It is I myself  (Luke 24:39)

"The Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it, and said "This is My Body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My Blood. Do this, as often as you drink of it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (1 Cor 11:23-26)

The Lord promised to be with us “always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20, NAB, emphasis added).

These scripture verses came to mind on January 17, 2018 during my 9 to 10 pm Holy Hour at our St. Kevin Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Lexington, Kentucky. It was dimly lit when I came in to pray the Rosary and Divine Chaplet. Then I prayed in Adoration, praising God. I followed with prayers of Contrition and asked for forgiveness for all the times that I had fallen short in loving God and others. I asked forgiveness for all those who did not appreciate Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us; who did not come to visit with Him, have forgotten Him completely, or are denying His existence altogether. Jesus told St. Margaret Mary Alacoque "I have a burning thirst to be honored by men in the Blessed Sacrament, and I find hardly anyone who strives, according to My desire, to allay this thirst by making Me some return of love."

In my prayers of Petition, I lifted up family and friends, specific individuals by name who were undergoing trials and transitions, and then I focused on prayers for our authors and readers of Catholic365, for our faithful Adorers, leaders of our Church, our country and around the world.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta recommended that "Our hours of adoration will be special hours of reparation for sins, and intercession for the needs of the whole world, exposing the sin-sick and suffering humanity to the healing, sustaining and transforming rays of Jesus, radiating from the Eucharist."

Real Presence

In my prayers of Thanksgiving, I thanked Our Lord for His presence and for being here for us as He promised, as he said, "I Am the Living Bread" (Jn 6:51, NAB, emphasis added). 

How many of us do not really believe Christ’s words that He is truly alive and present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in each consecrated host and as He was in this Monstrance?

I thought of St. Teresa of Avila who heard someone say: "If only I had lived at the time of Jesus... If only I had seen Jesus... If only I had talked with Jesus...". To this she responded: "But do we not have in the Eucharist the living, true and real Jesus present before us? Why look for more?"  St. Maximilian Kolbe also reminded us that "God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar."  St. Therese of Lisieux found the consecrated host as heaven on earth; "Heaven for me is hidden in a little Host where Jesus, my Spouse, is veiled for love. I go to that Divine Furnace to draw out life, And there my Sweet Saviour listens to me night and day."

Pope John Paul II in his World Youth Day homily on Sunday, August 24, 1997 in Paris, France teaches us that Christ is alive:

" Christ is present in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of His death and resurrection. In and through the Eucharist, you acknowledge the dwelling-place of the Living God in human history. For the Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Love which conquers death. It is the Sacrament of the Covenant, pure Gift of Love for the reconciliation of all humanity. It is the gift of the Real Presence of Jesus The Redeemer, in the bread which is His Body given up for us, in the wine which is His Blood poured out for all. Thanks to the Eucharist, constantly renewed among all peoples of the world, Christ continues to build His church.”

Pope Francis tells us that in building His church, Jesus strengthens us individually, "Jesus is the risen traveler who walks with us. Jesus is here today, he is here among us. He is here in his word, he is here on the altar, he walks with us." (Pope Francis’ Address St. Peter's Square 5.4.2014)

How astonishingly fortunate we are that we are not only privileged to receive the Bread of Life with each Holy Communion at Mass, but we have the opportunity to approach Our Lord and Savior, King of Kings, who makes himself available, at our convenience, in His Eucharistic Presence at Eucharistic Adoration.

“Eucharistic adoration is an essential way of 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, September 11, 2006).

The Fire of Love

As I was finishing my prayers and telling the Lord how much I loved Him, I had an urging to “take a photo.” I reached into my purse and pulled out my mobile phone and clicked on the Camera icon and without taking time to turn on the flash, I raised it up and snapped a photo.

Then, I looked at this photo (that accompanies this article) and I sat in amazement at the rays that resembled those in the Divine Mercy image, and seeing the faint fire orange at the top of the monstrance, I recalled the Lord’s words, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12:49) Yet, to have our hearts set ablaze, we must have a personal encounter with Our Lord, similar to those disciples on the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection. After they sought to spend more time with Jesus, He set their hearts ablaze, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

It is this Eucharistic Encounter that fortified many of our saints, like Blessed Fr. Damien, Apostle of the Lepers, "Were it not for the constant presence of our divine Master in our humble chapel, I would not have found it possible 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."

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said this encounter is a necessity to enliven us: "Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world."

This image reminded me of the blinding light of the Transfiguration.

"Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. The whole world will witness the glorious transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. It will have the exact opposite effect of the bombing of Nagasaki. At the transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, there will be an explosion of divine energy which will release the power of His love and renew the face of the earth. Then the world will see Real Power! All will be made well. All will belong to His Heart. All will be made one.

In the meantime, there are five graces we receive each time we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By His glorious wounds we are the ones who are transfigured and changed through His healing love. Restoration, sanctification, transformation, reparation and salvation are the graces being poured out graciously upon us with each holy hour we make. Like Peter... this is why we should exclaim in His Divine Presence, 'Lord, how good it is for us to be here!'"   - from the book Letters To A Brother Priest.

Yet, most of all, this image reminded me of the power of the Resurrection! 

"The Eucharist is connected with the Passion. If Jesus had not established the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of his love … When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then, when you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now." – Saint Theresa of Calcutta

Thus, on this joyful Easter day, I am sharing this image with you and I pray that it impresses upon you the reality that Easter is not just a jovial holiday we celebrate once a year. It is an annual recollection that Jesus reconciled us to our Father and conquered death so that we may live eternally in His love. Jesus Christ is truly alive and truly present in the Eucharist. He loves you and is waiting for you! How could anyone not want to take advantage of a weekly counseling session with Jesus? If you have the opportunity to reserve one hour per week for a Holy Hour, do it! This will be the best hour of your week besides receiving Holy Communion at Mass. 

So immense are its spiritual benefits that Pope St. Pius X hailed perpetual adoration as the devotion which surpasses all others. And Paul VI had it mainly in mind when he echoed the hope generated by Vatican II that a new era of Eucharistic piety would pervade the whole Church. "As we would expect, an outstanding spiritual growth and impetus tend to spring from perpetual adoration. It brings heaven's choice blessings in the first place on those generous souls that keep their hour-long tryst with the Lord. But, being such a powerhouse of grace, the devotion extends its influence far beyond the individual adorers, touching their homes and families and reaching out to the parish community and beyond."- Fr. Richard Foley, S. J.

"Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, 'Ask, and you shall receive,' but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace." St. Alphonsus Liguori

 Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do. (Pope Francis, Homily, Easter Vigil, March 30, 2013, emphasis added)

Rejoice!

Let us rejoice today as our Church exclaims in the Exsultet: The Proclamation of Easter:

“Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King's triumph! Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness…..

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who, coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

The Real Presence Association has some wonderful resources on Eucharistic Adoration like many of the quotes presented in this article. I further discovered these words that express this Easter joy so well (emphasis added): 

“Holy Easter!!! The Lamb who was slain, is the Lamb who is risen! Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament is the Lamb of God!!! Worthy is the Lamb! O Come let us behold Him who has won for us salvation! O come let us adore Him, for the Bread of Life – Jesus Eucharistic – is REALLY and personally here!

May Jesus in this Most Blessed Sacrament, the Lamb of Love, be with you and bless you this Easter, and always! May our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Mother of the Lamb, lead you ever closer to His Eucharistic Heart!"