“Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:13).

Almighty and Eternal God, You have appointed Your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant, we beg of You, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. (Closing prayer to the Litany of the Precious Blood). “I encourage all of you to discover ever more fully in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ’s sacrificial love, the inspiration and strength needed to work ever more generously for the spread of God’s Kingdom and the growth of the civilization of love” (cf. Sacramentum Caritatis, 90). -Pope Benedict XVI, April 20, 2007

“Place on thy heart one drop of the Precious Blood of Jesus and fear nothing” (Pius IX).

“This most holy mystery thus needs to be firmly believed, devoutly celebrated and intensely lived in the Church. Jesus’ gift of Himself in the sacrament which is the memorial of His passion tells us that the success of our lives is found in our participation in the trinitarian life offered to us truly and definitively in Him. The celebration and worship of the Eucharist enable us to draw near to God’s love and to persevere in that love until we are united with the Lord whom we love. The offering of our lives, our fellowship with the whole community of believers and our solidarity with all men and women are essential aspects of that logik latrea, spiritual worship, holy and pleasing to God (cf. Rom 12:1), which transforms every aspect of our human existence, to the glory of God. I therefore ask all pastors to spare no effort in promoting an authentically eucharistic Christian spirituality. Priests, deacons and all those who carry out a eucharistic ministry should always be able to find in this service, exercized with care and constant preparation, the strength and inspiration needed for their personal and communal path of sanctification. I exhort the lay faithful, and families in particular, to find ever anew in the sacrament of Christ’s love the energy needed to make their lives an authentic sign of the presence of the risen Lord. I ask all consecrated men and women to show by their eucharistic lives the splendour and the beauty of belonging totally to the Lord” (Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis, 94).

“This Blood ... is the price of salvation ... the token of Divine Love.” “This is a devotion which derives from what we have in Holy Scripture.” You have redeemed us, Lord, with your Blood! ... This is a fundamental devotion which embraces all others; it is the basis, the supporting structure, the essence of Catholic piety ... Devotion to the Most Precious Blood: this is the weapon for the times” (St. Gaspar Del Bufalo, Founder of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood).

“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14b).

“I want to dedicate my entire existence to adoration of the Precious Blood. The Blood of the Lamb flows in abundance. Let us open our poor and destitute hearts, that it may flood them with its life-giving streams.” “The Blood . . . nothing can resist its power. The soul that drinks it worthily will glow brighter than fire . . . . The Blood enkindles the heart with seraphic love.” “We can ask and expect everything of the Precious Blood’s power and efficacy” (Mother Catherine Aurelia, Foundress of the Sisters of the Precious Blood).

START PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION IN YOUR PARISH TODAY!

St. Elizabeth (Isabel), Wife, Mother, Queen of Portugal, (1271-1336)—Feast, July 4 A life of heroic prayer, virtue and charity to the poor while centered on the Eucharist were the hallmarks of her life. Elizabeth suffered much in her marriage before her husband’s conversion from his licentious life. She once had to go to a battle field to stop her husband and son from fighting and establish peace between them! Upon her husband’s death she took the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis and established a convent of Poor Clares. Her life was a very holy one modeled after her great Aunt St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Patron of World Youth Days, Italy (1901-1925)—Feast, July 4 “The Eucharistic Christ was his sovereign Lord, whom he never ceased to adore,” wrote Luciana Frassati, Pier Giorgio Frassati’s sister, of her brother who spent many hours adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and encouraging others to adore Him. Bl. Pier was also devoted to the Holy Rosary. He led a life of the beatitudes, serving the poor and sick, with a pure and generous heart. He was a popular youth, who loved sports and encouraged his friends to be holy.

St. Maria Goretti, Patroness of Youth & Children of Mary, Italy (1890-1902)—July 6 “The Holy Eucharist is the perfect expression of the love of Jesus Christ for man” (St. Maria).

St. Benedict, Priest, Founder of the Benedictines, Italy (c.480-547)—Feast, July 11 Benedict is a very great Saint who worked numerous miracles, including raising the dead. His was a life of prayer and work, he taught his monks to pray always. He is known as the Father of Western monasticism.Benedict’s great love was Jesus in the Eucharist whom he received just before he died. His twin sister Scholastica is also a Saint. They are both buried in the church of St. John the Baptist at Monte Cassino. The blessed medal of St. Benedict is one of the most powerful medals of the church. It possesses wonderful power for those who wear it with proper devotion and trust in the Holy Cross and the intercession of the holy father St. Benedict.

Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin, North America (1656-1680)—Feast, July 14 “Every day Bl. Kateri woke up early and ran through the woods to get to the chapel, even in the deep snow of winter. She made the journey quickly, because she was going to see her best friend Jesus in the Sacred Host, where He waited for her in the tabernacle. When she reached the doors of His house, she would wait outside in the cold until the priest came to open them for morning prayer” (Stories of the Eucharist).

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel—July 16 Hail, Flower of Carmel! Hail ever Immaculate Queen! Our Blessed Mother asks us to wear the scapular, be chaste, and pray the rosary daily!

Sts. Anne and Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Feast, July 26 Novena Prayer: Glorious Saints Anne and Joachim, filled with compassion for those who invoke thee, and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg of thee to take the present affair which I recommend to thee under thy special protection. Vouchsafe to recommend it to thy daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all obtain for me the grace, of one day, beholding my God, face to face, and with thee and Mary and all the Saints, praising and blessing Him for all eternity. Good Sts. Anne and Joachim, parents of her who is our Life, our Sweetness and our Hope, pray to her for us, and obtain our request. (3 times) Sts. Anne & Joachim, pray for us, to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, Founder of Jesuits, Spain (1491-1556)—Feast, July 31 St. Ignatius was a great mystic, who spent hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and was sometimes seen praying with his face aglow “Oh my God! Oh my Lord! Oh that men knew Thee!” He saw visions of the Holy Trinity during Mass. St. Ignatius wrote the Spiritual Exercises to help us grow closer to God in the spiritual life. “Of the gifts of grace which the soul receives in the Eucharist, one must be counted among the highest; the Eucharist does not allow the soul to remain long in sin or to persist in it obstinately” (St. Ignatius of Loyola).

St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor, Italy (1696-1787)—Feast, Aug. 1 Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is “present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and there to show us the love which he bears for us by being pleased to dwell night and day hidden in our midst” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest of the Eucharist, France (1811-1868)—Feast, Aug. 2 “Does it not already mean a great deal to us to know that our friend is at our side, that He is really there? Look at the Sacred Host; you are sure He is there” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).

St. John Vianney, Cure of Ars, Patron of Priests, France (1786-1859)—Feast, Aug. 4 “When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other” (St. John Vianney).

St. Dominic, Priest, Preacher, Founder of Dominicans, Spain (1170-1221)—Feast, Aug. 8 “Every night, after his friars had gone to bed, St. Dominic would go to the church, and there, near the Lord, spend the long exacting hours of the night in prayer where he found interior consolation, solace, secret joys, ineffable delights, which our Lord poured out from His enchanting Heart in this holy Sacrament of love” (Hidden Treasure, Louis Kaczmarek).

St. Teresa Benedicta, Carmelite Nun & Martyr, Germany (1891-1942)—Feast, Aug. 9 “If we visit our Eucharistic God and seek His counsel in all our problems, if we let ourselves be purified by the sanctifying power that flows from the altar, if we offer ourselves to the Lord in this sacrifice and receive Him into our souls in Holy Communion, then we cannot but be drawn ever more deeply into the current of the divine life” -St. Teresa Benedicta, Edith Stein

St. Clare of Assisi, Foundress of Poor Clare Nuns, Italy (1193-1253)—Feast, Aug. 11 St. Clare led her Sisters in a life centered on receiving and adoring the Eucharist, in communion with the poor and in union with Jesus, their spouse. “Happy, indeed, is she to whom it is given to drink at this sacred banquet so that she might cling with her whole heart to Him whose beauty all the blessed hosts of heaven unceasingly admire” (St. Clare).

St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, Priest, Martyr, Poland, (1894-1941)—Feast, Aug. 14 “Your heart was not satisfied that I should be nourished only with a memory of your infinite love. You remained in this vale of tears in the most holy and singularly miraculous Sacrament.”

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven—August 15 She reigns, who held within her womb the word made flesh, God’s son made hers! (Hymn).

St. Jane Frances, Widow, Mother, Religious, France (1572-1641)—Feast, Aug. 18 St. Jane Frances de Chantal founded the Visitation Order & 86 monasteries. The heartbeat of her life was Jesus in Mass & Adoration. She worked tirelessly in service of the poor & sick.

Pope St. Pius X, Pope of the Eucharist, Italy (1835-1914)—Feast, Aug. 21 Known as “the Pope of the Eucharist,” for his promotion of Eucharistic devotion, St. Pius X was often found adoring our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, hearing confessions and caring for the poor. He lowered the age for the reception of First Holy Communion and fought Jansenism.

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary—August 22 “In the Cenacle, this August Queen kneels as adoratrix and servant of the Most Blessed Sacrament” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).

St. Rose of Lima, Patroness of South America (1586-1617)—Feast, Aug. 23 Known for her love of the Eucharist at Mass and Adoration, mystical gifts and love for the poor.

St. Monica, Wife, Mother of St. Augustine, North Africa (332-387)—Feast, Aug. 27 St. Augustine’s Mother prayed daily for hours at Mass and united her sufferings to Jesus Eucharistic for the conversion and soul of her wayward son. He became a priest & saint!

St. Augustine, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, N. Africa, (354-430)—Feast, Aug. 28 “Thou art Christ, my holy Father, my tender God, my great King, my good Shepherd, my one Master, my best Helper, my most Beautiful and my Beloved, my living Bread” (St. Augustine).

“Realize that you may gain more in a quarter of an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

than in all other spiritual practices of the day.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

“If we really love the good God, we will find it a joy and happiness to spend time near Him, to adore Him, and keep company with so good a friend. He is there in the tabernacle. What is Jesus doing in this sacrament of love? He is loving us.” (St. John Vianney) FAITH in the REAL PRESENCE—Fr. Stedman

We come to Thee, dear Lord, like the Apostles, saying: “Increase our Faith.” Give us a vivid faith, that Thou art really present in the Blessed Sacrament—a strong and active faith that we may live by it. Give us the faith of Thy beloved disciple, John, to recognize Thee and say: “It is the Lord.” “My God and my All!” Give us the Faith of Peter to fall on our knees and confess: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Give us the faith of Mary Magdalen to fall at Thy Feet, crying, “Rabboni, Master!” Give us the faith of the father of the sick boy—that faith which You rewarded with a miracle when he cried out in tears, “I do believe, Lord! help my unbelief.” Give us the faith of all Thy Saints to whom the Blessed Sacrament was Heaven begun on earth. In every Communion and at every visit, increase our faith, our love, our humility, our reverence, and all good things will come to us. Dearest Lord, increase our faith. The Feast of the Transfiguration—Feast, August 6 “Jesus’ garment of white light at the Transfiguration speaks of our future as well. In apocalyptic literature, white garments are an expression of heavenly beings—the garments of angels and of the elect. In this vein the Apocalypse of John—the Book of Revelation—speaks of the white garments that are worn by those who have been saved (cf. especially 7:9, 13; 19:14). But it also tells us something new: The garments of the elect are white because they have washed them in the blood of the Lamb (cf. Rev 7:14); this means that through Baptism they have been united with Jesus’ Passion, and his Passion is the purification that restores to us the original garment lost through our sin (cf. Lk 15:22) . . . . “‘And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him’” (Mk 9:7). The holy cloud, the shekinah, is the sign of the presence of God himself. The cloud hovering over the Tent of Meeting indicated that God was present. Jesus is the holy tent above whom the cloud of God’s presence now stands and spreads out to ‘overshadow’ the others as well” (Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI). Possess Our Hearts—St. Augustine of Hippo Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to You. Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with Your selfless Love. Our hearts are sinful; Lord, cleanse them with Your precious Blood. Our hearts are weak; Lord, strengthen them with Your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; Lord, fill them with your Divine Presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are Yours; possess them always and only for Yourself. Amen.

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