“O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Ps 95: 6-7)

“Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist?

Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things?” (Pope Benedict XVI, April 21, 2011, Holy Thursday homily)

“Receiving the Eucharist means adoring the One Whom we receive. Precisely in this way

and only in this way do we become one with Him.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Address, 12/22/05)

“Outstanding among the forms of prayer fervently recommended by St. Alphonsus is the visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament or, as we would say today, adoration—brief or prolonged, personal or in community—of the Eucharist. ‘Certainly,’ wrote Alphonsus, ‘among all the devotions this one of adoration of the sacramental Jesus is the first after the sacraments, the dearest to God and the most useful to us. O, what a beautiful delight to be before an altar with faith and to present to him our needs, as a friend does to another friend with whom one has full confidence!’” (Pope Benedict XVI, March 30, 2011, General Audience).

Prayer to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,/gracious companion of our exile,/I adore Thee.

Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,/lonely Heart,/humiliated Heart,/abandoned Heart,/forgotten Heart,/despised Heart,/ outraged Heart,/Heart ignored by men,/Heart which loves our own hearts;/Heart pleading for our love,/Heart so patient in waiting for us,/Heart so eager to listen to our prayers,/Heart so anxious for our requests,/Heart, unending source of new graces,/Heart so silent, yet desiring to speak to souls,/Heart, welcome refuge of the hidden life,/Heart, teacher of the secrets of union with God,/Heart of Him Who sleepsbut watches always,/Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Jesus Victim,/I desire to comfort Thee;/I unite myself to Thee;/I offer myself in union with Thee.

I regard myself as nothing in Thy Presence./I long to forget myself in order to think only of Thee,/ to be despised and forgotten for love of Thee./I have no desire to be understood or loved by anyone but Thee.

I will keep silent in order to listen to Thee,/and I will abandon myself in order to lose myself in Thee.

Grant that I may thus satisfy Thy thirst for my salvation,/Thy burning thirst for my holiness,/and that once purified I may give Thee a sincere and pure love./I am anxious not to tire Thee further with waiting:/take me, I hand myself over to Thee./I give Thee all my actions,/my mind to be enlightened,/my heart to be directed,/my will to be stabilized,/my wretchedness to be relieved,/my soul and body to be nourished by Thee.

Eucharistic Heart of my Saviour,/Whose Blood is the life of my soul,/may I myself cease to live and Thou alone live in me. Amen.

(Indulgence 500 days. Brief, February 6, 1899, Leo XIII; Sacred Penitentiary Apostolic, November 8, 1934. Today the 500 days has been replaced by a partial indulgence, which no longer has a specific time associated with the indulgence).

“Your most loving Heart, O Jesus, dwells in this Sacrament burning with love for us. It is there continually performing thousands of good deeds towards us.” (St. John Eudes)

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus—Feast, July 1

“Being before the Blessed Sacrament one day of Its octave, I received from my God signal tokens of His love, and felt urged with the desire of making Him some return, and of rendering Him love for love. Thou canst not make Me a greater return of love, He said, than by doing what I have often asked of thee. Then, discovering to me His Divine Heart, He said: Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself in order to testify to them Its love; and in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel the most keenly is it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus. Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special Feast to honour My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars. I promise thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed upon those who shall thus honour It, and cause It to be honoured.” (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)

The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Feast, July 3

“Nowhere do we find Jesus nearer to us and more adapted to our weakness than in Mary, since it was for that reason that He came and dwelt in her. Everywhere else He is the Bread of the strong, the Bread of the Angels, but in Mary He is the Bread of children.” (St. Louis de Montfort)

St. Maria Goretti, Ptn. of Youth & Children of Mary, Italy (1890-1902)—Feast, July 6

St. Maria couldn’t wait to make her First Communion.She wanted to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist so that she could become more beautiful and pure like Him; she wanted Him to live close to her heart.After she received Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, she stayed in Church for a long time after Mass to talk to Him. Maria’s family lived with and worked for a farmer. His son Alessandro kept trying to make Maria sin against purity.One day, when everyone else was working, Alessandro grabbed Maria and tried to make her sin.Maria kept crying out for him to stop, and each time she did he stabbed her. Courageously,Maria resisted him and was stabbed fourteen times. Before dying the next day, St. Maria forgave Alessandro. He later converted through her intercession.

St. Benedict, Priest, Founder of the Benedictines, Italy (c.480-547)—Feast, July 11 The Father of Western monasticism, St. Benedict, was devoted to the Eucharist. He wrote: “O gracious and Holy Father give us wisdom to perceive You, diligence to seek You, patience to wait for You, eyes to behold You, a heart to meditate upon You, and a life to proclaim You; through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Consecrated Virgin, N. America (1656-1680)—Feast, July 14

“Kateri, lily of purity, pray for us. Kateri, consoler of the heart of Jesus, pray for us. . .Kateri, lover of the cross of Jesus, pray for us. . .Kateri, who loved Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us” (Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha Litany).

St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor, Franciscan, Italy (c. 1218-1274)—Feast, July 15

Known as the “Seraphic Doctor,” St. Bonaventure wrote: “Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfillment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger for you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence.”

St. Mary Magdalene, Galilee (1st Century)—Feast, July 22

Bl. Charles de Foucauld wrote of the Blessed Sacrament, “St. Mary Magdalene was no closer to You when she sat at Your feet at Bethany than I am here at the foot of this altar.”

St. Bridget of Sweden, Wife, Religious, Foundress, Sweden (1373)—Feast, July 23

“Oh Jesus!Sweetness of hearts, delight of the spirit, by the bitterness of the vinegar and gall which Thou didst taste on the Cross for Love of us, grant us the grace to receive worthily Thy Precious Body and Blood during our life and at the hour of our death, that they may serve as a remedy and consolation for our souls.Amen.” (St. Bridget of Sweden)

Sts. Anne and Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jerusalem (1st Century)—Feast, July 26

“St. Joachim and St. Anne were poor. They belonged to the Levitical family, and lived on the tithes of the Temple. However, Mary was born with a splendor far surpassing all the riches of the daughters of the world . . . She was enriched with God’s choicest gifts.But on the day of her birth, she was already rich in her own right; she had already acquired treasures of merit during the nine months of silent, uninterrupted adoration in her mother’s womb.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).Sts. Joachim and Anne, pray for us!

St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor, Italy (1696-1787)—Feast, Aug. 1

“O God-Man present in this sacrament for me—what a comfort, what a privilege to know I kneel before God! And to think that this God loves me! . . . Mary, my mother, help me to love him in return.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest, Apostle of the Eucharist, France (1811-1868)—Feast, Aug. 2:

“Jesus is in the Blessed Sacrament to be my teacher.” “Adore Jesus in the Divine Host by offering the sovereign homage of your mind to him who is its sovereign truth, of your heart to him who is its God, of your will to him who is its Lord.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

St. John Vianney, Cure of Ars, Patron of Priests, France (1786-1859)—Feast, Aug. 4

“We possess Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; he is continually with us, he is ready to grant us whatever we ask; he is waiting for us; we have only to ask.” (St. John Mary Vianney)

The Transfiguration of the Lord—Feast, Aug. 6

“Illumined by the rays of the divine Sun—Christ—in the Eucharist, may my flight never be interrupted until I find repose in your Heart.” (St. Josemaria Escriva)

“Dear friends, the mission of the Church bears fruit because Christ is truly present among us in a quite special way in the Holy Eucharist. His is a dynamic presence which grasps us in order to make us his, to liken us to him. Christ draws us to himself, he brings us out of ourselves to make us all one with him. In this way he also inserts us into the community of brothers and sisters: communion with the Lord is always also communion with others. For this reason our spiritual life depends essentially on the Eucharist. Without it, faith and hope are extinguished, love cools.... From the Eucharist, the inexhaustible source of divine love, you can tap into the energy needed to bring Christ to others and to bring others to Christ, to be daily witnesses of charity and solidarity and to share the goods that Providence gives you with brothers and sisters who lack the necessities of life.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 5/17/11, Address)

St. Dominic, Priest, Dominicans Founder, Spain (1170-1221)—Feast, Aug. 8

St. Dominic’s great devotion to the Holy Eucharist and our Lady’s Rosary helped him lead countless souls to Jesus!

St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein),Virgin, Carmelite Religious, Martyr, Germany (1891-1942)—Feast, Aug. 9

“We have the Savior not only in the form of reports of witnesses to his life. He is present to us in the most Blessed Sacrament.” (St. Teresa Benedicta)

St. Clare of Assisi, Foundress of Poor Clare Nuns, Italy (1193-1253)—Feast, Aug. 11

“In the convent of San Damiano, Clare practiced heroically the virtues that should distinguish every Christian: humility, a spirit of piety and penance, charity. Even though she was the superior, she wished to serve the sick sisters herself, subjecting herself also to very humble tasks: Charity, in fact, overcomes all resistance and one who loves makes every sacrifice with joy. Her faith in the Real Presence in the Eucharist was so great that on two occasions, prodigious events were witnessed. With the exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament alone, she succeeded in repelling the Saracen mercenary soldiers who were about to attack the convent of San Damiano and devastate Assisi.” (Pope Benedict XVI, September 15, 2010, General Audience)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven—Solemnity, August 15

“Ask the Virgin Mary constantly to come to you with her glorious Son. Be bold. Ask her to give you her Son, Who in the Blessed Sacrament is truly the Food of your soul. She will give Him to you readily.” (St. Cajetan)

St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow, Mother, Religious, France (1572-1641)—Feast, Aug. 18

“We may, at other times, fix our thoughts upon Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacramentof the altar and reflect, as faith teaches us, that in it our Lord in his sacred humanity abides and that this same humanity is seated at the right hand of the Eternal Father.”(St. Jane Frances de Chantal)

St. John Eudes, Priest, Founder of Religious Congregations, France (1601-1680)—Feast, Aug. 19

“You should adore our Lord Jesus Christ, who makes himself present to us on the altar, so that we might offer him the homage and adoration we owe.” (St. John Eudes)

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Feast, August 22:

“O glorious Mother Mary . . . consumed with the desire to be united with thy Divine Son in Heaven, Thy soul departed from Thy body and united itself to Him, Who, out of the excessive love He bore for Thee, His Mother, whose virginal body was His first tabernacle, took that body into Heaven, and there, amidst the acclaims of the angels and saints, reinfused into it thy soul.” (Charles V. Lacey) Mary is assumed into Heaven and Her Heart is made forever one with the Heart of Jesus. These two Hearts beat as one. Where Jesus is, there Mary is also. Blessed Mother Mary is called Our Lady of The Most Blessed Sacrament. We pray for union with The Sacred Eucharistic Heart of Jesus! We ask Our Blessed Mother Mary to pray for us.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Queen of Angels and Saints—intercede for us!

St. Rose of Lima, Patroness of South America (1586-1617)—Feast, Aug. 23

St. Rose had acontagious love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! Once she protected her parish church from being attacked by pirates. She started Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at the Churches throughout her village!

St. Gregory the Great, Pope, Church Doctor, Italy (540-640)—Feast, September 3

“The Church’s response through the Council of Trent strongly reaffirmed these Eucharistic truths and sponsored Eucharistic devotions initiated in the Middle Ages. Perhaps the greatest eucharistic artwork from this period is Peter Paul Rubens’s oil painting entitled The Defenders of the Eucharist, created in 1625. Rubens reached back to the golden age of the Church Fathers as well as to outstanding saints of the Middle Ages and assembled seven of them in one scene, united in the one faith of the Church witnessing their unity through the centuries of faith in the eucharistic presence of Christ. Today that painting is on display in the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Beginning on the right side of the canvass, Rubens pictures St. Jerome, dressed as a cardinal receiving Communion. Next to him stands St. Norbert, clothed in his white habit and carrying the Eucharist beneath his robes. St. Thomas Aquinas stands in the center holding a book and extending his other hand to heaven, a gesture proclaiming his defense of the Eucharist. Beside him is St. Clare of Assisi, holding a monstrance that displays the sacred eucharistic host. To her left is St. Gregory the Great, the pope who wrote so many works contained in the Mass. Then comes St. Ambrose, who wrote about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Rubens finishes his gathering of defenders of the Eucharist with St. Augustine, who included his reflections on this sacrament in his famous treatise on the Holy Trinity. Rubens produced this painting during the Church’s Counter-Reformation efforts to defend and reclaim the authentic teachings about the Eucharist and the devotions that assisted believers to deepen their commitment to this mystery of faith (see the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, “Peter Paul Rubens and the Baroque,” Galleries 1-2, www.willemswebs.com/ringlingdocents/pages/Galleries1&2.pdf [accessed July 14, 2010]). (Fr. Alfred McBride)

Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Religious, Albania (1910-1997)—Ann. of Death, Sept. 5 Inspired to care for the poorest by her daily Holy Hours of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Mother said, “Perpetual adoration is the most beautiful thing you could ever think of doing.People are hungry for God.”

Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Sept. 8

“From the day of her birth we salute her as the aurora of the Eucharist, for we know that the Savior of mankind will take from her the substance of that Body and Blood which He will give us in the Adorable Sacrament of His love.”

St. Peter Claver, Jesuit Priest, Missionary, South America (1581-1654) —Feast, Sept. 9

Sustained by Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and Mary’s intercession, St. Peter spent his life caring for slaves, vowing to be “the slave of the blacks forever.”He baptized 40,000 slaves and brought them God’s healing love through Holy Communion.He fed, clothed and ministered to the sick.St. Peter is patron of all missions to the black people.

St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Orators, Syria (c. 347-407)—Sept. 13

“Amiable Jesus, it is in this mystery of the Blessed Sacrament that Thy charity has exerted itself in such a wonderful manner as to seem to send forth all its flames.Praise, honor and glory forever to Thy goodness and mercy!”

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross—Sept. 14

“Dear parents, commit yourselves always to teach your children to pray, and pray with them; draw them close to the Sacraments, especially to the Eucharist.” (Pope Benedict XVI, June 5, 2011, Homily, Croatia)

Our Lady of Sorrows: “Behold your Mother!” (Jn 19:27)—Sept. 15

“Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over the afflicted; become their consolation through this consecrated Bread, the gift of the Queen of Sorrows.” (Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey)

St. Robert Bellarmine, Priest, Cardinal, Jesuit, Ptn. of Catechists, Italy (1542-1621)—Sept. 17

“The Bread of Life, the Bread of the angels, is not offered only for our adoration and homage, but was given to us as food. Let us go, then, and partake of this Food to nourish and fortify our souls.”

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, Priest, Stigmatist, Mystic, Italy (1887-1968)—Feast, Sept. 23

Padre Pio had a tremendous love for Jesus and devotion to Him in the Most Holy Eucharist, and spent many hours each day before the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration and prayer. He is the Patron Saint of Eucharistic Adorers.

“If some spiritual languor comes upon us, let us run to the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and let us place ourselves in the midst of the heavenly perfumes, and we will undoubtedly regain our strength.”(St. Padre Pio)

St. Vincent De Paul (1581-1660) Priest, Servant, France--September 27 Known as Patron of Charitable Societies, St. Vincent spent his life working to help all who were in need. His zeal to help others was fueled by his intimate union with our Eucharistic Lord, the source of all love. St. Vincent founded and organized groups of priests, religious and laity to help and care for the poor, sick, aged, and orphaned.

Feast of Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Saints—Feast, Sept. 29

St. Michael, Great Prince of the heavenly host, protector of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and the people of God, pray for us!St. Gabriel, Great Messenger of God, herald of God’s word, pray for us!St. Raphael, Glorious Angel and guide of the Lord, bearer of God’s healing, pray for us!

St. Jerome, Priest & Doctor, Patron of Librarians, Dalmatia (c. 340-d. 420), Sept. 30

“If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it was to teach us that it is dangerous to try to get to heaven without the Bread of Heaven” (St. Jerome).