebration of the Sacraments of Penance and of the Eucharist, the  paschal mystery of Christ, our peace and our reconciliation: this is the transforming encounter which opens us to the gift of the indulgence for ourselves and for others." (Pope John Paul II, INCARNATIONIS MYSTERIUM)

    The Eucharist is the source of the Christian life because whoever shares in it receives the motivation and strength to live as a true Christian. Christs sacrifice on the cross imparts to the believer the dynamism of His generous love; the Eucharistic banquet nourishes the faithful with the Body and Blood of the divine Lamb sacrificed for us, and it gives them the  strength to follow in His footsteps. The Eucharist is the summit of the whole Christian life because the faithful bring to it all their prayers and good works, their joys and  sufferings.  These modest offerings are united to the perfect sacrifice of Christ and are thus completely sanctified and lifted up to God in an act of perfect worship which brings the faithful into divine intimacy. (Pope John Paul II General audience on the Holy Eucharist in the life of the Church, April 8, 1992)

"At Christmas he was born a man; today he is reborn sacramentally.  Then he was born from the Virgin; today he is born in mystery.  When he was born a man, his mother Mary held him close to her heart; when he is born in mystery, God the Father embraces him with his voice when he says: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: listen to him.  The mother caresses the tender baby on her lap; the Father serves his Son by his loving testimony.  The mother holds the child for the Magi to adore; the Father reveals that his Son is to be worshiped by all the nations." (St. Maximus of Turin)

The Sacristans of Carmel  St. Therese of Lisieux

Here below our sweet office Is to prepare for the altar The bread and wine of the Sacrifice Which brings "Heaven" to earth!

O supreme mystery, Heaven Hides in humble bread, For Heaven is Jesus Himself, Coming to us each morning.

There are no queens on earth Who are happier than we. Our office is a prayer Which unites us to our Spouse.

This world's greatest honours Cannot compare To the deep, celestial peace Which Jesus lets us savour.

We bring a holy envy For the work of our hands, For the little white host Which is to veil our divine Lamb.

But His love has chosen us. He is our Spouse, our Friend. We are also hosts which Jesus wants to change into Himself.

Sublime mission of the Priest, You become our mission here below. Transformed by the Divine Master, It is He who guides our steps.

We must help the apostles By our prayers, our love. Their battlefields are ours. For them we fight each day.

The hidden God of the tabernacle Who also hides in our hearts, O what a miracle!  At our voice Deigns to pardon sinners!

Our happiness and our glory  Is to work for Jesus. His beautiful Heaven is the ciborium We want to fill with souls!...

    "To cast fire upon the earth that is my mission!  And how I wish it were already blazing fiercely!  Nothing in the world can set hearts ablaze with love for God like the Blessed Sacrament.  That is why this divine bread has been pictured as a furnace of love.  Saint Catherine of Siena saw  far-reaching flames coming from this furnace of love and spreading throughout the world.  Seeing this, Catherine simply could not understand how so many people could live without loving God.     "My Lord, set me on fire with love for you.  Let me think of nothing, crave for nothing, yearn for nothing, search for nothing, but you.  How I wish to be caught up in this scorching fire of love!  How I wish it would consume every obstacle that blocks my path toward you!  Make my love for you grow stronger each day of my life."  (St. Alphonsus Liguori)   Of the Blessed Sacrament Saint Bernard has written: "The divine is hidden; the human is hidden; love alone is left for all to see." "Evangelization for the Eucharist, in the Eucharist and from theEucharist  ..."(Pope John Paul II, Seville, Spain, 1993)

"Farmers everywhere provide bread for all humanity, but it is Christ alone who is the bread of life....Even if all the physical hunger of the world were satisfied, even if everyone who is hungry were fed by his or her own labor or by the generosity of others, the deepest hunger of man would still  exist....Therefore, I say, Come, all of you, to Christ.  He is the bread of life.  Come to Christ and you will never be hungry again...."  (Pope John Paul II)

"O how unspeakable is this Sacrament which sets our affections ablaze with charity.  ... It is the fulfillment of Christ's Mystical Body." (St.Thomas Aquinas)

"The graces to be won through perpetual adoration are manifold.  At the personal level, each individual watcher's hour-long vigil before the throne of grace strengthens their faith and invigorates their overall spiritual life.  At the parish level, its benefits and fruits are commonly seen in an increased Mass attendance; a fair number of lapsed parishioners return to the practice of their faith; Confessions tend to go up in numbers; marital and family problems are in not few cases eased, if not fully solved; and  vocations to the priesthood and religious life often owe their origins to this source." (Fr. Richard Foley, S.J.)

    "... For everybody, Christ in the Eucharist is the true Bread to make them strong.  It is the nourishment to make men heroic, to sustain martyrs, and to bring strength and peace to souls in their last agony.     "In the Eucharist, Jesus repeats to us, who suffer and moan in this valley of tears, this affectionate summons, 'Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you' (Matt 11:28).  For certainly, 'The life of man upon earth is a warfare' (Job 7:1).  Moreover, Jesus' followers 'shall suffer persecution' (cf. II Tim. 3:12; Matt 5:10) ...     "It is also true that with Jesus 'I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me' (Phil. 4:13), for Jesus is 'all' (cf. John 1:3; Col. 1:17)." (Fr.Stephano Manelli, O.F.M.)

"What need I fear?  He Who sustains the world is within me.  The Blood of a God circulates within my veins: Have no fear, O my soul.  The Lord of the Universe has taken you up into His Arms and wants you to find rest in Him." (The Servant of God, Luisa M. Claret de la Touche)

"The Bridegroom would not have his bride lonely while he was away.  He wanted her to have a companion.  And the best companion he could leave her was himself in this sacrament." (St. Peter Alcantara)  

If you would like to be on a mailing list to receive a quote on the Blessed Sacrament by E-mail each day, please write to info@ACFP2000.com