“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,

honor and glory and blessing. Alleluia!” (cf. Rv 5:12)

“The greatest good that we can offer those whom we serve is given to us in the Eucharist”(Pope Benedict XVI, March 3, 2011). “Let us renew our faith in Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist and pray that the ‘springtime of the Eucharist’ which we are witnessing in the Church today may bear fruit in an ever greater devotion to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood” (Pope Benedict XVI, November 17, 2010). “Gathered around the Eucharist we more easily feel that the mission of every Christian community is that of bringing the message of God’s love to all men. This is why it is important that the Eucharist always be at the heart of the life of the faithful” (Pope Benedict XVI, December 12, 2010, Homily).

Pope John Paul II, Poland (1920-2005) Anniversary of Death—April 2 Pope John Paul II, great apostle of the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration, will be beatified on May 1, 2011, the Feast of Divine Mercy! He wrote, “Through adoration, the faithful can enjoy a particular experience of ‘abiding’ in the love of Christ (see John 15:9), entering ever more deeply into His filial relationship with the Father.” “May we dwell long and often in adoration before Christ in the Eucharist. May we sit at the ‘school’ of the Eucharist.” (Letter to Priests, Holy Thursday, 2000) Bl. Pierina Morosini, Virgin, Martyr, Italy (1931-1957)—April 6 “I can’t be a day without receiving Jesus ... When I receive him in the morning, I am no longer afraid. I feel stronger” (Bl. Pierina). Bl. Pierina was one of eight children, in a poor family, and took a private vow of chastity. She stayed at home to help her mother with the small children, visited the Blessed Sacrament during her lunch break daily and prayed the Rosary on the way to work. She was the youngest member of Catholic Action at her parish and taught Catechism. One day, on her way home from work, a man tried to rape her. She died in defense of purity. Bl. Pierina, pray for our youth! St. John Baptist de la Salle, Patron of Educators, France (1651-1719)—April 7 St. John was known for his great love of the Holy Eucharist. Born into a wealthy family, St. John answered Christ’s call to become a priest and cared for his siblings following the death of his parents. St. John gave up all of his inheritance and founded schools. He trained teachers and reformed the education system, fueled by a life of prayer centered on our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, instructing them to: “Learn from Jesus by often being in his company.” Called “the father of modern education,” St. John led his followers in beginning a community dedicated to teaching. He founded the Brothers of Christian Schools. St. Bernadette, Lourdes Visionary and Nun, France (1844-1879)—April 16 “The Eucharist bathes the tormented soul in light and love. Then the soul appreciates these words, ‘Come all you who are sick, I will restore your health.’” (St. Bernadette)

St. Louis Mary de Montfort, Priest, Missionary, France (1673-1716)—April 28 St. Louis was greatly devoted to the Holy Eucharist and Mary. He wrote: “It was you, Virgin Mary, /Who gave us this body and blood / Which raises our status so high / that it is beyond the reach of the angels. May you be blessed throughout the world / For giving us such a great gift” (Hymns, 134:11). St. Gianna Beretta Molla, Wife, Mother, Doctor, Italy (1922-1962)—April 28 St. Gianna wrote “Smile at Jesus who you approach at Mass, in Holy Communion and in Eucharistic Adoration.” She brought the love of Jesus Eucharistic to her family, patients and youth in her care. St. Peter Chanel, Priest, Martyr, & Missionary, France (1803-1841)—April 28 St. Peter drew strength from the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady to help transform a neglected post-Revolution country parish into one of fervent faith. When the Marist order formed, he joined and was eventually sent to minister to the people of Oceania. St. Peter administered the Sacraments, and helped attract many conversions as well as future missionaries. He was martyred by enemies of the faith. St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin, Church Doctor, Ptn. of Italy (1347-1380)—April 29 Prayer for Priests by St. Catherine of Siena: I beseech You, direct the hearts and wills of the servants of Your Bride, the Holy Church, unto Yourself so that they may follow the poor, bleeding, humble, and gentle Lamb of God on the way of the Cross. Make them angels in the shape of men; for after all, they have to administer and distribute the Body and Blood of Your Only Begotten Son! Amen.

St. Joseph the Worker—May 1

“Faith, humility, purity, and love—these were the keynotes of his[St. Joseph’s] adoration.No saint ever vibrated with a more ardent faith or boweddown in deeper humility; no angel ever glistened with brighter purity; and asfor his love, neither saint nor angel ever has or ever will come within rangeof his burning charity which expressed itself so fully in devotedness.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard). St. Joseph, pray for us!

Beatification of John Paul II—May 1

PRAYER FOR THE INTERCESSION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II: O Blessed Trinity, We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen.

St. Damien Joseph of Molokai, Apostle to the Lepers, Belgium (1840-1889)—May 10

Born in Belgium, Fr. Damien became a priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and volunteered for the Hawaiian missions. When Fr. Damien arrived at Molokai, he brought the love of Jesus in the Sacred Host to the forgotten suffering lepers. He built a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, where the lepers spent hours with Jesus experiencing His love, joy and peace. of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, Fr. Damien said: “I find my consolation in my one Companion Who never abandons me.” “Were it not for the constant presence of our divine Master in our humble chapel I would have found it impossible to persevere in sharing the lot of the lepers in Molokai . . . The Eucharist is the bread that gives strength . . . . It is at once the most eloquent proof of His love and the most powerful means of fostering His love in us. He gives Himself every day so that our hearts as burning coals may set afire the hearts of the faithful.”

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Fatima—May 13

“Every Catholic devotion, when stripped down to its bare elements, is directly or indirectly aimed at finding the Child with Mary his mother (cf. Lk 2:12). These two are inseparable, the two hearts are intimately allied. This explains why Our Lord, as Lucia of Fatima was instructed to tell us, wishes his own Eucharistic Heart and that of his mother to be placed alongside each other and jointly honoured. In this way it comes about that we meet the alliance of hearts in all Marian sanctuaries. There, along with God’s mother, we offer our homage and adoration to him who was the fruit of her shining faith as much as of her womb. . For she is called blessed because she believed (Lk. 1:45). And now in turn Mary helps pilgrims to believe ever more strongly—especially in the sacrament of her Son’s loving presence.” (Fr. R. Foley, S.J.)

World Day of Prayer for Vocations—May 15

Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer for Vocations: 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 fulfill their mission at the service of the Gospel. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest and Patron of Advertisers, Italy (d. 1444)—May 20 “Prayer is the raising of the mind to God. When we pray we go to meet Christ Who is coming to us. If our Creator and Savior comes from heaven with such great love, it is only fitting that we should go to meet Him. And this is what we do when we spend some time in prayer.” (St. Bernardine of Siena)

St. Philip Neri, Priest, Patron of Rome, Oratory Founder, Italy(1515-1595)—May 26

“Can you feel the fragrance of Paradise which diffuses Itself from the Tabernacle?” (St. Philip)

The Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth—May 31:“Blessed is she who believed.” (Lk 1:45)

“Mary also anticipated, in the mystery of the incarnation, the Church’s Eucharistic faith. When, at the Visitation, she bore in her womb the Word made flesh, she became in some way a ‘tabernacle’–the first ‘tabernacle’ in history–in which the Son of God, still invisible to our human gaze, allowed himself to be adored by Elizabeth, radiating his light as it were through the eyes and the voice of Mary. And is not the enraptured gaze of Mary that unparalleled model of love which should inspire us every time we receive Eucharistic communion?” (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 55)

The Ascension of The Lord—June 2

“Ascending once again to the Inaccessible Light . . . You remain still in the ‘valley of tears,’ hidden beneath the appearances of a white host.” (St. Therese of Lisieux)

Pentecost Sunday—June 12 “Adoration leads to compassion for all human beings, and from this compassion comes the thirst to evangelise.... I exhort you to develop your spiritual life, giving pride of place to the personal meeting with Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. An authentically Eucharistic life is a missionary life.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Feb. 3, 2011, address to Emmanuel Community)

St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church, Patron of the Poor, Italy (1195-1231)—June 13 St. Anthony, a great defender of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, said “Upon the Altar there takes place the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.”

The Most Holy Trinity—June 19

“The veil of mystery has been torn asunder. He is there, my God, infinite Unity, adorable Trinity, under the appearance of a small piece of bread. Jesus is there, in His sacred Humanity, His Heart, His precious Blood, His Soul, His eternal Divinity; He is there, whole and entire, in each Host consecrated throughout the world and in each fragment of consecrated Host” (Bl. Dina Belanger).

St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Patron of Youth, Jesuit Seminarian, Italy (1568-1591)—June 22 “Delight of the Blessed Virgin, Pray for us. Most chaste youth, Pray for us Desirous of the salvation of souls, Pray for us. Perpetual adorer of the Holy Eucharist, Pray for us.” (Litany)

St. Thomas More, Husband, Father, Ptn. of Lawyers, England(1478-1535)—June 22 “Give me the grace to long for Your holy sacraments, and especially to rejoice in the presence of Your body, sweet Savior Christ, in the holy sacrament of the altar.” (St. Thomas More) St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, England (1469-1535)—Feast, June 22 Faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, St. John Fisher defended the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist—dedicating one of his writings to this purpose—the authority of the Holy Father and the Sacrament of marriage. His unwillingness to recognize Henry VIII’s remarriage led to his beheading, in the same year as St. Thomas More’s. St. John Fisher pray for the clergy!

The Birth of St. John the Baptist—June 24:“Behold the Lamb of God!” Adore Him!

“John the Baptist saw Jesus and exclaimed ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’ ‘It is He who will baptize with The Holy Spirit.’ When we go to ‘The Lamb’' Jesus in The Holy Eucharist, we ask for grace to live out our Baptismal calling as faithful children of The Father” (From our A-13 Rosary pamphlet).

Sts. Peter and Paul—June 29

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen explains, “When I stand up to talk, people listen to me; they will follow what I have to say. Is it any power of mine? Of course not. St. Paul says, ‘What have you that you have not received and you who have received, why do you glory as if you had not?’ But the secret of my power is that I have never in fifty-five years missed spending an hour in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. That’s where the power comes from. That’s where sermons are born. That’s where every good thought is conceived.”