“You were ransomed . . . with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb” (1Peter 1:18-19).

Jesus “experienced his death as an act of self-oblation, an act of love, and his body was then transfigured in the new life of the resurrection. He, the Incarnate Word, now becomes our food, food that leads to true life, life eternal. The Eternal Word—the power that creates life—comes down from heaven as the true manna, the bread bestowed upon man in faith and in sacrament” (Pope Benedict XVI). On the morning of the third day, after His death and burial, He arose from the dead and appeared to thee dear Mother and filled thy heart with unspeakable joy and to His disciples who adored Him as their risen God! “In the Virgin’s example of silent and fruitful listening, contemplation helps grasp the presence of the Living One in the Eucharist and aids in transfiguring the deaths that mark the earthly city into a commitment for life and hope in the resurrection” (Pope John Paul II, Servant of God).

“Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.

They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. (Mt 28:9)

Jesus lives today in The Blessed Sacrament, Alleluia! The Eucharist is Our Risen Lord! The power of His resurrection flows out to all who come into His Eucharistic Presence, transforming us into His image! “Hidden Jesus, glorious pledge of my resurrection. All my life is concentrated in You. It is You, O Host, who empower me to love forever, And I know that You will love me as Your child in return” (St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament). Feast of Divine Mercy—April 15: Pray the Chaplet in His Eucharistic Presence! “Adore, in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy”(Words of Jesus to St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1572).

“My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them 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. You, at least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not want to accept. In this way you will console My Heart” (ibid, 367). “Do all you possibly can for this work of My mercy. I desire that My mercy be worshiped, and I am giving mankind the last hope of salvation; that is, recourse to My mercy” (998).

Jesus is Risen—Alleluia!!! We wish you and your loved ones a Blessed & Joyous Easter!

What is the [Eucharistic Adoration] Visit? It is the meeting of our soul and of all our being with Jesus. It is the creature meeting his Creator;/The disciple before the Divine Master; The patient with the Doctor of souls;/The poor one appealing to the rich One; The thirsty one drinking at the Font;/The weak one presenting himself to the Almighty; The tempted one seeking a sure Refuge;/The blind one searching for the Light; The friend who goes to the True Friend;/The lost sheep sought by the divine Shepherd; The heart led astray who finds the Way;/The foolish one who finds Wisdom; The bride who finds the Spouse of the soul;/The nothing who finds the All; The afflicted who finds the Consoler;/The youth who finds life’s meaning; It is the shepherds at the manger, Magdalene at the house of Simon, Nicodemus who arrives by night. It is the holy conversations of the Samaritan, of Zacchaeus, of Philip and of all the apostles with Jesus, especially during the last week of his earthly life and after the resurrection. One approaches Jesus as the Mediator between God and humanity, as the Priest of the Father, as the Victim of expiation, as the Messiah come to the earth, as the Word of God, the Shepherd, the Way and Truth and Life, the Savior of the world. (By Ven. Fr. James Alberione) “Only one who is ‘with him’ comes to know him and can truly proclaim him. And anyone who has been with him cannot keep to himself what he has found. . . . Eucharistic adoration is an essential way of being with the Lord . . . . In the sacred Host, He is present, the true treasure, always waiting for us. Only by adoring this presence do we learn how to receive Him properly.... Let us love being with the Lord! There we can speak with Him about everything. We can offer Him our petitions, our concerns, our troubles. Our joys. Our gratitude, our disappointments, our needs and our aspirations. There we can also constantly ask Him: ‘Lord send laborers into Your harvest! Help me to be a good worker in Your vineyard!’” (Pope Benedict XVI, Sept. 11, 2006).* “I urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value of Eucharistic adoration . . . to be near the altar is also a privileged opportunity to hear Christ’s call to follow him more radically in the priestly ministry” (John Paul II, Letter to the Bishop of Liege, June 26, 1996).* “The Eucharist is the source and nourishment of every priestly and religious vocation” (Pope John Paul II, Feb. 1, 2005).* *These excerpts are from our NEW Eucharistic Adoration Increases Vocations Pamphlet! For Church and Priests: O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit and give power to the words of priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentence and return to You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy priests; You Yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil’s traps and snares which are continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests, for You can do all things. I ask You, Jesus, for a special blessing and for light for the priests before whom I will make my confessions throughout my lifetime. Amen. (Diary of St. Faustina)

Start Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in your parish or community today!

St. Katharine Drexel, Religious, America (1858-1955)—Feast, March 3 “The religious needs strength. Near the tabernacle the soul finds strength, consolation and resignation. The religious needs virtue. Jesus is the model of virtues in the Blessed Sacrament. The religious needs hope. In the Blessed Sacrament we possess the most precious pledge of our hope. The Host contains the germ of future life” (St. Katharine Drexel).

St. John of God, Religious, Founder of Hospitallers, Portugal (1495-1550)—March 8 St. John was a holy youth and spent the first part of his life as a shepherd. As a young man St. John joined the military and veered from his faith, but later converted and dedicated his life totally to God. St. John founded the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God who tirelessly care for the sick. St. John wrote, “Love our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist above all things in the world.”

St. Dominic Savio, Patron of Children, Italy (1842-1857)—March 9 “What else do I need to be happy? Nothing in this world but to be able to see Him [Jesus in the Sacred Host], Whom I now see by faith and adore on the altar” (St. Dominic Savio). Taught by St. John Bosco, St. Dominic achieved holiness as a child by staying close to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady. St. Dominic encouraged his friends to be saints too.

St. Louise de Marillac, Mother & Religious, France, (1591-1660)—March 15 “With all my heart I desire You, O Bread of Angels! do not look on my unworthiness which separates me from You, but look on Your love which so often has invited me to approach You.”

St. Patrick, Bishop and Patron of Ireland (d. 461)—March 17 The Holy Eucharist was the source and strength of St. Patrick’s life, which inspired him to lead all souls to the Holy Trinity. “We acknowledge and adore Him as one God” (St. Patrick).

St. Joseph, Patron of Universal Church, Spouse of B.V.M.—March 19 “He [St. Joseph] nourished with the greatest solicitude Him whom the faithful were one day to receive as the Bread of Life on their homeward journey” (Pope Pius IX). “We all have in him [St. Joseph] a model and a protector. As adorers of the Sacramental Jesus, we continue near the Blessed Sacrament his service, his adoration and his love. He will watch over us and give us his spirit and virtues. Leading us to Jesus, he will say to Him: ‘I cannot be on earth any longer to watch over You and serve You, but bless these adorers who are replacing me; give them the graces You gave me, so that their service may recall and replace mine.’ How happy St. Joseph is to see us crowding about Jesus in His Sacrament, feeble, abandoned, persecuted, more in need of defenders and servants than in His Infancy . . . . Saint Joseph, be my protector, my model, and my father in my service of Jesus Eucharistic” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).

Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord—March 26 “When the Divine Child was conceived, Mary’s humanity gave Him hands and feet, eyes and ears, and a body with which to suffer. Just as the petals of a rose after a dew close on the dew as if to absorb its energies, so too Mary as the Mystical Rose closed upon Him Whom the Old Testament had described as a dew descending upon the earth. When finally she did give Him birth, it was as if a great ciborium had opened, and she was holding in her fingers the Guest Who was also the Host of the world, as if to say, ‘Look, this is the Lamb of God; look, this is He Who takes away the sins of the world’” (Life of Christ, Fulton J. Sheen, p. 9). Let us adore Jesus!

Holy Thursday—April 5—Could You Not Watch One Hour With Me? “Jesus gave this act of oblation an enduring presence through his institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. He anticipated his death and resurrection by giving his disciples, in the bread and wine, his very self, his body and blood as the new manna” (cf. Jn 6:31-33). -Deus Caritas Est, 13.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion—April 6 “The cross is the proof that He loved us and the Tabernacle is the proof that He loves us now with tender compassion” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

Holy Saturday—April 7 “When, in adoration, we contemplate the consecrated Host . . . we discover the greatness of this gift, but we also discover the Passion, the Cross of Jesus and His resurrection” (Pope Benedict XVI).

Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of Our Lord—April 8 When the loving Shepherd,/Ere He left the earth, Burning with affection,/Jesus deigns to dwell. These His lambs so cherish'd,/Purchased for His own, He would not abandon/In the world alone . . . . . Yes, upon that altar,/Captive in His cell, Shed, to pay our ransom,/Blood of priceless worth,- Thence He seeks to kindle/With His heavenly fires Every heart that truly/To His love aspires. (St. Alphonsus de Liguori)

Divine Mercy Sunday—April 15 “Immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying It; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners” (Words of Jesus to St. Faustina).

St. Gianna Beretta Molla, Wife, Mother, Doctor, Martyr, Italy (1922-1962)—April 28 “The life of Mamma was an act and a perennial action of faith and charity; it was a non-stop search for the will of God for every decision and for every work, with prayer and meditation, Holy Mass and the Eucharist,” explained St. Gianna’s husband to their children after her death.

St. Louis Mary de Montfort, Priest, Missionary, Founder, France (1673-1716)—April 28 “I cannot thank God enough for the grace He has given you in making you a perfect victim of Jesus Christ, an adorer of the Blessed Sacrament and one who is called to atone for so many bad Christians and unfaithful priests. What an honor for your body to be spiritually sacrificed in the hour of your adoration before the Blessed Sacrament! What a privilege for your soul to do here below what the angels and saints are doing in heaven so sweetly and gloriously although you have not their understanding nor their light of glory but only the feeble light of faith. Faithful adorers give so much glory to God here on earth but they are so few, for even the very spiritual want to taste and see otherwise they lose interest and slacken off. But ‘faith alone suffices’” (St. Louis de Montfort, in a letter to his sister, Louise, a Benedictine of the Blessed Sacrament).

World Day of Prayer for Vocations—April 29 O Father, raise up among Christians abundant and holy vocations to the priesthood, who keep the faith alive and guard the blessed memory of your Son Jesus through the preaching of his word and the administration of the Sacraments, with which you continually renew your faithful. Grant us holy ministers of your altar, who are careful and fervent guardians of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the supreme gift of Christ for the redemption of the world. Call ministers of your mercy, who, through the sacrament of Reconciliation, spread the joy of your forgiveness. Grant, O Father, that the Church may welcome with joy the numerous inspirations of the Spirit of your Son and, docile to His teachings, may she care for vocations to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life. Sustain the Bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated men and women, and all the baptized in Christ, so that they may faithfully fulfil their mission at the service of the Gospel. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us (Pope Benedict XVI, March 5, 2006).

Healing Intentions: Send us the names of loved ones, living and dead, you would like us to pray for throughout the Lenten and Easter Seasons before Jesus, Our Eucharistic Savior! 

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