“Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father,

so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” (Jn 6:57)

“We are called to fix our gaze on the Son of God . . . with the precious gift of faith nourished by the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist, Jesus Christ has bound us to Him and wants to continue in us, through the action of the Holy Spirit, his work of salvation that redeems, enhances, elevates and leads all to fulfillment . . . .

The novelty of proclamation lies in immerging ourselves deeply in the mystery of Christ, the assimilation of His Word and of His presence in the Eucharist, so that He Himself, the living Jesus, can act and speak through His envoy. In essence, the evangelizer becomes able to bring Christ to others effectively when he lives of Christ, when the newness of the Gospel manifests itself in his own life. We pray to the Virgin Mary, so that the Church, in this Year of Faith, sees more men and women who . . . know how to give a convinced and courageous witness of the Lord Jesus.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Dec. 27, 2012, Angelus)

Miracle of the Holy Eucharist: Ferrara, Italy, 1171

It was in the church of St. Mary of the Ford in Ferrara, Italy that this miracle took place over 800 years ago. The miracle occurred on Easter Sunday during the Consecration when at the moment the Host was broken into two parts, all present were shocked to see a stream of blood spurt from the Host. There was so much blood that it sprayed onto a semi-circular vault that was situated behind and above the altar. Not only did the witnesses see the blood, they also saw that the Host had turned to flesh.

The local Bishop of Ferrara and Archbishop Gherardo of Revenna came and saw the blood and the Host turned to flesh and declared that this was the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Pope Eugenio IV and Pope Benedict XIV recognized the miracle and Pope Pius IX visited the miracle in 1857 and noted that the drops of blood were similar to those of the miracle of Orvieto and Bolsena (See 8.17)

Adapted with permission from Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Cruz, 1987, Tan Books and Publishers.

“Let us live Lent, then, as an ‘Eucharistic’ time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus,

we learn to spread it around us with every word and deed.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Message for Lent 2007)

Solemnity, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God & World Day of Peace—Feast, Jan. 1:

“Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may overcome our limits, our world, to help us to encounter him, especially at the moment when he places himself into our hands and into our heart in the Holy Eucharist. Let us go over to Bethlehem: as we say these words to one another, along with the shepherds, we should not only think of the great ‘crossing over’ to the living God, but also of the actual town of Bethlehem and all those places where the Lord lived, ministered and suffered. Let us pray at this time for the people who live and suffer there today. Let us pray that there may be peace in that land.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Dec. 24, 2012, Homily)

Sts. Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Doctors, Cappadocia (4th c.)— Feast, Jan. 2:

In the life of St. Basil the Great we find one of the first references of the Holy Eucharist being reserved for Adoration. At Mass, St. Basil divided the Blessed Sacrament into three parts: the first, he consumed, the second he gave to his monks, and the third he placed in a special golden dove (like a tabernacle) in the Church for veneration.

Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus: Blessed be His holy name!— Feast, Jan. 3:

“Do with me that I may build a house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to burn incense before him, and to perfume with aromatical spices, and for the continual setting forth of bread.” (2 Chronicles 2:4-2)

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Widow, Mother, Convert, Religious, U.S. (1774-1821)—Feast, Jan. 4:

“The heart preparing to receive the Holy Eucharist should be like a crystal vase.” “How sweet, the presence of Jesus to the longing, harassed soul! It is instant peace, and balm to every wound.” (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) St. John Neumann, Redemptorist Priest, Bishop, Bohemia (1811-1860)—Feast, Jan. 5:

“How much I love you, O my Jesus. I wish to love you with my whole heart; yet I do not love you enough. My lack of devotion and my sloth make me anxious. I have one desire, that of being near you in the Blessed Sacrament. You are the sweet bridegroom of my soul. My Jesus, my love, my all, gladly would I endure hunger, thirst, heat, and cold to remain always with you in the Blessed Sacrament.” (St. John Neumann)

Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord—Feast, Jan. 6

“No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.” (Catholic Catechism, 563)

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord—Feast, Jan. 13: “We are called to fix our gaze on the Son of God, who in the joyful atmosphere of Christmas we contemplate in the mystery of His Incarnation. In Baptism and Confirmation, with the precious gift of faith nourished by the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist, Jesus Christ has bound us to Him and wants to continue in us, through the action of the Holy Spirit, his work of salvation that redeems, enhances, elevates and leads all to fulfillment . . . . The novelty of proclamation lies in immerging ourselves deeply in the mystery of Christ, the assimilation of His Word and of His presence in the Eucharist, so that He Himself, the living Jesus, can act and speak through His envoy. . . . We pray to the Virgin Mary, so that the Church, in this Year of Faith, sees more men and women who. . . know how to give a convinced and courageous witness of the Lord Jesus.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

Day of Penance for Violations to the Dignity of the Human Person—Feast, Jan. 22:

"A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer.” (Bl. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae). Offer Holy Hours of Eucharistic Adoration for a culture of life!

St. Francis de Sales, Priest, Bishop, France (1567-1622)—Jan. 24:

“I will adore your majesty in the Holy Sacrament . For your words will teach me that in this Sacrament you are God made Man, really and truly, and that your presence is no more impossible for your will, although incomprehensible to our weak minds, than the rest of your admirable works.” (Sermons on the Eucharist)

St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Doctor of the Church, Italy (c. 1225-1274)—Feast, Jan. 28:

Word made Flesh, by word he maketh Therefore we, before him bending, Very bread his Flesh to be; This great Sacrament revere; Man in wine Christ's Blood partaketh: Types and shadows have their ending, And if senses fail to see, For the newer rite is here; Faith alone the true heart waketh Faith, our outward sense befriending, To behold the mystery. Makes the inward vision clear. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Pange Lingua Gloriosi) St. John Bosco, Priest, Salesian Founder, Italy (1815-1888)—Feast, Jan. 31:

"Were it not for the Blessed Virgin and the Blessed Sacrament, the world would now be in ruins. Those who want to work in the light—that is, along the way to heaven.” (St. John Bosco)

The Presentation of the Lord—Feast, February 2: The faithful must have the opportunity to “easily, fruitfully, and constantly honor the Lord, present in the sacrament, through personal worship.” (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside of Mass, 9)

St. Josephine Bakhita, Religious, Africa (1869-1947)—Feast, February 8:

“Saint Josephine Bakhita, intercede for us that, freed from the chains that bind us to the past, we may go forward into freedom. For each of us the path forward is the Communion procession to the altar. The Most Holy Eucharist is the mystery of our liberation, the healing of memories, the Bread to children given, the Chalice of undying love lifted daily to the lips of the Bride.” (Prayer)

Our Lady of Lourdes, France—Feast, February 11:

“Each year, O Blessed Lady, thousands Masses are offered and a million pilgrims honor Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament at your wonderful shrine of Lourdes. Every day at Lourdes Jesus is carried in solemn procession among the sick and infirm, some of whom He cures, all of whom He blesses. All alike sing out His divine praises. How beautiful and fitting that Jesus should be thus honored at the hallowed shrine of His Blessed Mother. Mary, we know that this is your own wish, for you told little Bernadette that you wanted a Basilica erected on this spot. Your most cherished desire is to draw souls closer to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.” (From the Our Lady of Lourdes novena)

St. Gabriel Possenti, Passionist, Patron of Clerics & Youth, Italy (1838-1862)—Feast, Feb. 27: St. Gabriel’s great loves were Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady of Sorrows. He became a Passionist and prayerfully served others. Many people have been cured through his intercession, including St. Gemma Galgani.

St. Patrick, Bishop and Patron of Ireland (d. 461)—Feast, March 17: St. Patrick “had no illusions about how difficult the task was that lay in front of him. He went to France to prepare for the priesthood so that he would be able to bring the greatest gift of all, the presence of the Lord in the sacraments, to his missionary land. In France, he prayed, fasted and readied himself for 20 years. Then, at the age of 43 . . . [he was] consecrated bishop so that he could found churches and ordain priests.” (Fr. Roger J. Landry)

St. Joseph, Patron of Universal Church, Spouse of B.V.M.—Feast, March 19: “Silent and solitary, Saint Joseph was always united in mind with Jesus and Mary; never did his thoughts wander from this divine center. We are too worldly-minded to grasp the recollection of Saint Joseph. Love ruled his life We have close to us just as much as Joseph we have our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but our poor eyes fail to see Him.Let us become interior souls and we shall immediately see.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

Holy Thursday— March 28:

“More than any other effort on behalf of vocations, our personal fidelity is indispensable. What counts is our personal commitment to Christ, our love for the Eucharist, our fervour in celebrating it, our devotion in adoring it and our zeal in offering it to our brothers and sisters, especially to the sick. Jesus the High Priest continues personally to call new workers for his vineyard, but he wishes from the first to count on our active cooperation. Priests in love with the Eucharist are capable of communicating to children and young people that ‘Eucharistic amazement’ which I have sought to rekindle with my Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (cf. No. 6). Generally these are the priests who lead them to the path of the priesthood, as the history of our own vocations might easily show.” (Bl. John Paul II, Letter to Priests, Holy Thursday, 2004)

Good Friday— March 29:

“Oh, could I, my most sweet Saviour, but wash with my tears, or even with my blood, those unhappy places in which, in this Sacrament, Thy love and Thy enamoured heart have been so greatly outraged! But if so much is not granted me, I desire at least, my Lord, and determine, to visit Thee often, in order to adore Thee as I now adore Thee, and this in compensation for the insults which Thou receivest in this most divine mystery. Accept, O Eternal Father, this scanty honor, which I, the most miserable of men, now offer Thee in reparation of the outrages offered to Thy Son in the Most Holy Sacrament; accept it in union with that infinite honor which Jesus Christ gave Thee on the cross, and which he daily gives Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament. O my Sacramental Jesus, would that I could fill all men with love for the Most Blessed Sacrament!” (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

(Start the Divine Mercy Novena today!)

Holy Saturday—March 30:

“Adoration is recognizing that Jesus is my Lord, that Jesus shows me the way to take, and that I will live well only if I know the road that Jesus points out and follow the path he shows me. Therefore, adoration means saying: ‘Jesus, I am yours. I will follow you in my life, I never want to lose this friendship, this communion with you.’ I could also say that adoration is essentially an embrace with Jesus in which I say to him: ‘I am yours, and I ask you, please stay with me always.’” (Pope Benedict XVI)

Easter Sunday—March 31:

When we come to the Eucharist, we come to the Resurrection, for this is where our Risen Savior dwells! When we come before Our Eucharistic Lord in Adoration He showers us with an outpouring of His healing love, mercy and grace. We must run to Him and bring our loved ones and everyone with us. Each Holy Hour of Adoration we make will shorten the time until Jesus will bring about a new day, the resurrection of His people, His church, and His world! He is “the Lamb on the throne” who shepherds us, He is the source of “life-giving water” who “will wipe every tear” from our eyes (Rev 7:17). Through Eucharistic Adoration we witness to His resurrection and tell the world: “He is risen ... He is here!” (Lk 24:34).“My strength and my courage is the Lord and He has been my Savior!” (Is 12:2).

We wish you a Happy and Holy Easter Season!

JESUS, EUCHARISTIC SAVIOR, WE ADORE YOU!

Prayer Intentions: Please send us the names of your family, relatives, loved ones, friends and any special intentions you would like us to pray for throughout these holy days before Jesus, Our Eucharistic Lord!

We need your prayers and financial contributions more urgently than ever to continue on this most important saving work! Won’t you help us?

Please be generous. (Visa / MC accepted) 

M.B.S., P.O. Box 1701, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 (518)561-8193 http://www.acfp2000.com/

Start Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in your parish or community today!