EX LIBRJS GVLIELMI lOSEPHI DWYER ST L SANCTI BERNARDI ECCLESIAE PASTORIS KAL NOV MDCCCCXXXIIII Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Bostbrr tibrary Consortium Member Libraries https://archive.org/details/divineeuchariste00eyma_0 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. »’fe' »6it' trouble you. He expects from you the homage of perseverance up to the last moment of the time that ought to be conse- crated to Him. Let confidence, simplicity, and love lead you to adoration. H OULD you be happy in love? Live, then, continually in the goodness of Jesus Christ, ever fresh for you. Contemplate in Jesus the labor of His love for you, the beauty of His virtues, and the light of His love rather than its ardor. In us the fire of love passes quickly, but His truth remaineth forever. Begin all your hours of adoration with an act of love, and you will thus delightfully open your soul to His divine action. It is because you begin by self that you pause in the way; or if you commence by any virtue other than love, you wander from the tifue path. Does not the child embrace the mother before obeying her? Love is the only portal to the heart. Do you wish to be high, elevated in love? Speak to Love of Himself. Speak to Jesus of His Heavenly Father whom He loves so 6 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. much. Speak to Him of the labors that He undertook for His glory, and you will rejoice His Heart. He will love you more. Speak to Jesus of His love for all men. That will dilate both His Heart and your own with joy and happiness. Speak to Jesus of His holy Mother whom He loves so much, and you will renew for Him the happiness of a good Son. Speak to Him of His saints, in order to glorify His grace in them. The true secret of love is, like St. John the Baptist, to forget self, in order to exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus. True love looks not at what it gives, but only at what the Beloved merits. Then Jesus, pleased with you, will speak to you of yourself. He will tell you of His love for you, and your heart will open to the rays of that Sun like the flower, bathed and refreshed by the dews of night, under the beams of the radiant orb of day. His sweet voice will pen- etrate your soul like fire consumingthe substance that offers no resistance. Like the Spouse in the Canticles, you will exclaim : « My soul liquefied with joy at the voice of my Beloved. » You will hear Him in silence, ADORATION IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. / or rather in the sweetest and the most powerful action of love. You will become one with Him. What, most unfortunately, checks the growth of grace and love in our soul, is that, hardly have we reached the feet of our good Master, before we begin to speak to Him of ourselves, our sins, our defects, our spiritual poverty. In doing so, we tire the mind by the sight of our misery, our heart grows sad under the thought of our ingratitude and infidelity. Sad- ness gives rise to pain, pain to discouragement,- and it is only by humility, suffering, and trial, that we can escape from that labyrinth into the freedom of God. Ahl let us do so no more! As the first movement of the soul ordinarily determines every action, direct that first movement to God, and say to Him : « O my good Jesus, how glad I am to come to see Thee! What satisfaction I find in spending this hour with Thee, and in telling Thee my love! O how good in Thee to call me! How sweet in Thee to love so poor a creature as I ! O yes ! I, too, want to love Thee! » Love then opens to you the door to the Heart of Jesus. Enter therein, love, and adore. The Divine Eucharist. 8 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Ill N order to adore well, we must remem- ber that Jesus Christ, present in the Eu- charist, there glorifies, there continues all the mysteries, all the virtues, of His mortal life. We must remember that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ past, present, and future; that the Holy Eucharist is the highest development of the Incarnation and the mortal life of the Saviour; that Jesus Christ therein gives us all graces; that all truths culminate in the Eucha- rist; and that, in naming the Holy Eucharist, we have said all, since the Holy Eucharist is Jesus Christ. Let the Holy Eucharist be, then, our starting- point in the meditation of the myteries, the vir- tues, the truths of religion. It is the furnace; those truths are only the flames. Let us start from the furnace, and we shall spread around its flames. What more simple than to find the resem- blance between the Birth of Jesus in the stable, and His sacramental Birth on the altar and in our heart? Who does not see that the hidden life at Nazareth is continued in the Host of the Taber- ADORATION IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. 9 nacle, and that the Passion of the Man-God is renewed in the Holy Sacrifice at every mo- ment of time and in all places of the world? Is not Our Lord sweet and humble in the Blessed Sacrament as He was during His mor- tal life? Is He not always there the Good Shepherd, the Divine Consoler, the Friend of the heart? Happy the soul who knows how to find Jesus in the Eucharist, and in the Eucharist all things ! iAv .cAa , 2A1 PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. Semper vivetis ad intetpel- I Always living to make inter- landufu pro uodis. 1 cession for us. (Heb.vii,25.) He Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most sublime of all prayers. Jesus Christ offers Himself in it to His Father, adoring Him, thanMng Him, making reparation to Him, and petitioning Him in behalf of His Church, of men. His brethren, and of poor sinners. This august prayer Jesus incessantly contin- ues by His state of Victim in the Eucharist. Let us unite with the prayer of Our Lord. Let us, like Him, pray for the four ends of the Sacrifice, for in it all religion is summed up, the acts of all virtues comprised. Adoration. [He act of Eucharistic adoration has for divine object the infinite excellence of Jesus Christ, worthy in itself of all honor and glory. PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. 1 1 Unite your praises to those of the celestial court when, prostrate before the throne of the Lamb, they cry out in admiration: « To Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb tha/t was slain, benediction and honor and glory and power and divinity forever and ever! » Uniting with the four and twenty ancients casting their crowns in homage before the throne of the Lamb, lay at the foot of the Eu- charistic throne the homage of your whole being, of your faculties, and of all your actions, saying to Him: « To Thee alone be love and glory! » Contemplate the greatness of the love of Jesus, instituting, multiplying, perpetuating the Divine Eucharist even to the end of the world. Admire His wisdom in this Divine Invention, which exacts the wonder of the angels them- selves. Praise His power, which has triumphed over all obstacles. Exalt His goodness, which has regulated all gifts. Break out into transports of joy and love at seeing that you yourself are the object of the greatest, as well as the holiest, of the Sacra- ments; for Jesus Christ would have done for you alone what He did for all. O what love! In your impotence to adore Jesus Christ as THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 1 2 He deserves, invoke the assistance of your good angel, that faithful companion of your life. He will be so happy to do with you here below what He is to continue eternally with you in glory. Adore in union with Holy Church the God whom she confides to you, that you may repre- sent her at His feet. Unite with the adoration of all the saints on earth, of the angels and the blessed in heaven. But, above all, unite with the adoration of Mary and Joseph when, sole possessors of the hidden God, they alone formed His court and His family. Adore Jesus in union with Jesus Himself. That is the most perfect adoration. He is God and man, your Saviour and your Brother, all in one. Adore the Heavenly Father through His Son, the object of all His complacency, and then your adoration will be of the same value as that of Jesus, for it will be His own. II — Thanksgiving. Hanksgiving is the act of love sweetest to the soul and most pleasing to God. It is perfect homage to His infinite goodness. PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. 13 The Eucharist is Itself perfect thanksgiving. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. In It Jesus renders thanks to His Father for us, and that is our true thanksgiving. Thank God the Father for having given you His Divine Son, not only as Saviour on the Cross, but, above all, as your Eucharist, your Bread of Life, your Heaven begun. Thank the Holy Spirit for continuing to in- carnate Him every day on the altar by the words of the priest, as He did the first time in the virginal womb of Mary. But let your thanksgiving rise to the throne of the Lamb, to the hidden God, as incense of sweet odor, as the most delicious harmony of your soul, as the purest, the tenderest love of your heart. In humility of heart, thank as St. Elizabeth thanked in presence of Mary and the Incarnate Word. Thank with the thrills of St. John the Baptist on perceiving the nearness of his Di- vine Master, like himself, concealed in the womb of His Mother. Thank with the joy and generosity of Zaccheus, receiving the visit of Jesus in his house. Thank with the Holy Church, with the celestial court. That your thanksgiving may be continual and ever on the 14 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. increase, do as they do in heaven. Consider the beauty, the goodness, ever ancient and ever new, of the God of the Eucharist, who is con- sumed and born again incessantly on the altar for love of us. Contemplate His sacramental state, the sacrifices that He has made since the Last Supper, in order to come down through the ages to you; the combats against His own glory that He has had to sustain, in order to abase Himself to the very verge of annihilation, thus to sacrifice His liberty. His body, even His external appearance. And He has done all that without condition of time or place, aban- doning Himself without other protection than His -love to the love, yes, more frequently to the hatred of men. At the thought of the Saviour’s so great goodness for all mankind, and, above all, for yourself, since you possess Him, enjoy Him, live of Him, open your heart, and pour out your thanksgivings like flames from a fiery furnace. Let them envelop the Eucharistic shrine that they may unite with, be lost in the divine fire, in the brilliant and consuming flames of the Heart of Jesus. May these two flames rise to heaven, even to the throne of God the Father, who has given you His Son, in whom you receive the Holy Trinity entire! PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. 15 III — Reparation. ) thanksgiving ought to succeed the amende honorable, the reparation, or the propitiation. Your heart must now pass from joy to sadness, to groans, to tears, to the most profound sorrow, while considering the ingrat- itude, the indifference, the impiety of the ma- jority of men toward the Eucharistic Saviour. Behold, how men forget Jesus after having once loved and adored Him! Is He, then, no longer lovable, or has He ceased to love them ? O what ingrates I It is because He is too loving that they no longer desire to love Himl. It is be- cause He is too good that they no longer wish to receive Him. It is because He is too lowly, too humble, too annihilated for them, that they desire no more to see Him, that they flee from Him, that they banish His presence and even His memory, which annoys and importunes them. There are some who, unable to ignore Him, their good Father, their sweet Master, take revenge on His too great love by outraging and denying Him. They close their eyes to that Sun of love that they may no longer see It. Among those ingrates there are, alas ! sac- i6 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. rilegious virgins, unworthy priests, apostate hearts, fallen seraphim and cherubim. O ador- ers, behold the work before you ! It is to weep at the feet of Jesus, despised by His own, cru- cified in so many hearts, abandoned in so many places! It is to console the Heart of that tender Father, from whom the demon. His arch- enemy, snatches so many beloved children I A Prisoner in the Eucharist, He can no longer run after His lost sheep, exposed to the fangs of ravening wolves. Your mission, ador- ers, is to supplicate grace for the guilty, and pay their ransom to the divine mercy, which has need of supplicating hearts. It is for you to become victims of propitiation with Jesus the Saviour, who, in His resuscitated state being no longer able to suffer, will suffer in you and by you. IV — Petition. Astly, petition or supplication, must crown adoration, and make of it the glo- rious trophy. Impetration is the strength, the power* of Eucharistic prayer. All cannot preach Jesus by word of mouth, nor labor directly at the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of souls; but every adorer has the mission of PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. 17 prayer, of Eucharistic prayer, in the midst of the splendors of worship, at the foot of the throne of grace and mercy. To pray is to glorify the infinite goodness of God; it is to render the divine mercy active; it is to rejoice, to dilate the love of God for His creature by accomplishing the law of grace, which is prayer. Prayer is, then, man’s greatest glorification of God. Prayer is man’s greatest virtue. It is a combination of all the virtues, because they all prepare it and compose it. Prayer is faith be- lieving, hope supplicating, love demanding. Prayer is the humility of the heart that formu- lates it, the confidence that utters it, and the perseverance which triumphs over God Plim- self ! Eucharistic prayer has a still higher excel- lence. Like a fiery dart it rises directly to the heart of God. It, as it were, restores Jesus to life in His Sacrament, unbinds His power, and sets Him to work. Still more, the adorer prays through Jesus Christ. He places Him on His throne of intercession near the Father, as the Divine Advocate of His ransomed brethren. But why is it necessary to pray? This sen- tence: « Adveniat regnum tuum — Thy king- dom come, » ought to be the end, as well i8 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. as the rule, of every adorer’s prayer. He ought to pray that the light of the truth of Jesus Christ may shine upon all men, upon infidels, Jews, heretics, schismatics; he ought to ask for their return to the true Faith, as well as to true charity. He ought to pray for the reign of Jesus’ sanctity in the Faithful, in His religious, in His priests, that He may live in them by His love. He ought to pray, above all, for the Sov- ereign Pontiff, for all intentions dear to his heart, for the Bishop of the diocese, that God may further his zealous desires; for all his priests, that God may bless their apostolic la- bors, and inflame them with zeal for His glory and love for Holy Church. In order to vary his petitions, the adorer may paraphrase sometimes the Lord’s Prayer, the devout Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, or the following beautiful petitions: « Soul of Jesus most holy, sanctify me! « Body of Jesus, save me! « Most pure Heart of Jesus, purify me, en- lighten me, inflame me! « Blood of Jesus, inebriate me! « Sacred water from the Side of Jesus, wash me! PRACTICE FOR ADORATION. 19 « Passion of Jesus, strengthen me I « Jesus, hide me in Thy Wounds! « Permit not sin ever to separate me from Thee! « Defend me from the evil spirit! « Command me to come to Thee at the hour of death, that with all the saints I may praise Thee eternally! » Amen. Let no adorer retire from the presence of his Divine Master without thanking Him for the loving audience accorded him. Let him ask pardon for his distraction and irreverence. Let him offer in faithful homage a flower of virtue, a bouquet of little sacrifices. This done, let him depart as from the Cenacle, as the angels leave the throne of God to fly to the accomplishment pf His divine commands. METHOD of ADORATION by the FOUR ENDS of the HOLY SACRIFICE of the MASS. E divide the hour of adoration into four parts. At each quar- ter we honor Our Lord by one of the four ends of the Holy Mass, namely : Adoration, Thanksgiving, Reparation, and Petition. FIRST quarter. — Adoration. 1. First adore Our Lord in His Divine Sac- rament by the exterior homage of the body. Kneel as soon as you perceive Jesus in the Adorable Host. Prostrate in deep respect be- fore Him as a sign of your submission and love. Adore Him in union with the Magi Kings when, prostrate on the earth, they adored the Infant God laid in His humble crib and cov- ered with poor swathing-bands. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 2 I 2. After this first act of silent and sponta- neous homage, adore Our Lord by an act of exterior faith. This act is very useful to awaken the senses, the heart, and the mind to Eucha- ristic piety. It will open to you the heart of Jesus with Its treasures and graces. It is very necessary to be faithful to it, and to make it holily and devoutly. 3. Next offer to Jesus Christ the homage of your whole being. Particularize the homage of each of the faculties of your soul: of your mind in order to know Him better, of your heart to love Him, of your will to serve Him, of your body with its different senses to glorify Him, each in its own manner. Offer to Him, above all, the homage of your intellect, desiring that the Divine Sacrament may be the royal thought of your life; of your affections, calling Jesus Christ the King and the God of your heart; of your will, wishing no other law, no other end, than His service. His love, and His glory; of your memory, to think only of Him, and thus to live only of Him, and for Him. 4. As your adoration is so imperfect, unite it to that bf the Most Blessed Virgin at Bethle- hem, at Nazareth, on Calvary, in the Cenacle, 22 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. at the foot of the tabernacle. Unite it to the adoration going on in the whole Church, to that of all holy souls who are adoring Our Lord at tliat very moment, and with the whole court of heaven ever glorifying Him. 'Your ado ration will then share in the holiness and the merit of theirs. SECOND QUARTER. — Thanksgiving. 1. Adore and bless the immense love of Jesus for you in this Sacrament of Himself. In order not to leave you alone and an orphan in this land of exile and misery, He comes from heaven to you personally to be your companion and consoler. Thank Him, then, with all your love and all your strength; thank Him in union with all the saints. 2. Admire the sacrifices that He imposes on Himself in this. His Sacramental state. He hides His divine and corporal glory in order not to dazzle and blind you; He veils His ma- jesty that you may dare approach Him and speak to Him as friend to friend ; He binds His power not t o affright or punish you ; He does not let you see the perfection of His virtues in order not to discourage your weakness; He even tempers the ardor of His Heart, His love METHOD OF ADORATION. 23 for you, because you would not be able to bear its strength and tenderness; He lets you see only His goodness, which escapes through the Sacred Species, like the rays of the sun through a passing cloud. O how good is Jesus Sacra- mental! He receives you at every hour of the day and night. His love never sleeps. He is always full of sweetness for you. He forgets your sins and imperfections when you go to see Him, to tell you only of His joy. His ten- derness, and His love. On receiving you, one might say that He has need of you to be hap- py. O thank Him, this good Jesus, with your whole soul! Thank the Father for having given you His Divine Son. Thank the Holy Spirit for having incarnated Him anew upon the altar by the ministry of the priest, and for you in particular. Invite heaven and earth, the angels and men to help you to thank, bless, and exalt so great love for you. 3. Contemplate the sacramental state in which Jesus has placed Himself for love of you, and imbibe the sentiments of His life. In the Eucharist He is as poor, and even poorer, than at Bethlehem; for at Bethlehem He had His Mother, and here He has not. He brings nothing from heaven but His love and His The Divine Eucharist, 3 24 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. graces. See how obedient He is in the Divine Host. Promptly and meekly He obeys every one, even His enemies. Admire His humility. He descends even to the verge of annihilation, since He unites Himself sacramentally with vile and inanimate species, 'which have no nat- ural support, no other consistency than that given them by His almighty power, which preserves them by a continual miracle. His love for us makes Him our Prisoner. He is chained even to the end of the world in His Eucharistic prison, which ought to be our heav- en on earth. 4. Unite your thanksgiving to that of the Most Blessed Virgin after the Incarnation and, above all, after Communion. Joyfully and exult- ingly repeat with her the Magnificat of your love and gratitude, and say unceasingly : O how good, and loving, and sweet art Thou, Je- sus, in the Sacred Host! THIRD QUARTER. — Reparation. 1. Adore and visit Jesus neglected and aban- doned in His Sacrament of Love. Men have time for everything excepting to visit their Lord and their God, who is waiting for them, longing for them in His tabernacle. The streets MEiHOD OF ADORATION. 25 and the pleasure resorts are full of people; the house of God alone is deserted. They shun it, they fear it. O poor Jesus, couldst Thou have foreseen so much indifference from those Thou hadst redeemed, from Thy friends, Thy children, yes, from myself? 2. Weep over Jesus betrayed, insulted, de- rided, crucified much more ignominiously in His Sacrament of Love than in the Garden of Olives, in the streets of Jerusalem, and on Cal- vary. And who are they that offend Him most, dishonor Him in His temples by their little respect, who crucify Him anew in their body and in their soul by sacrilegious Communion, who sell Him thus to the demon, already the master of their heart and their life? Ah, they are those whom He has most honored, most loved, most enriched with His gifts and graces ! Alas ! have I nothing with which to re- proach myself? Couldst Thou think, O my Jesus, that Thy too great love for man would become the object of his malice, and that he would turn Thy most precious gifts and graces against Thee? And I myself? Have I, too, not been unfaithful ? 3. Adore Jesus, and repair the immense in* gratitude, the profanations, and sacrileges that 26 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. flood the world. Offer for this intention all the sufferings that you shall have to endure dur- ing the day, during the week. Impose some satisfactory penance upon yourself for your own offences and for those of your relatives, or for those that you may have disedified by your want of reverence in the holy place, by your indevotion. 4. But because all the satisfaction you can offer, all the penance you can do, are so small, so insufficient to repair so many crimes, unite them with those of Jesus, your Saviour, elevated on the Cross. Gather up the Precious Blood flowing from His wounds and offer it to Divine Justice as propitiation. Take His sufferings and His prayer on the Cross, and through them beg the Heavenly Father for grace and mercy for yourself, and all sinners. Unite your repara- tion to that of the Most Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross, or at the foot of the altar, and you will share in Jesus’ love for His Divine Mother. FOURTH QUARTER. — Petition. 1. Adore Our Lord in His Divine Sacrament incessantly petitioning His Father for us, show- ing Him His Wounds in order to move Him METHOD OF ADORATION. 27 to mercy, His Heart open on account of you and for you. Unite your prayer with His, im- plore what He implores. 2. Jesus begs His Father to bless, defend, exalt His Church that she may make Him bet- ter known, loved, and served by all men. Pray earnestly for the Holy Church so tried, so persecuted in the person of Christ’s Vicar, that God may deliver him from his enemies, who are his own children; that He may touch them, convert them, and lead them back humble and penitent to His mercy and justice. Jesus con- stantly prays for all the members of His priest- hood, that they may be filled with His Holy Spirit, with His virtues, with zeal for His glory, that they may be thoroughly devoted to the salvation of the souls that He has pur- chased at the price of His Blood and His Life. Pray earnestly for your Bishop that God may preserve him, bless all his zealous desires, and console him. Pray much for your pastor that God may multiply the graces of which he has need for directing and sanctifying the flock confided to his care and conscience. Pray ar- dently that God may grant His Church numer- ous and holy vocations to the priesthood. One holy priest is the greatest of Heaven’s gifts. 28 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. He can save a whole country. Pray for all the Religious Orders that they may be very faith- ful to the graces of their evangelical vocation, and that all whom God calls thereto may have the courage and the love to follow the divine call and to persevere in it. One saint protects and saves his country. His prayer and his virtue are more powerful than all the armies in the world. 3. Pray for the fervor and perseverance of pious souls vowed to the service of God in the world, and who live there like the religious of His love and mercy. They have more need of help, because they have to encounter more dangers and make more sacrifices. 4. During a determined period of time, ask for the conversion of some great sinner. Noth- ing is more glorious to God than these great strokes of His grace. Lastly, pray for yourself that you may become better and pass the pres- ent day holily. Make a bouquet of your gifts to Jesus, your King and your God, and ask His benediction. -gM^ jpyj^ .gM J^5\. JsQ^^gQa 5v^— ^ , THE PATER NOSTER (■). ^ Amen, amen, dico vohis, quodcutngue petieritis Pa- tre7n in nornine meo, hoc fa- ciam, 7it glorificetur Pater in Filio. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John xiv, 13.) I. Our Father, who art in heaven, in the heav- en of the Eucharist, to Thee who art seated on that throne of grace and love, be honor, bene- diction, glory, and power forever and ever ! II. Hallowed he Thy name, first in us, by Thy spirit of humility, obedience, and charity! Then may we, full of devotedness and humility, make Thee known, loved, and adored by all in Thy Eucharist I (We feel that we ought to give the Latin text of this paraphrase, for Pere Eymard’s whole soul is poured out in it.) I. Pater noster, qui es hi ccelis, coelis Eucharisticis, tibi sedenti in throno amoris et gratige, benedictio, honor, et gloria, et potestas in sagcula sseculorum ! II. Sanctificetur nomen tuuni, in nobis : huniilitatis, obedientias et charitatis tuae spiritu ; et Te in Eucha- ristia cognosci, adorari et amari ab omnibus faciamus humiles et devoti. 30 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. III. Thy kingdom come, Thy kingdom Eu- charistic 1 Reign alone and forever over us by the empire of Thy love, by the triumph of Thy virtues over our defects, by the dominion of grace and Eucharistic vocation! / Grant us the grace and the mission of Thy holy love that, all-powerful, we may preach, extend, spread everywhere Thy Eucharistic reign, that thereby it may be given us to fulfil the desire Thou didst express in these words: « I am come to bring fire upon the earth ; and what will I but that it be en- kindled? » O that we may be the incen- dianes of this heavenly fire! IV. Thy will he done on earth as it is in heav- III. Adveniat regnum tuum Eucharisticum ! Regna solus in aeternum super nos, amoris tui imperio, virtutum tuarum triumpho, gratia* vocationis Eucharisticae dono, ad majorem tuam gloriam ! Dona nobis gratiam et missionem sanctae tuae dilec- tionis, ut regnum tuum Eucharisticum praedicare, exten- dere, diffundere, ubique valeamus potentes, et sic desi- derium tuum implere quando dicebas : « Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur? » Utinam et nos hujus ignis coelestis simus incendiarii ! IV. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in ccbIo et in terra! To. unum velle, Te unum desiderare, Te unum cogitare gaudeamus ; semper et in omnibus abnegantes nos ut obedientia tua bona, beneplacens et perfecta, in nobis sit lux et vita. — Et quoad societatis nostrae statum et THE PATER NOSTER. 3 1 en ! Grant that all our joy may consist in think- ing by Thee alone, in desiring by Thee alone, in willing by Thee alone! Always and in all things, may we, renouncing self, find light and life only in obedience to Thy will, ever good, pleasing, and perfect! As to the condition and progress of our Eucharistic Congregation, I will what Thou dost will; I will it, because Thou dost will it; I will it as Thou dost will it; I will it as much as Thou dost will it! Perish every desire, every thought not purely from Thee, in Thee, and for Thee! V. Give this day our daily bread I Lord Jesus, who didst daily rain manna in the desert for the needs of Thy people, who didst will to progressum, volo quod vis ; volo quia vis ; volo quomodo vis ; volo quamdiu vis ; pereant cogitationes nostras et desideria, si ex Te, ad Te, in Te pure non sunt ! V. Panetn nostrum quotidianu7n da nobis hodie. Do- mine Jesu, qui mannam in deserto quotidie populis praebuisti, qui Levitis pars et haereditas sola et tota esse voluisti, qui Apostolis paupertatem tuam divinam legasti ; Te solum provisorem et procuratorem in omni- bus volumus et eligimus ; Tu solus cibus et vestis the- saurus et gloria, medicina in malo et protectio ab hosti- bus. Nihil a favore humano, nihil ab amicitia mundi accipere nec etiani desiderare promittimus. Tu eris nobis omnia, et homines, et ab hominibus, nihil, nisi crux et oblivio ! THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 32 be the sole share and inheritance of the Levites, who didst bequeath Thy divine poverty to Thine Apostles, we desire Thee in all things to be our Treasurer and Provider. We choose Thee as such. Do Thou Thyself be our food and our raiment, our treasure and our glory, our remedy in sickness and our protection against our enemies. We promise Thee not to receive, not even to desire anything from human favor. We want nothing from the friend- ship of the world. Thou alone wilt be all to us, and creatures nothing. From men we desire nothing but the cross and forgetfulness. VI. Forgive us our trespasses. Forgive, O Lord Jesus, the sins of my youth! Forgive the sins committed in my holy vocation that with VI. Et dUniite nobis debita nostra. Farce, Domine Jesu, peccatis juventutis meas I Farce peccatis in voca- lione tarn sancta patratis, ut corde pure et conscientia bona digne ad sacrum altare tuum accedere audeam, sancteque tibi servire, te laudare cum angelis et sanctis merear. Dimitte delicta in nos commissa, ne vindictam sumas de oppugnantibus, calumniantibus et persequen- tibus nos. Da eis bonum pro malo, gratiam pro delicto, amorem pro odio. Sicutet nos dUnittim^is debitoribus nostris, toto corde, in charitate vera ; tota menta, in simplicitate infantium; tota vpluntate, illis omnia bona tua, et nobis deside- rantes et procurantes in amore tuo. THE PATER NOSTER. 33 a pure heart and a quiet conscience, I may less unworthily venture to approach Thy holy altar, to serve Thee purely, and to deserve to praise Thee with the angels and saints! For- give, O Lord, the wrongs that they do us ; avenge not those that oppose us, calumniate us, persecute us! Render to them good for evil, grace for crime, love for hate! As p)e forgive those that trespass against us. Yes, with our whole heart, with true charity, with our whole soul, and with the simplicity of children, we desire truly and freely to procure for them as for ourselves all the gifts of Thy love. VII. And lead us not into temptation. Remove from Thy Eucharistic family false, deceitful, and impure vocations! Never permit this poor and humble little Congregation to fall into the hands of a proud and ambitious, or of a hard VII. Et ne nos inducas in tentationetn . Longe fac a familia tua Eucharistica, vocationes subdolosas, falsas, impuras. Nullus superbus et ambitiosus, durus, et ira- cundus, hanc humilem et pauperem farailiam unquam regat. Ne tradas bestiis inimundis et perversis animas confitentes tibi. Redde tuani societatem a scandalo im- munem, a vitio virginem, a servitute mundana liberam, a saeculo alienam, ut tibi in sanctitate et libertate, in pace et quiete servire gaudeat. 34 the divine EUCHARIST. and passionate man! Deliver not to perverse and ferocious beasts souls that hope in Thee alone I Preserve Thy Eucharistic family from every scandal I Keep it pure from vice, free from the servitude of the world, unknown to the world, that it may find all its joy in serving Thee in holiness, liberty, peace, and tranquillity. Deliver us from the proud and impure de- mon, from the sower of discord. Deliver us from the cares and solicitudes of this life, in order that we may consecrate, with a pure heart and a free mind, all that we have and all that we are to Thy Eucharistic service. Deliver us from false brethren lest they crush this little Society still in its infancy; from the worldly wise, lest they corrupt the simplicity VIII. Sed lihera nos a malo. Libera nos a daemone superbo, impure et discordiarum seniinatore. Libera nos ab hujus vitae solicitudinibus et curis, ut pure cum corde et libera mente, toti servitio Eucharistico devoti nos et nostra gaudenter impendamus. Libera nos afalsis fratribus, ne infantilem societatem tuam opprimant ; a sapientibus hujus saeculi, ne spiritum tuum in nobis vitientur ; a viris doctis et superbis, ne in nos iracundiam tuam et derelictionem provocent ; a viris effeminatis, ne virtutis ardorem et sanctae disciplinae vigorem emolliant ; a viro duplici animo et inconstant!, ne simplicitatem nostram perturbent. THE PATER NOSTER. 35 of our spirit; from proud scholars, lest they provoke Thy anger; from weak and effeminate men, lest they relax the vigor of holy discipline and the fervor of virtue; from inconstant and double-dealing men, lest they impose upon our simplicity. Amen. In Thee, O Lord Jesus, have I hoped! I shall not be confounded forever. Thou alone art good, Thou alone art powerful. Thou alone art eternal! To Thee alone be honor and glory, love and thanksgiving forever and ever! Amen. In teDomine Jesu, speravi, non confundar in aeternum. Tu solus bonus, Tu solus potens, Tu solus aeternus ! Tibi soli honor et gloria, amor et gratiarum actio in saeculorum saecula. % ' 4 *' * 4 ^ ' 4 ^ ' 4 *' THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST. Cum dilexisset suos qui erant in fuundo, in yine7n dU lexit eos. Jesus, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them unto the end. (John xiii, 2.) Ow good is our Lord Jesus! how loving! Not satisfied with having become our Brother by His Incarnation, our Sav- iour by His Passion, — not content with having delivered Himself for us, He wills to carry His love so far as to make Himself our Sacrament of Life! With what joy He made ready this great, this supreme Gift of His love! With what satisfaction He instituted the Eucharist, and bequeathed It to us as His Legacy 1 Let us follow Divine Wisdom in His prepu- THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 37 ration for the Eucharist. Let us adore His power, exhausting itself in this act of love. I Ong before Its institution, Jesus revealed the Eucharist. was born in Bethlehem, the house of bread, domus panis. There He was cradled upon straw, which then bore, as it were, the real ear of wheat. At Cana, when He changed water into wine, and in the desert, when He multiplied the loaves, it was the Eucharist that He was foreshadowing; and in the desert, as we know, to the foreshadow He added a clear promise of the Eucharist. — It was a public and formal promise. He swore with an oath that He would give His Flesh to be eaten and His Blood to be drunk. That was the remote preparation. Now comes the moment to prepare more imme- diately for the Eucharist. Here Jesus wills to do all Himself. Love never makes over its obligatioins to others. Love does all itself. It glories in so doing. 38 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. First of all, Jesus designates the city, Jeru- salem, the city of sacrifice in the Old Law. He points out the house — the Cenacle. Next, He chooses Hij ministers for the work — Peter and John — Peter, the disciple of faith; and John, the disciple of love. He appoints the hour — the last of His life of which He can freely dispose. Lastly, He goes from Bethany to the Cen- acle. He is full of joy. His step is quick, He does not tarry on the way. Love flies to meet sacrifice. II Ow behold the institution of the august Sacrament. What a moment ! Love’s hour has struck. The Mosaic Pasch is about to terminate. The true Lamb is going to suc- ceed the figure. The Bread of Life, the Living Bread, the Bread of Heaven, will take the place of the manna of the desert... All is ready. The Apostles are clean, for Jesus has just finished washing their feet. Jesus seats Himself quietly at the table. The new Pasch must be eaten seated, in the repose of God. Profound silence reigns. The Apostles are THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST. 39 all attention, their eyes fixed on their Master. Jesus recollects Himself. Then He takes the Bread in His holy and venerable hands, raises His eyes to heaven, gives thanks to His Father for this hour so longed for, extends His hand, and blesses the bread... The Apostles look on, full of respect, not daring to ask the meaning of these mysterious actions, while Jesus pronounces those ravish- ing words, as powerful as the word creative: Take ye and eat, this is My Body. Take ye and drink, this is My Blood ! The mystery of love is accomplished. Jesus has fulfilled His promise. He now has nothing more tio give but His mortal life upon the Cross. That, too. He will give, and then He will rise again to become our perpetual Host of Propitiation, our Host of Communion, our Host of Adoration. Heaven is ravished at sight of this mystery. The Most Holy Trinity contemplates it with love. The angels adore lost in admiration. The demons in hell tremble with rage... Yes, Lord Jesus, all is accomplished! Thou hast nothing more to give to man by which to prove to him Thy love. Thou canst now die, but Thou wilt not leave us even in dying. Thy The Divine Eucharist. 4 40 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. love has become eternal upon earth. Return into the heaven of Thy glory, for the Euchar- ist will be the Heaven of Thy love. O Cenacle! where art thou? O Holy Table, which bears the Consecrated Body of Jesus! O Divine Fire, which Jesus enkindled upon Mount Sion, burn, shoot forth thy flames, em- brace the whole world. O holy Father, Thou wilt always love men, for they forever possess Jesus Christ ! Thou wilt have no more thunderbolts, no more floods to destroy the earth, for the Eucharist is our « bow in the heavens. » Thou wilt love men since Jesus Christ, Thy Son, loves them so much! O how that good Saviour has loved us ! Is it enough to claim our gratitude? Ah, still morel We should consecrate to Him in return our affection and our life. Have we still a desire? Do we ask another proof of Jesus’ love? Alas! if the love of Jesus in the Most Bless- ed Sacrament does not win our love, Jesus is vanquished! Our ingratitude is greater than His goodness ; our malice transcends His chari- ty! O no, my good Saviour, Thy charity urges me, presses me, binds me! THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST. 4 1 I wish to devote myself to the service and glory of Thy Sacrament. I wish, by the strength of my love, to make Thee forget that up to the present I have been so ungrateful; by the fervor of my devotedness, to win from Thee pardon for having loved Thee so late I ^ The LAST WILL of JESUS CHRIST. ^ Hie calix novu7n tesiainen- I This chalice is the new tes- UiDi est in meo sangtiine. tament in my Blood. I (I Cor. XI, 25.) He eve of the death of the Saviour, Holy Thursday, the day of the institution of the Adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist ! Behold the most beautiful day in the life of Our Lord! It is the grand- est day of His tenderness, of His love. Jesus Christ is about to take measures for remaining with us. His love on the Cross was immense. On the day of His death. He did, indeed, testify to us His love. But His suffer- ings were to have an end. Good Friday was to last but one day. Holy Thursday will endure till the end of THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 43 the world, because Jesus has made Himself the Sacrament of Himself forever. I N this day, then. Our Lord about to die and remembering that He is a father, wishes to make His last will. What a solemn act in a family! It is the last act of life, as it were, but it prolongs that life beyond the tomb. A father gives what he possesses. He cannot give himself, for he does not own himself, he does not belong to himself. He leaves a legacy to eachiof his children, also to his friends. He gives to them what is dearest to him. But Our Lord gives Himself! Jesus has (no riches, no possessions, not even a home. He has not whereon to rest His head. They who expect from Him temporal goods will receive nothing. His cross. His nails. His crown of thorns, — behold His earthly estate! Ah, if Our Lord gave earthly riches, how many good Christians there would be! Who would not be His disciple ? But no. He has nothing, not even the glory of giving here below. They are, therefore, going to humble Him in His Passion. 44 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. And yet, Our Lord wishes to make a will. And of what? — Of Himself! He is God and Man. As God, He is Master of His Sacred Humanity. He gives that to us, and with It all that He is. He really gives It to us. It is not a loan; It is a gift. He realizes, He effectuates Himself. He becomes, as it were, a thing, in order that we may be able to possess Him truly. He becomes bread: His Body, His Blood, His Soul, and His Divinity taking the place of the substance of the bread offered. Though we see Him not, we possess Him. Behold our inheritance, Our Lord Jesus Christ! He wishes to give Himself to us, but all do not want Him. There are some who would be glad to receive Him, but who reject the conditions He has laid down for that, name- ly, purity and a good life. Alas! their malice has the power to annul the legacy of their God! II rag^^MlRE the inventions of Our Lord’s love. plftl It is His love alone that has invented this work of love. THE LAST WILL OF JESUS CHRIST. 45 Who Other than Jesus could have fore- seen It, would even have dared to think of it? — Not even an angel! Our Lord alone could have thought of It. Ye have need of bread? I shall be your Bread And He died content, leaving us Bread, and such Bread! Like the father of a family who has labored all his life for but one end, to leave bread to his children when dying. What more could Our Lord give us? In this testament of His love. Our Lord has comprised everything — all His graces, and even His glory itself. We may say to the Heavenly Father: « Give me the graces of which I have need, and I shall pay Thee with Jesus in the Eucharist, who belongs to me. He is mine. I can trade with Him, and all Thy graces, even Thy glory, O holy Father, are less than this divine Price. » When we have sinned, we have a victim to offer for our transgressions. We can say: « Father, I offer Jesus to Thee! Thou wilt pardon me for Jesus’ sake, for surely He has suffered enough. He has made sufficient rep- aration. » Whatever grace God may grant us. He is 46 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. always in arrears with us. Jesus Christ, our Treasure, is worth more than all graces put together, yes, more than heaven itself I The Saracens, when keeping St. Louis pris- oner, held all France for his ransom. Possess- ing Jesus Christ, we already possess the king- dom of heaven. Let us, then, profit by this thought, let us make Jesus Christ bear fruit. Most men bury Him in their soul, or leave Him there in His winding-sheet, making no use of Him to gain heaven for themselves and kingdoms for God. There are numbers of such communicants. Let us make use of Jesus Christ to pray and to re- pair. Let us pay with Jesus, for He is a super- abundant Price. HI INETEEN centuries ago ! And yet this inheritance has come down to me! Jesus Christ confided it to His guardians, who have administered it, who have preserved it, in order to' deliver it to us at the time of our majority. Those guardians are the Apostles, and among them their imperishable Chief. The Apostles confided it to the priests, and the latter have handed it down to us. Opening fo^ THE LAST WILL OF JESUS CHRIST. 47 US the will, they give us our Host, consecrated in the thought of Our Lord at the Last Supper. Yes, for Jesus Christ there is neither past, pres- ent, nor future. He, our good Father, knew us all at the Last Supper. He consecrated in pow- er and in desire all our Hosts, and we were personally loved nineteen centuries before we were born. Yes, we were at the Last Supper, and Jesus reserved for us not one Host, but a hundred, a thousand, still more, one for every day of our life. Do we ever reflect on that? Jesus willed to love us superabundantly. Our Hosts have been prepared for us. O let us not lose a single one ! Our Lord comes only to bear fruit, and shall we allow Him to lie sterile? No, never! Make Him fructify by Himself : Negotimnini ! Do not let your Hosts lie sterile! He is so good, our good Saviour! The Last Supper lasted about three hours. It was the Passion of His love. Ah, how dear that Bread cost Him! They say bread costs, but what is its price compared with that of the Heavenly Bread, the Bread of Life? Let us, then, eat It. It is ours. Our Lord 48 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. bought It for US. He Himself paid for It. He gives It to us, and we have but to take It. What an honor! What love! K The GIFT of the HEART of JESUS. Si scires Donuin Dei ! .. | If thou didst know the Gift ! of God ! (John iv, lo.) fEsus has reached the term of His mortal life. Heaven calls for its King. He has struggled sufficiently long ; it is now time for Him to triumph. Jesus, however, cannot for- sake His new family, the children that He came to purchase. « 1 go away, and I come unto you, » He says to His Apostles. Thou wilt return ? Thou wilt remain even in going, Lord? But by what marvel of Thy power ? That is the secret and the work of His Di- vine Heart. Jesus shall have two thrones — one of glory in heaven, the other of sweetness and goodness 50 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. on earth. He shall have two courts — the heavenly and triumphant court, and the court of His purchase here below. And, let us say it, if Jesus could not dwell at one and the same time here below and in heav- en, He would prefer remaining with us to as- cending to heaven without us. Certainly, He has proved that He prefers the least of His poor purchased ones to all His glory, and His delights are to be with the children of men. In what kind of a state will Jesus remain with us? In a transient state? from time to time? No; in a permanent state. He will remain with us forever. But let us look at the admirable struggle that took place in the soul of Jesus Christ. Divine Justice calls Him. Is not Redemption finished? the Church founded? man put in pos- session of grace and of the Gospel, of the divine law and help to practise it? The Heart of Jesus replies that what suffices for Redemption does not satisfy Its love, that a mother is not satisfied with bringing her child into the world. She feeds it, rears it, follows it everywhere. « I love men more than the best of mothers THE GIFT OF THE HEART OF JESUS. 5 1 ever loved her child! I will abide with them... » Under what form? « Under the veiled form of the Sacrament. » The Divine Majesty is willing to expose Himself to humiliation more profound than that of the Incarnation, more annihilating than the Passion itself. Man’s salvation does not call for such abasement! « But, » responds the Sacred Heart, « I wish to veil Myself, My glory, in order that the splendor of My Person, as formerly the glory of Moses, may not prevent My poor brethren from approaching Me. I wish to veil My vir- tues, which would humble man and make him despair of ever copying so perfect a model. « In this way he will come more readily to Me and, beholding Me descending even to the confines of nothingness, he will descend with Me. I shall have the right to say to him with greater force: Learn of Me that I am meek and humble of heart. » By what means will Jesus perpetuate Him- self? The Holy Spirit was the noble operator of the mystery of the Incarnation. At the Last Supper, Jesus Himself wrought the marvel. Today who will be worthy of such a mystery? 52 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. A man! the priest!... But the Divine Wisdom ? — What ! A mortal incarnate his Saviour and his God? He, the co- operator with the Holy Spirit in this new in- carnation of the Divine Word? A man com- mand the immortal King of ages, and be obeyed ? « Yes, » says the Heart of Jesus. « Yes, I will love man so far as to be subject to him in everything! I will descend from the heavens at the voice of the priest. I will quit My taber- nacle at the desire of the Faithful. I will go through the cities to visit My children on their couch of suffering... The glory of love is to love, to give oneself, to sacrifice oneself!... » And the Divine Sanctity? But, at least. Thou wilt abide in a temple worthy of Thy glory? Thou wilt have priests worthy of Thy royalty? In the New Law, everything ought to be more beautiful than in the Old. Only Christians pure and well prepared will receive Thee? « My love, » says Jesus, « is without reserve, without condition. I obeyed My executioners on Calvary. If new Judases come to Me, I shall again receive their infernal kiss, I shall obey them! » But at this moment what a picture is un- THE GIFT OF THE HEART OF JESUS. 53 rolled under the eyes of Jesus! His Heart is forced to struggle against Its own incli- nations I The agony of the Garden of Olives already oppresses It. At Gethsemani, Jesus will be sad unto death on beholding the ignominy that will attend His Passion. He will shed tears of blood at the thought that His people will be lost in spite of His sacrifice. He will feel cruelly the apostasy of a great number of His own. O what a struggle' in the Heart of Jesus! what agony! He longs to give Himself entire, without reserve. But who will believe in so much love? Will all who believe in it receive Him with gratitude ? Will all who have received Him prove faith- ful? Truly, the Heart of Jesus is not wavering or hesitating. It is only tortured! He beholds the Passion renewed every day in His Sacrament of Love, renewed by Chris- tian hearts, by hearts consecrated to Him! He is betrayed by apostasy, sold by interest, crucified by vice. The hearts of those that re- ceive Him too often become His Calvary! 54 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. What suffering for this Divine Heart I What will It do? It will give Itself... It will give Itself even if so outraged 1 j/>=i^ ^cA^ lAi. TESTIMONY of the CHURCH to the REAL PRESENCE of our LORD JESUS CHRIST in the HOLY EUCHARIST. Ecce Agnus Dei! I Behold the Lamb of God! I (John I, 36.) He mission of John the Baptist on earth was to announce, to point out the promised Sav- iour, and to prepare for Him the ways. The Church fulfils the same mission in regard to Jesus in the Eucharist, but a mission more extended, more continued, which embraces all countries and all ages. She acquits herself of it, by exposing Jesus to the world in the Blessed Sacrament, in preaching Him by word, and testifying to Him by her q'he Divine Kucharist. 5 56 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. faith and her works, a silent preaching as elo- quent as the first. I Church presents herself to us, the word of Jesus Christ upon her lips, re- peating and explaining it with authority equal to that of the Saviour : This is My Body. This is My Blood. She tells us, and we must believe, that, by the divine power of those sacramental words taken in their strict and natural sense, Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar under the appearance of bread and wine. She tells us, and we must believe, that Jesus Christ, by His almighty power, has changed the substance of the bread into His Body, the substance of^the wine into His Blood, and that His Soul and His Divinity, also, are present with His Body and Blood. She tells us, and we must believe, that the divine work of Transubstantiation is constantly operated in the Church by the priesthood of Jesus Christ, whom He invested with His own power when He established it by these words: Do this in commemoration of Me. TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH. 5 7 Since the first Eucharistic Supper, the Church has proclaimed this faith down through the ages. Her Apostles have had but one same voice, her teachers but one same doctrine, her chil- dren but one same faith, one same love toward the God of the Eucharist. How majestic, that voice of the entire Chris- tian world! How touching and beautiful, the harmony of its praises and its love! Every one of the children of the Church wishes to bring to the feet of the Divine King truly present a tribute of homage, a gift of love. Some bring gold; some, myrrh; all, in- cense. Each one wishes to have a place at the court and at the table of the God of the Eucharist. The enemies of the Church themselves, schis- matics and almost all heretics, believe in the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Ah, one would have to be blind, indeed, to deny the existence of the sun, — ungrateful, indeed, to disown and despise the love of Jesus Christ living in the midst of men ! As for us, we believe in the love of Jesus, and we know that nothing is impossible to the love of a God. 58 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. II the testimony of her word, the Church adds that of her example and faithful practice. As John the Baptist, after having pointed out the Messiah, cast himself at His feet in order to attest his lively faith, so the Church consecrates a solemn worship, her entire worship, to the adorable Presence of Jesus whom she shows us in the Most Blessed Sacrament. She adores Jesus Christ as God present and hidden in the Sacred Host. She renders to Him the honor due to God alone, prostrating before the Most Blessed Sacrament as does the celes- tial court before the majesty of God. Here there is no distinction. Great and small, monarchs and subjects, priests and laity, all fall instinctively on their knees before the God of the Eucharist. It is the good God! The Church is not satisfied with attesting her faith by adoration. She joins thereto public and brilliant honors. Her splendid basilicas are the expression of her faith in the Most Blessed Sacrament. She does not wish to build tombs, but temples, a TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH. 59 heaven on earth, in which her Saviour will find a throne worthy of Him. With jealous and delicate care, the Church has laid down laws for even the least details connected with the worship of the Holy Eu- charist. She intrusts to none the care of honor- ing her Divine Spouse, because everything Is great, everything is important, everything is divine, when there is question of Jesus Christ present. She wishes that all that nature has the purest, all that there is most precious in the world, should be consecrated to the royal service of Jesus. In her worship, everything has relation to this Mystery, everything has a spiritual and heavenly sense, everything possesses some vir- tue, contains some grace. How powerfully the solitude, the silence of her temples, contribute to the recollection of the soul ! How fervently we exclaim at the sight of a congregation of devout adorers before the tabernacle: « There is more than Solomon here, more than an angel! » — Jesus Christ is here before whom every knee bends in heaven, on earth, and in hell. Before Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sac- 6o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. •f rament, all grandeur is eclipsed, all holiness is humbled and annihilated. Jesus Christ is there 1 Videte quia ego ipse sum. I See, it is I myself. I (Luke xxiv, 39.) He Church has said: Jesus Christ is truly present in the Sacred Host. Jesus Himself manifests His presence in two ways, interior- ly and exteriorly. I ISHHe interior manifestation takes place in the soul of the communicant. Jesus works in the soul that receives Him a triple miracle. First, the miracle of reformation. 62 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Jesus gives to the communicant assured em- pire over his passions. He is, in truth, the same Jesus who said: Have confidence^ I have over- come the world; who said to the tempest: Be still; and who still says to the proud, to the avaricious, to the man tormented by revolts of passion, to the slave of his evil inclinations: Loose him and let him go I And the communicant feels himself strong- er. On leaving the Holy Table, we can say with St. Paul: We overcome because of Him that hath loved us. It is a sudden change, a fire instantaneously kindled. But if Jesus Christ were not in the Sacred Host, such prodigies would not be wrought. Nature is more difficult to reform 'than to form. It costs a man more to correct himself, to vanquish himself, than to achieve any exterior feat, however heroic. Habit is second nature. The Eucharist alone, at least according to the ordinary course of things and the facts of experience, confers the power to reform the bad habits that domineer over us. Secondly, the miracle of transformation. There is but one means of changing a nat- ural life into a supernatural one. That is the TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. 63 triumph of the Eucharist, in which Jesus Christ Himself superintends the education of man. The Eucharist develops faith in us. It ele- vates, ennobles, purifies love in us. It teaches us how to love. Love is the gift of self. Now, in the Eucharist, Jesus gives Himself wholly, joining example to counsel. The Eucharist transforms even our exterior, by communicating to the body a certain grace, a beauty, the reflection of the interior beauty. There is on the countenance of the communi- cant a ray of the Divinity, in his words a charm, in all his actions a gentleness that tell of the presence of Jesus Christ. It is the per- fume of Jesus. Thirdly, the miracle of power, which makes one forget himself, immolate himself. It is man facing misfortune, and drawing from the Eucharist strength superior to mis- fortune. It is the Christian finding in the midst of adversity, calumny, and agony, calm and peace in the Eucharist. It is the faithful sol- dier of Jesus, surmounting temptation, rising above the assaults of men and hell by means of Holy Communion. In vain shall we seek outside of the Eucha- rist for this superhuman strength. 64 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. But if the Eucharist gives it, it is because Jesus, the Saviour, the strong God, is truly therein. Such is the exterior manifestation that Jesus Christ makes of His presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament. II Public Manifestation. E have seen sinners, profaners of the au- gust Sacrament, publicly punished for their audacity. Jesus manifested His justice. Hardly had Judas sacrilegiously received the Body of his God, when Satan entered into him. Before his sacrilegious Communion, the demon only temped him; after it, he took pos- session of him: Et introivit in eum Satanas. St. Paul found, in the tepid or sacrilegious Communions of the Corinthians, the reason for their indifference, their lethargic slumber in regard to good: Ideo multi imhecilles inter vos et dormiunt multi. History records many terrible examples of unworthy communicants, suddenly struck by the justice of Our Lord whom they outraged in the Eucharist. TiSSTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. 65 In the Holy Eucharist, Jesus still manifests His power over demons. When in exorcisms, in order to conquer the demons that have resisted all other means, the Sacred Host has been presented to them, they have uttered cries of rage, and succumbed to their God present. At Milan, St. Bernard laid, after the Pater of the Mass, the chalice and the patena upon the head of one possessed. The demon went out of him furious, uttering these awful words: Jesus Christ, the good God, is there! The sick are cured by the Eucharist. Many facts of this kind are never made known; but Jesus, as history attests, still continues in the Eucharist to cure all diseases. St. Gregory of Nazianzen relates the follow- ing touching fact: His sister, sick for a long time, arose one night, and went before the ta- bernacle. In the fervor of her faith, she thus addressed Our Lord: « I shall not leave this spot, O Lord, until Thou hast cured me I » — She arose cured! Lastly, the apparitions of our Lord under diverse forms in the Eucharist, testify to His Sacramental Presence. From time to time, He is pleased to renew the miracle of Thabor. 66 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ? Such manifestations are not necessary, since we have the word of Truth itself. They merely bear witness to the fact, that the word of Jesus > Christ has, indeed, fulfilled what it promised. Yes, Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that Thou art present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, ! truly and substantially present. Increase, in- j crease our faith 1 Qui credit in me habet vi- I He that believeth in Me, tarn cetemiani. hath everlasting life. I (John VI, 47.) Ow happy, how blessed shall we be if we have lively faith in the Most Blessed Sacra- ment, for the Eucharist is the royal truth of Faith I It is the virtue, the sovereign act of love ; it is all religion in practice. 8% scires donum Dei I — Oh, if we did but know the gift of God! But faith in (the Eucharist is a treasure which must be sought by submission, guarded by piety, and defended by every sacrifice. To be wanting in faith in the Blessed Sacrament, is the greatest misfortune. I j^g| S it possible to lose all faith in the Blessed Sacrament after one has once believed ^nd received Holy Communion? 68 the divine EUCHARIST. No, I think not! A child may despise its father, and insult its mother; but not to re- cognize them would be impossible I In the same way, a Christian may deny that he has ever communicated, but he cannot forget that he once had that happiness! Incredulity toward the Holy Eucharist never springs from the evidence of reasons contrary to this Mystery. Here is a man who is perfectly indifferent, buried in his temporal affairs. He seems to have forgotten all else. But let grace touch him, the simple grace of return, and his first impulse will instinctively carry him to the Holy Eu- charist. i Incredulity may come from the passions that dominate the heart. Any passion that seeks to remain supreme is cruel. When gratified, it despises; when attacked, it denies. Inquire: How long is it since you ceased to believe in the Eucharist ? And going back to the source of incredulity, we find some weakness, some allurement, which the poor victim had not the courage to resist. Again, incredulity may arise from faith long weak or doubting. Some are scandalized at seeing so many indifferent Christians, so many FAITH IN THE EUCHARIST. 69 practical unbelievers. They are scandalized at hearing the crafty arguments, the sophisms of false science. Why does not Our Lord pun- ish that? Why does He allow Himself to be insulted if He is there? Many unbeliev- ers are, nevertheless, honest! Behold the doubting faith which leads to disbelief in the Eucharist. O infinite misfor- tune! Like the people of Capharnaum, they remove from Him who has the words of truth and life! O what consequences does he expose him- self who believes not in the Eucharist? denies the power of God. What! God under this abject appearance? It is impos- sible! Who can believe it? He accuses Jesus Christ of falsehood, for the Saviour has said: This is my Body, this is My Blood! Like the disciples who, hearing the Eucha- ristic promise, went away and walked no longer with their Divine Master, he despises His good- ness. Again, his faith in the other mysteries will soon be shaken and finally lost. If he does not 70 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. believe this ever-living Mystery, which is vouched for by an ever-present fact, what mystery will he believe? His virtue will soon grow sterile. It loses its natural nourishment, it breaks friendship with Jesus Christ, from whom it draws all its vigor; it no longer looks upon, it forgets its ever- present Model. Piety is soon dried up. It no longer has the centre of life and affection. Then no more consolation in the reverses of life. When its sorrows become too heavy, then comes despair I A grief that cannot be poured into the heart of a friend stifles us. Ill Et us, then, believe in the Eucharist I « I believe. Lord, » we must often say, « help Thou my weak faith! » Nothing is more glorious for Our Lord than this act of faith in His Eucharistic Presence. It supremely honors His divine veracity. The greatest honor paid to anyone is to believe his word; while, on the contrary, the greatest injury that one can offer another is to suspect him of falsehood, to doubt his word, to de- FAITH IN THE EUCHARIST. 71 mand proofs of him, to ask for guarantees. If a child believes a father on his word, a ser- vant his master, a subject his king, why not believe the word of Jesus Christ solemnly as- suring us that He is present in the Most Bless- ed Sacrament? This act of simple and absolute faith still gives glory to Jesus Christ, because it recogniz- es and adores Him in His veiled state. The honor that we render to a friend in disguise, to a king simply clothed, is greater than any other. It is the person that we truly honor then, and not the garb, the robes of state. Thus it is with Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. To honor Him therein, to believe Him God in spite of the ap- pearance of weakness that conceals Him, is to honor His Divine Person, to respect the Mys- tery in which He envelops Himself. This method of acting is more meritorious for us. Like Peter confessing the Divinity of the Son of Man, like the Good Thief proclaiming the innocence of the Crucified, it is to affirm of Jesus Christ what He is, despite what He appears to be. Still moa?e, it is to believe the contrary of what our senses tell us, support- The Divine Eucharist. 6 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ing our faith upon the certitude of His infal- lible word alone. Let us believe, let us believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist ! Jesus Christ is there! — May respect fill our soul on our entrance into the church, the respect of faith and of love on meeting Jesus Christ in Person, fofr it is (He, indeed, whom we meet 1 Let this be our apostolate, our preaching! It is the most eloquent for the incredulous and the impious. ^ The WONDKRFUL WORK of GOD. ^ MepHoriam fecit mirabi- j He hath made a remem- lium suorum. brance of His wonderful 1 works. (Ps. cx, 4.) Eucharist is the work of snse love, that love has at its service infinite pow- the almighty power of :. Thomas calls the Eucha- rist the miracle of miracles, maximum miraculo- rum. To be convinced of this, it is necessary only to reflect on what the faith of the Church teaches concerning this mystery. I He first of the wonders operated in the Eucharist is transubstantiation. Jesus first, and then His priests, by His order and 74 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. His institution, take the bread and the wine, pronounce over that material substance the words of consecration, and immediately all the substance of the bread, all the substance of the wine disappears. It has been changed into the sacred Body and the adorable Blood of Jesus Christ! Under the species of bread, as well as under that of the wine, is found truly, really, and substantially the glorified Body of the Saviour. Of the bread, of the wine, there remain but the appearance, the color, the taste, the weight. As far as the senses are concerned, it is still bread, still wine. But faith tells us that it is the Body and the Blood of Jesus, veiled under the accidents, which subsist only by a miracle. It is a miracle that can be wrought only by the Almighty, for it is contrary to ordinary laws that the qualities of bodies should exist without the body that sustains them. Therein is the work of God. His will is their reason of exist- ence. God can do all that He wills. He re- quires no more effort than to will. Behold the first wonder of the Eucharist. THE WONDERFUL WORK OF GOD. 75 II simple word of a man, a priest, and as often as he wishes. Such is the power that God has communicated to him. He wills that God should be upon this altar, and God is there! The priest performs absolutely the same miracle that Jesus Christ operated at the Eu- charistic Supper, and it is from Jesus Christ that he has his power, and in His name that he acts. Our Lord has never resisted the word of His priest. O miracle of the power of God! A creature weak, mortal, incarnates Jesus Sacramental! HI N the desert Jesus took five loaves. He blessed them, and the Apostles found wherewith to feed five thousand men. This is a feeble figure of that other miracle of the Eucharist, the miracle of multiplication. Jesus loves all men. He wishes to give Him- self entirely and personnally to every one. iRvery one shall have his share in the Mann^ Nother wonder contained in the first, is that this miracle is renewed at the 76 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. of Life. He must needs, then, multiply Himself as many times as there are communicants to receive Him, and as often as they desire to receive Him. The Eucharistic Table should in some manner cover the whole world. And that, indeed, takes place by His power. All receive Him entire with all that He is. Every conse- crated Host contains Him. Divide the Sacred Host into as many parts as you will, Jesus is whole and entire under each of those parts. Instead of dividing Him, the breaking of the Host multiplies Him. Who could say the number of Hosts which Jesus, since the Last Supper, has placed at the disposition of His children! IV i|r|gslUT not only does Jesus multiply Him- self in the Sacred Particles, but, by another miracle of a similar nature. He is at the same time in innumerable places. During His mortal life, Jesus was in one place only. He dwelt in one house only, a few privileged souls alone could enjoy His pres- ence and His word. But today the Most Bless- ed Sacrament is everywhere at one and the THE WONDERFUL WORK OF GOD. 77 same time. His Sacred Humanity participates, in some measure, in the Divine Immensity which fills the whole universe. Jesus is whole and entire in an innumerable number of tem- ples, and in every one individually. This is be- cause all Christians over the face of the earth, being members of the mystical Body of Jesus Christ, it is necessary that He who is its Soul should be everywhere, should animate the whole body, giving it life, and sustaining it in every one of its members. Lord Jesus, we adore Thy power, which has multiplied miracles in order to be able to remain among us. Thy children, to be within our reach, and to be all in all to us I THE SACRIFICES OF JESUS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST. Dilexit /;Z(?, et tradidit se- 1 He loved me, and delivered • rnetipsjmi pro me. \ Himself for me. (Gal. ii, 20.) Y what characteristics do we recognize love? By a single one, by its sacrifices, those that it inspires or those that it joyfully accepts. Love without sacrifice is only a vain name, self-love in disguise. If, then, we would know the greatness of the love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist for man, if we would estimate the value of His love, let us see what sacrifices His sacramental state demands. They are the same as during the Passion of the Man-God. In the Eucharist as in the THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 79 Passion, Christ immolates His civil life, His natural life, and His divine life. I N His Passion, to which His intense love for us urged Him, Jesus Christ was outlawed. His people denied Him, calumniat- ed Him, allowed Him no defence. He was deliv- ered unprotected to the mercy of His enemies ; He laid claim to the rights of not even the com- monest criminal. For the love and salvation of His people, He sacrificed His claims as a citizen and an honest man. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ again accepts this immolation of His civil life. He is present there without any rights; the law does not recognize Him. He, the God- made-Man, the Saviour of the human race, has scarcely a word in the code of the nations that He has redeemed. Living in the midst of us, we ignore Him: « Medius vestrum stetit quern VOS nescitis — There hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. » Society does not honor Him. In many coun- tries, the feast of Corpus Christi is suppressed. Jesus Christ can not go abroad, can not show 8o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Himself in public! He must lie hidden. Men are ashamead of Jesus Christ! « l^on novi hominem — I know not the man! » But who are they who blush at the mention of Jesus Christ? — Jews? Mahometans? — No! They are Christians! The Eucharist is defenceless, unprotected. Provided that unbelievers do not openly dis- turb religious services, they may insult, they may commit sacrilege. Such things pass unno- ticed. ! On the part of men, then, Jesus Christ is unprotected. But, perhaps. Heaven will take up His de- fence? — No! — As in the house of Caiaphas, as in that of Pilate, Jesus is given over by His Father to the will of sinners: « Tradidit emn voluntati eorwn — But Jesus he delivered up to their will. » What! Jesus foresaw that when He instituted the Eucharist, and yet He freely chose that state? — Yes! — To be our model, our consola- tion in our trials, in the persecutions of the world. Till the end of the world He will so remain to be the example, the grace of every one of His children. He loves us. THE SACRIFICES OF JESUS. 8l II ESUS Christ in His Passion adds to this sacrifice of His rights the immolation of all that constitutes man. He immolates His will, the beatitude of His soul, which He allows to be invaded by mortal sadness ; He immolates His life upon the Cross. That immolation made once, was too little for His love. He continues that natural death in the Eucharist. To immolate His will, He, the Almighty God, obeys His creature; He, the King, His subjects; He, the Liberator, His slave! He obeys priests and laymen, the just and sinners. He obeys without resistance. He does not have to be forced. He is obedient even to His ene- mies. With the same eagerness, He fulfils the desires of all. Not only at the Holy Mass, when the priest pronounces the words of Consecra- tion, is He obedient, but at every moment of the day and night, according to the needs of the Faithful. His constant attitude is that of pure and simple obedience. Can this be pos- sible ? O if man comprehended the love of the Eu- charist I 82 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Jesus was bound during His Passion. He lost His liberty. Here in the Eucharist, He binds Himself. He is bound by the perpetual and absolute bonds of His own promises. He is chained under the Sacred Species to which He is inseparably united by the sacra- mental words. In the Eucharist, He is without self-movement, without action, as on the Cross, as in the tomb, although He possesses in Him- self the plenitude of resuscitated life. As the Prisoner of Love, He is absolutely dependent on man. It is impossible for Him to break His chains, to quit His Eucharistic pris- on. He is our Prisoner even till the end of time! He has engaged Himself to that! The contract of love reaches thus far! As to the beatitude of His soul, Jesus can no longer, as at Gethsemani, suspend its rap- tures and its joys, for He is glorious and resuscitated. But He loses it in man, in the Christian, in His unworthy member. O how often does Jesus behold ingratitude, outrage come to attack Him! How often do Christians imitate the Jews! Jesus wept once over guilty Jerusalem. But He loves us much more. Our sins, our loss afflict Him much more than does the loss of the Jews. How many tears would THE SACRIFICES OF JESUS. 83 Jesus shed in the Blessed Sacrament could He weep 1 Lastly, in the Host, Jesus, unable to die again in reality, embraces at least the state of apparent death. The Sacred Species are consecrated separately in order to recall the loss of His Blood which, flowing from His Body, occasioned His sorrowful death. He gives Himself in Communion. The Spe- cies are consumed, annihilated in us! Lastly, Jesus exposes Himself to lose even the sacramental life by the profanation of the impious, who destroy the Sacred Species. Sinners who receive Him unworthily crucify Him in their soul and unite Him to the demon, who is their own sovereign master I « Rursum crucifigentes sibimetipsis Filium Dei — Cru- cifying again to themselves the Son of God. » HI N this way, and in so far as He can in His resuscitated state, Jesus in the Eu- charist immolates His natural life. In His Passion, He spared not His divine life; nor does He spare it in the Eucharist. 84 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. His glory, majesty, and power are not seen in the Host. He is only the Man of Sorrows, the accursed of God and men. Isaias could not recognize Him under the spittle and the bruises that sullied His august countenance! Jesus in His Passion allowed only His love to appear. Woe to them who will not recognize it 1 Only a thief, a robber, adored His Divinity and proclaimed His innocence; only nature deplored its Creator. In the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus with still more love continues this immolation of His attributes. Of all the power of Jesus Christ, of all His glory, we behold only patience so great that it would almost scandalize if we did not know that His love for us is infinite, that it is even foolishness! Insanis, Domine! « Lord, Thou art beside Thyself 1 » Our sweet Saviour seems to say to us: « Ah, well! Have I not done enough for you? Do I not deserve your love ? What can I do more ? Try to think of some sacrifice that I may still make! » O woe to those that despise so much love! Let them understand that hell is not too much THE SACRIFICES OF JESUS. 85 for them... But let us abandon this thought... The Eucharist is the supreme proof of Jesus’ love for us, because It is the supreme sacrifice. jAi /Ax jAs. jAl /Al .cAa. jAi. iAa. ^ of the SAVIOUR. Qnotiesaimque mortem . . . , Dojiiini afinuntiabiiis donee veniat. As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chal- ice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come. (I Cor. XI, 26.) I Nder whatever aspect we may consider the Holy Eucharist, It recalls to us in a striking manner the death of Our Lord. It was on the eve of His death that He instituted It, on the very night on which He was betrayed: Pridie quam pate- retur... in node qua tradebatur. The name that He gives It is the Testament in His Blood : Hoc testamentum est in sanguine meo. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 87 The state of Jesus is a state of death. Appearing at Brussels and at Paris, in 1290 and in 1369, it was with His wounds, as our Divine Victim. He is without movement, without will, like one dead, who must be carried. Around Him reigns the silence of death. His altar is a tomb, for it contains the bones of martyrs. The Cross surmounts it. The Cross points it out as it points out tombs. The corporal that envelops the Sacred Host is another winding- sheet, novum sudarium. When the priest vests for the Sacrifice, he puts on the insignia of death. All the sacred vestments are orna- mented with crosses. He carries the sacred emblem on his breast and on his back. Always death, always the Cross. Such is the state of the Eucharist considered in Itself. H JOnsidered as Sacrifice and as Com- munion, It is still death, and even in a more sensible manner. The priest pronounces the sacramental words separately over the matter of the bread and The Divine Eucharist, 7 88 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. separately over the wine, so that by the strict force of these words, the Body is separated from the Blood, and that is death. If death does not really take place,’ it is because the glorious and resuscitated state of Jesus Christ is opposed thereto. He assumes, however, death as far as He can. He takes the state of death, and we behold Him as the Lamb immolated for us. Thus it is that Jesus Christ, by His mystical death, continues the Sacrifice of the Cross, thereby renewed thousands of times for the sins of the world. In Communion, the Saviour’s death is con- summated. The heart of the communicant be- comes His tomb, for the Sacred Species dis- solving under the action of natural heat, the sacramental state ceases. Jesus Eucharistic lives no longer in us corporally; it is the death of the Sacrament, the consuming of the Holocaust. O glorious tomb in the heart of the justl Tomb of ignominy in the heart of the sinner! In the first. Our Lord, in losing His sacra- mental Being, leaves His Divinity, His Holy Spirit, and thereby a germ of resurrection; but in the guilty heart, Jesus does not survive, the end of the Eucharist is frustrated. Commu- THE EUCHARIST AND THE DEATH. 89 ^ nion then becomes a profanation. It is an unjust and violent death inflicted on Our Lord, crucified by new executioners. Ill fijmjHY did Our Lord wish to establish so ^^1 close a relation between the Sacrament of the Eucharist and His death? First, in order to recall to us what His Sacra- ment cost Him. The Eucharist is, indeed, the fruit of Jesus’ death. The Eucharist is a testament, a legacy, which can go into effect only by the death of the testator. To legalize His testament, Jesus had to die. Whenever, then, we are before the Holy Eucharist, we ought to say : This pre- cious Legacy cost Jesus Christ His life. And that shows us His immense love, for He has Himself declared that there is no greater proof of love than to give one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus dying in order to leave me, in order to win for me, the Eucharist — behold the su- preme mark of His love! How many think on this price of the Eucharist? and yet Jesus is there in order to tell it to us. But like unnat- 90 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Ural cliildren, we care only to use and to enjoy our riches, without thinking of Him who ac- quired them for us at the cost of His life. IV N the second place, Jesus established that close relation between His Sacrament and His death, in order to repeat to us inces- santly what ought to be the effects of the Eucharist in us. The first is, to make us die to sin and to our evil inclinations. The second is, to make us die to the world, and to crucify us with Jesus Christ, according to this word of St. Paul: Mihi mundus cruci- fixus estj et ego mundo. The third is, to make us die to ourselves, to our tastes, to our desires, to our senses, in order to clothe us with Jesus Christ in such a way that He may live in us, and that we may be His members docile to His will. It is, lastly, that we may participate in His glorious Resurrection. Jesus Christ sows Him.self in us. The Holy Spirit will vivify that Germ, and by It give us new life, but a life glorious and unending. THE EUCHARIST AND THE DEATH. 9 I Such are some of the reasons that led Jesus Christ to surround with the insignia of death this Sacrament of life, this Sacrament in which His love triumphs. He wishes to put constantly under our eyes what we have cost Him, and what we ought to do to correspond to His love. « O Lord! » let us say to Him with the Church, « Thou who hast left us in Thy admir- able Sacrament so lively a remembrance of Thy Passion, grant that we treat the Sacred Mystery of Thy Body and Blood with such respect as to deserve to experience constantly in ourselves the fruits of Thy Redemption! » ^ ^ The EUCHARIST, a NEED of the HEART of JESUS. j Desiderio desideravi hoc With desire have I desired Pascha mandticarevobiscuin, to eat this Pasch with you. (Luke xxii, 15.) He Eucharist is somewhat of a superabundant work of the Redemption. It was not de- manded of Jesus Christ by the justice of His Father. The Passion, Calvary, suf- ficed to reconcile us with God and to reopen for us the doors of the paternal home. Why did Our Lord institute the Eucharist? He instituted It for Himself, for His own satisfaction, for the contentment of His own Heart. Understood thus, the Holy Eucharist be- comes the most divine, the most tender, the most loving of all God's gifts. Its nature. Its character, become then unmixed goodness and tenderness. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 93 Even if we should not profit by It, Our Lord had need of instituting the Eucharist, and this for three reasons: I |^gg|lRST, because He is our Brother. Our Lord wished to gratify His fraternal affection for us. No tenderness is more lively, no love more expansive than fraternal love. Friendship calls for equality, and that is found only between brothers. Now, the fraternal love of Jesus is above all that we can conceive. The Scripture says that the soul of Jonathan was Icnit to that of David, and that the two made but one. But whatever be the union of two men, there still remains in them a principle of self, of egoism, namely, pride. In Our Lord there is nothing of the kind ; He loves us absolutely, without return on self. Whether we do, or do not, respond to His love, it matters not. He pursues us with the more ardor. A brother loves to see his brother, to dwell with him. Away from David, Jonathan lan- guished. 94 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. And Our Lord suffered in having to leave us. He wished to be with us, to say to us: Ye are My brethren! O loving word! None other of Jesus’ quali- ties admits of friendship. Everywhere else He is the Benefactor, the Saviour. His sweet and amiable familiarity is found nowhere else. The Eucharist equalizes all men. Outside of the temple, there are dignitaries ; at the Table of Jesus, our Eldest Brother, we are all brethren. Ah, how much to be regretted that, when we communicate, we think only upon the maj- esty, the sanctity of Our Lord! In other mysteries, those thoughts are good; but let us approach the Eucharist to find therein tender- ness and love. H Ur Lord wishes to remain with us, be- cause He is Our Saviour. He wishes to be with us not only to apply to us the merits of the Redemption, for He has many other means for that, such as prayer, the Sacraments, etc. ; but He wishes it, in order to enjoy His vic- tory and His title of Saviour, A NEED OF THE HEART OF JESUS. 95 A child saved by its mother from a great danger is doubly loved. Our Lord, to whom we have cost so much, had need of loving us with tender love, in order to console Himself for the sufferings of Calvary. He has done much for us I He loves us in proportion to the price that He has paid for us. And we have been bought at an infinite price. No one abandons them whom he has saved. He has exposed his life for them, and he loves them as his life. In that love he tastes inexpressible happiness. Certainly, Our Lord has the Heart of a mother I He would rather forsake the angels than abandon us. Our Lord has need of seeing us again. Two friends on the battlefield, meeting after long years, know not how to express their joy. We make a long journey to visit a friend, especially a friend of our early years; and does not Our Lord possess all those good and noble sentiments? Why should He not? Our Lord still retains His Wounds in the Eucharist. He keeps them, for they are His glory and His consolation. They repeat to Him all the love that He has felt for us. And what pleasure it gives Him when we 96 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. come to thank Him for His benefits, for His sufferings! One great reason for His instituting the Eucharist is that we may come to console Him in His sorrows, His poverty. His Gross. He begs compassion and return for so much love. Yes, Our Lord ought to be with those that He loves; and it is we whom He loves, because it is we whom He has saved. HI Astly, Our Lord wishes to remain with us, and He testifies to us so much love in the Eucharist, because His Divine Father loves us infinitely. He has need of making to His Father some return for us. Sometimes we feel a sudden affection for a person whom we have never seen, whom we do not know. Again, a thought, a circum- stance, a remembrance, recalls to us a cher- ished friend; and we feel a certain ‘ sympathy for him who reminds us of the lost one. We feel impelled, also, to love the friend of our friend, even without knowing him, and merely because he is dear to our friend. But little is necessary for that. Your heart, cherishing your A NEED OF THE HEART OF JESUS. 97 friend, instinctively loves all that interests him. It is the same with Jesus. The Father loves us, and Our Lord, who loves His Father, will love us on account of Him independently of every other reason. It is a necessity for the Son of God. He cannot forget those that His Father loves. Let us now, taking the other side, say to Our Lord: O I do, indeed, thank Thee for having instituted the Eucharist for my good! But, sweet Saviour, it is to me that Thou dost owe the power of being able to institute It. I am the cause of It. If thou dost rejoice in the title of Saviour, of Brother, it is to me that Thou dost owe these titles. If Thou canst still do good, if Thou canst still save. Thou owest it to me. It is to us that Thou owest Thy beautiful title of Brother. Our Lord, moreover, is begging for adorers. His grace is come to seek us. Then, Our Lord wants us. He has need of us! For Exposition, adorers are needed, other- wise He cannot come forth from His taber- nacle. At Mass, a server, at least, is necessary, and he represents the people, the Faithful. 98 JHE DIVINE EUCHARIST. We give to Our Lord the conditions of His royalty. Weigh well this thought. It will elevate you, ennoble you. It will give you immense desires to love, and remind you that noblesse oblige. Say often to Our Lord with holy liberty: « Yes, Good Master, Thou dost owe us some- thing, too ! » Us Fecisti nos ad te^ Deus ! \ Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God ! 1 (St. Augustine.) Hy is Jesus Christ in the Eu- charist ? We might make several answers to this question. But that which comprises them all is this : He is there because He loves us, and because He desires that we love Him. Love — that is the reason of the institution of the Eucharist. Without the Eucharist, the love of Jesus Christ would be for us a dead love, a past love, which we should soon forget, and which we should be almost pardonable in forgetting. Love has its laws, its demands. The Eucharist alone fully satisfies them. By It, Jesus Christ has every right to be loved, because He tes- tifies in It infinite love for us. lOO THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Now, natural love, such as God has put into our hearts, demands three things : ‘ The pres- ence of the loved one, or social life; commu- nity of goods; and perfect union. I Bsence is the pain of friendship, its torment. Distance weakens and, if it is too prolonged, ends by putting the firmest friendship to death. If Our Lord is away from us, removed from us, our love for Him will undergo the. dis- solving effect of absence. It is in the nature of man’s love to require, in order to live, the presence of the object loved. Behold the poor Apostles while Our Lord was in the tomb. The disciples of Emmaus avowed that they had almost lost faith, be- cause they no longer had their good Master. Ah! if Our Lord had left us with no other pledge of His Love than Bethlehem and Cal- vary — poor Saviour! how quickly we should have forgotten Him! What indifference! Love wishes to see, to hear, to converse, to touch. Nothing takes the place of the beloved one. THE NEED OF OUR HEART. lOI neither souvenir, nor gifts, nor portraits. All that is without life. Our Lord knew it well. Nothing could have taken the place of His Person. We need Our Lord Himself. But His Word? No, it no longer sounds. We no longer hear the touching accents that fell from the lips of the Saviour. His Gospel? It is a testament. But His Sacraments — do they not give life? Ah! it takes the^ Author of Life to sustain it in us! The Cross? No; apart from Jesus, it only saddens ! But hope? Without Jesus, it is agony! Protestants have all that, and yet Protes- tantism is cold and frozen! Could Jesus have wished to reduce us to so sad a state of living and struggling without Him? p we should be too unhappy without Jesus present with us! Exiled, alone upon earth, obliged to deprive ' ourselves of terrestrial goods, of the consolations of life, while the worlding has all that he' desires — life would be insupportable! But with the Eucharist! with Jesus in the 102 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. midst of us, often under the same roof, by day and by night, accessible to all, waiting for everyone in His ever-open house, admitting the lowly, calling them with marked predilec- tion — ah I life is less bitter. He is the good Father in the midst of His children. It is social life with Jesus. And what society 1 Society that makes us better, that elevates us! And what facilities for social relations vinth heaven, with Jesus Christ Himself in Person! It is, indeed, the sweet companionship of simple, loving, familiar, and intimate friend- ship. Ah! it was necessary! II desires community of goods, com- mon possession. It wishes to share happi- ness and unhappiness. To give is its nature, its instinct, to giVe all with joy, with pleasure. And so, Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament gives with profusion, with prod- igality, His merits. His graces, yes, even His glory! O how eager He is to give! He never refuses. THE NEED OF OUR HEART. T03 And He gives Himself to all and always. He covers the world with consecrated Hosts. He wishes all His children to possess Him. There still remain twelve baskets of the five loaves multiplied in the desert. All must have some ! Jesus Christ would wish to envelop the world in His sacramental veil, to fertilize all na- tions in the waters of life that are losing themselves in the ocean of eternity, but only after having slaked the thirst, and strengthened the last of the elect. Ah! it is well for us, for all of us, O Jesus Eucharistic 1 HI OvE tends to union, the union of them that love, the fusion of two into one, of two hearts into one heart, of two spirits into one, of two souls into one. Listen to a mother clasping her child to her breast: « 1 eat it! » Jesus submitted to this law of love, which He had Himself established. After having shared our state, our life. He gives Himself in Communion, He absorbs us into Himself. The Divine Eucharist 8 104 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Divine union of souls, always more perfect, always more intimate in proportion to the vivacity of our desires! In me manet, et ego in eo. — lie in me, and 1 in Him. We abide in Him, He dwells in us. We make but one with Him, until heaven consummates in eternal and glorious union, the ineffable union com- menced here below by grace, and perfected by the Eucharist 1 Love lives, then, with Jesus present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. It shares all the riches of Jesus. It is united with Jesus. The needs of our heart are satisfied. It can demand no more. . , Ego honorifico Patrem I I honor my Father. vtenm. I (John viii, 49. rd does not will to re- on this earth only by ace, His truth, His word. here in Person. We 3 the same Lord Jesus who lived in Judea, although under another form of life. He has taken a sacramental vestment, but He is always Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. The glory of His Father, which above all else our Lord sought upon earth, still forms the object of His desires in the Sacrament. We may say that Jesus Christ clothed Himself with the sacramental state in order to continue hon- oring and glorifying His Father. io6 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. I Y His Incarnation, the Divine Word re- paired, restored the glory of the Creator, sullied in creation by the fall of man and by pride. For this work the Word humbled Himself so far as to unite Himself to our human nature. He descended into the bosom of Mary, He annihilated Himself, He appeared among men clothed in the form of a slave. After having paid man’s ransom, rendered to God infinite glory by the actions of His life, purified the earth by His presence. He ascended glorious to Heaven. His work was done. The triumphant Ascension of the Saviour — O what a beautiful day for heaven! But sad was that day for earth, which saw its King, its Redeemer depart from it. Might it not fear to become for heaven a land of mere memory, of forgetfulness, perhaps, of wrath and storms? Jesus had, indeed, left His Church to men. His good and holy Apostles. But they are not the good Master 1 There would be many a spirit who would imitate Jesus their Model; but THE EUCHARIST AND THE GLORY OF GOD. I07 after all, they would be men like others, weak I and imperfect, capable while here below of I falling deeply. ! If, then, the reparation wrought by Jesus Christ, the glory acquired for His Father by His labors and sufferings, are left in the j hands of men, is it not to be feared that they be imperilled? I Are not the work of Redemption and the I glorification of God too greatly exposed by I leaving them to the care of men, so imperfect, so inconstant ? ' No I no! A kingdom conquered at the cost of ■ unprecedented sacrifices, at the cost of the Incarnation and Death of a God, ought not to be thus abandoned I The Divine Law of love must not be thus exposed. H , jpMjlHAT will the Saviour do? wSA He will remain- upon earth. He will continue there His office of Adorer, of Glorifier I of His Father. He will become the Sacrament of the glory of God. Do you see Jesus on the altar, in the taber': p^Qlef io8 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. He is there. What is He doing there? He is adoring His Father. He is giving Him thanks, and continuing His office of intercessor for men. He has become a Victim of propi- tiation, a Host of reparation for the glory of an outraged God. He remains upon His mystical Calvary, repeating His sublime word: « Father, forgive them I I offer Thee My Blood, My Wounds for them! » He multiplies Himself everywhere, wherever there is something to expiate. Wherever there is a Christian family, there Jesus desires to go in order to form with it a society of adoration, to glorify His Father by adoring Him Himself and by causing Him to be adored in spirit and in truth. God the Father satisfied, glorified as much as He deserves, cries out: « My name is great among the Gentiles, for from the rising of the sun to the going down there is offered to My name a clean oblation. » HI ||Ut, O marvel of the Eucharist! Jesus renders to His Father by His sacra- mental state, new homage such as He had THE EUCHARIST AND THE GLORY OF GOD. I09 never received from any creature. This hom- age is greater, so to speak, than aught else that the Word Incarnate could do on earth. What, then, is the nature of this extraordi- nary homage? It is the homage of the King of Glory perfected in the power and majesty of heaven, who comes into His Sacrament to immolate to His Father not only His divine glory as in the Incarnation, but even His human glory, the glorious qualities of His resuscitated Hu- manity! Unable in heaven fo^ honor His Father by the sacrifice of His glory, Jesus Christ comes back to earth, becomes again incarnate on the altar, and the Heavenly Father can con- template Him again poor as in Bethlehem, although He still remains the King of heaven and earth. The Father sees Him humble and obedient as at Nazareth, submissive not only to the ignominy of the Cross, but even to sacrilegious Communion, submissive to His enemies and profaners. Meek Lamb that never complains! Tender Victim that knows not how to mur- mur! no THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Good Saviour who never avenges Himself! But why ? Why all this ? To glorify God His Father by the mystical continuing of all the virtues, by the perpetual sacrifice of His liberty, His power and glory, bound by His love in the Sacrament even till the last hour of the world. Jesus Christ here below, counterbalancing the pride of man by His humiliations, and rendering to His Father infinite glory — what a spectacle for the Heart of God I What a reason for the existence of the Eucharistic Presence, most worthy of the love of Jesus Christ for His Divine Father! The DIVINE SPOUSE of the ^ CHURCH. t/ta. lAa. jAv 2;^ j/^ j:^ i 'h i i i Chfistus dilexit Ecclesiam sponsavi. Christ loved the Church, which He has made His Im- maculate Spouse. (Ephes. V, 25.) 1 Ne reason for the institution of the Eucharist is the love of Jesus Christ for His Church. Our Lord came down from heaven to form His Church, to establish it, to die for it on the Cross. The Church came forth from His opened side with the blood and the water, the new Eve formed from the body of the second Adam. All the actions and sufferings of Jesus Christ had for their end to acquire an infinite treasure of graces and merits for II2 the divine EUCHARIST. the Church, of which she could dispose in favor of His children. She is the heiress of all these treasures. But had Jesus ascended to heaven after His Resurrection, satisfied with merely leaving His Church the depositary of His truth and His grace, she would have remained here below a spouse in mourning, bewailing the absence of her Divine Spouse. But that could not be. It would not have been worthy of the Saviour’s power and love. ^ Jesus will remain with the Church, to be her !, life, her strength, and her glory. | 1 II He life of a spouse deprived of her hus- band is no longer life. It is gloom, it is agony. But by his side she is full of life and joy. She possesses his heart, and she is happy in devoting herself to his service. Such is the Church in presence of the Eu- charist. The Eucharist is the object of her love, the centre of her heart, the joy and happiness of her life. She watches day and night by her children at THE DIVINE SPOUSE OF THE CHURCH. TT3 the feet of the God of the tabernacle, to honor, love, and serve Him. The Eucharist is the motive and the end of all her worship. The Eucharist is its soul. Without the Eucharist her worship would cease ; there would no longer be any reason for it. Protestant sects, not possessing the Divine Spouse, abandon exterior worship as super- fluous and useless. Ill It is by the Eucharist that the Church is strong and fruitful, that her countless children are spread all over the world, and daily do her missionaries bring new ones into her fold. She is to be the Mother of the human race. But whence comes her fruitfulness? Is it from Baptism? from Penance? These Sacra- ments, no doubt, give life or restore it. But what is to become of her children after their birth in the waters of divine regeneration? They must be nourished and reared. They have in them the germ of God, which must be developed and increased. Now, it is by the Eucharist that the Church forms Jesus Christ in her children. TI4 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. The Eucharist is the living bread with which she sustains their supernatural life. It is by the Eucharist that she carries on their education, for there alone do souls find abundance of light and life, the force of all virtues. Agar in the wilderness wept at not being able to refresh and nourish her son, who was dying of starvation. The Synagogue, the Protestant sects, are prefigured by this mother, powerless to satisfy j the wants of her child. Their children ask | for bread, but no one gives it to them. I The Church, on the contrary, receives every morning the Bread of Heaven for each of her children. There is enough for all : Quantum istij tantum illi. And It is the Bread of Angels, the Bread of Kings 1 — therefore are her children beautiful as the Bread that nourishes them. They are strong, their hunger appeased with the Wheat of the Elect. They have the right to sit daily at the royal Feast. The tables of the Church are always spread, and she invites, she conjures her children to come and draw from them the strength of life. THE DIVINE SPOUSE OF THE CHURCH. II5 IV He Eucharist is the glory of the Church. Jesus Christ, her Spouse, is King. He is the King of Glory. His Father has placed a resplendent crown on His head. But the glory of the husband is the glory of the spouse ; and the Church, like the beautiful star of night, reflects the divine rays of the Sun of Glory. The Church, on acount of the God of the Eucharist, is beautiful on the feast days of her Spouse. She adorns herself with her vest- ments of honor, she chants her solemn hymns, she invites her children to assemble and do honor to the God of her heart. She is happy in rendering glory to her King and her God. In listening to her, in beholding her, one would imagine himself transported to the heavenly Jerusalem, in which the an- gelic choirs glorify in uninterrupted festival the immortal King of ages. She is triumphant when, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, she extends her long proces- sions, the cortege of the God of the Eucharist. She advances then like an army in battle array, her Chief at her head. Then do kings and THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 1 16 people, the little and the great, sing the glory of the Lord who has fixed His abode in the midst of His Church. The reign of the Eucharist is the reign of the Church. Where the Eucharist is forgotten, the Church has only unfaithful children, and soon she will weep a new loss. ! Vere Ut es Deus abscondi- tuSy Deus Israel Salvator ! Verily, Thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour. (Is. xlv, 15.) Hat the Son of God should have loved man so far as to become incarnate we can un- derstand, for the Creator ought to have at heart the repairing of the work of His own hands. That the Man-God should die upon the Cross, we can again understand, for it was by an excess of love. But what we cannot understand, what startles the weak in faith, what scandalizes the incred- ulous, is that Jesus Christ, glorious and crowned, after having finished His mission here below, still desires to remain with us, and that in a state more humble, more annihilated it8 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. than at Bethlehem, than even on Calvary itself. Let us respectfully raise the mysterious veil that covers the Holy of Holies, and try to comprehend the excess of love the Saviour bears us. ■ I His veiled state gives most glory to the Heavenly Father, for Jesus thus renews and glorifies all the conditions of His mortal life. What He cannot do in the glory of heaven, He does by His state of annihilation on the altar. What loving looks the Heavenly Father casts upon the earth, where He beholds His Son, whom He loves as Himself, in a state of poverty, humility, and obedience! Our Lord has found the means of perpet- uating and incessantly renewing the sacrifice of Calvary. He desires that His Father should have constantly under His eyes the heroic act by which He renders Him infinite glory, by immolating Himself for the destruction of the reign of Satan, His enemy. Jesus Christ still continues to subject pride to the struggle that conquers it. As nothing is so hateful to God as pride, so nothing THE HIDDEN GOD. II9 glorifies Him so much as humility. The glory of His Father is the first reason for Jesus’ hidden state in the- Eucharist. II ' ' Eiled from sight, Jesus Christ labors at the work of my sanctification. To be- come a saint I must conquer pride and sup- plant it by humility. Now, in the Eucharist, Jesus gives me the example and the grace of humility. He it was wEo, ages agone, pronounced these words : « Learn of Me that I am meek and humble of heart. » — For nineteen cen- turies humility would have been but a name if we had not had the remembrance of Our Saviour’s example during Flis mortal life. We could have said with truth : But, Lord, I never saw Thee humbled! Ah, well! Jesus Christ is there to respond to our excuses and complaints. It is from the tabernacle, from beneath the veil of the Host that escapes this word: « Learn of Me that I am meek and humble of heart. » Learn of Me to hide your good works, your virtues, your sacrifices. Descend ! come down to Me 1 The Divine Eucharist 9 120 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. And the grace of humility is found in the humiliated state of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. What human glory will fear to abase itself since the King of Glory descend- ed to such a state ? What rich man will not esteem desirable the poverty of our Eu- charistic Jesus? Who will refuse obedience to God and His representatives since God Him- self obeys man? HI [He hidden state of Jesus encourages my weakness. I can without fear approach Him, contem- plate Him, and speak to Him. If His glory shone around, who would dare speak to Him, since even the Apostles fell to the earth in fear on beholding one ray of that glory on Thabor ? Jesus veiled the power that would affright man. He veiled His sanctity, which is so sublime that it would discourage our weak virtues. The mother lisps with her little one, and puts herself within its reach to raise it in her arms; and so does Jesus make Himself little with the little in order to raise them to Himself and up to God. THE HIDDEN GOD. 12 1 Jesus hides His love, tempers it. Its ardor is such that it would consume us if we were exposed to its direct flames : « Ignis consu- mens est — God is a consuming fire. » Behold how Jesus veiled encourages our weakness ! What greater proof of love than this Eucharistic veil? IV He Eucharistic veil perfects our faith. Faith is a pure act of the mind, disen- gaged from the senses. Here the senses are not brought into play, they have no action. It is the only mystery of Jesus Christ in which the senses have to keep absolute silence. In all the others, in the Incarnation, the Re- demption, they behold an Infant God, a dying God. In this mystery nothing is presented to them but an impenetrable veil. Here faith alone must act. The Eucharist is the kingdom of faith. This Eucharistic cloud demands from us a very meritorious sacrifice, that of our mind and our reason. We must believe even against the evidence of our senses, against the ordinary laws of existence, against our own experience. 122 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. We must believe on the simple word of Jesus Christ. There is only one question to be asked : « Who is there ? » — « I, » responds Jesus Christ. Let us fall down and adore! And this pure faith, disengaged from the senses, free in its action, brings us in closest union with Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament: « The flesh profiteth nothing, » says the Saviour, « My words are spirit and life. » The soul clears the barrier of the senses and enters into the admirable contem- plation of the divine presence of God under the Sacred Species, veiled that we may be able to support its brilliancy, but yet trans- parent to the eyes of faith. Still more, instead of being a trial, this veil becomes for humble and sincere faith a stim- ulus and an encouragement. We love to pene- trate a veiled truth, to discover a hidden treas- ure, to triumph over a difficulty. The faithful soul, therefore, before the Eucharistic veil seeks her Lord as did Magdalen at the tomb. Her desires are ever on the increase ; she calls Him as did the spouse of the Canticles; she delights in ascribing to Him every charm, in covering Him with glory. The Eucharist is for her what Almighty God is for the blessed THE HIDDEN GOD. 123 r in heaven, a truth, a beauty ever ancient and ever new, which they never tire gazing upon and studying: « Quceram quern diligit anima mea — I will seek him whom my soul loveth. » Lord, Thou Well-Beloved of my soul, I will constantly seek Thee! Show me Thy adorable Face! Jesus manifests Himself gradually to our soul according to the measure of its faith and love." In this way, the soul finds in Jesus nourishment ever new, life inexhaustible. The Divine Object of her contemplation appears to her always possessed of new qualities, full of new good- ness. As in this world love lives on desire and possession, so the soul with regard to the Eu- charist enjoys and desires at the same time. She eats, and still she hungers! Ah, yes! It was only the wisdom and good- ness of Our Lord that could invent the Eu- charistic veil I 1 Cur faciem tuani abscon- I Why hidest Thou Thy Face ? dis f I (Job xiii, 24.) I Hy does Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament veil Him- self under the Sacred Species? It is hard for us to accus- tom ourselves to Our Lord’s 1 hidden state. We should fre- ^ quently reflect on this truth, for we must ;i believe firmly and practically that Our Lord Jesus Christ, although in a veiled manner, is - really, truly, and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. Then, why this silent presence, this impene- trable veil? « Lord, » we are often tempted • to say, « show us Thy Face! » THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 125 Our Lord makes us feel His power. He attracts us, He keeps us in respect, although we do not behold Him. But how sweet, how good it would be to hear some words from His lips! What a consolation it would be, what an assurance of His friendship for us, if He would show Himself! For, we say, He shows Him* self only to those that He loves. H H, well! Our Lord hiding Himself is more lovable than if He were to disclose Himself. His silence is more eloquent than speech, and what we look upon as a punish- ment is an effect of His love and goodness. Yes, were He to show Himself we should be unhappy. The contrast between His virtues and ours, the sight of His glory would humble us. What! a Father so good, and children so miserable ! We should not dare to appear before Him, much less to approach Him! Knowing only His goodness, as we now do, we go to Him without fear. Now all go to Him. Suppose Our Lord manifested Himself only to the good, since, 126 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. resuscitated, He cannot show Himself to sin- ners, who would dare believe himself good ? Who would not fear to enter a church through the dread of not being good enough for Jesus Christ to show Himself to him? And, then, what jealousy 1 Only the proud would venture to approach Our Lord. But as it is now all have equal rights, all may believe themselves loved. HI [P^IUt, perhaps, the sight of His glory would convert us! No, no! Glory does not convert. The Jews became idolaters at the foot of Mount Sinai, despite its flames ; the Apostles on Thabor talked nonsense. Glory affrights and puffs up ; it does not convert. The Jewish people dared not approach Moses, because his face was shining with divine light. « No, Lord, remain veiled, for that is much better. I can draw near Thee and trust that Thou lovest me, since Thou dost not repulse me! » But would not His powerful word convert us ? For three whole years the Jews listened to THE VEILED EUCHARIST. 127 Our Lord, but were they converted ? Very few of them attached themselves to Him. It is not the human word of Our Lord, not the word that strikes the ear, that converts, but the word of His grace. Now, Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament speaks to the heart, and that ought to suffice for us, since that is the word of truth. IV Ijg^iUT. at least, if I could feel the Heart of Our Lord, if 1 could feel some of Its burning flames, I should love Him much more. They would change my heart and inflame it with love. Let us not confound love with sentiment. When we ask Our Lord to be allowed to love Him, we desire that He should make us feel that we do so, but it would be a great mis- fortune for us did He grant our prayer. No! Love is sacrifice, the gift of our will, its sub- mission to the will of God. Now, what springs from the contemplation of the Eucharist and from Communion, which is perfect union with Jesus, is strength. Sweet- ness is passing, but strength remains. And THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. I 28 of what have we need against ourselves and the world but of strength ? Strength is peace. Do you not feel at peace before Our Lord? That is a proof that you love Him, and what ' more do you want? When two friends spend their time looking at each other, and saying how much they love 1 each other, they are wasting their time. Such declarations do not increase their love. But separate them for awhile, and they think of ^ each other, they retrace In imagination each i other’s features, they long for each other. It is the same with Our Lord. For three years the Apostles lived with Him, but what did they do ? He hides Himself from us that we may pon- , der on His goodness and virtues, that our love | may become earnest and independent of the . senses, satisfied with the strength and peace \ of God. ; V i Et us conclude. It is well that the Sav- iour is there under the veils of the Sac- rament. He deprives us of the sight of His Person that we may abide in His love, in His THE VEILED EUCHARIST. 129 adorable Personality. If He revealed Himself, if He showed us even a ray of His glory, one feature of His adorable countenance, we should abandon Him. But He Himself has told us that His Body is not our end. It is but a ladder by which to mount to His Soul, to His Divinity. We have His love to conduct us thereto. Our faith receives absolute certainty of the strength of our love. When our senses are in silence, our soul enters into communication with Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is hap- piness, rest, and peace, the more intimately we are united t o Jesus, the greater will be our bliss. |t::; ^ ' 4 +' ^ ^ ' 4 ^ ' 4 ^ THE MYSTERY OF FAITH. Hoc est opus'Dei ut creda- tis in eum. This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He hath sent. (John vi, 29.) Ur Lord desires us to recall < what He did for us while on this earth, and that we honor His Presence in the Most Bless- ed Sacrament by the med- ; itation of all the mysteries of His life. That we may more vividly recall the mys- tery of the Last Supper, He gave us not only the Evangelists’ account of it, but a living, personal memorial of it, namely. Himself, His adorable Person. But although Our Lord is in the midst of us, j THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 131 we cannot see Him, nor picture Him to our- selves as He is in the Eucharist. Despite this, He has often appeared. Why has He not permitted us to preserve pictures of these august apparitions? Ah! Our Lord knows well that all such pictures would, in fact, serve only to make us forget the reality of His actual Presence under the sacred veils of the Eucharist. But if I should see Him, would I have more faith ? Is it not true that what is seen, is not more loved? Yes, the senses might confirm my wavering faith. But our risen Lord does not wish our depraved senses to act upon Him. He calls for pure faith. He does not consist of Body alone, but of Soul, also. He wishes that we should with mind and heart penetrate His Soul. We are not to discover Him by means of the senses. Again, Our Lord, although truly present in the Blessed Sacrament Body and Soul, is there in the manner of spirits. Spirits cannot be analyzed and dissected, consequently, the senses cannot act upon them. 132 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. II Ith what do we find fault? Our Lord has known how to reconcile all things. Sacred Species do not touch Him, they are not a part of Himself, although inseparably united to His Person. They are the condition of His Presence, they tell us where He is, they localize Him. Our Lord could have taken a manner of existence purely spiritual, but then how should we find Him? Where should we look for Him? Let us thank our good Saviour! He is not hidden. He is only veiled. We know not where a hidden thing is; it is as if it did not exist. But a veiled object we possess, we are sure of it even without seeing it. To know that we have our friend at our side, that he is there, — is not that a great deal? Ah, well! we can see where Our Lord is. We look upon the Host, and we are sure that Hie is in It. HI Ur Lord veils Himself for our good, for our best interest, in order to force us to study His Soul, His intentions. His virtues The THE MYSTERY OF FAITH. 133 in Himself. If vve really saw Him, we should pause t o admire His external beauty, we should entertain for Him only sentiments of ordinary love; but He wishes us to love Him with a love of sacrifice. Truly, it costs Our Lord something thus to veil Himself. He would rather show us His divine features, for they would draw all hearts to Him. But He veils Himself for our good. The mind then exercises itself upon the Eucharist, and faith is quickened. We pene- trate Our Lord, as it were. Instead of showing Himself to our bodily eyes, He discovers Himself to our soul. He makes Himself known in us by His own light. He enlightens us, and He Himself is the object which we ought to contemplate. He is both the object and the means of our faith. In this mystery, he who loves more, he who is more pure, sees more clearly. Our Lord has said: « He that loveth Me, and Jceepeth My commandments, 1 will manifest Myself to him. » Our Lord gives to souls of prayer very great light upon Himself, and it never deceives them. He varies His light. Sometimes He directs it upon one point of His life, sometimes upon 134 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. another; and as the Eucharist is the glorifica- tion of all mysteries, Jesus Christ Himself becomes our meditation, no matter what its subject. IV T is, besides, much more easy to meditate KiSl in presence of the Blessed Sacrament than in one’s own room. In our own room, we are, indeed, in the presence of God, who fills the universe by His immensity; but in the church, we are in the presence of Our Lord, who is very near to us. As the heart follows the mind, the affections depend on knowledge, it becomes more easy to love in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Our love is then real, since it rests upon Jesus who is living before our eyes, and renewing all His mysteries in the Eu- charist. He who meditates on those mysteries in themselves without vivifying them by the Eu- charist, always finds a void, experiences some regret in spite of himself. « Why was I not there! » he involuntarily exclaims. But in presence of the Most Blessed Sacra- THE MYSTERY OF THE FAITH. 135 merit, what is there to regret, what to, desire? All the mysteries are still going on in Jesus present. Our love is in the actual enjoyment of them. Whether we think of the mortal life or the glorified life of Jesus, we know that Jesus Christ, Body, Soul, and Divinity, is there in the Sacred Host. Let us ponder these thoughts. Let us picture to our imagination the mysteries upon which we wish to dwiell, but let us confirm and enliven the remembrance by the Presence of Jesus Christ. Let us, then, recall that Our Lord is in the Sacred Host, He Himself, in all the states of His mortal life. He who ignores this is in the dark, his faith is languishing, and it does not make him happy. O that we had the activity, the delicacy that faith gives! That makes real happiness. Our Lord wishes tO' make us happy Himself. All men taken together are incapable of pro- ducing such an effect. Even piety by itself cannot make us happy. Piety must be nour- ished by the Eucharist, for happiness comes only from the possession of God, and the Eu- charist is God all in all to us I 10 The Divine Eucharist. The LOVE of JESUS in the HOLY ^ ^ , EUCHARIST. , ^ ^ ^ zAx jAL 2 ^ Nos credidimus chatitati We have known and have quam habet Dens iu nobi^- believed the charity, which God hath to us. (I John iv, i6.) E Believe in the Love of God for Us. — Word of deep signification! Faith in the truth of the divine words and promises is exacted of every Christian. That is simply faith. But the faith of love is higher and more perfect. It is the crown of the first. Faith in truth would be sterile, if it did not lead to faith in love. What is that love in which we ought to believe ? It is the love of Jesus Christ, the love which THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 137 He testifies to us in the Eucharist, the love which is Himself, living and infinite love. Happy they who believe in the love of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist! They love, for to believe is to love. They who are satisfied with believing in the truth of the Eucharist, love not at all, or love very little. But what proofs of His love has Our Lord given in the Eucharist? N the first place. Our Lord has given us His word to that effect. He tells us that He loves us, that He has instituted His Sacra- ment only for love of us. Thien, it is true. We believe an honorable man on his word. Why should we put less faith in that of Our Lord ? When a friend desires to prove to his friend that he loves him, he tells him so, and he presses his hand affectionately. When Our Lord wants to show His love for us. He does so in person, discarding the intervention of any third person, whether an- gelic or human. Love suffers no intermediate agents. 138 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. He remains in the Holy Eucharist that He may repeat to us incessantly: « I love you! You must see that I love you! » Our Lord was so afraid that we would eventually forget Him that He took up His abode in the midst of us, made His home among us, placed His service within our reach, so that we might not be able to think of Him without calling to mind His love. Giving Him- self thus, He hoped, perhaps, not to be for- gotten by men. y Whoever reflects seriously on the Eucharist, but, above all, whoever participates in It, must feel convinced that Our Lord loves him. He feels that he has in Him a Father. He feels that he is loved as a child. He feels that he has the right to go to Him as to a Father, and to speak freely with Him. When in church, at the foot of the tabernacle, he is at home with his Father. He feels it. Ah! I understand why the Faithful love to live near churches, under the shadow of the paternal home. Thus Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament tells us that He loves us. He repeats it to us interiorly, and makes us feel it. Let us be- lieve in His love. THE LOVE OF JESUS. 139 II Oes Jesus love us personally, individ- To this question there is but one answer: Do we belong- to the Christian family? In a family, do not the father and the mother love each child with equal love? And if they had some preference, would it not be for the most delicate or infirm? Our Lord has for us the sentiment, at least, of a good Father. Why do we refuse Him that character? But still more, see how Our Lord exercises toward each one of us His personal love. He comes every morning to see each of His chil- dren in particular, tO' visit him, speak to him, embrace him. Although He comes so often. His visit is always as gracious, as loving as if it were the very first. He has not grown old. He is never tired of loving us, and of giving Himself to each of us. Does He not give Himself whole and entire to each one? And if the communicants are more numerous than the Hosts, does He not divide Himself for them? Does He ever give less to any one? 140 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Even if the church is filled with adorers, can not each one of us pray to Jesus, converse with Him? And is he not heard, is he not answered as favorably, as if he were alone in the church? Such is the personal love of Jesus.. Every one receives Him entire, and does no wrong" to any one. As the sun sheds its light on each and all, as the ocean belongs entirely to each and all the fishes, so does Jesus belong to all of us. He is greater than all. He is inex- haustible. Ill Nother undeniable proof of the love of Our Lord, is the persistence of that love in the Most Blessed Sacrament. How touching is this thought to the soul that understands! Numberless Masses are daily celebrated all over the world. They succeed one another almost without interruption. And how many of these Masses, in which Jesus offers Himself for us, are unattended, how many without assistants! While, on this new Calvary, Jesus is crying for mercy, sinners are outraging God and His Christ. THE LOVE OF JESUS. ir- 141 Why does Our Lord renew His sacrifice so often, since we do not profit by it? Why does He remain day and night on our altars, to which no one comes to receive the graces that He is offering with full hands ? Because He is loving, He is hoping, He is expecting! If Jesus came on our altars only on certain days. He would fear that some sinner, impelled by a desire to return to Him, might come seeking Him and, not finding Him, would go away without waiting for Him. So, He prefers to await the sinner long years Himself rather than make him wait an instant, rather than discourage him, perhaps, when he wants to escape from the slavery of sin. O how few have even a remote idea of the love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament! And, nevertheless, it is true! O we have no faith in the love of Jesus! Would we treat a friend, would we treat any man, as we do Our Lord? Pracdicamus Christum^ Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentihus autem stultitiam. We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stum- hling-block, and unto the Gentiles, foolishness. (I Cor. I, 23.) HAT do the Eucharistic hu- miliations of Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaim? To remain with us, Jesus Christ exposes Himself to in- gratitude and outrage. Noth- ing discourages Him. Let us contemplate this good Saviour treated as we would treat none other, and yet persisting in abiding with us. I Ur Lord, who comes to us and brings us treasures of infinite grace, well de- serves our gratitude. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 143 He is King over all creation. He is God! Let a great one of this earth, let a king visit a poor man, a sick man, would not the latter be moved to gratitude at such condescension? Envy, yea, even hatred, gives way before greatness abasing itself. Does not Our Lord deserve that we should thank Him, love Him? He visits us not in passing; He abides in the midst of us. Whether we ask it or not, without even our desiring it, there He remains to do us good. And yet He alone of all others is not thanked for the good that He does. By His Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament, He operates mar- vels of charity. But we do not appreciate them; we pay no regard to them. In the ordinary affairs of this life, it is con- sidered shameful tO' be an ingrate; but when Our Lord is conoerne/d, it would seem as if we considered it one of the Commandments to show ingratitude. Yet all this does not discourage Our Lord. He foresaw it all when He instituted the Eucharist. He has but one thought : « Deliciae meae. — My delights are to be with the children of the miserable. » 144 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Love sometimes reaches such a degree, be- comes so powerful, that it longs to be with the beloved, even without getting any return. Can a good mother abandon or cease to love her idiot child? a devoted wife, her raving husband ? II Ur Lord appears to go forward to meet outrages. He has no care for His honor, frightful to think of it I Ah ! on the Day of Judgment, how some will tremble for having lived wdth so much love on His side, and so little regard on theirs! Our Lord comes without pomp or majesty. On the altar, under the Eucharistic veils. He has the air of one who no longer has even a being. Is this sufficient abasement? Thus to abase Himself, Our Lord employs all His power. By a prodigy He sustains these accidents. He overturns all the law^s of nature in order to humble Himself. Who could envelop the sun with a cloud sufficiently dense to intercept its light and heat? That would be the greatest of miracles. But Our It is I HE EXCESS OF LOVE. 145 Lord did so in His Own Person. Under the Eucharistic Species, which in themselves are so insignificant, so ordinary. He, glorious and luminous, is hidden. He is God! O do not let us put Our Lord to shame, because He is so humiliated, so little! It is His love that has willed it. A king who does not descend, may honor, but he does not love. Our Lord descends, consequently. He loves. HI ^ Ut Our Lord might have in His suite, a fSi\ cortege of angels visible and armed as a guard. He does not wish it. Such angelic armies would affright us or humble us at the sight of their faith, their reverence. Our Lord comes alone and abandoned that He may abase Himself still more. Love descends, ever descends ! IV King that would clothe himself in poor garments in order to put himself in the reach of a subject whom he was going to comfort or console, would surely betray much love. And yet, under such a disguise his 146 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. speech, his noble and distinguished manners, would make him known. In the Most Blessed Sacrament Our Lord refuses even this personal glory. He veils His beautiful countenance. He imposes silence on His divine lips, on the mouth of the Word. Did He do otherwise, it would be too much honor for Him; it would place Him too far above us. He wishes to descend even to us. O let us respect the humiliations of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist ! V King, abased by love to the level of his poor subject, still preserves his liberty, his personal action as a man. If attacked, he can defend himself, save his life, call for help. Our Lord delivers Himself up defenceless. He can neither complain nor save Himself nor call for help. He has forbidden His angels to help Him or to punish those that insult Him, although it is an instinct of nature to succor another, no mat- ter who he may be, who is attacked or in dan- ger. But Our Lord? No I no one will help THE EXCESS OF LOVE. 147 Him. He is Man, He is God. He retains, nevertheless, only the power to love and to abase Himself. VI ]Ut, Lord, why? why this excess? — ) « I love them, I behold them, I am wait- ing for them. I am going to them. Delicice mece. — My delights are to be with the miser- able. » And yet, they court pleasure, ambition, friends, occupations, everything before Our Lord. * He is the last of all. Let Him come as Viat- icum, if they have the time for Him. Is not that enough? O Lord, why come to them who do not wish Thee? Why dost Thou insist on abiding with them who repulse Thee? VH Ho would consent to do what Our Lord does? instituted His Sacrament that in It we should honor Him, but alas! He receives there- in more injury than glory. The number of 148 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. bad Christians is greater than that of faithful ones. Our Lord goes on losing. Why does He continue this communica- tion with men? Who would carry on a busi- ness in which there is only pure loss? Ah ! the saints, who look on, who under- stand so much love and so much abasement, must tremble with holy wrath, must be indig- nant at seeing us so little appreciative. And the Father says to the Son: « Make an end of it! It is profiting Thee nothing. Thy love is despised, Thy humiliations useless. Thou art losing. Make an end of it ! » But Our Lord does not wish to do so. He remains with us. He is still hoping. He is satisfied with the love and adoration of a few good souls. O let us not fail Him, at least! Do not His humiliations deserve that we should love and honor Him? Non relinquam vos orpha- I I will not leave you or- nos. I phans. (John xiv, i8.) He Imitation tells us that when Jesus is present, all is well, but when He is absent, every- thing is hard. What would we be, if the Saviour had been satisfied to live only His mortal life? Without doubt, that would in itself have been a great mercy, and would have been suffi- cient to merit for us salvation and eternal glory ; but it would not have prevented us from being the most unhappy of men. And why? With the grace, the word of Jesus, His ex- amples, the great testimonies of His Love? — Yes, with all that, we should have been the most unhappy of men. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 150 [P^^Ehold a family grouped around a good father. How happy they are! But its head is snatched away. Tears take the place of joy and happiness. It is no longer a family, for it has no father. Now, Jesus came upon earth to form a family. His children will be, as the Prophet says, like olive plants, joyful round about His table. But should our Head disappear, the family will be dispersed. Without Our Lord, we should be like the Apostles during His Passion, wandering, and knowing not what to think. And yet they were not far from Our Lord. They had re- ceived everything from Him, they had seen His miracles, and His life had passed away before their eyes. That is true, but they wanted their Father. They were no longer one family, they were no longer brethren. Every one went about his own affairs. What society can subsist without a head? The Eucharist is, then, the bond of union of the Christian family. Take It away, and fraternity exists no longer. Have Protestants, who no longer possess THE EUCHARIST AND THE FAMILY. 151 the Eucharist — have they Christian fraternity ? They are strangers tO' one another. Even when united in their temples, they do not make one family. Every one is free to think and speak as he understands. Their temples are only large halls. Do they invite to prayer? Are Catholics who do not frequent the Eucharist still brethren? We cannot say so. And in families in which the father or the brothers do not communicate, the spirit of union is not seen, the mother is a martyr, and the sisters are persecuted. No, no ! Without the Eucharist there is no family. But if Jesus reappears, the family is reunited. Behold the great family of the Church I They have their feasts, and they understand them. They have the feasts of the Father of the fam- ily, of the Mother, of the saints, our brethren. These feasts have a reason for their existence. Oh, Jesus knew well that, as long as the Christian family should exist. He would have to be its Father, its centre, its pleasure, its joy, its happiness! When we meet, we can also salute one another fraternally. We go out from the same Table. The Apostles instinctively called the first Christians their brethren. n The Divine Eucharist. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 152 The demon knows well that, by removing souls from the Eucharist, he destroys the Christian family, and we become egoists; for there are only two loves, either the love of God or the love of self. We must give our- selves to the one or to the other. II E find our protection, our safeguard in the presence of Our Lord. Jesus has said: « Do not defend yourself. If they insult you, pardon. If they take from you your mantle, give them your tunic, also. » Jesus seems to give us here below as Christians only one right, namely, the right to the persecution and malediction of men. Now, if they should take away from us the Eucharist, where should we go to draw strength to follow such teaching ? Life would no longer be supportable. Jesus would have condemned us to intolerable servi- tude., What king abandons his people after having engaged them in a bloody war? We have the hope of heaven, it is true. But how far off is our reward! What! We still have twenty, forty years to live on this THE EUCHARIST AND THE FAMILY. I 53 earth of misery, and during that time we shall have to live in the hope of what is so far off? But our heart has need of consolation. It has the need of pouring itself out into the bosom of a friend. t We are forbidden to seek our consolation in the world. Whither, then, or to whom shall we go? He who has no faith in the Eucharist replies : « I will abandon my religion, and I will embrace another which will leave me free. » That is logic. We cannot always en- dure trials wTth never any consolation. It is impossible to live without Jesus. In His Sacrament we shall find Friend, Guide, Father. The child who runs to receive a kiss from its mother, is not more happy than the faithful soul who converses with Jesus. I cannot understand how they who suffer have not a great devotion toward the Eucha- rist. They that have not such devotion, gener- ally end in despair. I am not surprised at that, for even St. Paul, though inundated with so many graces, found life heavy and wearisome. Oh, without the presence of Him who says to the passions : « Ye shall mount no higher 1 Ye shall not invade the head and the heart of this man, » we become fools ! 154 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. How good Jesus has been in perpetuating Himself in the Eucharist! Ill K jEsus’ presence alone diminishes the de- mons’ power, prevents their exercising dominion as they did before the Incarnation. Since the coming of the Saviour there have been comparatively few cases of demoniacal possession. Infidel countries have many more than ours, and the reign of Satan diminishes as faith in the Eucharist increases. And your temptations, sometimes so terrible, so frightful, are they not frequently subdued as soon as you enter a church, as soon as you enter into communication with Jesus in the Eucharist? It is always He, understand it well, who commands the tempests. Jesus is, then, with us, and as long as there shall be one adorer on earth, Jesus will be with him to protect him. Behold the secret of the long life of the Church. Does any one fear the enemies of the Church? — It is a want of faith! But we must honor and serve Our Lord in His Sacrament. How would the father of a THE EUCHARIST AND THE FAMILY. T55 family feel, were he despised and insulted by his household? He would be ang^ered against them. Let us take good care of Jesus, and we shall have nothing to fear. If we love Jesus in the Eucharist, if we re- pent of our faults when we have given Him pain, He will not abandon us. The essential point is for us not to abandon Him first. He must always be able to say: « I have one with Me ! » And when the strong-armed occupies his house, the family is in peace. 1 S' S' ^^ 4 ^ ^^ 4 ^ '^ 4 ^ ^^ 4 ^ ^^ 4 ^ ^ 4 ^ ^^ 4 ^ ^^ 4 ^ THE FAMILY FEAST. i i I' 4 i Pater nosier^ panem nos- I Our Father, give us this day truvi da nobis hodic ! our dail3’ bread ! 1 (Matt, vi, 9.) E have a Father in heaven, and it is to Him that this prayer is directly addressed. But Our Lord Jesus Christ has brought us forth to grace, to the supernatural life, and thereby merited the title of Father. The Heav- enly Father dwells in glory, Jesus dwells in this church. He is our Father on earth, and He desires to fulfil all the duties of a good j Father to His children. (This discourse was delivered by Pere Eymard at the opening of the « Forty Hours » in an orphan asylum.) THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ^57 Father stays with his family. He is Bj!§Ml ' its centre, its pivot. All its members are under his care and they act by his direc- tion. He is the chief, the head. He has the highest authority, even over the mother, to whom belongs in a special manner the duties of tenderness. Now, Jesus Christ, our Father, has His house, and that is the Church. You are His family. His privileged family. In a family, there are children who work out doors, and there are others who stay with their father, under his eyes. You are these happy children. Ah! without Our Lord, who is our Father, this pious house, which so well represents a i family, would be but a reunion of prisoners or i laborers bowed down under joyless toil. There I would be no centre, no fireside of affection, 1 which is the Tabernacle of this chapel. Think I often, as you work, of this good Father always present among you, protecting you, looking upon you with an eye of kindness, for good- mess is the grand characteristic of our Divine Father! He does not know how to refuse anything. He is always ready to welcome jyou, and you will always have Him with you. 158 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Your parents are dead. They have left you only lifelong tears and regrets. But Jesus never dies, and He will never abandon you. Be assured, without doubt, that you are of great worth, since you have received Baptism and are the children of the Church. What value does the world set on you ? Does it even know that you are here ? Does it concern itself about your wants ? But Our Lx)rd in- spired some souls devoted to Him with the thought of gathering you together in this house. He is come Himself to pitch His tent among you that you may see Him always, and He loves you so much more as you are more helpless and forgotten. You listen to His word, not the word which strikes on the ear, but that which touches the heart and gives it joy and peace. Ah, if you have faith in these things!, if you understand your happiness, guard it at the price of every sacrifice, for here you have on your side, all your own, Jesus, whose place nothing can supply. H I HE father of the family feeds his children. He works unceasingly, spends his life to give them their daily bread. But Our Lord THE FAMILY FEAST. 159 feeds you with the Bread of Life. It is He who died in order to gain for us that good Bread, that Bread, which is Himself, His adorable Flesh and Blood. A father who gives himself as food to his children ! In what family has such a prodigy of devotedness ever been seen? Ah! Our Lord does not want His children to be indebted to any but Himself for their bread. No, no! neither the angels nor the saints will give you the bread that you need. Jesus alone has sown the wheat of which It is made. He passed It through the fire of suffering, and He offers It to you Him- self. O see how kind this good Father is! On the eve of His death He had a little family, I the nucleus of the great family He now has! At the Last Supper, He gave to each of His Apostles this Bread of Heaven, and promised them that, till the end of the world, all His children should, as well as they themselves, have this Bread tO' eat. O hov/ delicious is this Bread! It has in It all delight, for it is God Himself, God, the Bread of the orphan ! It does not nourish the body, it is true; but it fills the soul with grace and love. It enriches our soul and gives it strength to repel its enemies, to perform good works, and to grow up for heaven. i6o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. And with what goodness He gives It to us! For the bread of the body, we have to labor, we have to pay. But this Bread cannot be bought. It is priceless. Our Lord gives It. He asks only that we have a pure heart, that we are living in His grace. Prepare yourselves to receive Him often. For this end, be pure. The purer you are, the more frequently you receive Him, the greater de- light you will find in It. Come, eat of this good Bread. Our Lord is happy when you come to ask It of Him, in the same way that a father is happy in knowing that bread is secured for his children. Ill Father ought from time to time, to pre^ pare some little feasts, some little recrea- tion. It is necessary in a family. It draws the bonds of affection closer. In such reun- ions, heart speaks to heart. How beautiful and holy are these family feasts where all the children are joyous and happy around their father, and how much good they do I The little ones prepare for it long in advance. They get ready their little address and some THE FAMILY FEAST. l6l surprise for their father, a little gift or a beau- tiful bouquet. Our Lord, also has His family feasts. They are, first, the holydays of the Church, the days on which we do no work. There is still a more special one, for you alone, and it is that of today, and which will last three days. The « Forty Hours » are a true feast of hearts. Do you not see how beautiful every thing is, as if singing and thrilling with joy around the good Father of the family, seated on His throne of love? No doubt, you have prepared your little speech, and you are thinking only of being near your good Father. All these beautiful lights, these lovely flowers, are the fruit of your labor, the gift of your hearts. And Jesus is there, also. His hands open, and filled with graces for you. On these days, all your thoughts, all your actions should be His. When your turn comes for adoration, then will be the time for you to make your speech. Make it from your heart. Do not go to ask others to make it for you. Speak to Him as well as you know how, and He will reply to you. O listen attentively to what He will say to your heart! Offer Him some good desires as your bou- i 62 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. quet of choice flowers. Then make an act of virtue, and offer Him some little sacrifice as a gift. All that is very real. These are the relations that you ought to have with Our Lord. Are you not His family? Pass these feast-days well. Jesus is all yours. Look at Him and listen attentively to Him. He will load you with His graces during this life, and will one day admit you to the great family of the blessed in heaven. Qiiam bonus Israel Deus ! I How good is God to Israel ! I (Psalm lxxii, i.) His was the cry of the Jewish people, of David, at the re- membrance of the benefits with which God had never ceased to surround them. What should be the Chris- tian’s cry ? Have we not much more reason than the Israelites to cry out: «Quam bonus Israel Deus! — How good is God to Israel? » They received much less from God than we. We have received the goods of heaven. Re- demption, grace, the Eucharist. The gift that God has made us is Jesus Himself, the Eucha- rist. But the marks of God’s goodness for us in he gift of the Eucharist, commend \\ 164 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Still much more to our gratitude. To give, is always something good, without doubt; but to give kindly is everything. I n Ow, Jesus Christ gives Himself to us in the Eucharist without any display of dignity. Among men, we are made to feel more or less the price of what is given us, and, indeed, it is necessary tO' maintain the respect and honor of social relations. But Jesus, in His great kindness, does not wish even that. He wants us to have easy access to Him. His body is glorified as It is in heaven. He reigns, and the angels form His court. But He hides His glory, He conceals His Body, His Soul, His Divinity. Nothing appears but the veil of His goodness. He abases Himself. He humiliates Himself, He annihilates Himself, that we may feel no fear of Him. In the days of His mortal life. He was so sweet, so humble in His demeanor that every one dared approach Him. Children, women, the poor, the lepers — all went fearlessly to Him. Now that His Body is glorified. He could THE GOD OF GOODNESS. 1 65 not appear without dazzling us; therefore, He veils Himself. No one fears to enter the church. It is open to all. We know that we are approaching a kind Father, who is waiting for our coming that He may do us some good, converse familiarly with us:r Quam bonus Israel Deus ! How good is God to Israeli » II HK^lESUS gives Himself to us without re- 1^^ serve. Patiently and with admirable meekness, He waits for us to come and receive Him. He gives Himself to all, rejecting no one. He waits for the poor and the sinner. The poor man early in the morning, before his labor begins, comes to receive a sweet bene- diction upon his day. The manna fell into the camp of the Israelites before the rising of the sun in order that they might not have to wait for the celestial nourishment. Our Lord is always upon His altar. He is beforehand with even His first visitor. Happy he who receives the first blessing of the Saviour I And what about sinners ? Jesus in the Sacra- i66 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. merit waits for them weeks, months, and even years. For forty, for sixty years. He holds out His arms toward one, who at last yields to His entreaties. « Vcnite ad me omnes — Come ye all to Me ! » AJi, if they could see the joy of Our Lord when they go to Himl They would say that He is disinterested, that it is He who is the gainer. Oh, why do they make this good Saviour wait so long? Alas! He has to do it. Some will jiever come, or only when borne upon a bier. But then, alas, it will be too late 1 They will then find only an angry Judge. HI Esus gives in secret. We do not see His gifts. Men attach themselves to the gift and forget the giver. He hides His hands that they may think only of His Heart, His love. In giving thus He teaches us to give secretly, to hide ourselves when we do good, that the thanks of the recipient may go up to God, the Author of all good. The goodness of Jesus condescends even to gratitude. Yes, He is satisfied with everything that we offer Him, THE GOD OF GOODNESS. 167 everything pleases Him. One might say that He has need of it. He asks us, He begs us : « My Son, I beg of you, give Me your heart 1 » IV ' He kindness of Jesus in the Eucharist approaches even to weakness. Oh, let us not be scandalized here! It is the triumph of Eucharistic goodness. Behold a mother whose tenderness knows no limit but death. Behold the father of the prodigal who runs out to meet his son, who weeps with Jby^n seeing once more that in- grate who had spent his fortune riotously. The world calls that weakness, but it is the heroism of love. What shall we say of the goodness of the God of the Eucharist? Ah, yes. Lord! We must call it the scandal of Thy goodness. Jesus surrounds Himself with weakness in the Blessed Sacrament. He allows Himself to be insulted, dishonored, despised, profaned under His eyes, in His own presence, at the foot of His altars! And does hot the angel The Divine Eucharist. i68 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Strike these new Heliodoruses, these Judases? No, nothing of the kind. And does the Heavenly Father allow His Well- Beloved Son to be insulted? This is worse than Calvary. There, at least, the sun veiled itself in horror, the elements mourned over their Creator. But here, noth- ing I The Calvary of the Eucharist is everywhere raised. It began at the Cenacle, and it covers the earth. It will endure till the last moment of the world. O God, why this excess? It is the combat of goodness against ingrati- tude. It is Jesus wishing to show forth more love than man has hatred, wishing to love man in spite of himself, to do him good in spite of himself. He resigns Himself to everything rather than avenge Himself. He wants to gain man by His goodness. Behold the goodness of Jesus, without glory, without display, full of weakness, but all re- splendent with love for those that will only see it. « Quam bonus Israel Deus ! — Lord Jesus, God of the Eucharist, how good Thou art ! » ^ ^Aa. 2Ai. zAs. iAi. zAa. 2Al 2Al jAi iAi iAi .gAi /A^ THE GOD OF THE LOWLY. Ego mendicus stint et patt- per. I am a beggar and poor. (Ps. XXXIX, i8.) I [|Esus willed to be the poorest of the poor, that He might be able to hold out His hand to the very lowliest, and say: 1 am thy Brother, During His life. Heaven looked on amazed at the sight of a God become poor for love of man, to be his model, and to teach him the price of poverty. No child ever came into this world so poor as the Incarnate Word, whose crib was the straw of cattle, whose shelter was the retreat of animals. In His later years He ate only barley- bread, the bread of the poor; and during His evangelical life He lived on alms. Lastly, He died in destitution that will never be equalled. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 170 And behold even now, glorious and resusci- tated, poverty is still His companion. He has found the means of honoring and prac- tising poverty. Yes, Jesus, dwelling in our midst in His Sacrament, is even poorer than during the days of His mortal life. A poor church, worse, perhaps, than the grotto of Bethlehem, is very often His dwelling-place. Four boards, often worm-eaten, form His taber- nacle. His priests or His faithful have to supply Him with everything as an alms : the matter for the Holy Sacrifice, the bread and the wine; the linen in which to receive Him or to cover Him, the corporals and the altar- cloths. He brings from heaven only His adorable Person and His love. The poor are without honor. — Jesus is there without glory. The poor are defenceless. — Jesus is there abandoned to all His enemies. The poor have few or no friends. — Jesus in the Eucharist has very few. He is a stranger unknown by the majority of men. O how beautiful, how attractive is this Eu- charistic poverty of Our Lord ! THE GOD OF THE LOWLY 171 II He Lord demands of us to honor His poverty by imitating it. We shall be very far from perfection if we think that it is temporal poverty He is asking of us. Jesus aims higher. He wishes us to be poor in spirit. What is poverty of spirit? It is perfect love, and the soul of true humil- ity. ! ■ A man poor in spirit, convinced that he has nothing and can do nothing of himself, makes of his poverty itself the most powerful and the most precious title to the Heart of God. The poorer he is, the greater will be his right to the divine goodness and mercy. Remark carefully that the more the poor man sinks into his poverty, the more surely does he find his natural place, for we are nothing. By so doing he so much the more honors God, his Creator; he makes Him so much the greater and more merciful. So said the Lord by one of His prophets: Upon whom shall I rest My looks of love if 172 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. not upon the lowliest of the poor, and upon him who has a contrite heart? Behold where the good God finds His glory — in our poverty, which returns all to Him, which renders homage to Him for all. God so loves the poor in spirit that He de- spoils His servants of everything, in order that by their poverty itself they may triumph. He paralyzes their intelligence, dries up their heart, deprives them of the sweetness of His grace and peace. He delivers them to storms of passion, to the fury of demons; He hides from them His sun, He cuts them off from all help, He conceals Himself in some way from His desolate creatures. — Oh, what a sorrowful state ! No, what a sublime state! The poor man will triumph over God Himself! The more God despoils him the more does he thank Him as for a greater good. The more God tries him, the more does he confide in His inex- haustible goodness. And when the demon shows him hell, telling him that his sins accuse and condemn him — O how great is this man poor in spirit when he says to his God: «Yes, hell for me means justice. Hell is not terrible enough, not vengeful enough for the sins my THE GOD OF THE LOWLY. 173 malice has committed against Thee, O my Creator and my Father! I deserve a million hells, and therefore do I hope in Thy infinite mercy. I am worthy of it, the most worthy, since I am the most miserable of creatures! Satisfy Thy justice on me in this world, O my God! I thank Thee, I thank Thee for giving me a chance to pay my debts! Still more, O Lord, I deserve still more ! » What can the good God reply to one s6 poor and so grateful ? He will acknowledge Himself vanquished. He will open His arms to him. He will pour out upon him all His treasures. He will point him out to! the angels, saying in admiration: « Behold the man that has truly glorified Me ! » HI B Et us adore and communicate in quality of the poor of the good God. We shall by so doing find an easy application of the four ends of the Sacrifice of the Mass. First, what does the poor man do when about to beg alms of a charitable rich man? Thinking only of the goodness of the rich man, he salutes him respectfully and joyfully. 174 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. forgetful of his own miserable appearance, his poor, unsightly rags. Do the same before Our Lord. Forget your misery to think only of His goodness. Adore Him in confidence and humility. Secondly, the beggar lauds the bounty of the rich man: «Yau are very kind. Every one says so. And now you have been kind to me! » And he enumerates in detail the bene- fits that he has received. In It his way praise and thank the Divine Goodness, and your heart will find words and tears of gratitude very sweet and very eloquent. Thirdly, the beggar exposes his miseries : « Here I am again at your door with my wants greater than ever before. I have only you! I know that your kindness will not weary of me, that it is greater than my poverty. I know that I am making you happy by affording you the occasion to do good. » Let us in this way lay open our misery before Our Lord. Let us win Him by His heart, by the good that He desires to do, and we shall make Him happy, for His love is shown only by the outpourings of His goodness. When the beggar receives much more than he asks, he sheds tears of tender gratitude. He THE GOD OF THE LOWLY. 175 does not think of examining right away what has been given him, for he thinks only of the good grace with which it has been given. He exclaimjs,] and it is his only word : « Ah„ how good you are ! I know it well I » But if the rich man makes the beggar enter his house, invites him to his table, places him by his own side — ah ! the poor creature has not the courage to eat, so confused is he, so over- come by such goodness ! Does not Our Lord treat us in this way ? May our misery make us better comprehend His bounty! Fourthly, and lastly, the beggar takes leave of his benefactor with the words : « Ah, if I could only do something for you! I shall, at least, pray much for your family. » And he goes away, praising God from sheer joy, and blessing his benefactor. Let us do the same. Let us pray for the family of Our Lord. Let us bless His good- ness. Let us proclaim His glory everywhere, and offer Him the homage of our heart and life. The EUCHARIST, the CENTRE of the HEART. Mamie in Me. Abide in Me. (John xv, 4 ) I An’s heart needs some centre for its affections, some spot wherein it may expand. God said when creating the first man, and it was with this thought: « It is not good for man to be alone. Let us make him- a compan- ion like unto himself. » And the Imitation says : « Without a friend, one cannot be happy. » Ah, well! Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament wishes to be the centre of all hearts. He says to us : « Abide in My love. » — « Abide in Me. » Whalt: is it to abide in the love of Our Lord ? It is to make of that Love which lives in the THE CENTRE OF THE HEART. 1 77 Eucharist the centre of one’s life, the only cen- tre of one’s consolation. It is to cast one’s self into the Heart of Jesus, in the midst of trials, chagrin, anxiety, disappointments, in those moments in which the heart pours itself out. He invites us to do so : « Come to Me, all you who are burdened, and I will refresh you. » In joy, it is tO' refer our happiness to Our Lord, for true friendship wishes to rejoice only with the friend. It is tO' make the Eucharist the centre of one’s desires: « Lord, I wish only what Thou dost will. I shall do so and so only to give Thee pleasure. » It is to surprise Our Lord by a gift, a little sacrifice. It is to live by the Eucharist, to direct our actions by the thought of It, to make it an in- variable rule to prefer Its good service to every- thing else. Ah I is Jesus Christ truly our centre? Perhaps in time of extraordinary trials, in prayers more fervent than usual, in more urgent needs. He is; but in our everyday life, do we deliberate, do we act in Jesus as in our centre ? Why is not Our Lord my centre? Because Hie is not the self of myself ; because 178 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. I am not yet entirely under His direction, un- der the inspiration of His good pleasure; be- cause I have desires opposed to His in my re- gard. He is not wholly in me! And yet the child labors for its parents, the angel for its God. I, then, should labor for Jesus Christ, my Master. How shall I do it? Enter into this centre, remain therein, act therein, not by the senti- ment of His sweetness, which I cannot com- mand at will, but by frequent aspirations, the homage of every action. Come, then, O my soul, leave the world, go out of thyself, aban- don self. Turn to the God of the Eucharist. He has an abode in which to receive thee, and He is waiting for thee. He wants to live with thee, to live in thee. Live in Jesus present in thy heart, live the life of the heart, live in the goodness of Jesus Eucharistic. Labor, O my soul, by Our Lord in thee, and do nothing but by Him. Abide in Our Lord. Abide in Him by a sentiment of devotedness, of holy joy, of readi- ness to do all that He demands of thee. Abide in the Heart and in the peace of Jesus Eucha- ristic. THE CENTRE OF THE HEART. 179 II Hat strikes me in this is, that the Eu- charistic Centre is hidden, invisible, whol- ly interior; and yet it is most real, living- and supporting. Jesus attracts the soul spiritually in the entirely spiritualized state in which He is in the Blessed Sacrament. What is, in truth, Jesus’ life in the Most Blessed Sacrament? It is entirely hidden, al- together interior. In It He hides His power and goodness, yes, even His Divine Person. All His actions and virtues partake of this simple and hidden char- acter. He calls for silence around Him. No longer does He pray to His father with sighs and groans, as in the Garden of Olives. His own annihilation is now His prayer. All graces flow from the Sacred Host. Jesus from His Host sanctifies the world, but in a manner secret and spiritual. He governs the world and the Church without disturbing His repose or breaking His silence. Such should be Jesus’ kingdom, wholly in- terior. I should gather all my powers around i8o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Him, my faculties, my understanding, my will, and my senses, as far as possible. I should live of Jesus and not of self, in Jesus and not in self. I should pray with Him, immolate my- self with Him, consume myself in one same love with Him. I should become in Him one single flame, one single heart, one single life. The nourishment of this centre is no other than the egredere of Abraham. It is despoil- ment, abandonment of outside things, the turn- ing to those within, the loss of self in Jesus. This life is most pleasing to His Heart, most honorable to His Father. Our Lord ardently longs for it. He says to me: « Go out of thyself. Come into solitude with Me, and I will speak to thy heart, one to one. » Ah! this life in Jesus is the love of pref- erence. It is the gift of self, the labor of union. By it we take root, we prepare the nourishment, the sap of the tree. « Regnum Dei intra vos est ! — The Kingdom of God is within you. » HI 2® Here is no other Eh Jesus Eucharistic. He tells us: « Without Me centre than Jesus, ye can do noth- THE CENTRE OF THE HEART. l8l ing. » He alone gives grace. He reserves to Himself the disposition of it, in order to force us to go to Him and ask for it. By this He desires tO' establish and foster union with us. He reserves consolation and peace, that in our trials and troubles we may flee to Him. He wishes to be the only hap- piness of our heart. He has placed this centre of repose in none other than Himself : « A- hide in Me! » That He may never fail us when we seek Him, He is always at our ser- vice, always ready, always amiable. He draws us incessantly to Himself. The life of love is only this constant attraction of our soul toward Him. Alas! this centre is still weak in me! How thoughtless, rare, often interrupted for long hours, are my aspirations to Jesus ! And yet He repeats to me: « He who loves Me, abides in Me, and I in him ! » Mane nobisr.u77t, quo7iia7n Stay with us because it is advespe7'a'icit. toward evening, and the day is now far spent. (St. Luke xxiv, 29.) He disciples going to Em- maus were interiorly warmed, enlightened, moved by the conversation of the Divine Stranger who joined them on the way. When He was about to quit them: « Oh, remain with us! » they said to Him, « remain, for it is growing late. » They could not hear enough from the Sav- iour. It seemed to them that in parting with Him, they were losing everything. In our own day we, too, can say to Our Saviour: « O stay with us. Lord, for without Thee it is night, horrible night! » THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 1 83 The Eucharist is the Sovereign Good of the world. To be deprived of It, would be the greatest misfortune. I Es, Jesus is the Sovereign Good! «With Him, » says the Wise Man, « are come all good things. » And St. Paul exclaims : « Since God hath given us His Son, how hath He not also with Him given us all things ? » All that He has, in effect, all that He is. He gives to us. He can do no more. Omne quod habet, omne quod est, dedit nobis; plus dare non potuit. (St. Augustine.) With Jesus Eucharistic, light shines upon the world. With the Eucharist we have the Bread of the Strong, the Viaticum of the Pilgrim, the Wheat of the Elect, which will aid us to reach the mountain of God, and the Manna, which will enable us tO' support the horror of the desert. With Jesus we have consolation and re- pose in fatigue, in the troubles of our soul, and the sorrows of our heart. We find in the Eucharist the remedy for our ills, the price of the new debts that we daily The Divine Eucharist. 13 184 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. contract toward Divine Justice by our sins. Our Lord offers Himself every morning as the Victim of propitiation for the sins of the world. II Ut this Gift above all gifts — are we sure of always possessing It? Jesus Christ has promised to remain with His Church even to the consummation of ages. He made that promise to no particular nation, to no particular individual. He will remain with us if we study to sur- round His Sacred Person with love and honor. That is the expressed condition. Jesus Christ has a right to honor, and He demands it. He is our King, our Saviour. To Him, honor above all honor. To Him the supreme wor- ship of latria. To Him public homage, for we are His people. The heavenly Court prostrates before the Lamb immolated. Here below, Jesus on en- tering into the world, received the adoration of the angels, that of the multitudes during His life, and of the Apostles after His Resur- rection. THE SOVEREIGN GOOD. 1 85 Nations and kings came to adore Him. In the Sacrament has He not a right to still more honor, since He multiplies therein His sacrifices and abases Himself to such a de- gree ? To Him, then, be solemn honor, the magnif- icence, the richness, the beauty of worship. God prescribed the least details of the Mosaic worship, and yet that was only a figure. The ages of faith never thought they could do enough for the splendor of Eucharistic worship. Witness their basilicas, their sacred vessels, their ornaments, masterpieces of art and m.agnif- icence. Faith works wonders. The worship, the honor rendered to Jesus Christ are the measure of the faith of a nation, the expression of its virtue. Honor, then, to Jesus Christ! He is worthy of it. He has a right to it. But He would not be satisfied with external honor. He demands the worship of our love. He wishes our interior service, the homage of our spirit, not shut up in our own breast, but shown forth by those tender attentioms, that a good child, who lives around father and mother, constantly pays them. Such a child feels the i86 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. need of seeing them, of giving the n proofs of his affection. Absence from them makes hin anxious and uneasy. He flies to them in their every need, he anticipates their desires as far as he can, he is ready to do all in his power to please his good father, his good moth- er — that is the worship of natural affection. The worship of love which Jesus Eucharistic demands is the same. He who loves, seeks the Eucharist. He speaks of It willingly, he has need of Jesus. He tends incessantly to Him, offering Him all his actions, all the pleasures of his heart, his joys, his consolations. He forms them all into a bouquet for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is at this cost that we shall keep the Most Blessed Sacrament. To lose It would be the sovereign evil. HI S Hen the sun goes down, darkness gath- ers; when it no longer shines, it grows cold. If the love of the Eucharist becomes ex- tinguished in a heart, faith is lost, indifference reigns and, in this night of the soul, the vices prowl around like savage beasts in search of their prey. THE SOVEREIGN GOOD. 187 Oh ! incomparable misfortune I What can revive a frozen heart which the Eucharist is powerless to warm? What Jesus Christ does for individuals, He does for nations. He is no longer loved, re- spected, known; they abandon Him, they de- spise Him. What would a king do if aban- doned by his subjects ? Jesus would go away I He would go to a better people. What a sad sight does this abandonment of Our Lord present ! He once had a tabernacle in the Cenacle. Today that Cenacle is a mosque! It no longer counts true adorers. What, think you, Jesus should do there? Egypt, Africa, once the classic land of saints, inhabited by legions of holy monks, Jesus Christ has abandoned. Since the Eucharist is no longer there, desolation reigns. But be assured that Jesus Christ was the last to leave those places, and only when a true adorer could no longer be found in them. This wave of desolation has passed over Europe, also. Jesus has been driven from His temples and profaned upon His altars. He re- turned to them no more. France has seen her faith diminish, her love for the Eucharist grow coM. Her churches in which Jesus Chiist i88 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. once had fervent adorers, have been delivered over to heresy. When love died out, Jesus fled! And He has not returned. What affrights in our own day, is to see so many cities in which Jesus Eucharistic is aban- doned, left alone, absolutely alone. And in country places, the churches are closed for fear of robbers and because there is no one to visit them. Can this be possible? Do we, then, wish to lose the Eucharist? Ah! we ought to know that when Jesus goes away, the scaffold, persecution, and barbarism return. Who, then, could arrest these scourges ? O Lord, remain with us! We will be Thy faithful adorers! Better far exile, poverty, and death than to be deprived of Thee! O never inflict on us the punishment of aban- doning the sanctuary of Thy love ! Lord, abide with us, for it is late, and without Thee it is dark night: Mane nohiscum, Domine, quo- niam advesperascit. Tota die expandi 7itamcs meas ad popuhcm non ere- dentem et contradicentem. All the day long have I spread my hands to a people that believeth not, and con- tradicteth me. (Rom. x, 21.) I Las ! it is but too true, Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sac- rament is not loved ! First of all He is not loved by those millions of pagans, Jews, infidels, schismatics, and here- tics, who either do not know, or who know only in a bad sense, the Holy Eucharist. O among so many thousands of creatures upon whom God has bestowed a heart capable of loving, how many would love the Blessed 190 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Sacrament if they knew It as I do! Ought I not, at least, to endeavor to love It for them and instead of them ? Among Catholics, few, very few love Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. How many think of Him frequently? speak of Him? go to adore Him, to receive Him? Why this forgetfulness, this coldness ? O it is because they have never tasted the Eu- charist, Its sweetness, the delights of Its love! It is because they have never known Jesus in His goodness. It is because they distrust the extent of His love in the Most Blessed Sacra- ment I Some believe in Jesus Christ, but their faith is inactive. It is a faith so superficial that it reaches not to the heart; it is limited to the rigorous demands of conscience and salvation. And yet these last are not numerous when com- pared with those other Catholics who live like true pagans, as if they had never heard the Eucharist mentioned. H Hence comes it that Our Lord is so little loved in the Eucharist? THE MOST BLESS SACK. IS NOT LOVED. 191 It comes from this that He is not sufficiently spoken of. Preachers urge faith in the Presence of Jesus Christ instead of speaking of His life, of His love in the Most Blessed Sacrament, instead of showing forth the sacrifices that His love imposes on Him; in a word, instead of showing Jesus Eucharistic loving each of us personally and particularly. Another cause is our own conduct, which betrays our little love. No one seeing us pray- ing, adoring, going to church, would com- prehend the Presence of Jesus in it. Even among the best Catholics, how many ever make a visit of devotion to the Most Blessed Sacra- ment, to speak to Him from their heart, to tell Him of their love I They do not love Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, because they do not know Him intimately. But if they knew Him with all His love, with all the sacrifices and desires of His Heart, and if, in spite of that, they did not love Him — what an injury! Yes, an injury I 'For it is to say to Jesus Christ that He is not sufficiently beautiful, good, amiable, to be preferred to what pleases their fancy. What ingratitude I After so many graces re^ ceived from this good Saviour, so many prom- 192 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ises to love Him, so many offerings of self to His service — to treat Him thus is to laugh at His love. What tepidity! If we do not desire to know Him well, to behold Him nearer, to receive Him, to speak with Him heart to heart, it is because we dread being captivated by His love! We fear not to be able to resist His goodness; we fear being obliged to surrender to Him, to sacrifice to Him without reserve and unconditionally our heart, our mind, our life! We fear the love of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and we flee from It! We are troubled in His Presence; we fear to yield to Him, and so, like Pilate and Herod, we shun His Presence. Ill do not love Our Lord in the Most Bless- ed Sacrament because we ignore, or do not seriously reflect on the sacrifices His love is there making for us. These are so sur- prising that even to think of them overwhelms the heart and suffuses the eyes with tears. The institution of the Eucharist was at the price of the Saviour’s Passion. How is that? THE MOST BLESS. SACK. IS NOT LOVED. 1 93 Because the Eucharist is the Sacrifice of the New Law. Now, there is no sacrifice without a victim. Immolation demands the death of the victim, and to participate in the merits of the sacrifice, it is necessary tO' participate in the eating of the victim. All this is found in the Eucharist. It is the unbloody Sacrifice, because the Victim died once, and by that single death has repaired and merited all justification. But He is perpetuated in His state of Victim, in order to apply to us the merits of the bloody Sacri- fice of the Cross, which is to endure and be represented before God till the end of the world. We must eat our share of the Victim. But if He showed Himself to us in the state pf death, our repugnance to eating would be too great. We never eat what has died a natural death. So the Eucharist is the price of the Agony in the Garden of Olives, of the humiliations en- dured before the tribunals of Caiaphas and Pilate, and of His death on Calvary. The Vic- tim had to pass through all these immolations in order to arrive at the sac'^amental state and reach us. By instituting His Sacrament, Jesus perpetuated the sacrifices of His Passion. He 194 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. condemned Himself to suffer an abandonment as sorrowful as that which He endured in the Garden of Olives, and the treason of friends and disciples become schismatics, heretics, and renegades, some of whom would sell the Sacred Host to Jews and magicians. By instituting His Sacrament, He perpetuated the denials that afflicted Him in the house of Annas, the sacrilegious fury of Caiaphas, the contempt of Herod, the baseness of Pilate, the shame of seeing preferred to Himself some pas- sion, some idol of flesh, as He saw Barabbas chosen instead of Him; but worse than all. He beholds His sacramental crucifixion in the body and soul of the sacrilegious communicant. Our Lord knew all this in advance; He saw all the new Judases; He could count them among His own, among His well-beloved chil- dren. But it did not check Him. He willed that His love should outdo men’s ingratitude and malice. He willed to survive their sacri- legious hatred. He knew beforehand the te- pidity of His own, and mine in particular, the little fruit that we would draw from Commu- nion; and yet He desired to love even more than He was loved, more than man could know. What more ? The state of death, although He THE MOST BLESS. SACK. IS NOT LOVED. 1 95 had the plenitude of life, of a glorious and supernatural life. To be treated as one dead, to be looked upon as one dead — is that noth- ing? This state of death implies that Jesus is without beauty, movement, defence, envel- oped in the Sacred Species as in a winding- sheet, and in the tabernacle as in a tomb; and yet He is there seeing everything, hearing everything. His love has veiled His power and glory. His hands and feet. His beautiful countenance and sacred mouth, all, all. He retains only His Heart to love and His state of victim to intercede for us. At sight of Jesus’ so great love for ungrateful man it looks as if the demon triumphs and in- sults Him. « I, » does he say, « I give man nothing that is true, beautiful or good. I have never suffered for him, and yet I am better loved, better obeyed, better served than You! » Alas I it is too true I Our coldness and ingrat- itude are the triumph of Satan over God. O how dan we forget the love of Our Lord, a love that has cost Him so much, and to which He has refused nothing? 196 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. IV H T is true, also, that the world makes every effort to prevent Jesus in the Most Bless- ed Sacrament from being loved with a love that is real and practical, in order to prevent His being visited, in order to paralyze the effects of His love. It absorbs, binds, captivates souls in many occupations, in exterior good works, in order to divert them from applying their thoughts for any length of time to the love of Jesus. It even combats directly this practical love, representing it as superfluous, as possible only in the cloister. At every instant, Satan is warring against our love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacra- ment. He knows that Jesus is there living, attracting and possessing souls; therefore, he drives from us the thought, effaces from our mind the good impression made by the Eu- charist. And yet God is all love. And the sweet Sav- iour cries to us from His Host: « Love Me as I have loved thee 1 Abide in My love ! I am come to cast upon earth the fire of love, and what will I but that it inflame all hearts ! » O at death and after death, what shall we THE MOST BLESS. SACK. IS NOT LOVED. 1 97 think of the Eucharist when we behold It, when we know all Its goodness, love, and riches ? O my God, my God! what dost Thou think of me who have known Thee so long, who have communicated so often! Thou hast given me all that Thou couldst give me. Thou dost will that I serve Thee in return, and I have not yet acquired the first virtue of this service. Thou art not yet the sovereign law of my life, the centre of my heart, the end of my existence. What hast Thou still to do in order to triumph over my heart? — Lord, it is over, the victory is Thine I Henceforth my device shall be : Either the Eucharist or death! Christies vincit^ Christus regnat^ Christus imperat ; ab Omni nialo plebeni suam de- fendat. Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. May He defend His people from every evil ! OPE Sixtus the Fifth had these words engraved on the obe- lisk that stands in the centre of the great square of St. Peter’s, in Rome. These magnificent words are in the present, and not in the past tense, in order to point out to us that the triumph of Jesus Christ is always actually going on, and that it is accomplished by the Eucharist and in the Eucharist. I H H BIS TVS vincit ! — Christ conquers I Our Lord has combated. He has re- mained Master of the field of battle, and there THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. J99 He has planted His standard, there He has fixed His abode, the Sacred Host, the Eu- charistic tabernacle. He has vanquished the Jew and his Temple, and He has a tabernacle on Calvary, whither all nations come to adore Him under the Species of the Sacrament. He has vanquished paganism, and has chosen for His capital Rome, the city of the Caesars. His tabernacle is in the temple of Jupiter tonans, Jupiter the Thunderer. He has vanquished the false wisdom of the sages and, becoming the Divine Eucharist, He rises upon the world, and extends His rays over the whole earth, darkness fleeing like the shadows of night at the approach of the sun. Idols have been overthrown, sacrifices abol- ished. Jesus in the Eucharist is a Conqueror who never pauses, who marches straight on. He wills to subject the whole world to His sweet empire. Whenever He takes possession of a country. He erects His royal Eucharistic tent. The erection of a tabernacle is His taking posses- sion. In our days He is still journeying among benighted nations and, wherever He goes, wherever the Eucharist is borne, nations are 14 The Divine Eucharist. 200 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. converted to Christianity. This is the secret of the triumph of our Catholic missionaries, and of the failure of Protestant preachers. In the latter, man combats; in the former Jesus Christ. He triumphs. II HBISTUS regnat! — Christ reigns! Jesus reigns not over lands, but over souls, and that by the Eucharist. A king ought to reign by his laws and by the love that his subjects bear him. Now, the Eucharist is the law of the Chris- tian, a law of love, a law of charity, published in the Cenacle during the admirable discourse after the Last Supper: Love one another, this is My commandment. Love one another as 1 have loved you. Abide in Me, and keep My commandments. The Eucharist is the law revealed in Com- munion. Like the disciples of Emmaus, the Christian then sees clearly and imderstands the law in all its fulness. It was the « Breaking of the Bread » that rendered the first Christians so strong against persecution, so faithful to the practice of the THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST. 201 law of Jesus Christ: Erant perseverantes in communicatione fractionis panis. They perse- vered in the breaking of bread. The law of Jesus Christ is one, holy, uni- versal, eternal. Nothing in it will ever be changed, nothing ever be weakened, for Jesus Christ Himself, its Divine Author, guards it. The Legislator Himself promulgates to every soul His divine law. The Eucharist is a law of love. How many kings reign by love? It is only Jesus Christ whose yoke has not been imposed by force. His reign is sweetness itself. His true subjects are devoted to Him in life and in death, they even give their life rather than be unfaithful to Him. HI H HBISTUS imperat ! — Christ commands ! No king rules over the whole world. There are other kings, his equals. But God the Father has said to Jesus Christ: 1 will give Thee all the nations for Thy inheritance. And Our Lord, sending His lieutenants throughout the world, says to them: « All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations. » 202 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. It was from the Cenacle that these orders went forth. The Eucharistic tabernacle, the extension, the multiplication of the Cenacle, is the headquarters of the King of Kings. All who fight the « good fight » there receive their orders. Before Jesus Christ all are subject, all obe- dient, from the Pope, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, down to the simple Faithful. Christ commands! IV HBISTUS ah omni malo plehem suam de- fendat ! — May Christ defend His people from all evil! The Eucharist is the divine lightning-rod which turns away from us the thunderbolts of Divine Justice. Like a loving and devoted mother who, to screen her child from the anger of an irritated father, hides him in her bosom, clasps him in her arms, and shields him with her own body, so Jesus multiplies Him- self throughout the world, covers the whole world, envelops it with His merciful Presence. Divine Justice knows not where to strike. It dares not. THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST. 203 And against the demon, what protection ! The Blood of Jesus tingeing our lips, makes us terrible to Satan. We are marked with the Blood of the true Lamb, and the exterminating angel will not enter. The Eucharist protects the guilty, in order that he may have time to repent. In olden times, the murderer, pursued by the law, used to flee into some church, whence they could not drag him to punishment. He saved his life in the shadow of the mercy of Jesus Christ. Ah! without the Eucharist, without this per- petual Calvary, how often would the divine wrath have burst upon our head! How unhappy are they who no longer have the Eucharist! What darkness! What lawless- ness of mind ! What coldness of heart ! Satan alone reigns as master and with him every evil passion! As for us, the Eucharist delivers us from all evils ; Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat. Ab omni malo plehem suam defendat ! ' 4 *' ' 4 ^ ' 4 *' .tAi .cAa. .cAa. jAi. jAa. ^ .tAi ^ GOD IS THERE I Fere Dominus est in loco I Indeed the Lord is in this isto^ et ego nescieba7n ! place, and I knew it not. I (Gen. XXVIII, i6.) I O judge of a family, we must see whether the law of respect is observed in it. Where the children, the servants, are submissive and respectful, we may say, « Behold a good and happy family! » Respect and honor rendered to parents’ form the religion of the family, just as respect for the Sovereign or his representatives is the relig- ion of society. It is not the qualities of these persons that we are called upon to honor, but the dignity that comes from God. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 205 Now, we owe respect to Our Lord; it is our first obligation. We owe Him spontaneous respect, instinctive respect, not founded on reasoning, and this under pain of being wanting in the sense of faith. This is instinctive. Our Lord must be hon- ored wherever He is. His dignity as Man-God demands it. At His Name every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and in hell. In heaven, the angels prostrate before His Majesty, trembling and adoring. The place of the glory of Our Lord is also that of His sover- eign respect. On earth, all creatures obey Our Lord. The sea bows down under His feet in adoration. The sun and stars honor Him; they mourn when men revile Him. In hell, the reprobate tremble under the justice of the severe Judge of the living and the dead. H H |Espect to our Lord present ought not to I be respect springing from reason. When the Court, the King are announced, all rise instinctively. When the Sovereign passes, all 2o6 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. salute; there is one spontaneous movement of respect and deference. He who has lost senti- ment or who seeks to destroy it in others, is no longer a man. Oh! how Catholics have to blush for their little respect before Our Lx)rd! I am now speaking of only the respect of instinct. Go into a synagogue. If you were to act or speak disrespectfully, you would be put out. To enter a mosque, you are obliged to lay aside your shoes. And yet these infidels have nothing real in their temples, and we have all 1 In spite of that, their respect far surpasses ours. Our Lord had good right to say that the demon is more honored than He: « I have brought up children, and they have despised Me! » I ask mothers whether they would be well satisfied to be publicly scorned by their chil- dren. Why do we do in presence of Our Lord what would wound us so much if done in our own? Why are we less sensitive when there is question of the honor of Jesus Christ than when our own dignity is at stake? What could be more false? Our dignity comes to us only from God, by reflection. By neglecting the respect due to Our Lord, we GOD IS THERE ! 207 are destroying our own. Oh, were Our Lord to punish us as we deserve for our failures in respect ! He caused Heliodorus to be scourged severely for having profaned His Temple; but there is more here than in the Temple. Let us, then, give to Our Lord our first homage of respect on entering His Presence. Should levity or carelessness precede this hom- age, ah, we are miserable! Yes, our greatest sins against faith are those of failures in re- spect. HI E who has faith knows where he is going. He knows that he is going to the church, to Jesus Christ. Like St. Bernard, he says to all his occupations when entering: « Remain outside. I must go to God for refreshment. » Act thus. You know how long you have to remain in church, so during that time, leave everything else. If you come to pray, then you have not come to think over your business affairs. If distractions, the imagination, preoc- cupations disturb you, send them outside the door without troubling yourself about them, and do you remain inside. Offer yourself to Our Lord in the spirit of respect and repara- 208 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. tion. Be more recollected, and let Our Lord see that you detest your distractions. By your demeanor, if not by your interior, do homage to His Divinity, His Presence; and if you do only that, you will already be doing a great deal. Watch a saint entering a church. He does so without thinking of those that may be there, forgetting everything, seeing only Jesus Christ. In presence of the Pope, one thinks not of Bishops or Cardinals, and in heaven, the saints are not amusing themselves with honoring one another. No, to God alone all honor, all glory! Act, then, on this principle: In the church, there is only Our Lord. After entering, remain perfectly quiet for a moment. Silence is the greatest mark of re- spect, and the first disposition for prayer is respect. Most of our dryness and indevotion in prayer come from our want of respect to Our Lord on our first appearing before Him, or from the fact that we do not maintain a re- spectful position. Oh, let us take a firm resolution to practise this instinctive respect I There is no necessity for reasoning on that point. Must Our Lord prove to us His Presence every time we enter GOD IS THERE ! 209 a church? Ought He to send an angel every time to tell us that He is there? That would, indeed, be very deplorable, though, alasl very necessary. IV E owe Our Lord exterior respect; that is the prayer of the body, and nothing so much helps the prayer of the soul. See with what religious care the Church has regulated the least details of her exterior worship. It is because this prayer gives great glory to Jesus Christ. He gave us the example of it by pray- ing on His knees, and tradition shows Him to us praying with His arms in the form of a cross, or raised toward heaven. The Apostles preserved for us this manner of prayer, and the priest uses it in the Holy Sacrifice. Our body, which receives life from God, which lives upon His benefits at every instant, does it to we nothing to God ? It must be made to pray by its respectful posture. Negligent attitudes of the body weaken the soul, while a crucifying one strengthens and helps it. I do not wish to make you suffer by a too uncomfortable position, but we must 210 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. use a little severity. Never indulge in famil- iar postures before God, for they engender contempt. Love Him, be tender and affec- tionate toward Him, but never familiar. Arid- ity and indevotion in prayer almost always rise from irreverience of demeanor. If travelling, or saying prayers of superero- gation in your own homes, take the posture that will fatigue you least ; but before Our Lord, the whole being should adore. Recall how severe God was on this point in the Old Law, through what preparatory details the Levites had to pass. God wished thereby to make them feel their dependence, and to pre- pare them to pray well. Through want of this exterior respect, our piety languishes. I know well that it is not necessary to tremble with fear before God or to be afraid to enter His Presence; but on the other hand, we must not look as if we ignored Him. This reserved demeanor is a help to more earnest prayer, but, through sensuality, we neglect to maintain it. We think ourselves too much fatigued. Ah, how the imagination deceives us ! If the Pope were passing, our fancied fatigue would not prevent our kneeling. GOD IS THERE ! 21 1 And even should we be seriously fatigued, let us not be so afraid of suffering, for it spreads the wings of prayer ! We can at least, even then, preserve a grave and serious demeanor. When persons of the world are fatigued, they sit down in an upright position; they do not lounge on their chairs. Take, then, none of those pos- tures that relax the soul and unfit it for prayer. As for us, religious, kneeling is our proper posh tion, fotr it is the true posture of the adorer. If we are greatly fatigued, let us stand. That, too, is a respectful position. But let us never sit. Let us be soldiers of the God of the Eucharist. If our heart is not burning with love, our body, at least, will testify to our faith, and our desire to love and do the right thing. May our body pray! May it adore! Let us all belong to the Court of King Jesus. Think that the Master is there. Impress your mind with that thought. Attention to Our Lord Jesus Christ! Y ere Dominus est in loco isto ! I j:Al^ j/^ ^zAl^ zAl xAl^ THE GOD OF THE HEART. Sentite de Domino in boni- I Think of the Lord in good- tate. I ness. (Wisd. I, i.) I 1 0 the respect of instinct, of ! exterior homage, there should I be joined the respect of love. ! The first honors the dignity of I Our Lord; the latter, His good- J ness. The first is the respect of the servant, the latter that of the son. Now, it is to the latter that Our Lord attaches the greater value. To pause at the respect of exterior honor, would be to remain at the door, because He desires above all to be honored in His goodness. It was different in the Old Law. God had written on His Temple: « Tremble on approaching My sanctuary »; THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 213 He was obliged to make the carnal Jews trem- ble and to lead them by fear. But in our day when He has become incar- nate, He wishes us to serve Him by love, and He writes on His Tabernacle: « Come all to Me, and I will refresh you. Come, I am meek and humble of Heart. » During His mortal life. Our Lord acquired His title of Good. The disciples, and even His enemies, called Him Magister hone. Good Master. . It is in our day], it is in the Eucharist that Our Lord wishes to enjoy His title of Good Master. Far from changing. He has increas- ed His familiarity with us. He wishes us to reflect on His tenderness, to enlarge our heart, to find our happiness in beholding Him who has drawn us to His feet. This is the meaning of His sacramental veil. We are more powerfully attracted to the great than to the good. If Our Lord should show us His glory we would rest in it without going to His Heart. We should be Jews; but Our Lord wants us to be children. And so He wants exterior respect only as a first act, a preliminary act, which leads us to His Heart, upon which He will make us rest in peace. 2 14 the divine EUCHARIST. If we saw Him in His grandeur, we should tremble, we should fall to the ground, we should never make an act of love. Ah! we are not yet in heaven! There are books that speak only of the majesty of God. That is all very well in passing; but to pause on God^s greatness, to make our whole prayer on it, is not desirable, for it fatigues. Before our good Lord we can pray one hour, two hours, without straining the mind. If distractions come, we ask pardon, and this as often as they present themselves. We do not become weary, for we know that we shall always obtain the pardon we ask. But in the former case, after some distractions, we quit prayer quite discouraged. II S jHE consideration of the goodness of Our Lord honors Him. It puts it in ope- ration, for His goodness can flow only upon what is lower than itself. In making myself very low and very little I am inundated by His graces, by His sweet effusions. We then place ourselves with the poor, the lowly, whom Our Lord so much loves. We say to Him: « Thou art so good! Ah, behold one upon whom to shed Thy goodness! » THE GOD OF THE HEART. 215 It is then that we speak. Otherwise we do as is customary before kings : we tremble and remain silent, not knowing what to say. But the Eucharist by Its sweetness renders the tongues of little children eloquent, and we are all children. The goodness of the Eucharist makes our prayers more sweet and easy. We are prone to pride ourselves on our graces, and to regard ourselves as proprietors of them. Our Lord does not like that. He bestows them upon us that we may make them fructify to His glory. He allows us then to be assailed by distractions in order to humble us. We want to pray without distrac.ions, and we can- not. « I will give up prayer, » says some one, « for I am only laying up sins by it. » No, no, that is false! Confide in the good- ness of Our Lord, and your faults will no longer frighten you. Mercy will pardon you. It is personified before you. HI H He worship of love ought to make us go with great confidence into the Presence of Our Lord. Let us personalize His love. Let us say to Him: « Lord, behold me, whom The Divine Euch.-^rist, 15 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 2 I 6 Thou hast loved so much, to whom Thou dost hold out Thy arms ! » — This thought will expand the heart. Say to yourself that Our Lord loves you personally. We cannot be in- sensible to such a thought. This thought is, besides, the secret of real recollection. There is nothing forced about it. To be recollected in Our Lord, to act in that spirit, to fulfil all the obligations of your state, cast yourself on the goodness of Our Lord. Your heart will beat in His, and that is recollec- tion. At the same time the mind will be free and independent. You can bend it to whatever you will. The heart directs and governs the head. It transmits to it its influence. Thus it is that the presence of God is bound up with everything. If the mind were always under the impression of His greatness and majesty, it would become absorbed or fatigued, and lose the sight of God or its own duties. But recollection of heart is real. God has given us a mind that is more or less limited, that is quickly exhausted. But the heart has a much wider range, a far higher power. It can always increase in love, and the loving presence of God permeates everything. It en- courages us to action. Under its influence we THK GOD OF THF HEART. know well that God is good and merciful, we live in His bounty. It is thus that the servant, newly engaged, flies at a sign from his master! The latter owes him no gratitude for it, because he is acting in view of his wages. But filial obedience has a perfume that noth- ing can replace and which nothing can tire out. It is affectionate, it is free from vanity. That is what Our Lord demands of us. He is willing that a tiny stream of it should flow out to parents, but the great river He wants for Himself. Let us, then, give Him our whole heart. On entering His Presence, let us offer Him the homage of instinctive and profound re- spect for His majesty; but after that let us has- ten to cast ourselves into the arms of His good- ness, and abide in it. « Manete in dilectiom TYiea Abide in My love I » The WORSHIP of the EUCHARIST. Dilexidecorem domus tucE. I I have loved the beauty of 1 Thy house. (Ps. xxv, 8.) Ne day a woman, and she was a good adorer, came to Jesus to adore Him. She brought with her an alabaster vase of perfume, which she poured over His feet to show her love for Him and to honor His Divinity and Sacred Humanity. « Why this waste? » asked the traitor Judas. « This perfume might have been sold at a very high price, and the money given to the poor. » But Jesus took the part of His servant: « What this woman has done, she has done well. Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preach- ed, this action shall be related to her praise. » THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 219 Let us see the application of this evangelical fact. ' ; Lord is in the Blessed Sacrament to receive from men the same homage as from those that approached Him during His mortal life. He is there that all may render personal homage to His Sacred Humanity. If this were the only reason for the existence of the Eucharist we should be very happy to be able to render to Our Lord in person our Christian duty. Public worship has, because of His Presence, a reason of existence, a life. Take away the Real Presence, and how should we render to His Sacred Humanity the respect and honor to which He has a right? As man. Our Lord is only in heaven and in the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is by the Eucharist that we can approach Him in person, living. There we can see Him, talk to Him. Without this Presence, worship would become an abstrac- tion. By this Presence we go directly to God, and we approach Him as during His mortal life. What a misfortune to be reduced to the neces- 220 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. sity when honoring the Humanity of Jesus Christ, of transporting ourselves in imagination to nineteen centuries ago! That would do, indeed, for the mind; but how render exterior homage to a past so far away? We should have to content ourselves with thanking for those mysteries without becoming participants in them. But as it is, I may adore like the shepherds; I may prostrate like the Magi. We need have no regret for not having been at Bethlehem or on Calvary. II Ot only is Jesus’ Presence the life of exte- rior worship, but it gives us the occasion of offering alms to Our Lord. Yes, we are more happy than the saints in this respect. They receive, but no longer give; and Jesus has said: « It is more blessed to give than to receive. » Now, we can give to Jesus. We give Him our money, our bread, our time, our sweat, our blood. Is not that the greatest of consolations ? Our Lord comes from heaven with only His goodness. He brings nothing else, and He ex- pects from His faithful ones all that is required THE WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARIST. 2 21 for His existence here below. His temple, the matter of His Sacrifice, the lights, the vessels necessary for Him to make Himself a Sacra- ment — we give Him all that. Without these lights, without this little throne. Our Lord cannot come out of His taber- nacle. We give them to Him, and we may say to Him : « Thou art on a beautiful throne. We raised it for Thee. We opened the door of Thy prison, and scattered the cloud that hid Thee, O Sun of Love! Dart Thy rays now into our hearts! » And Jesus owes a debt! He can pay His debts, and He will pay them. He has become security for His poor and suffering members : « All that you do for the least of My brethren, I will return to you a hundredfold. » But if Jesus pays the debts of others, much more surely will He pay His own. On the Day of Judgment we may say to Him: « We have visited Thee not only in Thy poor, but in Thyself, in Thy august Person. What wilt Thou give us in return? » Worldlings never understand this. « Give, give to the poor, but to the Church — of what use is that? This lavish expenditure on altars is all a waste! » It is thus they reason, and it is thus they become Protestants ! 222 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. No, the Church calls for a living worship, because she possesses her Saviour living upon the earth. What a happiness, then, to lay up eternal funds by giving to Our Lord! Is this something of no account ? But that is not all. To give to Jesus is a consolation, a happiness. It is still more — it is a necessity. Ill ■ Es, it is a necessity for us to see Our Lord, to feel Him near us, and to honor Him with our gifts. If He demanded from us only interior homage, He would fail to re- spond to one of man’s imperious needs, for we know not how to love without testifying our affection exteriorly. The faith of Catholics may be weighed by their churches. If the light is constantly burn- ing., if the altar linens are clean and neat, if the ornaments are well kept — O there is faith! But if Our Lord is left without ornaments in a church that is more like a prison — faith is wanting 1 Ah, how wretched we are sometimes on these points ! We are ready to help on all kinds of benevolent works — but ask something for the THE WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARIST. 223 Most Blessed Sacrament, and we have no ears to hear. We contribute to the adornment of the shrine of some saint, or to some pilgrim- age to effect a cure, but to the Most Blessed Sacrament — nothing! Will the King go in rags while the servants are decked in orna- ments? We have no faith, no active, loving faith. We are Protestant in practice, though Catholic in name. Our Lord is there. We are incessantly ask- ing Him for graces, for health, a happy death, and we do not honor His poverty by the least gift! Let us be silent, for we insult Him! « If, » says St. James, « a poor man asks you an alms, and you send him away without giving him anything, saying to him: Go in peace, you are ridiculing him, you are a murderer ! » Now, see! Here is Our Lord, and He has nothing; He is expecting everything from you. You come and say to Him: « I adore Thee, I acknowledge Thee for my King, I thank Thee for remaining in the Eucharist, » and yet you give nothing to contribute to the honor of His worship ! You insult Him. And when the priest is obliged to make use of miserab^, shabby ornaments, because he has no others, 224 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. it is the fault of his parishioners. It is scan- dalous 1 For all, yes, all can give to Our Lord. Experience proves that it is not the great nor the rich who contribute to Eucharistic wor- ship, but the multitude of the poor. One day Our Lord saw unmoved the Phari- sees placing large smns in the treasury; but when a poor widow threw in a penny, all that she had. He was filled with admiration. His heart was touched, and He could not refrain from saying to the Apostles: « This poor wid- ow has done more than all the others, because she has given of her substance. » And so he that deprives himself of something that he may give a candle, a flower, gives more than he who can easily make large offerings. Jesus does not regard the greatness of the gift, but the heart that gives. Give, then, give to Our Lord. Console His abandonment; succor His poverty. IV word more. What! Jesus is here through love? — Well, if we believe in His Presence', if we love Him, how is it that we do not make Him some presents? That is THE WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARIST. 225 what I cannot understand. Apart from the merit, the graces you would gain by your gifts, is it not a great privilege to be able to give to Our Lord, to be able to honor the King ? Surely, everyone is not admitted to present his homage to an earthly king. An audience with royalty is obtained only through the influence of the great. Would we even dare to offer a friend in a position higher than our own a festal bouquet? Would we be so familiar to- ward him? Well, Jesus is, indeed, a King, and it is He who makes the kings of the earth; but yet He puts aside the royal etiquette of earth and allows us constantly to present to Him our hom- age; He even expects it. Ah, what honor for us I Let us profit by it, for only here below can we give. Yes, here below God wills to receive from our hands. Ah, may you often have the happiness of saying: « I have given to Our Lord! » He will give to you in return. 1 $^ Let us LOVE the MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT. Diliges Dominu7n Deum I Thou shalt love the Lord Uium ex toto corde tuo. thy God with thy whole heart. ! (Deut. VI, 5.) I HEN I shall he elevated above the earth, I shall draw all things to Myself. It was first from the height of His Cross that Our Lord drew all souls to Himself by redeeming them. But, surely, in pronouncing these words He had also in view His Eucharistic throne, to the foot of which He wished to attract all souls that He might bind them to it by the chains of His love. Our Lord desired to inspire us with a pas- THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 227 sionate love for Him. No virtue, no thought that does not end in ardent desire, that does not even become a passion, will ever produce anything great. It is not love, it is only the affection of a child, who loves by instinct and because he feels himself loved, who loves him- self in those that are good to him. A servant may devote himself; but he will love truly only when he devotes himself through affection for his masters, without thought of personal interest. Love triumphs only when it becomes in us the passion of our life. Without that we may, indeed, produce some acts of it from time to time, more or less frequent; but our life is not given to it, is not absorbed in it. Now, so long as we do not possess a passionate love for Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we shall have done nothing. Our Lord certainly loves us there with pas- sion, loves blindly, never thinking of Himself, sacrificing Himself entirely for us. We must make Him a like return. H Ur love, to be a passion, must be sub- jected to the laws of human passions. I 228 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. am speaking of honorable passions, those that are good by their very nature ; for they are in- different in themselves. We render them evil when we direct them toward evil, but it is in our power to make use of them for good. Now, when a ceitain passion rules a man, it concentrates him. One desires to reach such a position, honorable and elevated. He will labor only for that end. « Ten, twenty years, what does it signify? » he says. « I will reach it at last. » He has but one thought, one desire, and everything else must subserve there- to. He puts aside whatever could divert him from his object, whatever does not tend toward it. Another wants to amass a fortune. He says : « I shall possess so much, » and he fixes a sum in his mind. Then he labors hard. He counts no cost, everything becomes ' for him a means toward his great end, outside of which he finds nothing of any interest. Another looks forward to an honorable al- liance. To him as to Jacob of old, seven years of service are as nothing. Like him, he would be willing to begin all over again at the end of those seven years, were it necessary. « I shall have Rachel! » And all his labor, says LOVE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT. 229 the Scripture, appears to him as nothing on account of his great love. This is the way that men reach their end in the world. These pa.sions may become bad. They are, alas! very often the cause of contin- ual sin, although they may be, and they often are, honorable. Without a passion, we accomplish nothing. Life has no aim. We drag out a useless exist- ence. Ill N the order of salvation, a passion is necessary to rule our life and make it produce for the glory of God all the fruits that the Lord expects from us. Let us love such or such a virtue, such or such a truth, such a mystery with passion. Let us devote our life to it, let us consecrate our thoughts and works to it. If we do not, we shall never accomplish anything. We shall be but day-laborers, never heroes 1 Let us have a passionate love for the Eu- charist. Let us love Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament with all the ardor of worldly lovers, but through supernatural motives. To reach that point, we must commence by 230 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. submitting our mind to the influence of this passion. Let us nourish it on faith, strongly persuading ourselves of the truth of the Eu- charist, of the truth of the love that Our Lord there manifests for us. We must form to ourselves a great idea, a ravishing contemplation of Our Lord’s love and presence. We shall thereby give to our love a food that will increase its flame, and it will never die out. A man of genius conceives the idea of a masterpiece. He embraces it with all the ardor of his soul, he is enraptured by it. He deter- mines to realize his ideal by all possible means, at the price of every sacrifice. He never wearies, no difficulty daunts him. His master- piece is ever before him, it overrules every other thought. He sees it constantly, and he cannot turn his mind away from it. Well, in the same way, let us behold Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, let us look at His love. O how this thought seizes upon us, ravishes us ! What I is it possible that Our Lord loves to such a degree as con- stantly to give Himself without wearying? Our mind fixes itself then on Our Lord. All our thoughts fly toward Him to study Him. LOVE THE MOST BLESSED SACK AM h NT. 231 We seek to dive into the reasons for so great love of us. We are amazed, ravished out of our- selves, and our heart utters the ery : « How clan I respond to such love ? » This is the love of the heart that forms itself to love. We love well only what we know well. And the heart bounds toward the Most Blessed Sacrament! It bounds! It has not the patience to walk. « Jesus loves me! He loves me in His Sacrament! » The heart, if it could, would burst its envelope of flesh to unite itself more closely with Our Lord. Behold the saints ! Their love transjwrts them, inflames them, makes them suffer. It is a fire which consumes them, exhausts their strength and, at last, makes them die. O happy, blessed death! IV l^^jUx if we go not so far, we can at least passionately love Our Lord, and allow ourselves to be ruled by His love. Do you love no one in the world? Mothers, have you not a passionate love for your children? Husbands and wives, do you not love each other with passion? Chil- The Divine Eucharist.* x6 232 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. dren, is there room in your hearts for any other than your parents? Ah, well, bring that love to bear upon Our Lord! f i ' There are not two loves; there is but one. Our Lord does not ask you to have two hearts, one for Him and another for those whom you love here below. Mothers, love, then, the Most Blessed Sac- rament with your mother-heart, love Jesus as a Son. Spouses, love Him as your S >ouse! Children, love Him as your Father! There is in you one same power of love, but tending toward different objects, and with dif- ferent motives. There are those that love their relations, their friends even to folly, but that do not know how to love the good God! What they do for the creature, is what they ought to do for God, with this exception only,- that they must love the good God without measure and always more and more. V Soul that loves in this way, has but one motive power, but one life — Our LOVE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT. 233 Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. — He is there!... She lives under the influerxe of this thought. — He is there!... There is then correspondence, community of life. Ah, why do we not reach this point? In- stead of that, we go back over more than eighteen centuries seeking for examples of virtue in the mortal life of Our Lord ! But Our Lord might say tO' us: « You have loved Me on Calvary, because there I washed away your sins ; you have loved Me at the Crib, because there I was sweet and lovable.; but why do you not love Me in the Blessed Sacra- ment where I am always with you? You have only to come to Me. I am there right at your side ! » Ah! at the Judgment, it will not be so much our sins that will affright us, that will reproach us, for they are pardoned forever. It will be Our Lord who will reproach us with His love! « Thou hast loved Me less than creatures, » will He say. « Thou hast not made Me the joy of thy life! Thou didst love Me enough not to offend Me grievously, but not enough to live for Me! » 234 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. We ask: « Are we obliged to love in that way? » I know very well that the precept to love thus is nowhere written down, for there is no need of it! Nothing says it, but everything proclaims it. Its law is in our heart. Yes, what appals me is, that Christians think freely and seriously on all mysteries, and zeal- ously devote themselves to the honor of some saint — but Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament? — No! Why, why is this? Ah! it is because they cannot attentively regard the Most Blessed Sacrament without saying: « I must love Him. I must visit Him. I cannot leave Him alone. He loves me too much! » As for other mysteries, they are far-off history. They do not touch the heart as this does. We admire them greatly, but here, before the Blessed Sac- rament, we are forced to devote ourselves. We must remain with Our Lord, we must live in Him! The Eucharist is the most noble aspiration of our heart. Let us, then, love It with pas- sion! Some may say: « O that is all exag- geration! » I reply, Love is exaggeration! % LOVE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT. 235 To exaggerate is to go beyond bounds. Ah well, love must exaggerate! The love that Our Lord testifies for us by abiding with us destitute of honors and attend- ants, — is that not, also, exaggerated? He who desires to restrict himself to what he is absolutely bound, does not love. We love only when we feel the passion of love. You will love the Eucharist with passion when Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament will be your habitual thought, when your hap- piness will be to come to His feet, your con- stant desire to give Him pleasure. Come, let us enter into Our Lord! Let us love Him a little for Himself. Let us try to forget self, and give ourselves to this good Saviour! Let us sacrifice self a little. Look at these candles, that lamp, consuming them- selves without sparing anything, reserving any- thing. Why shall we not be for Our Lord a holo- caust of which nothing remains? No, we live no longer, but Jesus Eucharistic alone lives in us! He loves us so much! t ^ ^ ' 4 ^' ' 4 *' ' 4 *' §v THE EUCHARIST, OUR WAY. jEgo sum Z'ia, veritas, et I I am the way, the truth, and vita. I the life. (John xiv, i6.) Ur Lord uttered these words when He was among men, but they extend beyond the Sav- iour’s human life. They ap- ply forever, and He can repeat them with as much truth now in the Most Blessed Sacrament. There are some conventional routes in the way of the spiritual life that we may follow for a time and then abandon. Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is the only enduring way. He is the means. He is the model; for it would be of little use to us to Joiow* the way if He did not teach us by His example to follow it. We shall reach heaven only by our participation in the life of Our Lord. The germ of this life is THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 237 given to us in Baptism, and the Sacraments develop it; but, above all, it consists in the practise and imitation of the Saviour’s virtues. We must behold Our Saviour at work in order to imitate His virtues, to follow Him in all the circumstances of the sacrifices and labors that He demands of us. His virtues are His words reduced to action. His precepts in practice. To reach perfection, we must look at them in detail, for there is nothing perfect that is not particularized: Non est perfectum nisi particu- lar e. Wishing to lead us to His Father, and not being able to practise in heaven the human virtues, which all suggest the idea of combat and sacrifice, the Eternal Word be:ame Man. He took man’s tools, and He labored under his eyes. And as in heaven, to which He ascended glorious and triumphant. He can no longer practise our virtues of patience, poverty, and humility, He became a Sacrament in order to continue our model. These virtues are no longer free, no longer meritorious; they form His state, He is clothed with them. Formerly He practised them in action, now He has clothed His very state with them. When on earth. He was humble and humbled; today He reigns glorious, but under a condition, an ap- 238 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. pearance of humility in the Most Blessed Sacra- ment. He unites in Himself the state of the virtues in a manner inseparable. In contem- plating Him, we see His virtues, and we under- stand how we ought to produce their acts. Take away Its humiliation, and the sacramental state ceases to exist. Take away Its poverty, surround It by a magnificent cortege, and we would be annihilated before Its majesty; love would disappear, for love manifests itself only in descending to the object loved. Patience and forgiveness He still practises in a higher degree than on Calvary. There His executioners knew Him not; here they know Him, and yet insult Him. He prays for so many deicide cities from which He is proscribed. Without this cry for pardon, there would no longer be the Sacrament of Love, for justice would sur- round and protect His insulted throne. The act of virtue. He no longer practises, for He possesses its state. It is for us to produce the act, and thus complete the state. In that way. He makes with us but one moral person. We are His acting members. His body, of which He is the Head, the Heart, so that He may say: « I still live. » We complete Him, we perpetuate Him. THE EUCHARIST, OUR WAY. 239 There, then, in the Sacrament, Jesus gives us the model of all the virtues. Let us study some of them in detail. Nothing is so beauti- ful as the Eucharist! But pious souls only, they who communicate, who reflect, can comprehend It. Others un- derstand nothing. There are few who think of the virtues, the life, the state of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. They treat Him like a statue. They think He is there only to par- don us, to receive our petitions. That is false. Our Lord is living and acting. Let us look at Him. Let us study Him. Let us imitate Him. They who do not do so, are obliged to go back eighteen centuries, to read the Gospel, and to supplement it by so many familiar details. They are deprived of the sweetness of His actual and present word : « I am the way even now. I — 1 am the way 1 » Doubtless, truth never faileth, and the Gospel is an ever- living book. But what a labor always to look back! And after all our labor, to have only a representation. It is speculative, and does not sustain virtue as does the reality. Virtues are easily acquired and practised by means of the Eucharist. Let us remember that Our Lord is not in the Eucharist only as a dispens- 240 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. er of His graces; He is there also and above all, as our way and our model. Education is carried on in the presence of the child and the teacher, by a secret correspondence such as exists between the heart of the morher and that of the child. A stranger has no influence, but the mother’s voice vibrates in the heart of the child. We shall have in us the life of Our Lord if we live under His inspiration, if He rears us Himself. Another may point out to us the way of virtue, but to give us those vir- tues, to educate us in them — none but Our Lord can do that. Moses and Josue led the Chosen People, but they themselves were con- ducted by the pillar of fi'-e. In the same way, a spiritual director only repeats to us the words of Our Lord. He consults Him. He seeks Our Lord in us, that is, the grace and the particular attraction that He has imparted to our soul. In order to know us, he studies to know Our Lord in us, and he leads us accord- ing to our special grace which He develops and applies to our life under the conduct of the Sovereign Director of souls. He has only to repeat His orders to us. Ah well! Our Lord is in the Blessed Sacrament for all of us, and not alone for the directors of souls. We THE EUCHARIST, OUR WAY. 24 can all S3e Him there and consult Him there. Let us look at Him practising the virtues, and we shall know what we ought to do. If we read the Gospel, let us refer it to the Eu- charist, and from the Eucharist apply it to our- selves. We then have a much greater power. The Gospel enlightens, and in the Eucharist we really have under our eyes the continuation of what we have read in it. Our Lord, who is the Model, is also the light that shows us that Model and discovers to us its beauty. Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is His own light. His own knowledge, as the sun is its own proof of existence. It rises and makes itself known. This requires no reasoning. A child does not reason in order to recognize its par- ents. And so does Our Lord manifest Him- self by His Presence, His reality. But in the measure that we know His voice better, that our heart is more empty and more sympathetic, does Our Lord manifest Himself under a more luminous light and in a more intimate manner. They alone know this who love. He then gives to the soul a divine conviction which eclipses all light of natural reason. Look at Magdalen! A single word from Jesus, and she has recognized Him! Thus in the Blessed 242 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Sacrament, He says but one word, but how it resounds in our heart: « It is I! »... And we feel Him, we believe Him more firmly than if we saw Him with our bodily eyes. This Eucharistic manifestation ought to be the start- ing point of all the acts of our life. All virtues should take their rise in the Eucharist. Do we wish to practise humility? Let us look how Jesus practises it in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us turn away from this light, this know- ledge, and go to the Crib, if we wish, or to Calvary. We shall find that we can go thither easily, because it is according to the nature of our intelligence to proceed from the known to the unknown. In the Sacrament we have Our Lord’s humility under our eyes. It will be much easier for us after that to suppose what it was in His birth, or under any other circumstances. Let us do this in regard to all the virtues. We shall then understand the Gospel more clearly. Our Lord speaks by His state. Better than anyone else can He explain and make us understand His words and His mysteries. He gives us more unction to make us relish them at the same time that we comprehend them. We no longer look for the mine since we are in it, exploring it. It is only THE EUCHARIST, OUR WAY. 243 by the Eucharist that we feel the full force of these words of the Saviour: « Ego sum via — I am the way! » Let our spiritual study be, then, to contemplate the Eucharist, to seek in It the example of what we have to do in all 1 circumstances of the Christian life. It is in this method that consists, and by it is nourished, it we become Eucharistic in our own life. By it we are sanctified according to the grace of the Eucharist. ANNIHILATION, the GHARAGTKRISTIG of EUGHARISTIG HOLINESS. Exinanivit sejnetipsum. I He emptied Himself. I (Philip, ii, 7.) Jr Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament is our Model, since He teaches us the virtues that make saints. Let us to that end consider His state therein, for the form of His life will constitute the form of our virtues. In study- ing how He is in the Eucharist, we shall discover what He wills, for the exterior is an indication of the interior. By words and actions, we get a glimpse of the soul. When we regarded Our Lord poor and conversing with the poor, we knew that He had come to thp: divink eucharist. 245 save us through poverty. When He died for us, He showed us what we have to do to go to heaven. Now, the state of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, the characteristic that dom- inates' It, that makes an impression on us, is annihilation. This state ought, then, to make us comprehend His occupations, His virtues, which all share, each in its own way, this form, this seal of annihilation and humility. Study this annihilation, and you will know what you have to do to resemble your Model, and live in the grace of Eucharistic holiness. Re- call that it is the dominant characteristic of Jesus Eucharistic, and that, it must be yours, alsoi, if you wish to abide^in the grace of the Eucharist. I Lord in the Sacred Host assumes the state of the Sacred Species. He re- places their substance. He has subordinated His own state to the manner of being of the species, which becomes the form of His life, which makes the law of His duration. He is, as it were, their subject. He is submissive to them, He depends on them. True, they touch not upon His divine life, and when they 246 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. cease to exist, He suffers no detriment to His glorified Body, He simply withdraws. He is united to them, undergoing their laws ’of move- ment and humiliation. He is treated as they are. In seeing them, we see the state, the exterior manner of Our Lord’s existence. Now, the species are poor, so poor that they no longer possess their own attributes. Con- secration has destroyed the substance to which nature had attached them. They have no longer the natural properties of their existence, and they exist only by a miracle. And so, too, with Our Lord. He has nothing in the Blessed Sacrament. He brings nothing from heaven but Himself. He owns not a stone, not a church. H'e is as poor as are the Sacred Species, poorer, then, than at Bethlehem. There He possessed Himself; there He had a body that could move, that spoke, that could assimilate, could grow, and receive from His friends. But here in the Host, He has nothing. They make Him presents, but that does not change His personal state. Let the altar be of gold and resplendent with a thousand lights, Jesus is not less poor nor less obscure under the Sacred Species. He is civilly dead, pow- erless to receive anything. He is a dead CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 247 man! The honor of the religious who makes the vow of poverty is to resemble Him. Jesus is, as it were, imprisoned, bound in a winding- sheet, which forms His whole clothing, and which is always the same, a garment which is even not a substance nor a natural being, so frail tha^t, if the miracle ceased, it, too, would be instantly destroyed. Behold the great Poor Man! To make the vow of poverty, we need to see Him and consider Him! Study His poverty, which is that of the Host, and you will understand how far you ought to carry the spirit of detachment and poverty. Still more, the species are very humble. They are always white, but white is not a color, and the prolonged sight of it is tiresome. And so, Our Lord has no visible beauty in the Sacrament, no human beauty — He who was so beautiful in life, « the most beautiful among the children of men. » The cloud that envelops Him allows nothing to be perceived. The lowest of men is yet more exalted than Our Lord, for he is still some one. Our Lord has willed to assume the law of the species, and to be only some thing. The species are immovable and inanimate. Jesus, the Word, the Life of the world, the The Divine Ei;cha,rist. 17 248 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. supreme Mover of all beings, the Life of all lives, is condemned to remain motionless and inactive. He is imprisoned. He is there re- duced to such a point that, however small may be the Host, He is still in It whole and entire. He has in Himself life and movement, but He makes no use of them, because He has subject- ed Himself to the condition of the inanimate species. Men may insult and spurn Him, but He will not defend Himself. If He could suffer. He would endure more in the Host than He did during His life. But we know what the Prophet says in His person : « I am a worm of the earth, and no man. » The worm is the lowest in the animal creation, just one step above the vegetable kingdom. The worm is destitute of covering, while other living things, even the caterpillar, have a fur, or some kind of ves- ture. He was like to a worm of the earth on the Cross when they exposed Him naked to the insults of the executioners; but that was but for a very short time. In the Sacrament, He does not become a worm of the earth, but He is exposed to being associated with worms. How many Sacred Hosts are spoiled by acci- dent or want of care! They decay, they rot, CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 249 worms are generated in them, and they force Our Lord to withdraw, for He remains under the species only as long as they are sound. Worms then take His place. When the Host is in process of decomposition, half destroyed, Jesus Christ takes refuge in the remaining sound part. The Host is now disputed be- tween Jesus Christ and the worms of decompo- sition! He has assumed all the miseries of the Sacred Species as to its manner of external being: « Futredini dixi^ Pater meus est ; ma- ter mea et soror mea, vermihus — I have said to rottenness : Thou art my father ; to worms, my mother and my sister. » Lastly, the species have no will. Men take them up and carry them wherever they wish. No m^atter whoi it is that commands Him, Jesus never resists, never says no. He allows Him- self to be taken into the hands of a miscreant. That is one of the conditions of the state that He has chosen. He never defends Himself. Society avenges aggression by the punishment of the aggressor, but Our Lord permits every- thing... Why?... Up to what point?... He was annihilated on Calvary with regard to the happiness and glory of His Divinity, and also in respect to the rest of mankind. 250 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Yes, without doubt; but it is here in the Host that the real annihilation comes in. The very lowest degree of creation is to possess no sub- stance at all, to be but an accident, a quality; now, Jesus Christ, who cannot lose His own substance, assumes the external state, the con- dition of simple, natural accidents. All this He does in order to say to us : « See, and do as I do. » Oh, never can it happen in our imi- tation of Him, to descend as low as He! Our eternal regret will be to have thought so little on the abasement of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. II kg^HE annihilation of Jesus eclipses all that is glorious in Him. If He should per- mit His glory to appear. He would no longer be our Model of annihilation, and we might, also, have to seek for the glory and the majesty of the virtues. But have you seen Jesus’ glory in the Blessed Sacrament? No, for It is truly a veiled Sun. He has sometimes performed miracles in It; but they are rare, and they recall and lead to a better understanding of His Eucharistic annihilation. Jesus wills to CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 25 I be entirely hidden. He is greater in working no miracles than in performing them. It is His love, then, that binds His hands, for if we beheld His glory, He could no longer say to us : « Discite a me — Look upon Me ! See how meek and humble of Heart I am! » No, He would frighten us. In the Blessed Sacrament, He eclipses His Divinity much more than during His mortal life, for then there was always seen something divine in His countenance, in His bearing. And so, before mocking Him, the pr^torians blindfolded His eyes, those eyes so beautiful! But here in the Host, we see nothing, nothing! Sometimes our imagination tries to paint His features as they are in the Host, but it cannot produce the reality. If we only could see Him some one day in the year, or once in our life! No, He has hidden His glory behind an impen- etrable cloud. This annihilation Jesus Christ practises in His glorified state, in a positive, and not mere- ly a negative, manner. He humbles himself negatively who, being a sinner, unworthy of God’s favors, recognizes his misery and noth- ingness. It is easy for him to acknowledge that he has nothing good, since he produces 252 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. only fruits of evil. But positive humility is practised in good, in the face of merited praise, in the glory that it offers to God, a glory of which it voluntarily deprives itself as a homage to Him. This is the lesson that Jesus teaches us by His Eucharistic annihila- tion. Humble yourself in your virtues. Certainly, the Christian is great I He is the friend, the heir of Jesus Christ. He participates in His divine nature. His grace makes of him the tem.ple and the instrument of the Holy Spirit. And the priest, the minister of the most sublime mysteries, who commands even God Himself, who sanctifies and saves souls, who directs them to God, how great he is ! Both Christian and priest, in considering their sublime dignity, might have good reason to exalt themselves as did the angels in heaven, as did Lucifer in glory ! If Our Lord were satisfied with magnifying us as He has done, we might run great risk of being lost through pride. But Jesus Christ annihilates His own glory. His own greatness, and cries to us: « Behold how I humble Myself! Truly, I am greater than thou, yet see what account I make of My greatness, and CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 253 what I have become! » If Our Lord were not there abasing His glory, we could not say to you: Be humble! for you could respond: x< We are princes of grace! » That is true, but look at your King! It is this thought that brings to their knees before Our Lord the Bishops and the Pope himself ! On seeing them annihilated in His Presence, we confess that God alone is truly great. But what would happen if there were no Eucharist? Behold it in other religions. In them what has become of humility? The Prot- estant, aiming and laboring at elevating him- self, knows nothing higher than to despise the great. No one is so proud and haughty as the respectable Protestant. The Eucharist is not in his life, consequently, humility, also, is ab- sent from it. And Catholics who live not of the Eucharist — do we not see them crowning themselves with their good works? Nothing is so excellent as Christian eulogiums well merit- ed, but one may easily pass for a saint by multiplying good works. Whence comes our pride, that spiritual pride, which rests on graces and gifts received from God, on a circle of holy and virtuous friends, on the influence one may have over souls, ex- 254 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. cepting from forgetfulness of the Eucharist? Does this pride attack you when you commun- icate? Listen to Jesus present in you and saying: « What! you exalt yourself on ac- count of the dignities and graces that I have bestowed on you, the love of preference that I have borne you I But 1 — I annihilate My- self! Do, then, at least as I do! » To meditate on Our Lord annihilated in the Sacrament, is the true road to humility. We understand that His annihilation is the greatest proof of His love, and that it ought to show forth ours, also. We then see that we ought to descend to Our Lord, who has taken rank among the lowest created beings. Behold true humility, which renounces every- thing belonging to it, which refers to God all the honor and dignity that it receives! Many are of the opinion that they can humble them- selves only for their sins and miseries, and not for the good, the supernatural greatness that may be theirs. Certainly, to refer to God all good is the humility of homage, the most per- fect humility. Our Lord teaches us this, and the nearer we approach Him, the more we humble ourselves as He does. Look at the Blessed Virgin, stainless, without defect or CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 255 imperfection, but all beautiful, all perfect, all brilliant by her immaculate grace and constant co-operation. She humbles herself more than any other creature. Humility consists in rec- ognizing that we are nothing without God, and in referring to Him all that we are. The more perfect the soul, the greater the humility, because it has more to give to God. In the same proportion that graces elevate, should we descend. Our graces are the degrees of our humility. The Eucharist teaches us to refer to God all glory and greatness, and not merely to humble ourselves in view of our miseries. And what a lasting lesson ! Every Eucharistic soul ought to become humble. The vicinity, the associating with Jesus ought to render us such that we would think and act only under the impulse of His annihilated Divinity. He who would wish to feed his pride in the pres- ence of the Eucharist would be a demon I it is sufficient tO' look upon the Blessed Sacra- ment to feel the need of annihilating self. The Church places us on our knees in the posture of humility and annihilation before the Most Blessed Sacrament. Such is the humility of Jesus’ state. Let us now look at the humility of His action. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 256 III Lord works in the Most Blessed Sac- rament. He labors, He is the Media- tor, He saves souls. He applies His redemp- tion to us and sanctifies us. His action is extended over all His creatures. He is the Word by whose single word all things were created, and by which all are conserved. He continues to pronounce the fiat which conserves life in all creation. Not only is He the Crea- tor, but He is the Reformer, the Restorer, and the King of all the earth. He has received all nations under His empire, and the Father acts upon the world only through Him. He rules the world. The word of command by which He governs, comes forth from the Most Blessed Sacrament. He holds in His hand the life of all beings. He is the Judge of the living and the dead. Sovereigns, in saying or doing anything of importance, assume royal pomp. That is nec- essary, for man is governed by love or fear. But Our Lord! — Where is the royal state of this King to whom belongs all power in heaven and on earth? Where is His glory? Where the majesty of His words and actions? At CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 257 every instant, millions of angels go forth and return to the tabernacle after having accom- plished His orders. The tabernacle is their centre, their headquarters, for there they find the Commander-in-chief of the celestial army. Do you see? Do you understand? All crea- tures obey Him, and we know nothing of it. See how He knows to conceal His action! See how He knows to command in annihila- tion! And men who command their fellow- men, think themselves something! They give their orders in a high and domineering tone, thinking by that to command more effectually! Ah, what a lesson for superiors, the heads of the house ! All in command ought to be humble in imitation of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Let us again remark the humility of Our Lord. He does not command men in His visible form, because if He did, they would no longer obey anyone but Him; so He hides Himself that we may obey men like ourselves, who are clothed with a reflection of His authority and humility! Again, Our Lord hides the holiness of His works. Sanctity possesses two properties : one, the interior life of the soul with God, and that 258 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. is the principal one, in which consist perfection and life. Generally that is sufficient, is every- thing. It consists in the interior contemplation and immolation of the soul. The other is the exterior life. Contemplation consists in the soul’s rela- tions with God, the angels, and the spiritual world. It is the life of prayer, which gives sanctity its value, and which is the root of char- ity and love. Now this life must be hidden. God alone should have the secret of it! Man only insinuates pride into it. God reserves it for Himself, and He desires to retain the di- rection of it. A saint even cannot direct it. ft is the nuptial relation of the soul with God, and it is formed in the secret of the oratory with closed doors: « Intra in cuhiculum ety clauso ostiOy ora Fatrem in abscondito — Enter into thy chamber and, having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret. » God listens to Him that makes his prayer in secret. Men wish always to be acting, or thinking on what they shall do, on what they shall say in such or such circumstances. They do not possess the key to prayer, they do not know how to be silent! Behold Our Lord! He prays, He is grand Suppliant of the Church! He ob- CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 259 tains more by His prayer than all creatures put together, but He prays in His annihilation. Who see, who hear His supplications? The Apostles saw Him praying when on earth, and they could hear His groanings in the Garden of Olives. But here in the tabernacle — no sound! His prayer is here deeply annihilated, but it is so much the more powerful as it is immolated. Squeeze a sponge, and it gives out the fluid that it holds. Compression is necessary for great force of expansion. Ah, well! Our Lord annihilates Himself, reduces Himself to nothing, compresses Himself that His love may rise to His Father with infinite force. The contemplative soul finds its Model in the tabernacle. It wishes to be alone and unknown. It shrinks, concentres itself. How many souls, despised by the world, are all- powerful with God, because their prayer par- takes of the quality of the humble and annihil ated prayer of Jesus Eucharistic! To nourish and sustain this hidden and concentrated prayer, they have need of the Eucharist. Should they shut themselves up in self, they would lose their mind. Jesus alone by His sweetness can temper the force of such prayer. 26 o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. The interior life consists, besides, in immola- tion. The soul in prayer must be free and tranquil; the senses, the body, the faculties, must maintain silence. Thus, every soul that desires to labor interiorly, has to sustain in itself a combat to which none other can be compared. Our Lord’s annihilated life is again our model. Who immolates self more than He? We say He no longer suffers. It is not neces- sary to suffer actually. To immolate one’s self it suffices to enter into the state and the will of sacrifice. It is a mistake to think that pain felt externally and actually makes all the merit of sacrifice. Many persons say : « I have no merit, because nothing costs me any- thing. All comes easy to me, therefore I am doing nothing for God. » Such thoughts lead one to abandon the way of sanctity. They spring from the fact, that piety loves so much to see whajt it is doing, to feel that it is acting and offering! But, tell me, the first sacrifice that you had to make for the practice of such or such a virtue, did that cost you nothing? Did the repetition of the act cost nothing? Does not that prove the perseverance of your will ? CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 261 Know that sacrifice consists in the will. Now, although by habit the pain of sacrifice becomes less lively, the will remains constant, and is even strengthened by habit. The agony, the death to self, belongs to the beginning, the first offering. After that, peace returns; but the merit lasts and is increased by the repeti- tion and continuance of the sacrifice. Filial love sustains heroic sacrifices with simplicity and without their costing anything. The love of God makes saints rejoice in the midst of sufferings. Are these sacrifices, these suffer- ings of less value, because accompanied by happiness which makes them light? True, Our Lord does not suffer in the Sacra- ment, but He has voluntarily embraced this state of immolation. The merit was acquired at that first hour when Jesus, knowing the con- tempt, the outrages that He should have to endure from men, accepted all, instituted the Sacrament, and clothed Himself with the state of victim. Certainly, this merit lasts, it is never exhausted. The will of Our Lord em- braces all times and places, and He freely accepts everything. To prove His ever actual will to immolate Himself, He has ordered His Church to represent His immolation at the 262 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Holy Mass by the separation of the species of the wine from that of the bread, and by the division of the Host into three parts. At Com- munion, He loses in the person of the commun- icant His sacramental Being. Do you not see this constant immolation? We know no word for the mystery which unites in the Eucharist life and immolation, glory and humiliation. It is a mystery of which God alone possesses the key. In It, once more. He teaches the interior soul to make known its inmost sufferings to God alone. Oh ! that men knew not our sufferings 1 They pity us, they praise us, and that destroys us I Behold your Model in the Blessed Sac- rament ! Oh 1 how few of those that pray and communicate recognize the annihilated action of Our Lord I They do not even sus- pect it. As to the exterior acts of the Christian life. Our Lord teaches us to hide them, also, and not to receive even well-merited praise. To imitate Him, we ought to allow only the inferior side of our good works to be seen, for then the side toward heaven will be all the more bril- liant. We ought to act thus respecting the ex- terior form of our acts whenever we are free CHARACTERISTIC OF HOLINESS. 263 to do so; but when there is question of works that we must perform in public, let us do them well for the sake of edification. It is the pri- vate good works that we should hide. We shall then be in Eucharistic grace. Who ever sees the virtues of Our Lord ? To conclude, let us recall the annihilations of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us abase and lose ourselves as He abased Him- self. He must increase, and we must decrease. May annihilation become, as it were, the char- acter of your virtue and your life! Become like the species, which no longer have any- thing of their own, and which exist only by a miracle. Be no longer anything for self, do nothing for self, annihilate selfl 18 The Divine Eucharist. Disciie a Me quia mitis sum et humilis Corde. Learn of Me that I am meek and humble of Heart. (Matt, xi, 29.) Esus teaches us by His Euchar- istic form to annihilate our- selves in order to resemble Him. Friendship seeks for equality of life and condition. To live of the Eucharist, we must annihilate ourselves with Jesus therein annihilated. Let us enter into the Soul, into the Heart of Jesus. Let us see what sentiments have animated and still animate Him in the Sacrament. We belong to Jesus Eucharistic. Does He not give Himself to us in order to change us into Himself? We must live of His spirit, listen to His lessons, for Jesus is our Master in the Eucharist. He Himself wishes to instruct us how to serve Him according to THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 265 His tastes and His will. That is but right, since He is our Lord and we are His servants. Now, His Spirit Jesus reveals to us in these words : « Learn of Me that 1 am meek and humble of Heart. » When the sons of Zebedee wanted to consume the city rebelling against their Master, Jesus said to them: « Nescitis cujus spiritus estis — Ye know not of what spirit ye are! » The spirit of Jesus is, then, humility and meekness, humility and meekness of heart, that is, loving, pleasing through love, and in order to resemble Jesus Christ. Our Lord wants to form us to his ; therefore He is in the Sacrament, and therefore does He come to us. He wants to be our Master in these virtues. He alone can teach us and give us the grace to learn. I Umility of heart — behold the tree which produces the flower and the fruit of meekness! « Learn of Me that I am hum- ble of heart! » Jesus speaks of humility of heart — has He not humility of spirit? No, humility of spirit is negative, founded on the sin and nothingness of our corrupt nature to which Jesus was not subjected, although He 266 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. performed acts of it for our example. He humbled Himself, for instance, as a sinner, although He was without sin. He never had anything for which to blush, as said the Good Thief: « Hie nil mali gessit — This Man hath done no evil! » But we, we have every- thing for which to blush. We have done much evil, and we do not even know all the evil of which we are guilty. The ignorance consequent on fallen nature, belongs not to Jesus; but we, we know noth- ing, or we know but evil, we vitiate the no- tion of justice and goodness. Jesus knows all things, and He is as humble as if He knew nothing. He spent thirty years learning in silence ! Jesus possesses all natural gifts; He knows and He can perform everything in the most perfect manner, although He never showed it exteriorly. He engages in rough labor, and in the manner of an apprentice': « Nonne fabri filius? » People asked: « Is not this the son of the carpenter? Is He not, like His father, a carpenter? » Jesus never exhibited His knowledge. Even in His teaching. He declared openly that He only repeated the word of His Father. He JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 267 confined Himself to His mission, and fulfilled it in the simplest and most ordinary way. He conducted Himself like a man truly humble of spirit. He never in any thing glorified Him- self, never sought to shine, to play the wit, to appear better instructed than others. Even in the Temple, in the midst of the Doctors, He listened and asked questions, as if desirous of instruction : « Audientem et interrogantem eos. » Jesus possessed positive humility of spirit, which consists not in humbling one’s self on account of one’s misery, but in referring all good to God, and humbling one’s self for that very good. In all things He depended on His Father, consulting Him, and obeying those that held His place on earth. The glory of every good thing. He gave to His Father. His humility of spirit is magnificent, admirable, divine: « Gloriam meant non quaero, sed ejus qui misit me — I seek not My own glory, but His who sent Me. » His humility is all glo- rious, a humility spontaneous and full of love. We ought to have humility of spirit, because we are ignorant sinners; for us it is a duty of justice. Our quality of disciples and ser- vants of Jesus imposes another obligation to possess it. And yet Jesus mentions in His com- 268 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. mandment only humility of heart, as if it seem- ed to His love that it would humble us too deeply to speak of this humility of spirit, for it would recall in too lively a manner our miseries and sins, our titles to contempt. The love of Jesus throws a veil over this painful side, and He tells us to be like Him, humble of heart: « Humiles corde. » What is it to be humble of heart? It is to receive from God with submission of heart and as a favor, as an act very glorious to Him, all exercises of humility. It is to accept one’s state and duties, whatever they may be, and not to blush at one’s condition. It is to be simple and natural if receiving extraordinary favors from God. If I love Jesus, I ought to resem- ble Him. If I love Jesus, I ought to love what He practises, what He prefers to everything else, namely, humility. Humility of heart is easier than humility of spirit, since there is in the former question of only a very honorable and elevated sentiment, that of resembling Jesus Christ, of loving and glorifying Him in these sublime circumstances of humility. Have we this humility of heart, or rather this love of Jesus humbled ? Perhaps, we have that JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 269 which accompanies devotedness, glory, success; that which gives itself, devotes itself purely and without thought of human glory; but not that which abases itself with John the Baptist, which lowers itself, hides itself, and is happy only when abandoned by all for the sake of Our Lord; not that of Jesus in the Blessed Sacra- ment, hidden and annihilated for the glory of His Father. Here is the true combat which ought to triumph over nature; to love the humility of Jesus is His glory and His victory in us. There is a certain humility in the midst of prosperity, abundance, success, honors, author- ity. That humility is very easy to practise. There is even a certain satisfaction in hum- bling one’s self under such circumstances, that is, in referring the glory to God. But there is a positive humility of heart, which exists in exterior and interior humiliations, when they attack the mind, the heart, the body, the actions. It is a real tempest which submerges one. This was the humility of Our Lord and all the saints. To love God at such a time, to thank Him for such a state — that is true humility of heart. How can this humility be acquired? Not 270 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. by reasoning nor reflecting. We imagine we possess it, because we have some beautiful thoughts about it, or because we take some heroic resolutions, and we go no farther. How shall we acquire this humility of spirit? Simply by acting in the spirit of Our Lord, looking at Him, consulting Him, doing all things under His divine influence, in His companionship, in His love; by recollecting ourselves in His divine humility of heart, offer- ing our actions to Him, humbled through love in the Blessed Sacrament, and preferring His state of obscurity to every glory ; and by exam- ining at the end of our actions whether or not we have sought self in them. Let us con- stantly repeat : Jesus, so humble of heart, render our heart like unto Thine! II B Umility of heart gives rise to meekness. Jesus is meek. This virtue forms, as it were, the true characteristic of His life. It is His spirit. Learn of Me that 1 am meek! He does not say: Learn of Me that I am penitent, poor, silent, no, but meeky because fallen man is nat- JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 27 1 urally and thoroughly coleric, jealous, suscep- tible, vindictive, full of hatred, murder in his heart, fury in his eyes, venom on his tongue, violence in his members. Anger is his nature, because he is proud, ambitious, and sensual, because he is unhappy and humiliated in his fallen state. He is embittered, as is said of a man that has suffered unjustly. Interior Meekness. — Our Lord is meek of Heart. He loves His neighbor. He wishes him well. He thinks only of the good that He can do him. He judges the neighbor in His mercy and not in His justice, for it is not yet the hour for the latter. Jesus is a tender mother, a good Samaritan! The feeble child, the sinner, the just, all have a share in the tenderness of His Heart. There is no indignation in His Heart against those that despise Him, injure Him, wish evil to Him and are disposed to offer it to Him. He knows them all, and feels for them only compassion. Their unhappy state gives Him pain: Et videns civitatem, flevit super earn. Jesus was meek by nature: He is the Lamb of God. He was meek by virtue, to glorify His Father by it. He was meek through the mis- sion of His Father, for meekness ought to 272 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. be the characteristic of the Saviour, that He might be able to attract sinners, to encourage them to come to Him, attach them to Him, and establish them in the divine Law. We have great need of this meekness of heart, but do we possess it? Very often, on the contrary, we are filled with irritation in our thoughts and judgments. We are too apt to judge things and persons from our own standpoint, or from that of success, and we crush those that oppose us. Were we to form our judgments as Our Lord does, or according to His mercy and holiness, we should always be charitable, and our heart would be at peace : Jugis pax in corde humili. Should we foresee that we are going to be contradicted, what arguments, what vindication, what energetic replies bubble up in our imagi- nation 1 How far is all this from the meekness of the Lamb ! It is self-love looking out for self and its own interests. Should we possess some authority, we see but ourselves, but the duty of our inferiors, the virtues they should have, the heroism of obedience, the power of the command, the necessity of humbling and breaking the will, of making an example. All this is not equal in value to one act of JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 273 meekness. Let him that commands, says the Saviour, be the most humble. We are and we ought to be the disciples of the Master, meek and humble of heart: Servus servorum Dei, the servants of the servants of God, and not the generals of an army! Why do we so often put forth so much energy against opposition? Why this anger, which certainly is not holy, against what is bad, against unbelievers and the impious? Ailias 1 it is in reality our own vanity that urges us on. We think to show energy, whereas we display only impatience and cowardice. Our Lord would compassionate these poor people, would pray for them, and endeavor in His relations with them to honor His Father by meekness and humility. Besides, those ener- getic, stinging people give bad example. O my God, make my heart meek like Thine! Meehness of Spirit. — Jesus is meek of spirit. He sees in everything only God, His Father, and in men the creatures of God. He is the Father weeping over His wandering children, seeking to lead them back, binding up their wounds from whatsoever cause they may proceed, and longing to restore to them the divine life. His mind is entirely taken up 274 the divine EUCHARIST. with fatherly thoughts for His children and with anxiety about their unfortunate state. It is their good that occupies Him, for their good that He labors. He does it in peace, and not in anger, indignation, and vengeance. Thus did David mourn over guilty Absalom, and beg that his life should be saved; thus did Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, weep over the executioners of her Son, and obtain pardon for them. True charity is nourished in the mind, as well as in the heart, by reclaiming to good, and not by dwelling on the evil and the means of avenging it. It never separates man from his present or future supernatural state. It never takes him away from God, never makes him see in Him an enemy. Charity is meek and pa- tient. What we discover in our heart, is found in our mind and imagination, also, — those two faculties that rouse so many tempests in us, that place the sword in our hand to slay all whom we meet. Such attacks must be quickly cut short; one glance toward Jesus, and calm is restored. JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 275 III ■ Eek in heart and in spirit, Jesus is also perfectly natural in His exterior. His meekness is like the sweet perfume of His charity and holiness. It reigns over all His actions. There is nothing violent in His ges- tures, which are as gentle as the expression of His most sweet thoughts and sentiments. His step is measured, not precipitate, because His whole demeanor is regulated by wisdom. His person. His bearing. His garments — all pro- claim the well-ordered, calm, and peaceful in- terior. It is the reign of His sweet modesty, for modesty is exterior meekness and happi- ness. The Saviour holds His head neither proudly, nor arrogantly, nor domineeringly. Neither too abject, nor too timid, He bears Himself with simple and humble modesty. His eyes express no feeling of wrath nor indignation. They are respectful toward superiors, full of love for His Mother and Saint Joseph at Naz- areth, of kindness toward His disciples, of tender compassion for sinners, and of merci- ful pardon for His enemies. His august lips are the throne of His sweetness. He opens 276 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. them with modesty and sweet gravity. The Saviour speaks little. Never does a jest, a word of raillery or curiosity escape His mouth. His words, like His thoughts, are the fruit of His wisdom. The terms that He uses are simple, suitable, and within the mental reach of His hearers, who are most frequently the poor, the common people. He shuns anything like personality in His discourses, attacking the vices of only sects or classes, bad examples and scandals. He never reveals hidden crimes nor secret defects. He never flees from him who hates Him. He never leaves a duty un- fulfilled, a truth unsaid, through fear or to shun a contradiction or to please any one soever. He makes no premature reproaches, no personal prophecies before the time marked by His Father. He lives with those whom He knows are going to desert Him, in the same simplicity, the same sweetness. The moment for Him to speak having not yet come, the future is for Him as if He knew it not. Our Lord showed admirable patience toward the crowds that pressed upon Him, charming gentleness in the midst of all the commotion, the demands, the unreasonable wishes of a rude and earthly-minded people. What is still more JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 277 admirable is the calm, sweet, gentle life He led in the midst of His rude, dull, susceptible, interested disciples, vain-glorious of their Mas- ter. Our Lord ever testified to them the same love, showing neither preference nor familiarity. Jesus is all honey, all sweetness, all love. If we compare our life with that of Jesus Christ, what a condemnation! Our self-love is the trenchant sword that separates us from certain persons whose life and character are wounding to our pride ; for our impatience, our reproaches, our cutting manner, all spring from a fund of slothfulness, which leads us to free ourselves or to be delivered from what is disagreeable, from a sacrifice, a duty. We at once find means to disembarrass ourselves. Alas! such a demeanor, such airs and words are, to say the truth, ridiculous. I hope the good God will forgive them, for they spring from childishness or stupidity. Let us remark that meekness toward the great or toward those that can serve our vanity, is weakness, adulation, meanness, and that energy exercised toward the feeble is cruelty. Their humiliation is often only the satisfaction of secret vengeance. O my God! 278 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. IV HE greatest triumph of Jesus’ meekness lay in His silence. Jesus, who came to regenerate the world, began by keeping silence in public for thirty years; and yet, how many vices were in the world to be corrected, how many souls were wandering, how many abuses in the divine worship and among the rulers of the nation! Our Lords reprehends no one. He is satisfied with praying, with doing penance, with not encouraging evil, and with asking pardon of God. How many beautiful things Our Lord might have said during these thirty years to teach and to console! He did not say them. He listened to the ancients, assisted in the syna- gogue at the instructions of the Scribes and the Doctors of the Law, as if He were a simple Israelite of the lowest class. He might have reprehended, He might have reformed, but He did not. His hour had not yet come! The Increated Wisdom, the Word of God, He who created speech, who inspires truth, is silent. He honors His Father by His sweet and humble silence. It is this silence of Jesus JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 279 that SO eloquently teaches us: « Learn that I am meek and humble of heart! » Oh, what a condemnation of our life! We speak like insensates, often talking of what we do not know, touching upon doubtful questions and declaring them certain, affirming and im- posing our own opinions. How often we say what we ought not to say, revealing what the most elementary form of humility ought to make us conceal! Our Lord treats us on such occasions as we treat prattlers or the insolent. He allows us to speak alone to our own con- fusion; His thought is not with us, and His grace does not fertilize our words. The silence of Jesus’ meekness is patient. He listens to those that speak to Him, hears them to the end without ever interrupting them, although He well knows all that they are going to say to Him. Then He responds at once. He reprehends and corrects kindly without humbling or wounding anyone, as the best of masters would do to a young pupil. He listens to things disagreeable to hear and foreign to the subject, always finding some occasion to instruct and do good. As for us, it is very different. We are im- patient to reply to what we quickly compre- The Divine Eucharist. 28 o THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. hend, we tire of listening to what takes up our time or contradicts us, and we show it in our countenance and manner. This is not the spirit of Our Lord, no, not even the spirit of a well-bred man, of an intelligent and respect- able pagan. There is in life a multitude of circumstances in which silent patience, sweet- ness, and humility become the virtue of the moment, and must be before God the only fruit of time that we think lost. His grace will ad- vertise of such moments. Let us hearken to His voice, and obey it simply and faithfully. What shall we say of the meekness of Jesus’ silence under suffering ? He was habitually silent before the incredulous spirit of many of His disciples, before the wicked and ungrateful heart of Judas, all of whose perfidious thoughts and infamous machinations were known to Him. He was self-possessed, calm, and affec- tionate with everyone, as if He knew nothing. He carried on ordinary relations with them; He respected the secrecy which His Father kept in their regard. Oh! what a lesson against rash judgments, suspicions, secret antipathies! Jesus prefers the law of charity, of common duty, to the knowledge He has of the secrets JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 281 of hearts, because such is the order of Provi- dence. Jesus confesses simply before His judges the truth of His mission and His Divinity. He acknowledges before the High-Priests that He is the Son of God, and before the Roman Gov- ernor that He is a king. He is silent in presence of the inquisitive and sensual Herod. He keeps the silence of one condemned during the jesting mockery and sacrileges of the prae- torian cohort. He receives without a word of complaint the blows of the flagellation and the insults of the Ecce Homo. He does not appeal from His unjust condemnation. He lovingly embraces His Cross and mounts to Calvary in the midst of the maledictions, maltreatment, and insults of the populace. When the malice of men is exhausted, when the executioners have finished their work, He opens His mouth to say: « Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do ! » Ah 1 at this sight why is not our heart broken with repentance and melted with love ? ' What shall we say of the Eucharistic sweet- ness of Jesus? How paint His kind reception of every one that comes to Him? His affability in placing Himself at the service of all, the 282 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. lowly and the ignorant ? His patience in listen- ing to everyone, attending to all that they say, hearing the recital of their miseries ? How speak of the kindness of Communion in which Jesus gives Himself to all according to their state, coming to all with joy, provided He finds in them the life of grace and a little sentiment of devotion, some good desires, or at least a little respect ? He gives to each the grace that he can receive, and leaves to him peace and love as the fare for His passage. And toward them that forget Him, what patient and merci- ful sweetness! He awaits them. For those that despise and offend Him, He prays, but without opposing or threatening them. He does not immediately punish them that outrage Him by sacrilege, but He tries to lead them back to repentance by His sweetness and kindness. The Eucharist is the triumph of the meekness of Jesus Christ. V Y what means may we arrive at the meek- ness of Jesus ? It is easy to see the beauty, the blessing, even the necessity of a virtue and, above all, of meekness; but to stop JESUS MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 283 thjer'e is to do as the sick man who knows his remedy, has it under his hand, but does not take it; or as the traveller who, seated comfor- tably, is satisfied with merely glancing at the route over which he has passed. Now, the sovereign means to reach the meek- ness of the Heart of Jesus is the love of Our Lord. Love always tends to produce identity of life between those that love. Love operates by three means: The first consists in destroying the incan- descent furnace of impatience, wrath, and vio- lence, by the war against self-love which mani- fests itself by the three kinds of concupiscence that dispute possession of our heart. It is because our sensuality, our pride, or our desire to appear and to be honored are met by some obstacle, that we are irritated. To combat these three dominant passions is, then, to attack the enemy of meekness. Again, we must aim at loving more what may present itself to be accomplished in the order of Divine Providence than actually pre- scribed duty ; for if we are irritable, it is because we are interrupted in some occupation that we love more than that which God presents us at the moment. If we reach this point, we shall 284 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. instantly quit everything to obey the will of God, since all that He sends us is the best and the most agreeable in our eyes. Such a change can be brought about only by a love for the holy will of God at the passing moment, for He varies our graces and our duties for His own glory and our good. We then resem- ble the servant that leaves an ordinary master for the personal service of the Sovereign. How encouraging is this thought, and how capable of preserving us in meekness and peace in the midst of the vicissitudes of life! But among all the means to acquire meek- ness, the very best is to have under our eyes the example of Jesus, Our Lord, His desire. His pleasure. This means is full of beauty, light, and heart. To be meek, let us only raise our eyes to the Eucharist, let us eat the Divine Manna which has in It every savor, and we shall ever possess an abundance of meekness and sweetness. In Holy Communion, let us lay up a provision of meekness for the day, for we shall always have much need of it. To be meek like unto Our Lord, to be sweet for the love of our good Saviour — this should be the aim of the soul that wishes to live of the spirit of Jesus. JESUS MKhK AND HUMBLE OF HEART. 2S5 O my soul, be thou meek toward the neigh- bor that exercises thee, as God, as Our Lord, as the Blessed Virgin are meek toward thee! Be patient with him that thy Judge may be patient toward thee, for it will be measured to thee as thou hast measured to others. If thou thinkest on thy sins, on what thou hast and what thou still dost deserve, beholding with what sweetness and patience and honor Our Lord treats thee, O poor soul, thou shouldst be confounded before thy neighbor in all sweetness and humility of heart. Beati pnuperes spiriiii. I Blessed are the poor in I spirit. Matt. , ^.) I He spirit, the virtue, the life of Jesus are a spirit, a virtue, a life of poverty, of absolute and constant poverty. The Eternal Word espoused it at Bethlehem. On becoming Man, He began with what poverty has the most humiliating, namely, the habitation of animals — • and the rudest, a stable, a manger, the straw, the cold, the night. He was born far from every succor, .from every human habita- tion. To be poorer still, the Word made Flesh was born during a journey, and was refused shelter on account of the poverty of His parents. Later on, He goes to pass a part of His childhood in Egypt, in a strange country, hostile to the Jews, in order that His parents might be still poorer and more abandoned, if THE DIVINE EUCHAKIST. 287 that were possible. At Nazareth, He passed thirty years in the practice of poverty. He was poor in His dwelling, — - it suffices to be- hold the little house of Loretto to be convinced of that; poor in His surroundings, which con- sisted of what is strictly necessary, of the simple furniture customary among the poor. We have another proof of His poverty in the wooden plate of the Most Holy Virgin, which may be seen at Loretto. His raiment was poor. His tunic, as we may see, was of coarse worsted stuff; the swathing-bands of His infancy were coarse linen, and His nourishment was poor. It was the fruit of a poor carpenter’s labor, able to cover only the bare necessities of life. In His conduct. Jesus wished to appear poor, tie regarded Himself as the last of all, and ever took for Himself the last place. Like the poor, He respected and honored everyone. He listened humbly in silence to the instruc- tions given in the synagogue. He never made a parade of His wisdom nor of His extraor- dinary knowledge, but lived the life common to people of His condition. He had the ap- pearance of a poor man, and He passed along forgotten and ignored as any other of His station. 288 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. In all that He did, in all that He procured for Himself, He sought only what was the most despicable. Behold Him in His angelic life: He made use of the clothing of a work- man, His habits were those of a poor man. He prayed kneeling on the naked earth; He ate the barley-bread of the poor; He lived on alms. He journeyed as a poor man, experienc- ing all the inconveniences of the indigent, not having the means to satisfy at will His hunger and thirst. His poverty rendered Him con- temptible in the eyes of the great and the rich. But, in spite of that. He never hesitated to cry, Yae vohis, divitibus ! Woe to ye, rich ! He chose disciples poor as Himself, directing them not to own two tunics, nor provisions for the morrow, nor silver, nor a staff for defence. He died forsaken and despoiled of even His poor garments. They buried Him in a bor- rowed winding-sheet, and they laid him in a tomb placed at His service by charity. Even after His Resurrection, He appeared to His Apostles in the same garb of poverty. Lastly, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the love of poverty led Him to veil the glory of His Divinity and the splendor of His glorified Humanity. To be still poorer, to have abso- JESUS, THE MODEL OF POVERTY. 289 lutely nothing for Himself, He despoils Him- self of His liberty, of external movement, as well as of all propriety. He is in the Eucharist as in the womb of His Blessed Mother, envel- oped and concealed by the Sacred Species, expecting from the charity of men the matter of His Sacrament, the objects necessery for His worship. Behold the poverty of Jesus 1 He loves it. He has chosen it for His inseparable companion. H 'Hy has Jesus Christ chosen this state of I perpetual poverty? First, because, as a Child of Adam, He has espoused the state of our exiled nature, des- poiled of its rights over creatures; and again, in order to sanctify by His poverty all the acts of poverty that are made in His Church. He became poor, in order to communicate to us the riches of heaven, detaching us from earthly goods by the example of His! own small account of them. He became poor, in order that poverty, which is ours by right, our penance, the means by which we may make reparation, may become honorable, desirable, and lovable 290 THK DIVINE EUCHARIST. in Him. He became poor, to show us and prove to us His love. He remains poor in His Sacra- ment, in spite of His glorified state, that He may ever be our living and visible Model. And so, poverty, which in itself is not desirable, since it is a punishment and a privation, be- comes noble and full of charms in Jesus Christ, who makes of it the form of His life, the founda- tion of the evangelical life, the first of the Beatitudes, and His own divine heritage. It becomes holy by Jesus, since it was, and still is. His great virtue, that which repairs the glory of God wounded by original sin and our own personal prevarications. It gives rise to the virtue of penance by the privations that it imposes. It is the natural occasion of the virtue of patience, which is so necessary, and which crowns our works with the halo of per- fection. It is the nourishment of humility, which it feeds with the humiliations that always accompany it. It supposes great meekness and great strength of character to endure it long; for suffering without consolation, without the help of the benevolent, is its ordinary consequence. It is necessarily gentle, for who gives to an insolent beggar? It must be full of respect and deference for all from whom JESUS, THE MODEL OF POVERTY. 29 1 it expects help. Thankfulness is its power, and prayer is its life. O what glory poverty gives to God! It is everywhere contented with its state, for it is God who has appointed it. It gives thanks in joy and in trial. It adores God in every- thing. It loves Him more than any condition in life. His will is its riches. It abandons itself to His paternal providence, whether man- ifested by mercy, goodness, or even justice. « Jacta super Dominum ciiram tuam, et ipse te enutriet — Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee. » The poor supernatural man belongs to God! O how ravishing is that poverty which makes us love God more than all else ! Christian poverty is surely beautiful; but more beautiful still is religious poverty, which honors God by the giving up of everything, by the abandoning of all things to His goodness. Luxury caused man’s loss; poverty raises him up and beatifies him. But, above all, how admirable is the poverty of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacra- ment, in which He despoils Himself of His glory, of His liberty, and of every natural good ! He leaves Himself to the charity, to the mercy of man. That is true love! 292 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. All who wish to be saints ought to be poor in affection; and in order to become a great saint, one must be poor both in affection and in deed. Perfection, holiness, consists in al- ways preferring to have less than more; in simplifying life by diminishing its superfluities; in becoming poor for the love of our Lord; in making Jesus poor our Model; in taking His poverty for the interior and exterior law of our life, the form of His life in us. HI ■ Et us consider the spiritual poverty of _ Jesus Christ. It is the crown and tk . life of the virtue of poverty. We know nothing: then we should be silent and listen. Our Lord, who knows everything, since He is the Word, the intelligence of the Father, kept silence during the greater part -of His life, as if He had been destitute of knowl- edge. O how hard it is for us to exhibit our poverty in this respect 1 We are full of spiritual vanity. Jesus possessed all virtues in the highest de- gree, and yet He declared He had nothing of Himself. We have truly nothing good in our JESUS, THE MODEL OF POVERTY. 293 heart. Before God we are dry, arid, like a stone or a beast of burden. Our heart knows not how to say anything to God. It produces only briers and thorns. What is there in it of which to be proud? What miserable soil is that which brings forth only thistles ! Jesus can do all good, and yet He expects all things from His Father. We can do no good. Our poverty in this respect is still more complete. We have done much evil and little good; and the little good that we have done, has been mingled with many imperfections. Of our interior poverty, we must make a virtue. To do so, we must go to Our Lord by this state of poverty, by exercising its acts, like a child who is weak, ignorant, awkward, who spoils everything, but who is, nevertheless, in peace with itself and happy at its mother’s side. She is all to it. May the virtue of Jesus con- stitute all our riches ! A poor man is generally without resources, knowledge, or influence. He lives, however, peacefully in his state. He loves his rags, for they are his eloquent titles to the beneficence of the rich. If he has wounds, he exhibits them with satisfaction, for they are his means of subsistence. 294 ' the divine EUCHARIST. But is not our Lord more loving, more tender than a mother? Is He not our sweet Provi- dence, our Light, our All? Let us, then, serve Him in the spirit of poverty, by true humility of heart. Let us live without a champion in the world. Jesus in the Sacrament has none. Who can help admiring the interior and ex- terior poverty of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph? A beggar has nothing, clings to nothing, can do nothing for himself or for others ; other- wise, he would be very rich, for the goods of the mind are much more appreciable than those of the body, and it is more honorable to be able to give counsel than money. Interior poverty, thus understood, becomes the remedy for the three concupiscences in us. It attacks vanity, the desire of always knowing more and more — the sensuality of the mind. Once convinced that we are poor mentally, poor 'n heart, energy, constancy, fortitude, i)overty will become, as it were, natural to us. It ii then our state, and then we depend entirely on God. We seek His light for our mind. His grace for our will. His love for our heart. His Cross for our body. But that this poverty may be desirable, it must be regarded and loved in our Lord, who is JESUS, THE MODEL OF POVERTY. 295 SO poor in the Sacrament, and who is repeating to us incessantly : « Sine me nihil potestis facer e — Without Me, ye can do nothing. » Without Me ye have nothing. I am your only riches. Look for none other either in yourself or in those around you. IV Hence come our sins against poverty, if it is our state? Whence the antipathy that we experience to it, when we are surround- ed by poverty of affection? First from vanity. We wish to have nice things for our use. We want the best, the finest, the most brilliant, under the pretext that it lasts longer. It would be better to consult Our Lord in the spirit of poverty. One act of that virtue is of more value than all this so-called economy. Sensuality, also, leads us to the violation of poverty through the excessive care that we take of ourselves. What precautions against the least inconveniences I Ah ! nature fears poverty far more than it does humility, modesty, or any other virtue. We must, then, apply resolutely to its practice, if we would resemble our Lord. Let every one in his own condition aim at hav- The Divine Eucharist. 20 296 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ing things a little less fine, a little less abun- dant. Let all that we take or receive pay homage to the holy poverty of Jesus Christ, our Master. Hodie parvulus natus est I Today a little Child is born nobis. I tons. (Isaias ix,i6.) Weet feast of the Saviour’s birth! We always hail it with joy. It lives again in our love, it is perpetuated by the Eu- charist. The relations between Bethlehem and the Eucharist cannot be separated, one completes the other. Let us study them today. I ISHHe Eucharist was sown at Bethlehem. What is the Eucharist, if not the Wheat of the Elect, the Living Bread? Now, wheat has to be sown. It must be buried in the earth, 298 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. that it may germinate and ripen; be harvested and ground, in order to make nourishing bread. When born today on the straw of the stable, the Word prepared His Eucharist, and saw It in all His mysteries as their complement. He came on earth to unite Himself with man. During His life, He established with him the union of grace, the union of example and merits. But in the Eucharist alone. He was to consummate the most perfect union of which man is capable here below. We must not lose sight of this divine thought, this end which Our Lord proposed to Himself, if we wish to com- prehend the divine plan, namely, the union of grace by the mysteries of His life and death, and the union of body, of person, in the Eu- charist, both the one and the other preparing the consummation of unity in glory. Now, as the traveller never loses sight of the destination he has in view, as all his steps tend thereto, so in all His life Our Lord was secretly preparing His Eucharist. This heavenly Wheat was, as it were, sown at Bethlehem, the house of bread. Behold It on the straw. That straw is trodden under foot, broken — it is poor humanity. By itself it is sterile. Jesus will raise it up in Himself. CHRISTMAS AND THE EUCHARIST. 299 He will give it life, He will render it fruitful: « Nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram — Unless the grain of wheat fall to the earth. » Behold this divine Grain sown! His tears are the moisture that will make it sprout. It will become beautiful. Bethlehem stands on a hill looking toward Jerusalem. When this Ear is ripe, It will incline toward Calvary, where they will mow It down, and expose It to the fire of suffering that It may become Living Bread. Kings will come to feed upon It, and It will form their delights : « Panis Aser, deliciae regum — The bread of Aser, the delights of kings. » He invites to the royal marriage- feast of the Lamb : « Currunt Magi ad regales nuptias — The Magi hasten to the royal nup- tials. » The Magi here represent those royal souls that are masters of themselves, and who feed in our day on the Blessed Sacrament. The connection between the Saviour’s birth at Bethlehem and the Eucharist viewed as a Sacrament, is found again with the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. It was truly a little lamb that was born at Bethlehem. Jesus was born as a lamb in a stable, and as if He knew but His Mother. 300 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. He already offers Himself in sacrifice : « Hos- tias et ohlationes noluisti, corpus autem aptasti milii. — Father, Thou dost not longer desire victims nor sacrifices of the Law, but Thou hast given to Me a body. Behold Me ! » This body is the condition of immolation. Jesus offers it to the Father. This little Lamb grows by His Mother’s side, and in forty days she will possess the secret of His immolation. She will nourish Him with her pure and virginal mdlk. She will take care of Him for the day of sacri- fice. The character of victim will be so con- spicuous in Him that, perceiving it on the very first day of His public life, St. John will point Him out only under the name of the Divine Lamb : « Ecce Agnus Dei ! Ecce qui tollit peccata mundi ! » The Sacrifice begun at Bethlehem is consum- mated upon the altar at the Holy Mass. Oh, how touching is midnight Mass in the Chris- tian world! We hail it long before the time, we rejoice yearly at its approach. What is it that imparts to our Christmas feast its charm? what is it that gives joy to our canticles, trans- port to our heart, excepting that upon our altars Jesus is really born anew though in a different state ? Are not our hymns, our homage, CHRISTMAS AND THE EUCHARIST. 30I directly offered to His real Person? The ob- ject of our festival, as well as of our love, is present. We go in reality to Bethlehem, and there we find Him, not in remembrance, not in an image, but the Divine Infant Himself! Again, see how the Eucharist begins at Bethlehem. The Emmanuel, who has come to dwell among His people, is already there. He begins on this day of His birth to live among us, and the Eucharist will perpetuate His Presence. There the Word was made Flesh. In the Sacrament, He makes Himself bread that He may be able to give us His Flesh without exciting our repugnance. There again, that is at Bethlehem, He begins the virtues of the sacramental state. He hides His Divinity in order to familiarize man with God. H e veils PI is divine glory in order to come by degrees to the veiling of even His Humanity. He restrains His omnipotence in the feebleness of His infantile members. Later on. He will enchain it under the Sacred Spe- cies. He is poor. He is despoiled of every- thing — He, the Creator and Sovereign Mas- ter of all things. The stable is not His. It is lent to Him as an alms. He lives with His Mother on the offerings of the shepherds and 302 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. the Magi. Later, in the Eucharist, He will ask of man a shelter, the matter of His Sacra- ment, a vestment for His priest, furniture for His altar. See how Bethlehem proclaims to us the Eucharist. There, too, we find the inauguration of Eu- charistic worship in its principal exercise, that of adoration. Mary is the first adoratrix of the Incarnate Word, and Joseph, His first adorer. They believe firmly ; their faith is their strength, their virtue. « Beata es, Maria, quae credi- disti — Blessed art thou, O Mary, who hast believed! » It is the adoration of virtue. The shepherds and the Magi adore in union with Mary and Joseph. Mary gives herself up entirely to the service of her Son. She is all attention in His ser- vice, foreseeing His least desires in order to satisfy them. The shepherds offer their simple and rustic gifts; the Magi, their magnificent ones. Theirs is the adoration of homage. The Eucharist, also, will be the rendezvous of all conditions, the centre of the Catholic world. They, too, will render to It the double worship of adoration : interior adoration of faith and love, and exterior adoration by the CHRISTMAS AND THE EUCHARIST. 303 magnificence of the gifts, the churches, the thrones on which will appear the Eucharistic God. II He birth of Our Lord suggests to me another thought. The angels announce the Saviour to the shepherds by these words : « Hodie natus est vohis Salvator. — Today is born to you a Saviour. » What does that mean? A new world begins. The work of Adam is about to be overturned and supplant- ed by one of divine restoration. There are two Adams, each the father of a great people. The first Adam, terrestrial, the father of the degenerate world; de terra terrenus ; and the second Adam, the Father of the regenerated w^orld, de coelo coelestis. Now, the second came to restore all that the first had destroyed. Ah, well ! remark that this restoration is strictly accomplished here below only by the Eucharist. The capital point of Adam’s fault, like the main feature in the diabolical temptation, is comprised in these words: « You shall be as gods, » and in the sentiment of pride that it roused in him. 304 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. You will become like unto God! Alas! they became like unto the beasts. Ah, well! Our Lord came to take up the promises of Satan, and repeat them to us, but with the intention of accomplishing them. Satan will be taken in his own snare. Yes, we shall become like unto God by the eating of His Flesh and Blood. « You shall not die » — Immortality! In Holy Communion, we receive a sure pledge of it : « He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. » Our Lord promises us eternal life. The temporal we shall lose. But that is not a life worthy the name; it is only a halting-place on our way to true life. « You shall be like unto God! » We change our state by rising to a more perfect union. A plebeian maiden becomes a queen when a king unites her to himself. Now, Our Lord associates us to His Divinity by communicating Himself to us. We become His Flesh and His Blood; we receive the divine and heavenly royalty of the Creator. Human nature has become divine in the hypostatic union. Com- munion also, elevates us to the divine union, and renders us participants of the nature of God. Less perfect nourishment is changed CHRISTMAS AND THE EUCHARIST. 305 into US, but we are changed into Our Lord who absorbs us. We become members of God, and in heaven we shall be so much the more changed into Jesus Christ by our frequent participation in His adorable Body. Lastly, << You shall know all things. » — Evil? Yes. — Good? Certainly not. Where do we learn this divine science of good, except- ing in Communion? Listen to what Our Lord said to His Apostles after having communi- cated them; « I will not now call you ser- vants, but friends ; because all things what- soever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you. » Knowledge is given us in the Eucharist by God Himself, who becomes our special and immediate Teacher: « Et erunt omnes docibiles Dei. » He no longer sends us prophets, for He is Himself our Teacher. You shall know all things, for He is the Divine Science, increated and infinite. Behold how the Eucharist perfects the resto- ration begun at the Crib. Rejoice on this beautiful day, on which arose the divine Sun of the Eucharist. May your gratitude never separate . the Crib from the Altar, the Word made Flesh from the Man-God made the Bread of Life in the Most Blessed Sacrament! Adveniat regmcm Umm / I Thy kingdom come ! i I (Luke x, 2. ) I Ay Thy kingdom come ! May it be enlarged, exalted, perfect- ed! This should be our New Year greeting to Our Lord. May it be fulfilled wherever He is not known, not loved! May all His creatures perfect in themselves the work of the Incarnation and of the Re- demption ! And where is Our Lord known and loved? Ah, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is very small ! For three hundred years, they have retrenched His rights as well as those of His Church. They pursue Our Lord. They snatch from THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 307 Him His temples and His people. Oh, what Eucharistic ruins! And what about those nations that have never had the Faith? How will Jesus establish there His kingdom? What is necessary for that? Ah, listen! Oyie saint, only one saint, would suffice! Desire for Our Lord good priests, true apostles. That ought to be our constant prayer. The poor pagans know nei- ther their Heavenly Father, nor their tender Mother, nor Jesus, their Saviour, — and we leave them in that sad, sad state! O how cruel! Let us extend, let us enlarge, by our prayers, the kingdom of Our Lord. Let pa- gans come to the Faith, let them know their Saviour. Let heretics and schismatics return to the sheepfold, and range themselves under the crook of the Good Shepherd. And among Catholics, how does Jesus Christ reign ? Ask without ceasing the conversion of bad Catholics, who have but little faith. Ask that they who have the Faith may pre- serve it. You who have a family, ask that all may keep their Faith. So long as Judas lived with Our Lord, he had the chance and the means of salvation. One word would have saved him. But when the unhappy man left 3o8 THK DIVINE EUCHARIST. Jesus, he came to an evil end. He fell into the abyss of perdition. Ask, then, to preserve faith in Jesus, no matter in which one of His mysteries. It is often said that a good Prot- estant is better than a bad Catholic. But that is not so. Such a declaration means that one can be saved without the true Faith. No, no! The bad Catholic, though a prodigal, a sinner, is always the child of God, and has a right to His mercy. The bad Catholic, by his Faith, is nearer to God than the Protestant. He is still in the house of his Father, which the Protestant is not. And what difficulties to be overcome before he can enter! In laboring at the preservation of the Faith, use Christian language, the language of Faith. Change the forms made use of by the world. By a culpable tolerance, we have banished Our Lord from our customs, laws, etiquette, and circles of fashion. In a mixed assembly, we do not dare speak of Jesus Christ. Even among practical Christians, it is thought strange to mention Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacra- ment. It is alleged as an excuse that there are so many who do not make their Easter duty, do not go to Holy Mass, consequently, some guest might be offended by such a subject. SIGHS TO JESUS EUCHARISTIC. 309 The master of the house may himself be among that unhappy number. Religious art, moral truths, the beauties of religion, will, perhaps, be discussed; but Jesus Christ, the Eucharist, never! Now, let us try to change all that. Let us profess our Faith. Let us learn to say. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and not merely Christ. We must proclaim that Our Lord has the right to live and to reign in the language of society. It is dishonorable in Catholics to hide Our Lord under a bushel as they do. We should confess Him, make Him known everywhere. He who makes open profession of his Faith, who courageously pronounces the name of Jesus Christ in public, draws upon himself a grace from above. Let all know the Faith that we profess. Atheists proclaim aloud their principles, whole nations glory in believing nothing, and shall we not dare to make known our Faith? shall we shrink from pronouncing the name of our Divine Master? We ought fearlessly to do so. The impious are, if not absolutely possessed by the . evil one, at least obsessed by him. Against these demons, let us oppose the name of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. If every faithful soul would take the resolution to speak boldly 310 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. and reverently of Our Lord, the face of the world would soon be changed. The thought of Him would become familiar. The great day is coming. The two armies are standing face to face. Thanks be to God, eclecticism is no longer in force. We must be either of the good or of the bad, of Jesus Christ or of Satan. Ah! let us proclaim Jesus Christ, let us sound His name! It is our standard. Let us bear it nobly aloft. Lastly, let the reign of Our Lord come into us, into our soul. Our Lord is, indeed, in us. But that He may reign in us absolutely, there is yet much to be done. We are not entirely conquered. Our Lord does not yet reign peacefully by a reign of harmony and love. The frontiers of the soul are not yet subjected to Him; and what sovereign can reign as master if he does not hold the boundaries of his dominions ? Let us know Our Lord more perfectly. Let us enter into His life. His sacrifices. His vir- tues in the Most Holy Sacrament, and into His love. Instead of always living in self, let us mount up to Him. To see self in Him is good, but to see Him in self is better. Instead of cultivating self, let us cultivate SIGHS TO JESUS EUCHARISTIC. Our Lord, let us make Him increase in our- selves. Let us think of Him. Let us study Him in Himself. Let us enter into Him. We shall have enough in Him to support our life. He is great. He is infinite. This is the broad and royal road that ennobles life. II H e must, also, console Our Lord. He expects from us consolation, and He will receive it with pleasure. Let us ask Him to raise up good priests, apostolic priests, saviours, who will make an era in the world’s history, and who will give kingdoms to God. Ask that all may be His, that He may be not only a Saviour, for that supposes too much suffering, but that He may be a King, a King peaceful and absolute. Console Him for this, that He is so little of a King in His own kingdom. Alas! Our Lord is conquered! In heaven He reigns over the saints, over the angels. There He is the all-powerful Master, whose will is faithfully executed. But here below? — Ah, no! Men, His redeemed. His children, have vanquished Our Lord! He no longer reigns over Catholic society. Let us The Divine Eucharist. 21 312 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. allow Him to reign over us, at least, and let us labor to restore His kingdom everywhere. Our Lord prizes no monuments, however beautiful they may be, so much as He does our heart. He seeks these hearts of ours, and since the wicked have banished Our Lord, let us raise His throne upon the altar of our heart. Among some barbarous tribes, it is the custom to proclaim a man king by bearing him aloft on their shields. Let us proclaim Jesus Christ our King, by enthroning Him in our hearts, and serving Him with fidelity and devotedness. Ah, how Our Lord loves our hearts ! How much He yearns for them I He has constituted Himself a beggar for them. He begs for them. He supplicates. He insists. We have already refused Him a hundred times. No matter. His hand is still outstretched. But does He not dishonor Himself still to beg after so many rebuffs ? Oh, should we not die of shame at the thought of Our Lord’s thus sup- plicating, while not one gives Him the alms He asks I Oh, what affronts He endures while in search of our hearts I Above all, does He pursue Catholics, pious souls, reli- gious, who do not wish to give Him their hearts. He desires all, and the reason of His SIGHS TO JESUS EUCHARISTIC. 313 passionate seeking is His love. Among two hundred millions of Catholics, how many love Him with the love of friendship, how many love Him earnestly, with a true, heartful love? If those, at least, who make profession of piety. His children. His religious. His virgins, belonged absolutely to Him! But they allow Him to enter only one step into their hearts, and then oppose some obstacles to His further progress; they give Him this, and they refuse Him that. And yet Our Lord wants all, asks for all? He waits despite all our rebuffs. Let us, then, love Him for ourselves, let us love Him for those who do not love Him, for our friends. Let us pay the debt of our family, the debt of our country. It was thus that the saints did. In that they imitated Our Lord, who loves for all men, who goes security for the whole world. Ah, may Our Lord, the sweet Saviour who loves us so much, become the Master, the Spouse of our soul 1 Can it be possible that we do not love Our Lord as much as we do our relations, our friends, ourselves? Oh, how blind we are! how bewitched by the spirit of the world! If we could pay our debt of love by one 314 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. single act, doubtless, we would do it. But to give again and again, — that taxes our courage too heavily, and proves indisputably that we do not truly love. Ah, how we grieve Our Lord by such in- difference I We know that mothers die of grief caused by their unworthy sons. If Our Lord were not immortal by nature. He would have died of sorrow a thousand times over since He has been enclosed in the Most Blessed Sacrament. In the Garden of Olives, without a miracle. He would have died at the sight of the sins that He had to expiate. Now He is agonizing! In Himself, He is glorious; but in His works, in His love. He is very much humbled: « T actus dolore cordis intrinsecus^ Consumed with inward sorrow. » Ah! let us console our loving Lord. Man always finds some one to respond to his love — but our Lord?... Let us console Him for the ingratitude of sinners, but above all, for our own. Let us weep with Him over the defection of His faithless ministers. His disloyal spouses. « It is too horrible to be mentioned, » they say. Think of it there at His feet, and console Him. Nothing but the sin of Judas could have made SIGHS TO JESUS EUCHARISTIC. 315 Our Lord shed tears of blood. Oh, we should never more be joyful, did we know all the sub- jects that Our Lord has for sorrow! The priest would no longer be willing to consecrate, if Jesus were still in His human state accessible to sorrow. Happy it is that His love alone bears the weight of all these outrages, and that He can die nO' more? One distressing fact is this, that pious souls, the spouses whom Jesus Christ guards in the world, should always leave perfection to reli- gious. « I am not obliged to it, » they say. « I have not made the vows that lead to per- fection. »... They have not the courage to love, and that is the secret of their indifference. Love is the same everywhere. You may love more in your state than a religious in his. His state is more perfect in itself, but your love may surpass his. May the reign of Christ be established in us 1 The public Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament is the highest of graces. After Exposition, there is but heaven or hell. Man is attracted to whatever shines, whatever is brilliant. Our Lord upon His throne is now casting His beams around. We can all see Him. We have no longer any excuse. Ah! THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 316 if we leave Him, if we pass before Him with- out being converted, Our Lord will retire, and that grace will be lost forever. Let us, then, serve Our Lord, let us console Him. Let us enkindle the fire of His love wherever it does not yet burn. Let us labor in His Kingdom, in the kingdom of His love. Adveniat regnum tuum, regnum amoris.. May Thy kingdom come, the kingdom of Thy love! 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Et procedentes adorave- 1 And falling down, they ador- runt eum. 1 ed Him. (Matt, ii, 2.) Alled to perpetuate before the Most Blessed Sacrament the adoration of the Magi at the Crib of Bethlehem, we ought to share in the faith and love that guided and sustained them. They began at Bethlehem what we do at the foot lof the Sacred Host. Let us study the characteristics of their adoration, and draw from it our instruction. The adoration of the Magi was a homage of faith, a tribute of love to the Word Incarnate, and such ought to be our Eucharistic adoration. ^ The EPIPHANY and the EUCHARIST. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 31S I H HE faith of the Magi shone out m splendor owing to the double trial to which it was subjected and over which it triumphed, namely, the silence at Jerusalem and the humiliation of Bethlehem. Like wise men, the royal travelers directed their steps toward the capital of Judea. They expected to find all Jerusalem in joy, the people celebrating high festival, happiness everywhere, and everywhere signs of heartfelt gladness. But, oh, their sorrowful surprise! Jerusalem is silent. Nothing in or around it reveals the great wonder. Are they deceived? If the great King were born, would He not every\vhere announce His birth? Will they not become objects of derision and, perhaps, of insult, if they proclaim the aim of their journey ? Such hesitation and such language would be prudent in the eyes of human wisdom, but unworthy of the faith of the Magi. They have believed, and they are come. « Where is bom the King of the Jews? » they demand aloud in the streets of astonished Jerusalem, before the palace of Herod, before the mul- — \ THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 319 titude of people hastening, without doubt, to witness the unusual spectacle of the entrance of three royal personages into the city. « We have seen the star of the new King. We have come to adore Him. Where is He? You ought to know Him, you. His people, who have been expecting Him for so long! » But the people keep a gloomy silence. Herod, being interrogated, consults the an- cients and the priests, who answer by repeating the prophecy of Micheas. Thereupon, Herod dismisses the strange princes, promising to follow them himself, and adore the new King. On the royal word they depart. They go alone. The city remains indifferent. The Le- vitical priesthood itself, like Herod, is wailing in hesitation and incredulity the issue of events. The silence of the world around us is also the great trial of faith in the Eucharist. Suppose some noble strangers learned that Jesus Christ dwelt personally in His Sacra- ment in the midst of Catholics, those happy mortals who have the privilege of possessing the Person of the King of heaven and earth, the Creator and the Saviour of the world — in a word, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Full of the desire of seeing Him and paying Him 320 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. homage, suppose they should come from their far-off countries to seek Him among us in one of our brilliant European capitals. Would they not be subjected to a trial similar to that of the Magi? What reveals the Presence of Jesus Christ in our Catholic cities? — the churches? But Protestantism, Judaism have their temples. What then? — Nothing I A few years ago ambassadors from Persia and Japan visited Paris. Assuredly, nothing gave them the idea that we possess Jesus Christ, that He lives among us, that He seeks to reign over us. Oh, what scandal to those outside the Faith I This silence scandalizes weak Christians, also. They see that the science of the age does not believe Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, that the great do not adore Him, that the powerful do not render Him homage. From this they conclude : « He is not there. He does not live, He does not reign among Catholics. » — There are many who reason thus. The number of idiots and slavish characters is large I And yet, in the Catholic world, as in Jeru- salem, there is the word of the prophets, of the Apostles, of the Evangelists, who reveal the sacramental Presence of Jesus. There is on \ THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 32 I the mountain of God, visible to all, the Holy Church, which has taken the place of the shepherds and the star of the Magi. That Church is a sun for whoever wishes to behold the light. That Church is the voice on Sinai for whoever wishes to listen to her law. She points out to us the holy Temple, the august tabernacle, and she cries: « Behold the Lamb of God, the Emmanuel ! Behold Jesus Christ I » At the sound of her voice, simple and upright souls run to the tabernacle, as the three royal Magi hastened to Bethlehem. They love the truth, they pursue it with ardor. And such is your faith. O ye who are hearkening to my words! Ye have sought Jesus Christ, and ye have found Him! Ye adore Him, and in that ye are blessed! The Gospel tells us, moreover, that, at the words of the Magi, Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. That Herod is troubled is not astonishing, for he is a stranger and a usurper. He beholds in Him whom the Magi announce the true King of Israel, who will dethrone him.. But that Jerusalem is troubled at the happy news of the birth of Him whom they have been expecting for so long a time, whom she has saluted since 322 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Abraham as her great Patriarch, since Moses as her great Prophet, since David as her great King — this, indeed, is incomprehensible ! Is the nation ignorant, then, of the prophecy of Jacob, which designates the tribe from which He is to come forth? — that of David which points to His family, that of Micheas which names the city of His birth, that of Isaias which chants His glory? Can it be possible that, with all these clear and brilliant testimo- nies it is necessary for the Gentiles, so despised by the Jews, to come and say to them: « Your Messiah is bom ! We have come to adore Him with you, to share in your happiness. Show us His royal dwelling, and permit us to offer Him our homage. » Alas ! this horrible scandal of the Jews, troubled at the news of the birth of the Mes- siah, is perpetuated in the midst of Christians. How many dread a church in which Jesus Christ abides! How many oppose the erection of a new tabernacle, another sanctuary! How many tremble on meeting the Holy Viaticum carried to the sick, and cannot support the sight of the Adorable Host! Why is this? What has this hidden God done to them? Ah! He strikes them with fear, because THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 323 they wish to serve Herod and, perhaps, the infamous Herodias. And this was the last word of that scandalous Herodian, and it will soon be followed by hatred and bloody per- secution. The second trial of the Magi consists in the humiliations of the Infant-God at Bethlehem. Very naturally they expected all the splen- dors of heaven and of earth around the Crib of the new-born Babe. Their imagination has painted its magnificence. They heard in Jeru- salem the glories that Isaias predicted of Him. They are now going, as they think, to visit the wonder of the world, the temple prepared to receive Him — and they say to one another on the way: « Who is like to this King? — Quis ut Deus? » But, Oh, surprise, deception, scandal for a faith less strong than theirs! Led by the star, they go to the stable, and what do they behold there? A poor Babe with a poor Mother! The Infant is laid upon straw like the lowest of the poor. What do I say? Rather like the little new-born lamb. He reposes in the midst of animals, some miserable swathing- bands protecting Him from the cold. His Mother is, then, very poor, since she has 324 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. brought Him into the world under such con- ditions. The shepherds are not there to re- count the marvels that they witnessed in the heavens. Bethlehem is indifferent. O God ! what a trial! Earthly kings are not born thus — and here the King of Heaven! The Beth- lehemites had come to the grotto at the story of the shepherds, but had returned incredulous What of the Magi Kings ? See them kneeling, prostrate on the ground, adoring in the most profound humility, adoring that tiny Babe ! Tears stream from their eyes as they gaze upon Him, His poverty ravishes them with love! — Et procidentes adoraverunt eum ! — Great God ! what an inexplicable mystery! Never do kings abase themselves before other earthly sover- eigns ! The shepherds marveled at the Sav- iour announced by the angels, but the Evan- gelist does not say that they prostrated to adore Him. It was the Magi who rendered Kim the first worship, the first homage of public adora- tion at Bethlehem, as they had been His first Apostles in Jerusalem. What is it that they see in this stable, in this crib, in this Child? What do they see? Love! ineffable love, the true love of God for man! God pressed by His love to make Himself poor, THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 325 in order to be the Friend, the Brother of the poor; God becoming weak, to console the weak and the abandoned; God suffering to prove His love. That is what the Magi saw. And that was the recompense of their faith, that was its triumph over its second trial. The sacramental humiliation of Jesus Christ — behold the second trial of Christian faith ! Jesus in His Sacrament beholds most fre- quently only the indifference of His own, very often even their incredulity and contempt. To assign a reason for this sad truth is very easy. Mundus eum non cognovit: The world has not known Him. Perhaps they would believe in the truth of the Holy Eucharist if, at the Consecration, they heard, as at His birth, the concert of the angels ; if they saw as at the Jordan the heavens open- ing above Him; or His glory shining as on Thabor; or, in fine, if one of those miracles, wrought by the God of the Eucharist in the course of the ages, was renewed before their eyes. But nothingness, even less than nothingness! It is the annihilation of all glory, of all power, of the whole being, divine and human, of Jesus Christ. They see not even His human face 326 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. nor do they hear His voice. They behold no sensible movement. It is said: Life is motion. Love, at least, manifests itself by some sign. But here is reserve, here is the silence of death. Ye are right, O men of pure reason, ye glo- rious ones of this world, ye philosophers of the senses, ye are right, a hrmdred times right I — It is the love of death that induces the Saviour to bind His power, which makes Him annihilate His glory and His majesty, both divine and human, in order not to affright man. It is the love of death which, in order not to discour- age man, leads Him to hide His infinite per- fections, His ineffable sanctity, and to show Himself to him under the light veil of the Sacred Species, which permits Him to be seen by our faith, more or less, according to the strength or the weakness of our virtue. This is what makes, not the scandal of the true Christian, not the trial of his faith, but the life and the perfection of his love. His faith pierces beyond the poverty, the feebleness, the apparent death of Jesus, to find His soul, to consult His thoughts and His admirable sen- timents. Discovering His Divinity united to His adorable Body and hidden under the Sa- THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 327 cred Species, the Christian, like the Magi, pros- trates, contemplates, and adores. He is trans- ported with love. He has found Jesus Christ! — Et procidentes adoraverunt eum! Such are the trials, such the triumphs, of the faith of the Magi, and of the faith of the Christian. Let us examine the homage of love which the Magi paid to the Divine Babe, and see what homage our own heart ought to render the God of the Eucharist. H Aith conducts to Jesus Christ, love finds and adores Him. What was the love of the Magi adorers? It was a perfect love. Now, love manifests itself in three ways, and those manifestations are its life. First, it manifests itself by sympathy. Sym- pathy of soul is the bond, the law of two lives. By it one becomes like the other: Amor pares fecit. The action of natural sympathy and, with stronger reason, of supernatural sym- pathy with Our Lord, is the powerful attrac- tion, the uniform transformation of two souls into one, of two bodies into one. As fire The Divine Euchaiist. 22 328 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. absorbs and transforms into itself every sym- pathetic matter, so is the Christian transformed by love into Jesus Christ, into God: Similes ei erimus, ' \ But how did the Magi sympathize so quickly with that little Child, who as yet spoke no word, revealed no thought? Love has seen, love is united to love. Ah! do you not see these kings kneeling among the animals before the Crib and, in that state so humble, so hu- miliating for kings, adoring this feeble Infant, who gazes on them in childlike simplicity ? What speech effects between friends, love alone does here. Do you not see that they imitate as closely as possible the state of the Divine Infant? Love is imitative, because it is sympathetic. They would wish to abase themselves, to annihilate themselves even to the bowels of the earth, the better to adore, the better to resemble Him who, from the throne of His glory, humbled Himself so far as to descend into the Crib under the form of a slave. The Magi embrace the humility that the Word Incarnate has espoused, the poverty that He has deified, the suffering that He has divinized. Love, we see, is a transformer. It produces identity of life. It renders kings THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 329 simple, the learned humble, the rich poor of heart. The Magi were all that. Sympathy is necessary to a life of love, because it sweetens sacrifice and assures con- stancy. Sympathy, in one word, is the true proof of love and the pledge of its duration. Love that is not sympathetic is a toilsome virtue, sublime sometimes, but without joy, without the charms of friendship. The Christian called to live the life of love for God, has need of this sympathy of love. Now, it is in the Holy Eucharist that Our Lord gives us the sweet testimony that He loves us personally as His friends. It is there that He permits us to rest our heart on His own, like the Beloved Disciple. There it is that He makes us taste, at least in passing, the sweetness of the celestial manna. It is there that He causes us to experience in our heart the joy of possessing its God, as did Zaccheus; its Saviour, as did Magdalen; its Sovereign Happiness and its All, as did the spouse in the Canticles. There escape those sighs of love : « Oh, how sweet Thou art I how good Thou art I how tender Thou art, O Jesus, toward him who receives Thee with love! » But the sympathy of love stops not at enjoy- 330 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. ment. It is a furnace which the Saviour has lighted in the sympathetic heart : « Carho est Eucharistia, quae nos inflammat — The Eu- charist is a coal that inflames us. » Fire is active, it is an encroacher; and so the soul feels herself forced to cry out under its action: « What shall I do, O my God, in return for so much love? » And Jesus answers: « Thou must become like unto Me, live for Me, live of Me. » The transformation will be easy. « In the school of love, » says the Imitation, «they do not walk, they run, they fly: Amans currit, volat. » Secondly, love manifests itself by perfect similarity of sentiment. It desires to rule over every other sentiment, to be the only and absolute master of the heart. Love is one. It tends to unity. Unity is its essence. It absorbs, or it is absorbed. This truth shines forth in all its brilliancy in the adoration of the Magi. No sooner have they found the Royal Babe than, without a glance at the unworthiness of the place, at the animals that find there a shelter, and thus render it more repulsive; without demanding prodigies from Heaven, or explanations from the Mother; without curiously inspecting the THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 33T Infant, they fall at once on their knees and adore Him. They adore Him alone. They see only Him. They are come but for Him. The Gospel makes no mention of the honor they rendered to His holy Mother. In pres- ence of the sun, the stars cease to shine. Adoration is one, like the love that inspires it. Now, the Eucharist is the perfection of the love of Jesus Christ for man, since it is the quintessence of all the mysteries of His life of wSaviour. All that Jesus Christ did from His Incarnation even to His Cross had for end the gift of the Eucharist, His personal and cor- poreal union with every Christian by Com- munion. He saw in Communion the means of communicating to us all the treasures of His Passion, all the virtues of His Sacred Human- ity, all the merits of His life. Oh, the pro- digy of love ! « Qni mandiieat meam carnem, in me manet, et ego in eo. — He who eats My flesh, abides in Me, and I in him. » The Eucharist ought, also, to be the per- fection of our love for Jesus Christ, if on our side we wish to reach the end proposed in Holy Communion, namely, the transformation of ourselves into Him by union. The Eu- charist ought, then, to be the rule of our virtues, 332 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. the soul of our piety, the supreme desire of our life, the royal and dominant thought of our heart, the glorious standard of our combats and sacrifices. Without this unity of action we shall never arrive at the perfection of love; but with it, nothing is more sweet or more easy. We then have the power of the whole man and of the entire Godhead, effecting in concert the reign of love: « Dilectus mens mihi, et ego illi. — My beloved to Me, and I to him. » Thirdly, and lastly, love manifests itself by gifts. The perfection of the gift speaks the perfection of love. The Sacred Writer de- scribes in most explicit detail the manner and the circumstances of the Magi’s gifts. « And opening, » says he, « their treasures, they offer Him gold, incense, and myrrh. » Gold is the tribute offered to kings. Myrrh honors the sepulture of the great. Incense is the symbol of the homage that we owe to Al- mighty God. Or, rather, these three gifts re- present entire humanity at the feet of the Infant God. Gold is power and riches, myrrh is suffering, incense is prayer. The law of the Eucharistic worship began at Bethlehem in order to perpetuate itself in the Cenacle of the Eucharist. The kings began; THE EPIPHANY AND THE EUCHARIST. 333 we ought to continue their homage. Jesus in the Sacrament has need of gold, because He is the King of Kings. He has need of gold, because He has a right to a throne more splendid than that of Solomon. He needs gold for His sacred vessels, for His altar. Is it that the Eucharist should not be better treated than the Ark, which was made of the finest gold, the purest gold given by the faithful people ? Jesus in the Holy Eucharist has need of myrrh no longer for Himself, for He consum- mated His sacrifice on the Cross, and the Resurrection glorified His Divine Body and His sacred tomb. But having constituted Him- self our perpetual Victim on the altar, that Victim must needs suffer, but in us and by us. He finds again in us who are His members, the sense, the life, and the merit of His suffer- ing. We complete and give to Him His true, actual quality of immolated Victim. Incense is, also, due Him. The priest offers it to Him every day. But He longs still more for the incense of our adoration, that He may give us in return His blessings and graces. How fortunate we are to be able by the Eucharist to share the happiness of Mary, of 334 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. the Magi, and of the first disciples who ren- dered homage to Jesus Christ! We have in the Holy Eucharist still the poverty of Beth- lehem to succor. O yes, all the goods of grace and glory come to us by the Divine Eucharist! They take their source in Bethle- hem, the heaven of love. They were accruing during the whole life of the Saviour. All these floods of grace, of virtues, and of merits are cast into this ocean of the Adorable Sacrament, in which we find them in all their plenitude. But our duties, also, flow from the Eucharist. The love of the Eucharist obliges us to a generous return. The Magi, the first adorers, are our models. Let us be worthy of their royal faith toward Jesus Christ. Let us be the heirs of their love, and one day we shall inherit their glory. Amen ! Hcec dies quant fecit Domi- I This is the day that the Lord nus. hath made. I (Psalm cxvii, 24.) Ll days are from God. His goodness maintains their ad- mirable succession. God has, however, left to man six days for his labors, his needs. The seventh He has reserved for Himself. Sunday is more particularly the Day of the Lord, the Lord’s Day. But among all days there is one which is 'par excellence God’s day. It is called God’s day, and that is the Feast of Corpus Chisti, the Feast of God. That is, indeed, the day that the Lord hath made for Himself, for His glory, and to manifest His love. The Feast of God! What a beautiful title! The Feast for God, 336 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. and the Feast for us, also. Let us see in what way. 1 Orpus Christi, which the Church calls iLMi' the Feast of the Sacred Body of Christ: Festum sacratissimi Corporis Christi, is the only day that has been consecrated to honor solely His adorable Person, His living Pres- ence among us. Other feasts celebrate some mystery of His past life. They are beautiful, they honor God, they are fruitful in graces for us. But, after all, they are only a memorial, an anniversary of something already far past, and which is revived only by our piety. The Saviour Himself is no longer in those mysteries. He accomplished them once, and now His grace alone remains in them. But here it is an actual mystery. This Feast relates to the Person of Our Lord living and present among us. For that reason it is celebrated in a spe- cial manner. Not relics, not emblems of the past are exposed for veneration, but the Object of the Feast Itself, which is living. In those countries in which God is free, see how all proclaim His Presence, see how all prostrate before Him I Even the impious tremble and THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 337 incline. God is there! What glory for the Presence of Our Lord is this Feast, where all acknowledge and adore Him! ■ Corpus Christ! is, also, the most lovely of feasts. We have not been present at the mys- teries of the Saviour’s life and death that we celebrate in the course of the year, and we rejoice in them only because of the graces that come to us from them. But here we do really participate in the mystery. It is accomplished imder our eyes, it is for us, it has a vital relation between Jesus living in the Sacrament and ourselves living in the midst of the world. It bears a corporeal relation of body to body, and it is called not simply the Feast of Our Lord, but the Feast of the Body of Our Lord. It is by that Body that we touch Him, that He becomes our nourishment, our Brother, our Guest. — Feast of the Body of Jesus Christ! Oh, what love those words breathe, because they are lowly and suited to our misery! Our Lord desired this Feast in order to draw nearer to us, as a father is anxious that his son should celebrate his natal day, that he may show his own paternal love, and grant him some special favor. May this Feast, then, be one of joy, on 338 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. which we may expect multiplied favors. All the hymns and canticles of this solemnity express the thought, that Our Lord will be on this day more gracious to us than ever. The Church might, it would seem, have celebrated Corpus Christ! on Holy Thursday, since it was on that day that the Eucharist was instituted. But on that sorrowful day she could not have sufficiently shown her joy, because Holy Thurs- day inaugurates the Passion, and it would have been impossible to rejoice in the thought of death which dominates the great days of Holy Week. Corpus Christi was deferred till after the Ascension, which called for its own sad farewells, and which witnessed a sorrow- ful separation. It was deferred, also, till after Pentecost, in order that, filled with the grace and the joy of the Holy Ghost, we might cele- brate with all possible magnificence the Feast of the Divine Spouse dwelling among us. II Orpus Christi is the grandest feast of the Church. The Church is the Spouse of Our Lord glorified, of Our Lord resuscitated, not of Jesus in His birth or dying. When THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI. 339 those mysteries were accomplished, the Church did not yet exist. Doubtless, she would have followed her Divine Spouse to the Crib and in all His sufferings, but of those mysteries she has the remembrance and the graces. But Jesus Christ is with His Church living in the Sacrament. They who have never entered a church look upon her as widowed; they regard her as a corpse, and consider her tem- ples as places in winch only death and suffering are mentioned. But, behold today, even they who do not attend her solemnities see her rich and beautiful, beautiful in her own natural loveliness to which God, her Spouse, has added His Presence. What magnificent processions! The Faithful prostrate as they pass. She shows her Spouse in the radiant ostensorium to all her children. Ah! who can call her a widow on this day? Her friends adore, her enemies tremble! Jesus manifests Himself to all, blessing the good, looking upon sinners with compassion, calling them and drawing them tO' Himself. The Council of Trent calls this Feast the triumph of Faith. It is so, indeed. It is, also, the triumph of the Church through her Divine Spouse! 340 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Ill F^^Astly, this Feast is ours, adorers of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The So- ciety of the Most Blessed Sacrament, as also its different branches, exists only to offer to Jesus Christ a continual Corpus Christi. To prolong this Feast throughout the whole year — behold the law of our life and of our happiness I We leave to other children of the Church the charge of caring for the poor, of curing the moral and physical wounds of poor humanity, of administering the Sacraments ; but we are called to perpetuate the Feast of Corpus Christi. As religious this, then, is our special Feast. And you, my brethren, it is your Feast, also. Are you not entirely de- voted to the service of the Most Blessed Sac- rament ? At night you retire, and leave to us the care of Our Lord. It is proper that it should be so. But do you not leave your heart at the feet of the Divine King, and may it not be said that your life is passed there? And when you communicate, do you not cele- brate in your heart a true Corpus Christi? O you know the joy, the happiness that Jesus brings with Him I Yes, I shall even say that, THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTl. 341 for souls that know how to communicate, there is but one Feast, and that is to communicate. They find therein the Object of every mystery, Him who accomplished them and in whose honor they are celebrated, while the generality of Christians have only a faint idea of them. Still more: I say that if Our Lord did not live in His Sacrament, every Christian feast would be only a renewal of funereal rites. But the Eucharist is the Sun of the festivals of the Church. It enlightens them and gives them their joy. The soul that communicates well and often has reason to call It a Juge convivium, a per- petual festivity. — To live with Jesus interiorly, of Jesus, and by Jesus, is to be a tabernacle and a precious ciborium. O what is not the joy of such souls, joy pure and unchangeable! Well now, let us learn to distinguish those days from all others. Our Lord has His royal days, and this is one of them. A king knows how to dispense his largesses. Offer to Him your homage, and in return He will give you all that you want. He will give Himself even with greater effusion of graces. He distin- guishes among His friends. He knows those to whom He owes the most favors. What both 342 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. you and I desire on this beautiful day is, not to become saints laden with magnificent and extraordinary virtues — when shall that be? — but to be very happy in the service of God, and that Our Lord may communicate Himself to us still more tenderly and lovingly. Feeling ourselves more loved, we will give ouiselves more entirely, and the result of these two loves will be perfect union. In that union are sanctity and perfection. Let us ask con- fidently for the grace to reach it. Give your whole heart. Jesus is a tender Father. Be to Him loving children. He is a tender Friend Oh, taste His love! He who has never delighted in the goodness of God — I tremble for his salvation ! Enter into that immense goodness : Sentite de Domino in honi- tate ! Aint Paul wished the Ephe- sians to know by the grace of the Father, from whom pro- ceeds every gift, the super- eminent knowledge of the char- ity of Jesus Christ for men. He could wish them nothing more holy, nothing more beneficial, nothing more important. To know the love of Jesus Christ, to be filled with its plenitude — that is the reign of God in man. Now, this is the fruit of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus living and loving us in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This devotion is the sovereign worship of love. It is the soul of religion and its centre, for religion is but the The Divine Eucharist. 2? 344 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. law, the virtue and the perfection of love, and the Sacred Heart is its grace, its model, and its life. Let us study this love before the furnace on which it is consuming Itself for us. Devotion to the Sacred Heart has a double object. First of all, it proposes for honor, by public adoration and worship, Jesus Christ’s Heart of flesh, and afterward the in- finite love with which that Heart has burned for us since Its creation, and which still con- sumes It in the Sacrament of our altars. I F all the noble organs of the human '1^^! body, the heart is the noblest. It is placed in the centre of the human frame, like a king in the midst of his states. It is imme- diately surrounded by the most important mem- bers, which are, as it were, its ministers, its of- ficers. It animates them, gives them activity by communicating to them the vital heat of which it is the reservoir. It is the source from which impetuously flows the blood that is spread through every part of the human or- ganism, to give it life and health. This blood, becoming impure in its journey, returns from THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 345 every part to the heart, there to regain vital heat and new life. What is true of the human heart in general, is true of the adorable Heart of Jesus Christ. It is the most noble portion of the body of the Man-God, hypostatically united to the Word, and thereby deserving the supreme worship of adoration due to God alone. It is important not to separate in our veneration the Heart of Jesus from the Divinity of the Man-God, for that is united to It by indissoluble bonds. The worship that we pay It stops not at It alone, but in the Adorable Person who pos- sesses It, and tO' whom It is forever united. It follows, consequently, that we may address to this Divine Heart the prayers, the homage, the adoration that we offer to God Himself. It is, also, a consequence of the same truth that they who, hearing the words, « The Heart of Jesus, » limit their idea of It to the material organ, are deceived. They look upon this Heart but as a member without life or love, just as they would regard a holy relic. Lastly, they, too, are deceived who think that this de- votion divides Jesus Christ and restricts to His Heart alone a worship that ought to be ren- dered to His whole Person. They do not 346 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. reflect that in honoring- the Heart of Jesus, we do not suppress the rest of the divine com- pound of the Man-God; for in honoring His Heart, we wish to celebrate all the actions, all the life of Jesus Christ, which are but the outward diffusion of His Heart. As in the sun are formed and from' it proceed the burning rays that fertilize the earth, giving life to all that lives, sq it is from the heart that come forth the sweet and strong influences that carry vital heat and vigor into all the mem- bers. If the heart languishes, the whole man languishes with it; if it suffers, all the other members suffer ; if it performs its functions abnormally, the whole organism feels it. The fimction of the Heart of Jesus was, then, to vivify, to strengthen, to sustain all the mem- bers, all the organs, all the senses by Its con- stant influence, so that It was the principle of the actions, the affections, the virtues, and the whole life of the Word made Flesh. According to the opinion of all philosophers, the heart is the seat of love and, as the spring of the whole life of Jesus was love, it is to His Heart that we ought to refer all His mys- teries and all His virtues. « As it is the nature of fire to burn, » says Saint Thomas, THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 347 « SO it is natural for the heart to love; and becausje it is in man the first organ of feeling, it is proper that the act commanded by the first of all the precepts should be rendered sensible by the heart. » In the same way that the eyes see, and the ears hear, does the heart love. It is the soul’s organ in the production of love and the affections. Ordinary language has confounded two expressions, and we use the word heart to express love, and vice, versa. The Heart of Jesus has, then, been the organ of His love; It has co-operated with His love, It has been its principle and seat. It has experienced all the impressions of love that can touch the heart of man, with this difference, that the Soul of Jesus Christ loving with an incomparable and infinite love. His H^eart was a furnace of love for God and for us. The most ardent and pure flames of divine love incessantly escaped from It. They inflamed It from the first instant of His conception until His last sigh; and since His Resurrection, they have not ceased, and they never will cease, to consume It. It has produced, and It daily produces^ innximerable acts of love, every one of which honors God more than all those that the angels 348 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. and saints will ever make. It* is, then, of all created creatures, that which contributes most to the glory of the Creator, and which merits more the worship and love of angels and men. All that belongs to the Person of the Son of God is infinitely worthy of veneration. The least part of His Body, the smallest drop of PI is Blood, deserves the admiration of heaven and earth. Things the most vile in themselves become venerable by the mere touch of His Flesh, as appears in the cross, the nails, the thorns, the sponge, the lance, and all the instru- ments of His Passion. But how much should we venerate His Heart, whose excellence is founded on the nobility of the functions that It exercises, upon the perfection of the senti- ments which It produces, and of the actions which It inspires. If Jesus was born in a stable, if He lived poor at Nazareth, if He died for us, we owe it to His Heart. It was in that sanctuary that were formed all the heroic resolutions, all the designs that inspired His life. His Heart ought, therefore, to be honored as the Crib, in which the faithful soul beholds Him coming into the world poor and abandoned ; as the pulpit from which He preaches His precept : « Learn of Me that I am THE SACRED HEART OE JESUS. 349 meek and humble of Heart »; as the Cross on which He expired ; as the Sepulchre from which we contemplate Him rising glorious and im- mortal; and as the eternal Gospel which teach- es us to imitate all the virtues of which It is the accomplished model. The soul devoted to the Sacred Heart will at times give herself especially to the exercise of divine love, because this Heart is, above all, the seat and the symbol of that love ; and, as the Most Blessed Sacrament is the sensible and lasting pledge of love, it is from His Eucharistic Heart that she will learn to love. II ||E^Esus Christ, desiring to be ever loved by man, had ever to testify to him His love ; and, as if to vanquish our heart, God had to become man, sensible and tangible. Then, in order that His conquest might be assured to Him, He was obliged to continue making His love felt as a sensible and human love. The law of love is unchanging; its grace had to be so, too. This sun of love must never go down upon the heart of man, otherwise it would freeze, or the chill hand of death and forget- 350 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. fulness stifle it. The human heart gives itself only to life, unites itself only to actual love, which it feels, and which imparts to it actual proofs of its existence. Ah, well! All the love of the mortal life of Jesus — His love as an Infant in the Crib, His zealous love as an Apostle of His Father during His preaching life. His love as a Victim on the Cross — all these loves are united and triumphant in His glorified and living Heart in the Blessed Sacrament. It is there that we should seek it and nourish ourselves with it. It is in heaven, also, but there it is for the angels and the crowned saints. In the Eucha- rist, it is for us. Our devotion toward the Sacred Heart ought, then, to be Eucharistic, centred in the Divine Eucharist as in the only personal and living centre of the love and of the graces of the Sacred Heart for men. Why separate the Heart of Jesus from His Person and from His Divinity? Is it not by His Heart that He lives in the Blessed Sacra- ment, and that His Body is living and animat- ed? Jesus resuscitated, dies no more. Why separate His Heart from His Person and make Rim die, so to speak, in our idea of Him? No, no, this Divine Heart is in the Holy Eucharist THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 351 living and beating, — no longer with the life of the Saviour passible and mortal, capable of sadness, sorrow, agony, but with a life resus- citated and perfected in beatitude. This im- IKJSsibility of suffering and dying diminishes nothing of the reality of His life. On the contrary, it renders it more perfect. Never can death attack Him in God. He is the source of perfect and eternal life. The Heart of Jesus lives in the Eucharist, since His Body is living there. True, this Divine Heart is not visible to the senses, but that is the case with all men. The principle of life should be Veiled and mysterious. To ex- pose it would be its death. We mark its exist- ence only by the effects it produces. Man asks not to see the heart of his friend, for one word is sufficient to prove to him its love. And how( is it with the Divine Heart of Jesus? It manifests Itself to us by the sentiments with which It inspires us, and that ought to be suf- ficient for us. Who, on the other hand, could contemplate the beauty, the goodness of this Divine Heart? Who could support the bril- liancy of Its glory, the consuming, the devour- ing flames of this furnace of love ? Who w^ould dare gaze upon this Divine Ark in 352 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST which all Its virtues are glorified, in which His love has its throne, and His goodness all its treasures? Who could penetrate into the sanc- tuary of the Divinity? The Heart of Jesus! the Heaven of heavens inhabited by God Him- self, who therein finds His delights! No, we do not see the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, but we possess It. It is ours! Would you know Its life ? It is shared between His Father and us. It protects us and, while enclosed in a weak Host, the Saviour seeming to sleep the sleep of impotence. His Heart watches: Ego dormio, et Cor meum vigilat. He is watching when we think of Him and when we do not think of Him. He takes no repose. He is continually crying to His Father for pardon for us. Jesus covers us with His Heart and protects us from the blows of the divine wrath, provoked by our incessant sins. His Heart is there as on the Cross, open and shedding on our heads torrents of grace and love. That Heart is there to defend us from our enemies, as a mother to save her child from danger, pressels it tO' her heart that it may not be able toi attack the child without attacking the mother. « And should a mother, » as Jesus THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 353 says, • « forget her child, yet will I never aban- don yon. » The second glance of the Heart of Jesus is to His Father. He adores Him by His inef- fable abasement, by His adoration of annihila- tion. He praises Him, thanks Him for the benefits that He grants to men, His brethren. He offers Himself as a victim to the justice of His Father, and His prayer for the Church, for sinners, for all the souls that He has re- deemed, is incessant. O Father, look with pleasure upon the Heart of Thy Divine Son Jesus! Behold His love, hear His sighs, and may the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus be our salvation! Ill K|S]He reason for which the Feast of the Sacred Heart was instituted, the manner by which Jesus manifested His Heart, are another proof that it is in the Eucharist that we ought to honor Him, and that it is there we shall find Him with all His love. It was before the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed that Blessed Margaret Mary received the revelation of the Sacred Heart. It was in 354 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. the Host that Jesus, holding- His Heart in His hands, manifested Himself to her and addressed to her these adorable words, the most eloquent commentary on His Presence in the Sacrament: « Behold this Heart which has so loved men! » And Our Lord, appearing to the Venerable Mother Mechtilde, foundress of a Society of Adoratrices, commanded her ardently to love and honor, as much as she possibly could. His Sacred Heart in the Blessed Sacrament. He gave It to her as a pledge of His love, to be her refuge during life and her consolation at the hour of death. The object of the Feast of the Sacred Heart is to honor with more fervor and devotion the love of Jesus Christ suffering and instituting the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. To enter into the spirit of devotion toward the Heart of Jesus, we ought, then, to honor the past sufferings of the Saviour, and repair the acts of ingratitude with which He is drenched daily in the Eucharist. How great have^ been the sorrows of the Heart of Jesus! All trials have been united in It. It was saturated with humiliations. The most revolting calumnies assailed It, raging to dishonor It. It has been satiated with op- THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 355 probrium, all kinds of contempt have been cast upon It. But in spite of everything’, Jesus offered Himself because He willed it, and that without a complaint. His love was stronger than death, and the torrents of desolation have never extinguished its ardor. These dolors are, without doubt, over; but since it was for us that Jesus endured them, our gratitude ought never to cease. Our love ought to honor them, as if they were going on under our own eyes. And this Heart, which has endured them with so much love, is there in the Eucharist. It is not dead, but living and acting. It is not insensible, but even more loving! Alas! Although Jesus can no longer suffer, men exhibit toward Him monstrous ingrati- tude ! Their ingratitude toward a God present, living with us to gain our love — ah, behold the supreme torment of the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament! Man is indifferent to this supreme Gift of Jesus’ love for him. He makes no account of It, he does not even think of It; or if the thought of It intrudes itself upon him, if Jesus wills to rouse him from his torpor, he banishes the idea as importunate. He does not want the love of Jesus Christ ! 356 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Again, urged by faith, by the memory of a Christian education, by the sentiment which God places in the bottom of his heart to adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist as his Lord, to return to His service, impious man rises up against this dogma, of all others the most lov- able. He goes so far as even to deny it, even to apostatize, that he may not have to adore his Eucharistic God nor sacrifice to Him some idol, some passion. He desires to remain in his shameful chains. Man’s malice goes still further. He is not content with denying; he does not recoil from the crime of renewing the horrors of the Saviour’s Passion ! And we see Christians despising Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, despising that Heart which has loved them so much, and which is consuming Itself for love of them! To despise Him, they take advantage of the veil that hides Him! They insult Him by their irreverence, their guilty thoughts, their criminal glances in His Presence. Like the impious soldiers of Caia- phas, Herod, and Pilate, they take advantage of His unalterable patience. His gentleness and silence. They sacrilegiously blaspheme the God THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. 357 of the Eucharist. They know that His love seals His lips. They even crucify Him in their guilty soul, for they receive Him! They dare to take His living Heart, bind It to their own infected corpse, and deliver It to the demon that rules over them 1 No^ never did Jesus receive in the days of His Passion so much humiliation as He does in His Sacrament! Earth is for Him a. Calvary of ignominy. Ah! He looks for a consoler in His agony. On the Cross, He asked men to compassionate His sorrow; today more than ever, reparation, the reparation of honor to the adorable Heart of Jesus is necessary! Let us surround the Eu- charist with our adoration, with our love! To the Heart of Jesus living in the Most Blessed Sacrament, honor, praise, adoration, and royal- ty forever and ever! Ecce ego creo ccelosnovos, et gaudebitis et exultabitis in sempiternum in his guce ego creo. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth .... and you shall be glad and re- joice forever in these things that I create. (ISAIAS LXV, 17.) I Hen mounting to heaven on the day of the Ascension, Je- sus Christ went to take pos- session of His glory and to prepare a place for us. With Him redeemed humanity en- ters heaven. We know that it is no longer closed to us, and we live in the expectation of the day on which its portals will open to us. This hope sustains and encourages us. It should in itself be sufficient to make us lead a Christian life in order not to lose it, and we THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 359 should be willing to endure for it all kinds of trials. Our Lord, however, to keep alive in us and to render more efficacious the hope of heaven, to make us await patiently its glory, and to conduct us thereto, created the beautiful heaven of the Eucharist. Ah, the Eucharist is a beautiful heaven, heaven commenced! Is it not Jesus glorified coming from heaven to earth, and bringing heaven with Him? Is not heaven everywhere that Jesus is? His state in the Eucharist, although veiled to our senses, is glorified, triumphant, beatified. He has no more of life’s miseries and, when we communi- cate, we receive heaven, since we receive Jesus, who makes all the happiness and glory of Para- dise. What glory for a subject to entertain his king! We are thus glorified, for we re- ceive the King of Heaven! Jesus comes to us that we may not forget our true country, or better still, that by thinking of it we may lan- guish with desire for it and with weariness of our exile. He comes and remains corporally in our heart as long as the Sacrament lasts; then, the Species destroyed, He mounts again to heaven, though still abiding in us by His grace and by His presence of love. Why does He not remain actually longer? Because the The Divine Eucharist. 24 360 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. condition of His corporaL presence is the integ- rity of the Sacred Species. Jesus coming to us, brings with Him the fruits and flowers of Paradise. What are those fruits and flowers? I know not. We do not see them, but we perceive their perfume. He brings to us His glorified merits, His sword victorious over Satan. He brings to us His arms, that we may defend ourselves with them; His merits, that we may join our own to them by making them fructify. The Eucharist is the ladder, not of Jacob, but of Jesus, who by it continually ascends to heaven and descends to earth for our sake. Jesus is incessantly journeying to us. II Ut behold what are especially the heaven- ly gifts that Jesus brings us when we receive Him. First, glory. True, the glory of the saints and the blessed is a flower that expands only in the sun of Paradise and under the glance of God. But this brilliant glory we cannot have on earth, for men would adore us! But we receive its hidden germ, which contains it whole THE HEAVEN OF THE EUCHARIST. 361 and entire, as the seed contains the ear of wheat. The Eucharist stores away in us the leaven of the resurrection, the matter for special and more brilliant glory. Sown in the cor- ruptible flesh, it will shine upon our body resuscitated and immortal. Secondly, happiness. Our soul, entering into heaven, will see itself put in possession, with- out fear of loss or diminution, of the hap^ piness of God Himself. But in Communion, do we not receive something of this true hap- piness? It is not given to us entire for fear that, if it were, we would no longer think of heaven ; but with what sweet peace, with what sweet joy are we not inundated after Communion ! The more the soul is disengaged from earthly affections, the more she tastes this happiness. There are some souls so happy after Communion that even their body par- ticipates in it. Lastly, the blessed share in the power of God. He who communicates with a great de- sire to be united to Jesus, feels only sovereign contempt for all that is not worthy of his divinized affections. He rises above all that is earthly, and that is true power. Then' it is that Communion makes the soul mount to God. 362 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Prayer is defined an ascension of the soul to God. But what is prayer compared to Holy Communion ? How far is that ascension of thought and desire from that sacramental ascension to which Jesus raises us with Himself to the bosom of God! The eagle, to accustom its young to fly to the highest regions of the air, when giving to them their food, holds it far above them; and, rising as the young birds near it, makes them insensibly ascend higher and higher. And so does Jesus, the Divine Eagle, act toward us. He comes to us, bringing us the nourishment of which we have need, and then mounts, inviting us to follow Him. He loads us with delights that we may long for the joys of heaven. He accustoms us to the thought of heaven. When you possess Jesus in your heart, do you not desire Paradise and feel contempt for earth? You would wish to die then and there, the sooner to be united to God forever. He who communicates very rarely, has no lively desire for God, and he fears death. This fear is not in itself bad, but if you were certain of going straight to heaven — ah! you would not want to remain one quarter of an hour longer THE HEAVEN OF THE EUCHARIST. 363 on earth ! In one quarter of an hour in heaven, you can testify more love to God and glorify Him more than during the longest life. In this way, then, does Communion prepare us for heaven. What a great grace to die after having received Holy Viaticum! I know that perfect contrition justifies us and gives us a right to heaven; but how much better to go in company with Jesus, and to be judged by His love, still united, so to speak, with His Sacra- ment of Love! It is for this reason that the Church wishes her priests to administer Holy Viaticum even at the last moment to the well disposed penitent, even if he should already have lost the use of his senses; so anxious is this good Mother that her children should not depart till well provided for the terrible jour- ney ! Let us often beg the grace of receiving the Holy Viaticum before dying. It will be the pledge of our eternal happiness. Saint Chrys- ostom assures us in his book on the Priesthood that the angels attend the departure from the body of those souls that have just communicat- ed. On account of that Divine Sacrament, they surround and accompany them like satel- lites up to the throne of God. The EUCHARISTIC TRANSFIG- ^ i URATION. ^ transjiguratus est ante I Jesus was transfigured be- eos, 1 fore them. (Matt, xvii, 2.) S the Feast of the Transfigu- ration of Our Lord on Thabor is a beautiful one, let us say a word on its relation to Eucharistic transubstantiation. All the mysteries of Our Lord’s life relate to the Eucharist, because the Eucharist completes them all. All tend to the Eucharist. It is for grace to discover what there is in those mysteries that bear some re- lation to the Eucharist, in order by them to nourish devotion toward the Most Blessed Sac- rament. Now, Our Lord, taking with Him three dis- THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 365 ciples, went up on a high mountain to manifest His glory, hidden under the humiliation of the flesh. He desired to strengthen them against the scandal of His Passion, by showing them who He really was. The Eucharist, also, was instituted on a mountain, that of Sion, much more celebrated than Thabor. Jesus loved mountains. On them He performed many of the great actions of His life. Valleys did not suit Him. They engender miasma and sickness. The earth is for grovellers. Jesus draws to Himself, also, by elevating them, souls whom He desires to love with special love. The second transfiguration is more lovable than the first, and much more lasting. It was made in presence of all the Apostles. The first took place in the open air, because glory needs to expand. But the second, which is all love, took place in secret. Jesus concealied it in order to render it more powerful. When one wishes to testify affection for a friend, he folds him in his arms. The charity of zeal extends a'far in order to do good to a very great number of souls. The heart’s love concentrates itself. We gather up' its darts as in a lens, just as the optician grinds his glass SO' as to concentrate in one single 366 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. point all the rays and heat of the light. Our Lord compresses Himself into the small space of the Host, in order to make a focus of more burning love. And as a great conflagration may be enkindled by bringing a lens to bear on inflammable materials, so the Eucharist shoots forth Its flames upon those that partici- pate in It, and consumes them with divine fire. Jesus was transfigured while praying on Tha- bor. His raiment became white as snow, His countenance resplendent as the sun. The Apostles could not support its brilliancy. Jesus transfigured Himself in glory to show that His feeble body was, nevertheless, the body of a God. That transfiguration was made from within. Jesus allowed a ray of the glory that He retained by a perpetual miracle to appear without. But Jesus was not come to give lessons in glory; therefore, the vision of Thabor quickly passed. It lasted but an instant. The Sacramental Transfiguration is made from without. On Thabor, Jesus tore away the veil that hid His Divinity; but here He sup- presses even His Humanity, transfigures It into an appearance of bread, so that He appears to be neither God nor Man, and there is no longer THE EUCHARISTIC TRANSFIGURATION. 367 question of anything exterior. He buries Him- self, and the Sacred Species become the tomb of His power. His Humanity so good, so beautiful. He veils under humility. He seems to become the subject of the accidents, so closely is He united to them, the bread and the wine having been changed into the Body and the Blood of the Son of God. Do' you see Him under this Transfiguration of love and humility ? Although hidden under a cloud, we know that the sun is still there. Jesus is always God and perfect man, though veiled behind the cloud of bread and wine. As all was glorious in the first Transfiguration, all is lovable in the second. We no longer see Him, we no longer touch Him, but He is there with all His gifts. Love, grace, and faith pierce the veils and recognize His features. The soul sees by faith. Belief is real sight. We would, indeed, like to see Jesus in the Sacrament with the eyes of the body. But if the Apostles could not support a single ray of His glory, what would it be today? Love knows how to transfigure itself only by good- ness, by humbling itself, by becoming little, by annihilating itself. Where was there more love, on Calvary or on Thabor ? Weigh it well, and 368 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. tell me whether it was Calvary or Thabor that converted the world. Lx)ve shuns glory. It hides itself, it lowers itself. Thus did the Word do in becoming incarnate, thus did He do on Calvary, and thus does He do still more profoundly in the Eucharist. Instead of com- plaining, we should thank Our Lord that He does not renew His Thabor. The Apostles lay trembling on the ground, and the words that came from the mouth of God were capable of consuming them. The Apostles scarcely dared speak to Our Lord! But here we speak to Him without fear, because we can press our heart to His, and feel His love! Glory sometimes turns one’s head. Remem- ber how St. Peter talked at random. He had lost his mind. He talked of rest, of happiness, while Our Lord spoke only of His sufferings and death. Peter thought very little of his duty. If Our Lord showed you His glory, you would never again leave Him. It would be so good to be here! The Heavenly Father had to give St. Peter a lesson, reminding him that Our Lord was His Son, and that he should follow Him everywhere, even to death. Remember that an education, acquired in the midst of pleasures, is neither serious nor solid; THE EUCHARISTIC TRANSFIGURATION. 369 and that the child, surrounded with too much tenderness, is never large-hearted. It is for this reason that the Eucharistic Transfiguration is made, not in joy nor in glory, but in secret and humiliation. Glory is Its future conse- quence. We do not see Moses and Elias at this . second Transfiguration. They have nothing to do here. The Eucharist is not for them. But the twelve Apostles, who are to be the legislators and the prophets of the new people of God, take part in it. The Holy Trinity is there and operating, but invisibly. Legions of angels adore the Word of God reduced to a state so near to nothingness. We, we were all there. Jesus consecrated our Hosts in intention and foreknowledge. He counted them all, and it is by His -orders they are given to us. Now, see how the prayer of a simple and upright heart is always heard, although not always in the manner that we have imag- ined. Peter had asked to remain on the moun- tain. Had Jesus refused him? No, He had only postponed the grace that He was im- ploring. It is in the Eucharist that Jesus Christ has established His Tabernacle among 370 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. US forever, and that He has permitted us to dwell with Him on His Eucharistic Thabor. Oh, that is not a tent to be taken up and transported from day to day! It is a house that He has built, and in it we dwell night and day. We possess much more than St. Peter asked. As for you, my brethren, you behold Him only in passing, but it is every day. And if you have taken up your abode near a church of the Most Blessed Sacrament, you feel also the sweet influence of His vi- cinity. Domine, bonum est nos hie esse ! — Oh, yes. Lord;, it is good for us to be here! — You know when you have some trouble, some sor- row, how to run to Him, for He is always the good Samaritan. He pours out His Heart over yours. He awaits you. He does not treat you as strangers, but as friends, as the children of His family. Has not the Heavenly Father said: « Be- hold My well-beloved Son »? And by incom- prehensible love. He has given Him to us. He has given Him to us at Bethlehem, on Calvary, and above all and forever, in the Cenacle. At the same time, Jesus, also, gives Himself. The Father engenders Him daily and gives THE EUCHARISTIC TRANSFIGURATION. 37 1 Him to every one of us. Oh I think on this! Let us, then, love this feast of the Transfig- uration. It is wholly Eucharistic. Come to this blessed mountain on which Jesus is transfig- ured. Do not seek there sensible happiness or glory, but the lessons of holiness He gives you by His annihilation. Come, and by your love, your self-abnegation, transfigure your- selves into our Sacramental Jesus while waiting to be transfigured into Jesus Christ glorious in heaven. 2^?^ 2^L iWtt 2? SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. Ilhim oportet crescere, me I He must increase, but I aute 7 n uiimii. 1 must decrease. (John, 111,30. E ought to honor St. John as a perfect model of adorers. His beautiful saying is the device of Eucharistic service and de- votedness : The Most Blessed Sacrament must increase, be known and loved, while we must annihilate our- selves before It. Let us see how St. John in the principal actions of his life is the model of adorers. His life seems to have been one continual adoration. We find in it the charac- ter of adoration by the four ends of the Sacri- fice, which is the best of all ways of adoring. THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. 373 I ^ ADORATION. H Doration is performed prostrate, the face on the ground. It is our first impulse, which makes us acknowledge the in- finite majesty of God, hidden under the veil of the Eucharist. To this first movement suc- ceeds the exaltation of His greatness and His love. Now, the first grace of St. John is one of devotion. The Word is in Mary’s womb. He inspires His Mother to visit Elizabeth. Mary bears to John his Master and his King. John cannot go to Jesus, for his mother is too aged to undertake the journey. Jesus Christ, there- fore, goes to him. Thus does He do to us. We cannot go to God, but God comes to us. When saluting Elizabeth, Mary unbinds the power of her Divine Son. Jesus even in our day is still bound, and He can do nothing without Mary. The voice of Mary was that of the Word Incarnate. John leaped in his moth- er’s womb at the sound of that voice, thus revealing to his mother the mystery of the presence of God in Mary. It was John who made her comprehend this mystery, as Eliza- beth declared to Mary: « Exultavit infans in 374 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. utero meo — The infant in my womb leaped for joy. » From that moment John is the precursor. He sees his God; he adores Him by his thrills of joy. He adores Him, and the delight of finding himself in His presence reacts upon his mother. How good Our Lord was to John! He desired to bless him, to make Himself known to him from the womb of his mother. What joy this adoration of His precursor must have given Him! It was so spontaneous! Jesus remained ^vith him three months. Both were veiled in the maternal tabernacle. John constantly adored his God. He was conscious of His presence behind the veil. Unite with this devout adoration of St. John, so lively, so sensible, despite the veils, the barriers which separated him from Our Lord: Senseras Regem tkalamo manentem, H — THANKSGIVING. H I Hanksgiving springs from the goodness, ! the love of Jesus Christ. It sees but His gifts. His benefits. It humbles itself, in order to exalt the benefactor. It rejoices for itself and also for the benefits and graces granted to SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. 375 others and to the entire Church. Such a sen- timent expands the heart. It is at the Jordan that John especially mani- fests this double* sentiment of joy and gratitude. Behold, first, the favor shown him by Our Lord, for thanksgiving always arises from some benefit received, and it rests upon humility. Now, John is about to baptize Our Lord. He had never yet seen Him. The Heavenly Fa- ther had given him a sign by which he should recognize Him. Among the multitude of sin- ners who are waiting for John’s baptism, who are listening to his stern exhortations to pen- ance, Jesus presents Himself. In the line of publicans and soldiers, He awaits His turn — He, a King I — He, the Son of Godl No privileges, no exceptions I Hearken to that, O ye Adorers, and have no protectors but Our Lord I — St. John casts himself at the feet of Jesus Christ. « But what! Thou comest to me? It is I who ought to be baptized by Thee! — Ego debeo a te haptizari, et tu venis ad me? y> — Behold humility, truth! The saints never think themselves perfect. And John by this word speaks not of his ministry: « Venis ad me — Thou comest to me; » not « Thou comest to my baptism. » What deli- The Divine Eucharist. 25 376 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. cacyl To mention his ministry, would have erected for him a little throne. Before Our Lord, he is nothing 1 And Jesus Christ said to him : « Obey I Fulfil the command of My Father. » Behold a man truly humble I John obeyed and baptized Him. One less humble would have found fifty rea- sons to allege against the command, but John obeys. And when Our Lord retired, he did not follow Him. He remained at his post of obedience. What humility! And now let us see how he turned over to Our Lord all the glory and honor of the sub- lime function that he exercised. His disciples, the worst of flatterers, who wished to glorify, themselves with the glory of their master, told him that every one was following Jesus. « O how much pleasure you give me! » replied 0 John. « The friend of the bridegroom remains at his side, stands before him, but the bride is but for the bridegroom. Souls are but for Jesus Christ. » The soul is but to serve the Spouse. John rejoiced that the Divine Spouse found so many spouses: « My joy is full on seeing Him increase. He must increase, and I must decrease! » Nothing for himself, all for Jesus! And this SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. 377 is that at which we ought to aim : to make Our Lord known. What a loss not to be able to erect a throne for Him in all hearts ! As much as we debase ourselves, as much as we decrease, so much do we elevate Our Lord upon His throne. « Oportet ilium crescere. » That counts much in practice. Today we are noth- ing, but one day it may happen that among the Adorers we shall have distinguished men. O then it is that we must say: « Take care! Be not lifted up, pride not yourself on your talents! Hide yourself that the Master alone may appear! » Our vocation is so beautiful, its end so elevated. We must grow in all the virtues, because we ought to have them to be worthy of our vocation. But woe to him who would seek to stand before Our Lord! — No! Down on your knees! Down on the earth! — « Oportet ilium crescere, me autem minui. » Oh, the beautiful thanksgiving of a soul that accepts the gifts of God, while recognizing that she is nothing, and giving all the glory to God! 378 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Ill — PROPITIATION, OR REPARATION. P^^Ropitiation, or reparation, consists in indemnifying Our Lord, in consoling Him. This forms a large part of our mission as Adorers. We must be repairers, mediators, penitents for the sins of men. The world is so full of evil that there is almost more to repair than to thank for! Now, John assumes the office of repairer when he says: « Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi! — Behold the Lamb of God! Behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world! » — He preaches, he points out the Victim Beparator ! Then he weeps, he groans over the indifference of men toward the Saviour. Listen to his lamentations : « Me- dius vestrum stetit quern vos nescitis — There hath stood one in the midst of you whom you know not. » He groaned at seeing the great, the learned, refusing to follow Jesus Christ, who was surrounded by the poor only. He makes to Him public reparation, he adores Him as a victim. He exalts Him in the place of them that despise Him : « The latchet of His shoe I am not worthy to loose! » — How he scorns their contempt! SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. 379 IV -- SUPPLICATION, OR PETITION. H Ohn had been imprisoned for his cour- age in reprehending a guilty king. No one dares to tell a king the truth. All are afraid. Oh, sad condition, to live by th^ side of kings! John’s disciples came to see him. They did not yet believe in Jesus Christ. John does all he can to obtain their conversion. Behold the true apostolate! — to lead souls to Jesus Christ, to attach them to Him alone, with- out any thought of self. John then begs Our Lord to receive them. He sends them to Him, that the sight of His kindness and power may convert them. Jesus Christ exhibits before them the greatest prodigies, yet they do not adore him! Oh, how stupid does the human heart become when tainted by prejudice! Jeal- ousy whispered that, if Jesus increased, John would no longer be of any account. His dis- ciples were not willing to disappear with him. With him they can pride themselves on belong- ing to a certain set, a certain society. They live in the reputation of their master. Their visit to the Saviour, however, plants in their hearts the grace of faith and, after John’s death, they all gather round Our Lord. Their 380 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. conversion was due to the prayers of St. John. Behold a good Adorer! Love St. John ten- derly who was so loved by Our Lord. Jesus wept over his death. John was His cousin, His friend, His first apostle. Adore, repair as he did. Learn like him how to sacrifice your- self for the glory of Our Lord. John died a martyr to the crimes of a king. Kings excite most terribly the wrath of God. Frequently recall this saying, which is the device of sanc- tity and of the Eucharistic service: « Ilium oportet crescerej me autem minui — May Jesus Eucharistic be exalted, and may I be annihil- ated! » \ ST. MARY MAGDALEN. Jesus diligebat Mariam. I Jesus loved Mary Magda ! len. (John xi, 5.) T. Mary Magdalen was the priv- ileged friend of Jesus. She served Him with her wealth, she accompanied Him every- where. She honored His Hu- manity magnificently by her presents. She loved to pray at His feet in the silence of contemplation. By all these titles, shief is the patroness and the model of the life of adoration, and of the service of Jesus in the Sacrament of His love. Let us study St. Mary Magdalen. Her life is full of the best lessons. I Esus loved Martha, Mary her sister, and Lazarus, but Mary more than all. No doubt He loved all three, but He had special predilection for Magdalen. 382 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Although Our Lord loves us all, nevertheless He has His friends of preference, and He per- mits us, also, to have our special friends in God. Nature, yes, even grace, has need of them. All the saints have had their intimate friends, and they themselves were the most tender, the most devoted in their friendships. Magdalen was, before her conversion, a pub- lic sinner. She possessed all the qualities of mind and body, all the gifts of fortune that could lead to the greatest excesses. And she allowed herself to be so led. The Gospel de- grades her even to calling her a public sinner. This woman had fallen so low that Simon the Pharisee regarded it as a dishonor that she should enter his house. And because Jesus suffered her at His feet, he even doubted His prophetic light. But this poor sinner is going to rise in His pardon, even to the rank of the highest saints. Let us see how this will be. II ^Hat chiefly holds great sinners and hin- I ders their conversion, is human respect. I shall not be able to persevere in good, they ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 383 say. I dare not undertake what I cannot con- tinue. And they pause discouraged. But Magdalen hears that Jesus is in the house of Simon. She hesitates not. She goes straight to Jesus and makes a public con- fession. She even dares to enter a house from which, had she been recognized at the entrance, she would have been expelled in shame. She utters no word at the feet of Jesus, but her love speaks in a loud voice. Painters represent her with disheveled hair, her dress disordered. That is pure imagination. Such an appearance would have been worthy neither of Jesus nor of her repentance. She makes no mistake as to His identity, but goes straight to Jesus. How does she know Him ? Ah ! the sick heart knows very well how to find Him who will console and cure. Mary dares not look at Jesus. She sees nothing. That is the characteristic of true repentance. Behold the Prodigal Son and the Publican. The sinner that looks into the face of God whom he has offended, insults Him. But Mary weeps and dries with her hair the feet of Jesus, which she has watered with her tears. Behold her place, at the feet of Jesus. The feet tread the earth, and she knows that 3^4 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. she is only the dust of a dead body. Of her hair, that vanity the world adores, she makes a cloth, and there she remains prostrate await- ing her sentence. She hears the remarks of the envious, the Apostles as well as the Jews, who honor only virtue crowned and triumphant. They do not care for Magdalen, who gives to them and to all this lesson. They have all sinned, but no one has the courage publicly to ask pardon. Simon even, full of hypocrisy and pride, — Simon is indignant! But Jesus aveng- es Magdalen. What a word of reinstation: « Much has been forgiven her, because she has loved much! » « Go in peace, » says the Sav- iour to her, « thy faith has saved thee. » He does not add: « Sin no more. » — Jesus said that to the adulteress, more humbled at having been surprised in crime than repentant for having offended God. Magdalen had no need of that recommendation. Her love is to Jesus the certitude of her firm resolve. What a beautiful and touching absolution! Magda- len has, indeed, very perfect contrition. — When you go to confession, unite with Mag- dalen and let your contrition, like hers, spring more from love than from fear. Magdalen withdraws with the baptism of love. ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 385 She became more perfect than the Apostles by her humility. Ah ! after this example, de- spise sinners if you dare! One instant suffices to make of them great saints. Among the greatest of them, how many has not Jesus Christ sought in the mire of sin, for instance, Paul, Augustine, and others! Magdalen open- ed to them the way. She rose to the Heart of God, because she started from very low down, and knew how to humble herself. Who, then, should despair? Ill Fter her conversion, Magdalen entered into active love. Here is a great lesson. Many after conversion remain where they were before. They desire to live in the peace of a good conscience, practising the Command- ments. They dare not follow Jesus; they end by falling back. Man does not live on tears and regrets. You have shattered the objects to which your heart was so attached; you must now replace them, and live the life of God. Do you remain at the feet of Jesus? — He rises. Follow Him and walk with Him. Mag- dalen is going to follow Jesus. Never again will 386 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. she be separated from Him. You will find her at His feet, listening to His words, and med- itating them in her heart. It is the grace of her life. She has no other word than prayer, prayer and love. She follows Jesus, and prac- tises the virtues of His different states. The conversion that rests in sentiment is not last- ing. Mary shares the different states of Jesus. On His journeys, she supplies what is neces- sary for His own and His Apostles’ subsistence. Jesus will often go to the home of His friends in Bethama and take His meals with them; in exchange He will give them a nourishment of grace and love. Every time that He does so, Mary takes her place at His feet and remains there in prayer. Martha will be jealous of her. Thus do they act who think that there is only one good state, one good way of living. All are good. That which you have is good. Keep it, but do not despise the others. Martha did well in laboring for Jesus, but she did wrong in being jealous of her sister. You know how Jesus replied and defended Mag- dalen. It is better to listen to His voice than to give Him nourishment. That still happens among active vocations. They complain of contemplative souls. « You are useless! Come, ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 3^7 then, and labor through charity at the salvation of your brethren ! » — But Jesus has here de- fended them. Is it not necessary, also, to show charity to Jesus Christ, poor and abandoned in His Sacrament? Magdalen hears the dialogue, the complaints of ^her sister. She makes no response. She is well-off at the feet of Jesus, and there she stays. Another characteristic of Magdalen’s active love is suffering. She suffers with Jesus Christ. No doubt, she knew in advance of the death of her Master. Friendship has no secrets. If Jesus revealed it to His Apostles, who were so coarse, how could He conceal it from Mag- dalen ? Behold Magdalen in her suffering love! She goes where men dare not go. She mounts even to Calvary, abandons her loved family, follows Jesus Christ suffering even to the end. We see her with Mary at the foot of the Cross. The Gospel names her, and well does she de- serve it. What is she doing there? She is loving, she is compassionating. He who loves, desires to share the condition of his friend. Love fuses two lives, two existences, into one. Magdalen is not standing. She remeinbers 388 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. that she has been a sinner, and that her place is on her knees. Mary alone is standing, im- molating her dear Son, her Isaac. Magdalen remains there until after the death of Jesus. On the morning of the first day of the week, she returns. She knows very well that Jesus is buried; but she still wishes to suffer and weep. The Gospel lauds the zeal, the magnificence of the gifts of the other wom- en; but of Magdalen, it speaks only of her tears. Behold the Christian heroine I More than all the saints, Magdalen shows forth to us the divine mercy. IV He Sacred Book tells us nothing more of Magdalen after the Ascension. A constant and venerable tradition shows us the Jews putting Mary, Martha, and Lazarus on a disabled vessel, and launching it on the high seas, that they might meet certain death. But the Friend of the past always loves them. Jesus constitutes Himself their pilot and their rudder. He leads them to Marseilles, and gives them to France, the beloved Eldest Daughter of His family. ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 389 Lazarus died a martyr. His blood had to water the beautiful land of Provence that the Faith might flourish there. Martha went up as far as Tarascon where, gathering a com- munity of virgins, she exercised corporal and spiritual charity throughout the surrounding country. Magdalen retired to a mountain, as if to draw nearer to God. There she found a grotto, prepared, no doubt, by the hands of angels. But she reoeived in it too many visitors; and time failing her to converse with her good Mas- ter, she ascended higher to a steep peak, and there entertained herself with God alone. There it was that she prayed, continuing in her life the mysteries of Jesus Christ, and there it was that her life ended. And Jesus failed not to visit her. Christian priests took Him to her in Holy Communion. When she was at the point of death, Maximin, one of the seventy-two disciples of the Lord during His life, communi- cated her with his own hand. She had assisted at the death of Jesus, and that good Saviour rendered her the same service and the same honor. She died in France, and the French are proud of it. They possess her holy relics. 390 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. That is one of the strongest proofs of the love that Jesus Christ bears to France. He sent thither His own friends, and they are still there. Let us hope that France will find, in the prayers and the merits of Magdalen, a title to the mercy of God, provided that she imitates Magdalen’s repentance and her love for Jesus Christ, who lives in her, who dwells in her cities and her most obscure villages. Yes, Jesus Christ loves France as He loved Magdalen and the family at Bethania, with a love of predi- lection ! JUNE, the MONTH of the BLESSED SACRAMENT. Mensis iste, vobis princi- I This month shall be to you pUmi mensium. the beginning? of months. I (ExOD. XII, 2.) Any pious souls consecrate the month of June to the honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and for that reason call it the « Month of the Sacred Heart. » But we prefer to consecrate it to the Most Blessed Sacrament, for we are of opinion that the title « Month of the Blessed Sacrament » belongs to it by a stronger claim than does the) first. The feast of the Sacred Heart and that of the Blessed Sacrament generally fall in this month, but the latter is the more solemn in the The Divine Eucharist. 26 392 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Church, and it should be more dear to us. To honor the Sacred Heart as the seat of the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is well. But Eucharistic souls know how to honor It in the Most Blessed Sacrament, for where is the Heart of Jesus truly and substantially living except in the Eucharist and in heaven? Many honor It in statues and pictures. The devotion is good, but it is only relative. We should go further than the representation, and find the reality. Now, in the Blessed Sacra- ment, Jesus is living. His Heart is beating for us. Let us, then, place our life, our centre in that living and beating Heart. Let us honor the Sacred Heart in the Eucharist. Let us never separate the Sacred Heart from the Eu- charist. I Here are in the year several months con- secrated to special devotions, which are continued for thirty days; for instance, the Month of Mary, which is no other than a feast of thirty days in honor of the Blessed Virgin. During that time we honor all her virtues, all the mysteries of her life, and we always obtain some new grace by doing so. Again, we have THE MONTH OF THE BL. SACRAMENT. 393 the Month of St. Joseph. Soon every promi- nent devotion will have a month for its own special exercises. So* much the better! It would be an excellent thing, a very great impetus to Catholic piety. Devotion prolonged during an entire month embraces its whole subject, considers it under every aspect, and gives a deep and serious in- sight into it. By the daily meditations, by a certain unity of action in the practice of virtue during those days, by prayers adapted to the subject in hand, we end by obtaining a true and solid devotion to the mystery honored dur- ing the month. That upon which but one thought is concentrated, becomes strong and fully rounded out. Our devotion needs to be firm and compact and to tend to but one aim. Why is it that so many pious souls never reach remarkable ho- liness? It is because they are so divided in their devotions. Their spirit of piety does not find sufficient nourishment to support it or carry it on to great heights. They do not know how to weld their devotions into a com- pact whole. We all know what fruits missions produce in parishes hitherto deaf to the earnest exhorta- 394 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. tions, the heroic example, of their pastors. The reasoni is that the missions are an uninter- rupted series of multiplied exercises. They embrace all the means that can touch hearts, strike the imagination, and cx)mpel serious reflection. A mission is a torrent formed by the united currents of all the means of salva- tion. Is it astonishing that it vanquishes the most obdurate hearts? When our thoughts, our devotions, are united and concentrated upon one object, they over- come all obstacles and lead to the highest vir- tue. Let us, then, cultivate this concentrated and continued devotion. We are told that in order to correct a bad habit, root out a vice, it is necessary to begin by watching over one’s self, by struggling for a time, before feeling ourselves drawn to the opposite virtue. Once, however, that attraction is felt, the soul runs on with giant steps. It is the same with the subject of which we are now speaking. A certain time must elapse before loving with a strong and enlightened love the devotion to the Most Blessed Sacra- ment, which is the mother and queen of all other devotions, the sun of piety. Devotion to Mary is good, is excellent; but it ought to THE MONTH OF THE BL. SACRAMENT. 395 lead to devotion to the Eucharist as Mary her- self aimed entirely at Jesus Christ. The Scrip- ture compares her to the moon, which receives all its light from the sun, and returns it again to him. Now, since the Month of Mary makes so many conversions, produces so much good in souls, obtains so many graces of all kinds, what will not the Month of the Most Blessed Sacra- ment do, since it is the virtues, the sacrifices, Jesus Christ Himself in Person that we honor? And if we know how to unite our reading, our aspirations, our practice of the virtues to the action of Jesus in the Eucharist, we shall by the end of the month have gained some great victory over self; our love will have increased, our grace will be more powerful. Our Lord has said that he who eats His Flesh and drinks His Blood has life in him. What will this be if you supplemient your Sacramental Communion by a constant com- munion of thirty days in His love, in His virtues, in His holiness, in His life in the Most Blessed Sacrament ? Behold what it is to be united to Jesus Eu- charistic. Without that, we may have good thoughts, but we have no principle of life. 396 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. The gust that blows but an instant, only skims over the surface of the earth ; but the fine, steady rain, which lasts for a time, sinks in and renders it fruitful. The thought of the Euchar- ist, entertained for a whole month in the man- ner we shall point out, will become an abundant spring which will fructify our virtues, a divine strength which will make us fly in the way of sanctity. We may say with good reason and following the laws of natural philosophy, that if we exercise ourselves for a whole month upon one same subject, our mind will acquire the habit of it, whatever it may be. Let us not fear that such concentration upon one single mystery will restrict our horizon. The Eucharist comprehends all mysteries, all virtues. It affords us the means of reviving them, of considering them in their living and animated subject, present before us, and this wonderfully facilitates meditation. We see Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We see His sac- ramental covering. We know even by our senses that He is there. The Sacred Host speaks to us, arrests our gaze. It vividly pre- sents to us Our Lord. May this month, then, be for us a month of happiness, during which we shall live in inti- THE MONTH OF THE BL. SACRAMENT. 397 mate union with Jesus! Ah! we know well that His conversation « hath no bitterness. No7i hahet amaritudinem conversatio illius. » May it lead us with giant strides to sanctity! II Ow must we spend this month in order to profit by it? the first place, we should procure some book on the Blessed Sacrament, and read a little in it every day. Do not fear, we cannot exhaust the subject. The depths of the love of Jesus are unfathonable. It is the same with Jesus in the Eucharist as with Jesus in heaven. He is always beautiful, always new, always infinite. We need never fear to see that infinite Source exhausted. Jesus has first so many graces, and then so much glory to bestow upon us! Let us, then, have a book that treats of the Eucharist. I know very well that books do not make saints and that, on the contrary, it is the saints who .make the good books. But I counsel a book for instruction, to awaken thoughts that will lead us to. perfection, and with which we miay nourish our soul in medita- 398 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. tion. Take, for instance, Book Fourth of the Following of Christ. It is so beautiful! It was an angel, 'without doubt, that composed it! Take the Visits to the Blessed Sacrament of St. Alphonsus Liguori. This book on its appearance made a revolution in piety. It has produced, and it still produces every day, the most abundant fruits of salvation. Take any book. It matters not. We may choose any that suits us. But let us put aside our other devotions during this month. We shall lose nothing by it, we shall lose nothing by plunging entirely into the sun. Make more frequent and more prolonged visits to the Blessed Sacrament during this month, and communicate with greater fervor. Practise a virtue that bears some relation to the state of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, either His silence, or His sweetness, but, above all, His annihilation ,and life of recollection in His Father. Make some special sacrifice to the Blessed Sacrament. Have every day a fresh flower to present to Him. He deigns to allow us to approach His Adorable Person in order to present Him our offering. Truly, the great ones of the world are not seen so easily. Let THE MONTH OF THE BL. SACRAMENT. 399 US not slight this loving favor of Jesus, nor cast away our right as children of His family. I repeat, to pass this month well, we must practise some Eucharistic virtue, and read something on the Blessed Sacrament. This is more necessary than we think, perhaps. With a book, we shall have new thoughts; without a book, we shall be dry, always repeating the same things: tanquam jumentum, like a beast. The book by itself is worth little, but if we’ usie it earnestly, with our whole heart, we shall put life into it. The Holy Scripture itself must be read with the heart. Read without faith and love, it would be fatal to us, as we see it harden certain unbelievers who read it daily. You say, perhaps, « Books do not please me, because I do not find in them what my soul seeks. They do not satisfy me. » So much the better! It would be very bad for us if books could make all our prayer for us, say everything for us. We should then become mere talking machines. The Saviour does not permit books to do everything for us in prayer. We must get His grace by our own exertions, by the sweat of our brow. There never was a life of any saint, were he the greatest in the Church, that would entirely suit us. And why ? 400 THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. Because we are not that special saint, and we have a personal grace suited to our own indi- vidual nature; because we have a certain per- sonality, each peculiar to himself, of which we do not know how to make complete ab- straction. Let us read, then, but expect all the fruit of our reading from our own meditation alone. Some one says: « I would make my adora- tion, my visit, but I cannot go to church dur- ing the day. » That must not hinder us. Our Lord sees us even in our own home. He can hear us from His tabernacle. He can see us from heaven: why can He not see us from the Sacred Host (^) ? Let us adore Him wher- ever He may be. Let us make a good adora- tion of love, land Our Lord will understand our desire. It would, indeed, be a great misfortune could we commune with Jesus Eucharistic only in His temples. The light of the sun surrounds and enlightens us although we may not be directly in its rays. And so it is with Our Lord in the Sacred Host. He knows how to send the rays of His love into our homes to I. This opinion is supported by Suarez, Disput. LI 1 1 THE MONTH OF THE BL. SACRAMENT. 40I warm and strengthen us. There are currents in the supernatural order as well as in the na- tural. Do we not sometimes feel ourselves unexpectedly recollected and transported with love? It is because a ray, a current of grace has fallen upon us. Let us have faith in these currents, in these spiritual communications with our distant Jesus. It would be very sad if He could receive our adoration only when we visit Him in the church. No, no! He sees every- where, He blesses everywhere. He unites Him- self everywhere to those that desire to enter into communication with Him. We may, then, adore Him everywhere. We may everywhere turn in spirit toward His tabernacle. May all our thoughts be for Him during this month! May our virtues, our love rest in that Divine Centre, and may this month be to us one of graces and blessings! ■ Letter of Approbation of Cardinal Gibbons. . v Letter of the Bishop of Tarbes vi Letter of the Bishop of Carcassonne vil Preface of the Second French Edition. ... ix Adoration « In Spirit and in Truth ». . . . i Practice for Adoration lo Method of Adoration by the Four Ends of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 20 The Pater Noster 29 The Institution of the Eucharist 36 The Last Will of Jesus Christ 42 The Gift of the Heart of Jesus 49 Testimony of the Church to the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucha- rist Testimony of Jesus Christ to the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist 61 Faith in the Eucharist 67 The Wonderful Work of God 73 The Sacrifices of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. . 78 The Eucharist and the Death of the Saviour. . 86 The Eucharist, a Need of the Heart of Jesus. . 92 The Eucharist, the Need of Our Heart. . . 99 The Eucharist and the Glory of God. . . . 105 The Divine Spouse of the Church 1 1 1 The Hidden God 117 The Veiled Eucharist 124 404 CONTENTS. The Mystery of Faith 130 The Love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. . . 136 The Excess of Love 142 The Eucharist and the Family 149 The Family Feast 156 The God of Goodness 163 The God of the Lowly 169 The Eucharist, the Centre of the Heart. . . . 176 The Sovereign Good 182 The Most Blessed Sacrament is Not Loved. . 189 The Triumph of Christ by the Eucharist. . , 198 God is There ! 204 The God of the Heart 212 The Worship of the Eucharist 218 Let Us Love the Most Blessed Sacrament. . 226 The Eucharist, Our Way 236 Annihilation, the Characteristic of Eucharistic Holiness 244 Jesus Meek and Humble of Heart 264 Jesus, the Model of Poverty 286 Christmas and the Eucharist - . 297 Sighs to Jesus Eucharistic 306 The Epiphany and the Eucharist 317. The Feast of Corpus Christi 335 The Sacred Heart of Jesus 343 The Heaven of the Eucharist 358 The Eucharistic Transfiguration 364 St. John the Baptist 372 St. Mary Magdalen 3^* June, the Month of the Blessed Sacrament. . 391 PRINTED IN BELGIUM r 'M i: ff 1 - j . \ 8K555 Boston College Library Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. e Books may be kept for two weeks unless a shorter period is specified. Two cents a day is charged for each 2-week book kept overtime; 25 cents a day for each overnight book. If you cannot find what you want, inquire at the delivery desk for assistance. 10-92