NV-Corpus Christi

NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR CORPUS CHRISTI

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of and thanksgiving for that wonderful gift of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is the most important of all the Sacraments, for it not only gives us grace, but the Author of all grace, Our Lord Jesus Christ, really and truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity under the appearance of Bread and Wine in the Eucharistic Species.

In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena will be largely based upon Holy Scripture, the writings of the saints and the works and sermons of various theologians. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts: (1) a relevant quote from Holy Scripture; (2) an occasional quote from the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas; (3) an occasional quote from a saint or a pope; (4) a Mediation; (5) a Resolution; (6) a Prayer; (7) after mentioning your intention, pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (8) a Closing Prayer.

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 1

Lord, have mercy on us
Christ, have mercy on us,
Lord, have mercy us,
Christ hear us,
Christ graciously hear us.

Jesus, the Most High, have mercy on us
Jesus, the holy One, have mercy on us
Jesus, Word of God, have mercy on us
Jesus, only Son of the Father, have mercy on us
Jesus, Son of Mary, have mercy on us
Jesus, crucified for us, have mercy on us
Jesus, risen from the dead, have mercy on us
Jesus, reigning in glory, have mercy on us
Jesus, coming in glory, have mercy on us

Jesus, our Lord, have mercy on us
Jesus, our hope, have mercy on us
Jesus, our peace, have mercy on us
Jesus, our Savior, have mercy on us
Jesus, our salvation, have mercy on us
Jesus, our resurrection, have mercy on us

Jesus, Judge of all, have mercy on us
Jesus, Lord of the Church, have mercy on us
Jesus, Lord of creation, have mercy on us
Jesus, Lover of all, have mercy on us

Jesus, life of the world, have mercy on us
Jesus, freedom for the imprisoned, have mercy on us
Jesus, joy of the sorrowing, have mercy on us
Jesus, giver of the Spirit, have mercy on us
Jesus, giver of good gifts, have mercy on us
Jesus, source of new life, have mercy on us
Jesus, Lord of life, have mercy on us

Jesus, eternal high priest, have mercy on us
Jesus, priest and victim, have mercy on us
Jesus, true Shepherd, have mercy on us
Jesus, true Light, have mercy on us
Jesus, Bread of Heaven, have mercy on us
Jesus, Bread of Life, have mercy on us
Jesus, Bread of thanksgiving, have mercy on us
Jesus, life-giving Bread, have mercy on us
Jesus, holy manna, have mercy on us
Jesus, new covenant, have mercy on us
Jesus, food for everlasting life, have mercy on us
Jesus, food for our journey, have mercy on us
Jesus, holy banquet, have mercy on us

Jesus, true sacrifice, have mercy on us
Jesus, perfect sacrifice, have mercy on us
Jesus, eternal sacrifice, have mercy on us
Jesus, divine Victim, have mercy on us
Jesus, Mediator of the new covenant, have mercy on us
Jesus, mystery of the altar, have mercy on us
Jesus, medicine of immortality, have mercy on us
Jesus, pledge of eternal glory, have mercy on us

Jesus, Lamb of God,Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us

Jesus, Bearer of our sins, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us

Jesus, Redeemer of the world, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us

Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us

Let us pray: O Almighty Father, our Lord and God, through the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and through the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, we come into the presence of the Most Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Thy Son, Who was born of the Virgin Mary and was crucified for our salvation. Grant that we may a great love for the Mass and deep devotion for the Holy Eucharist, both in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and the Holy Eucharist we receive during Holy Mass. May we, who declare our Faith in the Real Presence and Love for this Fountain of love and mercy, also drink from it the water of everlasting life. Amen.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: The Importance of the Holy Eucharist

Holy Scripture
“And taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: 'This is My body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me!'’” (Luke 22:19).
"This chalice is the new testament in My Blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Meditation
"The devotion to the Eucharist," St. Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist, said, "is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because It gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself."

"The faith of the Church," Pope Pius XII teaches us, "is this: That one and identical is the Word of God and the Son of Mary who suffered on the Cross, who is present in the Eucharist, and who rules in Heaven."

The Holy Eucharist is not just a Sacrament—it is more than that—it is the Sacrifice of Calvary, re-enacted in an unbloody way each time a valid Mass is offered by a validly ordained priest. It is both a Sacrament and Sacrifice. We receive the Sacrament in Holy Communion, we visit the Blessed Sacrament outside of Communion time, and we assist at the Sacrifice at each Mass we attend.

St. John Vianney and the Eucharist
When St. John Marie Vianney arrived at the remote little village of Ars, someone said to him sourly, "Here there is nothing to be done."
"Then, there is everything to be done," replied the Saint.

And he began immediately to act. What did he do? He rose at 2:00 a.m. in the morning and went to pray near the altar in the dark church. He recited the Divine Office, he made his meditation, and he prepared himself for Holy Mass. After the Holy Sacrifice, he made his thanksgiving. Then he remained at prayer until noon. He would be always kneeling on the floor without any support, with a Rosary in his hand and his eyes fixed on the tabernacle.

Things continued this way for a short time. Then he had to start changing his timetable; and things reached a point requiring radical changes in his program. The Eucharistic Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, little by little, drew souls to that poor parish, until the Church did not seem big enough to contain the crowds, and the confessional of the holy Curé became swamped with endless lines of penitents. He was obliged to hear confession for ten, fifteen, eighteen hours in a day!

How did such a transformation ever come about? There had been a poor Church, an altar long unused, an abandoned tabernacle, an ancient confessional, and a priest with no resources and little talent. How could such a wonderful change develop in that unknown village?

St. Padre Pio and the Eucharist
We can ask the same question today regarding San Giovanni Rotondo, a town on Mt. Gargano, Italy. Until a few decades ago it was an obscure, unknown place amid the rough crags of a promontory. Today, San Giovanni Rotondo is a center of spiritual and cultural life and its reputation is international. Here, too, there had been an unpromising, sickly friar, an ancient, dilapidated little friary, a small neglected Church, with altar and tabernacle left ever alone to this poor friar, who wore out his beads and his hands in the untiring recitation of the Holy Rosary.

How did the change come about? What caused the wonderful transformation that came to Ars and to San Giovanni Rotondo, so that hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions, of persons have come to these places from every part of the earth?

Only God could work such transformations using, according to His ways, "those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something" (1 Corinthians 1:28). It is all due to Him, to the divine and infinite power of the Eucharist, to the almighty force of attraction which radiates from every tabernacle, and which radiated from the tabernacles of Ars and San Giovanni Rotondo, reaching souls through the ministry of those two priests, true "ministers of the tabernacle" (Heb. 13:10) and "dispensers of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1).

The Emmanuel
Let us ask the question: What is the Eucharist? It is God with us. It is the Lord Jesus present in the tabernacles of our churches with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is Jesus veiled under the appearance of bread, but really and physically present in the consecrated Host, so that He dwells in our midst, works within us and for us, and is at our disposal. The Eucharistic Jesus is the true Emmanuel, the "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

The Eucharistic Jesus is here with us as a brother, as a friend, as spouse of our souls. He wishes to enter within us to be our Food for eternal life, our love, our support. He wants to make us part of His mystical Body in which He would redeem us and save us, and then take us into the kingdom of Heaven to settle us in an everlasting bliss of love.

With the Eucharist, God has truly given us everything. St. Augustine exclaimed: "Although God is all-powerful, He is unable to give more; though supremely wise, He knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, He has not more to give."

When St. Peter Julian Eymard came to Paris, he was lodged in a very poor house in which many necessities were lacking. But when someone complained and another took pity on him, the Saint would respond, "The Blessed Sacrament is there. That is all that I need." When persons would approach him to obtain graces, help and comfort, the Saint would respond, "You will find all in the Eucharist: the warm words you want to hear, the knowledge and the miracles you need—yes, even the miracles."

What more do you want
To the Eucharist, then, we should go. To Jesus we should turn—to Jesus, who wishes to make Himself ours in order to make us His by rendering us "godlike." "O Jesus, Food of strong souls," St. Gemma Galgani used to say, "strengthen me, purify me, make me godlike." Let us receive the Eucharist with a pure and ardent heart. That is what the saints have done.

It should never be too much trouble for us to grow familiar with this unspeakable Mystery. Meditation, study and reflection on the Eucharist should have an important place each day on our timetable. It will be the time of our day richest in blessings.

Lack of Faith and Respect
It will do good to our soul and body. We read in the life of Pope St. Pius X that one day, when he was the parish priest of Salzano, he went on a visit to a sick altar boy. At that very moment the doctor also arrived and asked the sick boy how he was. The boy answered that on that day he was feeling better, because he had been able to give a little instruction on the Eucharist to a few other boys. At this response the doctor exclaimed with overtones of ridicule, "Oh! That’s rich! During my medical studies I never heard that a little Christian teaching could have such effects!"

At this sour remark, the priest immediately intervened in defense of the boy and said to the doctor: "Oh, we see very well the effects of your science, doctor, and even a nearsighted person would see them well, too, because the cemetery is full of them. But Christian doctrine fills up a place which only those who are intellectually shortsighted would not be able to see: Heaven!"

Our Greatest Treasure
The Eucharist is the heavenly "leaven" (Matthew 13:33) which is capable of fermenting, in the human nature of every person, all spiritual and temporal goods. It is so great a good Itself that one cannot desire anything else greater. What, in fact, could one desire more, when within himself he has Jesus, living and real, the God-made-man, the Word made flesh and blood for our salvation and happiness?

On his deathbed St. Peter Julian Eymard gave this excellent reply to a religious who requested a final point for reflection: "I have nothing more to tell you. You already have the Eucharist. What more do you want?"

Resolution
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 2

Lord, have mercy on us!
Christ, have mercy on us!
Lord, have mercy on us!
Christ, hear us!
Christ, graciously hear us!

God the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Eternal High Priest of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Divine Victim on the Altar for our salvation, have mercy on us.
Jesus, hidden under the appearance of bread, have mercy on us.
Jesus, dwelling in the tabernacles of the world, have mercy on us.
Jesus, really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us.
Jesus, abiding in Thy fulness, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Life, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Angels, have mercy on us.
Jesus, with us always until the end of the world, have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, summit and source of all worship and Christian life, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, sign and cause of the unity of the Church, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, adored by countless angels,
have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, spiritual food, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, Sacrament of love,
have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, bond of charity, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, greatest aid to holiness,
have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, gift and glory of the priesthood,
have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we partake of Christ,
have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which the soul is filled with grace, have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we are given a pledge of future glory, have mercy on us.

Blessed be Jesus
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be Jesus
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be Jesus
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

For those who do not believe in Thy Eucharistic presence, have mercy, O Lord.
For those who are indifferent to the Sacrament of Thy love, have mercy on us.
For those who have offended Thee in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, have mercy on us.

That we may show fitting reverence when entering Thy holy temple, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may make suitable preparation before approaching the Altar, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may receive Thee frequently in Holy Communion with real devotion and true humility, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may never neglect to thank Thee for so wonderful a blessing, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may cherish time spent in silent prayer before Thee, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may grow in knowledge of this Sacrament of Sacraments, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That all priests may have a profound love of the Holy Eucharist, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That they may celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in accordance with its sublime dignity, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may be comforted and sanctified with Holy Viaticum at the hour of our death, we beseech Thee, hear us.

That we may see Thee one day face to face in Heaven, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine,
R. All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

Let us pray: Most merciful Father, continue to draw us to Thyself through the Eucharistic Mystery; and grant us a fervent Faith in this Sacrament of love, in which Christ, Our Lord, Himself is contained, offered and received. We make this prayer through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Know, Love and Live the Eucharist

Holy Scripture
“And taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: 'This is My body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me!'’” (Luke 22:19).
"This chalice is the new testament in My Blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Meditation
KNOWING, LOVING, LIVING THE EUCHARIST

St. Peter Julian Eymard rightly said that "when a spark of the Eucharist is placed in a soul, a divine seed of life and of all the virtues is cast into that heart. This seed is sufficient of itself, so to say [to do much]." In order to find some of these immense riches stored up in the Mystery of the Eucharist, let us employ a constant, unified exercise that employs our mind, our heart and our will—in other words, with our whole soul.

1. An Exercise of the Mind
First, with your mind, meditates in an attentive, orderly way on the Holy Eucharist—not occasionally, but often, constantly. This can easily be done with books that will lead us to personally uncover and deeply ponder this Mystery of Love. A simple little work, rich in content, is St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition, there are the two precious little works by St. Peter Julian Eymard entitled, The Real Presence and Holy Communion. We might mention, too, Fr. Michael Müller’s books, The Blessed Eucharist and one on the Mass, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Fr. Faber has an excellent book entitled The Blessed Sacrament. A more recent work by Joan Carroll Cruz is Eucharistic Miracles. These are just a few of the many titles available on the Holy Eucharist. These books are like firewood that keeps the flames of love burning. For we cannot love that which we do not know—and the less we know about something, the less we will inevitably love it. This is why St. Thérèse of Lisieux complains that Jesus is so little loved, because he is so little known. If the Holy Eucharist is really our “Greatest Treasure” then the greatest focus and time should be upon the Holy Eucharist and not other subjects or topics. Actions speak louder than words. “This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).

We should, above all, turn to the school of St. Peter Julian Eymard, who was unequalled as an Apostle of the Eucharist. His vocation and mission was to lead all Christians to the Eucharist, to such an extent that people finally called him the "Priest of the Blessed Sacrament!" When he founded the Congregation of Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, he offered his life for the Eucharistic reign of Jesus. At that time he wrote these ardent words: "Here, dear Jesus, is my life. Behold me ready to eat stones and to die abandoned, just so that I may succeed in erecting a throne for Thee and give Thee a family of friends, a nation of adorers."

If we but knew the gifts of a God who is Love and who gives Himself to us as a Gift full of Love! "The Eucharist," said St. Bernard, "is that Love which surpasses all loves in Heaven and on earth." And St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love: It signifies Love, It produces love." St. Peter Eymard declares, "The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself."

Yet, how many of us Christians do not know the vast extent of the love contained in the Eucharist! The way we worship reflects the way we think or believe. When you see someone sincerely and devoutly genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, day after day, week after week, then you know (unless they are ‘putting-it-on’) that there is a true belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. On the contrary, when you see someone regularly fail to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, or does so hastily, partially, or distractedly—then you are left to wonder what they believe! About six in ten Catholics (57%) agree that Jesus Christ is really present in the Holy Eucharist. Of those who go to Mass regularly every week, nine in ten (91%) say they believe that Jesus Christ is really present in the Eucharist. Of those who attend Mass less than weekly, but at least once a month, only six out of ten (65%) believe in the Real Presence. While amongst those who attend Mass a few times a year or less, only four in ten (40%) believe in the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. However, only 25% to 40% of the US Catholics go to Mass weekly. The most common belief is that the Bread and Wine and merely symbols or reminders of Jesus and the Last Supper—no more than that!

Sadly, the theology of the Holy Eucharist, is taught less and less in schools and catechism classes. It is not much talked about in our homes. This, in itself, betrays an indifference to our “Greatest Treasure”, Who lives amongst us in a disguise (of bread) in order to see our true mettle and to test our Faith. Unfortunately, the Faith of many has long since been lost with regard to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. In recent studies it has been shown that 30% of US Catholics rarely or never receive the Holy Eucharist; while the majority of the rest do not receive it only once or twice a month—our “Greatest Treasure”!

Sadly, we must apply the words of Our Lord to them: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” (Luke 23:34) … “If thou didst know the gift of God” (John 4:10). They have Our Lord before them, and they know it not! It reminds us the life of St. Alexis, who was the only son of a rich Roman senator. From his good Christian parents, he learned to be charitable to the poor. Alexis wanted to give up his wealth and honors but his parents had chosen a rich bride for him. Right on his wedding day, he obtained her permission to leave her for God. Then, in disguise, he traveled to Syria in the East and lived in great poverty. After seventeen years, a picture of our Blessed Mother spoke to tell the people that this beggar was very holy. She called him “The man of God.” When he became famous, which was the last thing he wanted, he fled back to Rome. He came as a beggar to his own home. His parents did not recognize him, but, being habitually kind to all poor people, they let him stay in a corner under the stairs, where Alexis then lived for seventeen years. He used to go out only to pray in church and to teach little children about God. The servants were often very mean to him, and though he could have ended all these sufferings just by telling his father who he was, he chose to say nothing. After Alexis died, his parents found a note on his body, which told them who he really was and how he had lived his life of penance from the day of his wedding until then, for the love of God. At the moment when the mother of St. Alexis recognized her own son in the lifeless body of the beggar who had lived all those years under the staircase of her palace, she exclaimed, "O my son! Why have I known thee so late?" Thus the Soul, on quitting this life, will see Him Whom it possessed in the Holy Eucharist, and at the sight of the consolations, of the beauty, and of the riches that it failed to recognize, it will also exclaim: "O Jesus! O my God! Why have I known Thee so late!"

This lack of love was a key element of Sacred Heart’s complaints to St. Margaret Mary in the 1600’s, when He appeared to her during the Octave of Corpus Christi: “Behold this Heart, which has loved so much but has received nothing but coldness, indifference, and ingratitude in return.” There is a close link between the Heart of Jesus and the Holy Eucharist. A concrete instance which rivets our attention on this Love is that Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano (in the province of Abruzzi, Italy). There one venerates a consecrated Host which was transformed into living Flesh and which has been preserved in this state for more than a thousand years. The most recent chemical analyses of a particle of this Host verified the fact: it is indeed a piece of flesh which is still living and which is a part of a human heart. The Eucharist is indeed all one Heart! We will publish more on this miracle around the time of the feast of Corpus Christi. Let us feed our minds with the logs of knowledge that will supply material for our hearts to burn with love in the fire of our soul.

2. An Exercise of the Heart
Secondly, to explore the riches of the Holy Eucharist, we use the heart. If every Christian must love Jesus Christ: "If any man love not Our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (1 Corinthians 16:22), love for the Holy Eucharist must spring from the heart and be constantly burning in us all. Among all the saints, perhaps one of the greatest models is St. Peter Julian Eymard, in whom love for the Eucharist reached such an intensity as to transform itself into a love of madness. It is for this reason that he was called "the fool of the Blessed Sacrament."

Now even love needs exercise. The heart needs to be exercised to love the true God, to long for "The Author of Life" (Acts 3:15). Holy Communion represents the loftiest point of this exercise of love, whose consuming flames unite the heart of a creature and Jesus. St. Gemma Galgani could exclaim in this regard, "I can no longer avoid thinking of how, in the wonderful greatness of His Love, Jesus makes Himself perceptible and shows Himself to His lowliest creature in all the splendors of His Heart." And what may we say about the exercise of the heart of St. Gemma, who desired to be a "tent of love" (tabernaculum amoris) in which she would keep Jesus always with her? She longed to have a "little place in the ciborium" to be able to stay always with Jesus. She asked to become "a flaming ball afire with love" for Jesus.

When St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus had become quite ill, she dragged herself with great effort to Church to receive Jesus. One morning, after Holy Communion, she was in her cell, exhausted. One of the sisters remarked that she should not exert herself so much. The Saint replied, "Oh, what are these sufferings to me in comparison with one daily Holy Communion!"—daily Communion was not yet permitted everywhere in her times, it only came into practice with Pope St. Pius X’s decree on the matter. She ardently pleaded with Jesus: "Remain within me, as You do in the tabernacle. Do not ever withdraw Your presence from Your little host."

When St. Margaret Mary Alacoque left the world and consecrated herself to God in the cloister, she made a private vow and wrote it in her blood, "All for the Eucharist; nothing for me." It is useless to attempt to describe the Saint’s burning love for the Eucharist. When she was not able to receive Holy Communion, she broke out in ardent expressions of love like these: "I have such a desire for Holy Communion that if I had to walk barefoot along a path of fire to obtain It, I would do so with unspeakable joy." All these examples fall under the umbrella of "exercises of the heart."

3. The Exercise of the Will
Thirdly, to find the riches of the Holy Eucharist, one should exercise the will. One must do this by bringing the divine lessons of the Holy Eucharist into his life. What good would it be to discover the infinite worth of the Eucharist, as we ponder It and seek to love It at Communion time, if we do not proceed to live It?

The Holy Eucharist teaches a love that goes beyond telling. It teaches total self-sacrifice, and an unequalled lesson in humility and self-effacement. It teaches patience and unrestricted dedication. But what do we draw from all this? We surely ought to achieve something, if we but reflect how Jesus has loved us and still loves us with such great generosity "even to the end?" (John 13:1).

If we feel frail, we need to turn to Him, to speak to Him and not tarry about asking His help and support, for He is the very One who said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), while with the Eucharist not only are we capable of everything, but we also obtain what should amaze and move us, that is, our identification with Jesus, as St. Augustine tells us: "It is not a case of us transforming Christ into ourselves, as we commonly do with food; but it is Jesus who transforms us into Himself."

So, let us go before Him: "Come to Me…. and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28). Let us often visit Him, entering a Church every time we can and pausing a little while before the tabernacle, and put both our heart and body before Him! The saints were constantly eager to make visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, to make Holy Hours of adoration, spiritual Communions, ejaculatory prayers and earnest acts of love that come from the heart. How much profit they gained from this and how much good they passed on!

Thinking of the Eucharist during his sermon, St. John Chrysostom once asked, "How can we make of our bodies a host?" and gave this answer: "Let your eyes look at nothing evil, and you have offered a sacrifice; let not your tongue speak unbecoming words, and you have made an offering; let not your hand commit a sin, and you have offered a holocaust." Let us think of the edifying reserve of the saints in speaking, controlling well the tongue which had been consecrated by contact with the Body of Jesus.

Recall the good works which souls, filled with a love imparted by the Eucharist, have accomplished because Jesus communicated to them His own sentiments of love for all of our fellow men, especially those most in need. Thus, St. Francis de Sales exhorted every soul to approach the Eucharist as much as possible, because "by adoring and partaking of His beauty, His Goodness and His purity in this Divine Sacrament, you will become all beautiful, good and pure." Can we not also exercise our wills thus? Let us learn from the saints and start imitating their good works.

Resolution
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 3

LITANY IN REPARATION TO OUR LORD IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Sacred Host, offered for the salvation of sinners, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, annihilated on the altar for us and by us, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, despised by lukewarm Christians, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, mark of contradiction, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, delivered over to Jews and heretics, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, insulted by blasphemers, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, Bread of angels, given to animals, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, flung into the mud and trampled underfoot, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, dishonored by unfaithful priests, Have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, forgotten and abandoned in Thy churches, Have mercy on us.

Be merciful unto us, Pardon us, O Lord.
Be merciful unto us, Hear us, O Lord.

For the outrageous contempt of this most wonderful Sacrament, We offer Thee our reparation.
For Thine extreme humiliation in Thine admirable Sacrament, We offer Thee our reparation.
For all unworthy Communions, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the irreverences of wicked Christians, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the profanation of Thy sanctuaries, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the holy ciboriums dishonored and carried away by force, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the continual blasphemies of impious men, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the obduracy and treachery of heretics, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the unworthy conversations carried on in Thy holy temples, We offer Thee our reparation.
For the profaners of Thy churches which they desecrated by their sacrileges, We offer Thee our reparation.

That it may please Thee to increase in all Christians the reverence due to this adorable Mystery, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee to manifest the Sacrament of Thy Love to heretics, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee to grant us the grace to atone for their hatred by our burning love for Thee, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee that the insults of those who outrage we beseech Thee, hear us.
Thee may rather be directed against ourselves, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee graciously to receive this our humble reparation, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That it may please Thee to make our adoration acceptable to Thee, we beseech Thee, hear us.

Pure Host, hear our prayer.
Holy Host, hear our prayer.
Immaculate Host, hear our prayer.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.

V. See, O Lord, our affliction,
R. And give glory to Thy Holy Name.

Let Us Pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who dost deign to remain with us in Thy wonderful Sacrament to the end of the world, in order to give to Thy Father, by the memory of Thy Passion, eternal glory, and to give to us the Bread of life everlasting: Grant us the grace to mourn, with a heart full of sorrow, over the injuries which Thou hast received in this adorable Mystery, and over the many sacrileges which are committed by the impious, by heretics and by bad Catholics. Inflame us with an ardent zeal to repair all these insults to which, in Thine infinite mercy, Thou hast preferred to expose Thyself rather than deprive us of Thy Presence on our altars, Who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest one God, world without end. R. Amen.

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrifice of the Cross

Holy Scripture
“And taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: 'This is My body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me!'’” (Luke 22:19).
"This chalice is the new testament in My Blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25)

Meditation
Only in Heaven will we understand what a Divine marvel the Holy Mass is. No matter how much we force ourselves and no matter how holy and inspired we are, we cannot but stammer on this Divine work which transcends men and Angels.

One day St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina had been asked: "Father, please explain the Holy Mass to us." St. Padre Pio replied: "My children, how can I explain it to you? The Mass is infinite like Jesus ... ask an Angel what a Mass is and he will reply to you in truth, 'I understand what it is and why it is offered, but I do not, however, understand how much value it has.' One Angel, a thousand Angels, all of Heaven, know this and think like this."

St. Alphonsus of Liguori came to affirm: "God Himself cannot bring about an action more holy and greater than the celebration of one Holy Mass." Why? Because the Holy Mass is, one could say, the synthesis, because the Holy Mass can be said to sum up the Incarnation and Redemption and contains the Birth, Passion and the Death of Jesus, mysteries which God accomplished for our sakes. St. Thomas Aquinas, in an enlightening passage, wrote: "The celebration of the Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the Cross."

For this reason,. St. Francis of Assisi said: "Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all Heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest."

Indeed, inasmuch as it renews the Sacrifice of Jesus' passion and death, the Holy Mass, even taken alone, is great enough to restrain Divine justice. St. Teresa of Jesus said to her daughters: "Without the Holy Mass what would become of us? All here below would perish, because that alone can hold back God's arm." Without it the Church certainly would not last and the world would become hopelessly lost. "It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do so without the Holy Mass," said St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. He was following St. Leonard of Port Maurice who had said: "I believe that if there were no Mass, the world would by now have sunk into the abyss under the weight of its wickedness. The Mass is the powerful support which sustains it."

Wonderful are the saving effects which every Sacrifice of the Mass produces in the souls of those who participate. It obtains sorrow and pardon for sins; it lessens the temporal punishment due to sins; it weakens the influence of Satan and the untamed impulses of our flesh; it strengthens the bonds of our union in the Body of Christ; it protects us from danger and disaster; it shortens the punishment of Purgatory; it obtains for us a higher degree of glory in Heaven. "No human tongue," said St. Laurence Justinian, "can enumerate the favors that trace back to the Sacrifice of the Mass. The sinner is reconciled with God; the just man becomes more upright; sins are wiped away; vices eliminated; virtue and merit gain growth and the devil's schemes are frustrated."

And so St. Leonard of Port Maurice did not tire of exhorting the crowds which listened to him: "O you deluded people, what are you doing? Why do you not hasten to the churches to hear as many Masses as you can? Why do you not imitate the Angels who, when a Holy Mass is celebrated, come down in squadrons from Paradise and take their stations about our altars in adoration to intercede for us?"

If it is true that we all have need of graces for this life and for the next, nothing can win them from God like the Holy Mass. St. Philip Neri used to say: "With prayer we ask graces from God; in the Holy Mass we constrain God to give them to us." The prayer offered during Holy Mass engages our whole priesthood, both the ministerial priesthood even apart from that of the individual priest at the altar and the common priesthood of all the faithful. In Holy Mass our prayer is united with Jesus' prayer of agony as He sacrifices HimSelf for us. In a special way during the Canon, which is the heart of the Mass, the prayer of all of us becomes also the prayer of Jesus, present amongst us. The two Mementoes of the Roman Canon during which the living and the dead are remembered, are precious moments for us to present our petitions. Also, in those supreme moments when Jesus in the priest's hands undergoes His Passion and Death, we can beg for our own needs and we can recommend both living and deceased persons who are dear to us. Let us take care to profit by this. The Saints held this to be very important, and when they recommended themselves to the prayers of priests, they asked them to remember them above all during the Canon.

It will particularly be at the hour of our death that the Masses we have devoutly heard will bring us our greatest consolation and hope, and one Mass heard during life will be more profitable than many Masses heard by others in our behalf after our death.

Our Lord told St. Gertrude: "You may be sure that regarding one who devoutly assists at Holy Mass, I will send him as many of My Saints to comfort him and protect him during the last moments of his life as there will have been Masses which he has heard well."

How consoling! The Holy Curé of Ars had reason to say: "If we knew the value of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how much greater effort we would put forth in order to assist at it!" And St. Peter Julian Eymard exhorted: "Know, O Christian, that the Mass is the holiest act of Religion. You cannot do anything to glorify God more nor profit your soul more than devoutly assisting at It, and assisting as often as possible."

For this reason we must consider ourselves fortunate every time we have an opportunity to attend a Holy Mass; and in order not to lose the opportunity, we should never withhold ourselves because of some sacrifice, especially on Sundays and holy days.

Let us remember St. Maria Goretti, who, to go to Sunday Mass traveled on foot, a journey of 15 miles going and returning home. We should think of Santina Campana, who went to Mass while she had a high fever. Think of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered Holy Mass when his health was in such pitiful condition that one of his brothers in religion had to support him at the altar so that he would not fall. And how many times St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina celebrated Holy Mass while he was bleeding and had a fever!

In our own daily lives, we ought to rank the Holy Mass ahead of any other good; for, as St. Bernard says: "One merits more by devoutly assisting at a Holy Mass than by distributing all of his goods to the poor and traveling all over the world on pilgrimage." And it cannot be otherwise, because nothing in the world can have the infinite value of one Holy Mass.

We ought to prefer Holy Mass all the more to mere amusements that waste our time and bring no profit to our soul. St. Louis IX, King of France, attended several Masses every day. A minister of the government complained, remarking that he could devote that time to the affairs of the kingdom. The saintly king remarked: "If I spent twice the time in amusements, like hunting, no one would have any objection."

Let us be generous and willingly make sacrifices so as not to lose so great a good. St. Augustine said to his Christians: "The steps that one takes as he travels to hear Holy Mass are counted by an Angel; and then one will be given a high reward by God in this life and in eternity." The Curé of Ars adds: "How happy is that guardian Angel who accompanies a soul to Holy Mass!"

Let us pull away from the satanic and worldly whirlpool that pulls so many souls away from the Mass and into its downward spiraling vortex. Not even considering daily Mass, less and less souls go to Mass on Sundays. Those who do go to Mass, are often only present in body, but not in soul—they go because they have to go, but their attention and heart is elsewhere. They are like the Pharisees, Roman soldiers and crowds on Calvary, present at the crucifixion as mere spectators. Let us be among the ranks of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John and St. Mary Magdalen. Let us asssist at Mass as though we on Calvary with our crucified Lord.

Resolution
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 1

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Jesus is Mine!

Holy Scripture
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him" (John 6:57)

Meditation
In Holy Communion Jesus gives Himself to me and becomes mine, all mine, in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Thus, one day, St. Gemma Galgani said candidly to Jesus, "I am Your master." With Communion, Jesus enters my heart and remains corporally present in me, as long as the species (the appearance) of bread lasts; that is, for about 15 minutes. During this time, the Holy Fathers teach that the Angels, surround me, to continue to adore Jesus and love Him without interruption. "When Jesus is corporally present within us, the Angels surround us as a guard of love," wrote St. Bernard.

Perhaps we think too little about the sublimity of every Holy Communion, and yet, St. Pius X said that "If the Angels could envy, they would envy us for Holy Communion." And St. Madeleine Sophie Barat defined Holy Communion as "Paradise on earth."

All the Saints have understood by experience the Divine marvel of the meeting and the union with Jesus in the Eucharist. They have understood that a devout Holy Communion means to be possessed by Him and to possess Him. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him" (John 6:57). One time St. Gemma Galgani wrote, "Now it is night, but tomorrow morning is approaching and then Jesus will possess me and I will possess Jesus." It is not possible to have a union of love more profound and more total: He in me and I in Him; the one in the other. What more could we want? Sadly, there are souls who want the things of the world, they want to experience the pleasures of the world, but they have little interest in Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Even good Catholics devote themselves more to other spiritual activities than they devote themselves to the Holy Eucharist!

"You envy," said St. John Chrysostom, "the opportunity of the woman who touched the vestments of Jesus, of the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, of the women of Galilee who had the happiness of following Him in His pilgrimages, of the Apostles and disciples who conversed with Him familiarly, of the people of the time who listened to the words of grace and salvation which came forth from His lips. You call happy those who saw Him ... But, come to the altar and you will see Him, you will touch Him, you will give to Him holy kisses, you will wash Him with your tears, you will carry Him within you like Mary Most Holy."

For this reason the Saints have desired and longed for Holy Communion with ardent love; for example, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Paschal Baylon, St. Veronica, St. Gerard, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Dominic Savio, St. Gemma Galgani ... it is pointless to continue, because one would really need to list all the Saints.

For example, it happened one night to St. Catherine of Genoa, that she dreamed that, the following day, she would not be able to receive Holy Communion. The sorrow that she experienced was so great, that she cried unceasingly, and when she woke up, the next morning, she found that her face was all wet from the tears she shed in her dream.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus has written a little Eucharistic Poem, "Desires near the Tabernacle," in which, among other beautiful things, she said, "I would like to be the chalice, there where I would adore the Divine Blood. I can however in the Holy Sacrifice, gather It in me every morning. My soul is therefore more dear to Jesus, it is more precious than vessels of gold." And what was not the happiness of the angelic Saint when, during an epidemic, she was allowed to teceive daily Communion? [It must be remembered that it was only through Pope St. Pius X, 1905, that the doors to daily Communion weer opened-- St. Thérèse lived from 1873 to 1897.

St. Gemma Galgani, one time was put to the test by a confessor who forbade her to receive Holy Communion. "O Father, Father," she wrote to her spiritual director, "today I went to Confession and the confessor has said that I must stop receiving Jesus. O my Father, my pen does not want to write more, my hand shakes strongly, I cry." What a dear Saint! Truly a seraphim all on fire with love for the Eucharistic Jesus.

Similarly, St. Gerard Majella, for a false and slanderous report from which he did not wish to defend himself, was punished by being deprived of Holy Communion. The suffering of the Saint was such that, one day, he refused to go to serve Holy Mass for a priest who was visiting, "because," he said, "on seeing Jesus in the Host in the hands of the priest, I would not be able to resist taking by force the Host from his hands." What longing consumed this wonderful Saint! And what a rebuke for us who, perhaps, are able to receive Holy Communion daily with ease and we do not do it, or rarely do it—for It is supposed to be, is it not, our “Greatest Treasure”? It is a sign that we lack the essential: love. And perhaps we are so in love with earthly pleasures that we can no longer appreciate the heavenly delights of union with Jesus in the Host. "Child, how can you feel the fragrance of Paradise which diffuses Itself from the Tabernacle?" asked St. Philip of a young man in love with the pleasures of the flesh, of dances and amusements. The joys of the Eucharist and the satisfaction of the senses are "opposed to each other" (Galatians 5:17) and the "sensual man perceives not these things which are of the Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:14). This is wisdom which comes from God.

St. Philip Neri loved the Eucharist so much that, even when he was gravely ill, he received Holy Communion every day, and if Jesus was not brought to him very early in the morning he became very upset and he could not find rest in any way. "I have such a desire to receive Jesus," he exclaimed, "that I cannot give myself peace while I wait." The same thing took place in our own time to St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, since only obedience could make him wait until 4 or 5 a.m. to celebrate Mass. Truly, the love of God is a "Devouring Fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24).

When Jesus is mine, the whole Church exalts, the Church in Heaven, in Purgatory and the Church on earth. Who can express the joy of the Angels and Saints at every Holy Communion devoutly received? A new current of love arrives in Paradise and it makes the blessed spirits vibrate every time that a creature unites himself to Jesus to possess Him and be possessed by Him. A Holy Communion is of much greater value than an ecstasy, a rapture or a vision. Holy Communion transports the whole of Paradise into my poor heart!

For the Souls in Purgatory then, Holy Communion is the dearest personal gift which they can receive from us. Who can say how much Holy Communions are helpful in their liberation? One day St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi's dead father appeared to her and he said that one hundred and seven Holy Communions were necessary for him to be able to leave Purgatory. In fact, at the last of the one hundred and seven Holy Communions offered for him, the Saint saw her father ascend into Heaven.

St. Bonaventure made himself an apostle of this truth and he spoke of it in vibrant tones, "O Christian souls, do you wish to prove your true love towards your dead? Do you wish to send them the most precious help and golden key to Heaven? Receive Holy Communion often for the repose of their souls."

Finally, let us reflect that in Holy Communion we unite ourselves not only to Jesus but also to all the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, especially to the souls most dear to Jesus and most dear to our heart. It is in Holy Communion that we realize fully the words of Jesus, "I in them ... that they may be perfect in unity" (John 17:23). The Eucharist renders us one, even among ourselves, His members, "all one in Jesus" as St. Paul says (Galatians 3:28). Holy Communion is truly all love of God and neighbor. It is the true "feast of love," as St. Gemma Galgani said. And in this "feast of love" the soul in love can exult singing with St. John of the Cross, "Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth, mine are men, the Just are mine and sinners are mine. The Angels are mine, and also the Mother of God, all things are mine. God Himself is mine and for me because Christ is mine and all for me."

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 2

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Purity of Soul is Necessary for Holy Communion

Holy Scripture
"But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of the Chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)

Meditation
What is there to say about the great purity of soul with which the Saints approached to receive the Bread of Angels? We know that they had a great delicacy of conscience which was truly angelic. Aware of their own misery, they tried to present themselves to Jesus "holy and immaculate," (Ephesians 1:4) repeating with the Publican, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13), and having recourse with great care to the cleansing of Confession.

When St. Jerome was brought Holy Viaticum at the end of his life, the Saint prostrated himself on the ground in adoration and he was heard to repeat with profound humility the words of St. Elizabeth and those of St. Peter, "How is this, that my Lord should come to me?" "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). And how many times was the angelic and seraphic St. Gemma tempted to not receive Holy Communion, holding herself to be nothing else than a vile "dunghill?" St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina used to repeat with trepidation to his brethren, "God sees blights even in the Angels. What must He see in me!" For this reason he was very diligent in making his sacramental Confessions.

"Oh, if we could only understand Who is that God Whom we receive in Holy Communion, then what purity of heart we would bring to Him!" exclaimed St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. For this reason St. Hugh, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis de Sales, St. Ignatius, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis Borgia, St. Louis Bertrand, St. Joseph Cupertino, St. Leonard of Port Maurice and many other Saints went to Confession every day before celebrating Holy Mass.

St. Camillus de Lellis never celebrated Holy Mass without first going to Confession, because he wanted at least "to dust off" his soul. Once, at sundown in a public square in Livorno, before taking leave of a priest of the same religious order, foreseeing that he would not have a priest to confess to on the following morning before his Mass, paused, took off his hat, made the Sign of the Cross and went to Confession right there in the square to his confrere.

Also, St. Alphonsus, St. Joseph Cafasso, St. John Bosco, St. Pius X, and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina went to Confession very often. And why did St. Pius X wish to lower the age for First Holy Communion to seven years, if not to allow Jesus to enter into the innocent hearts of children, which are so similar to Angels. And why was St. Padre Pio so delighted when they brought him children five years old who were prepared for First Holy Communion?

The Saints applied to perfection the directive of the Holy Spirit, "Let everyone first examine himself, and then eat of that Bread and drink of that Chalice; because he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks unto his own condemnation" (1 Corinthians 11:28-29).

To examine themselves, to repent, to accuse themselves in Confession and to ask pardon of God, and in this way even every day profit from the Sacrament of Confession, was something natural for the Saints. How fortunate they were to be capable of so much! The fruits of sanctification were constant and abundant because the purity of soul with which each Saint welcomed into himself Jesus, "The Wheat of the elect," (Zacharias 9:17) was like the good ground, "which brings forth fruit in patience" (Luke 8:15).

St. Anthony Mary Claret illustrates this fact very well: "When we go to Holy Communion, all of us receive the same Lord Jesus, but not all receive the same grace nor are the same effects produced in all. This comes from our greater or lesser disposition. To explain this fact, I will take an example from nature. Consider the process of grafting, the more similar the one plant is to the other, the better the graft will succeed. Likewise, the more resemblance there is between the one that goes to Communion and Jesus, so much the better will the fruits of Holy Communion be." The Sacrament of Confession is in fact the excellent means whereby the similarity between the soul and Jesus is restored.

For this reason St. Francis de Sales taught his spiritual children, "Go to Confession with humility and devotion ... if it is possible, every time that you go to Holy Communion, even though you do not feel in your conscience any remorse of mortal sin."

In this regard it is well to recall the teaching of the Church. Holy Communion must be received only while one is in the grace of God. Therefore, when one has committed a mortal sin, even if one has repented of it and has a great desire to receive Holy Communion, it is necessary and indispensable to confess oneself first before receiving Holy Communion, otherwise one commits a most grave sin of sacrilege, for which Jesus said to St. Bridget, "there does not exist on earth a punishment which is great enough to punish it sufficiently!"

St. Ambrose said that persons who commit this sacrilege "come into church with a few sins, and leave it burdened with many." St. Cyril wrote something yet stronger: "They who make a sacrilegious Communion receive Satan and Jesus Christ into their hearts --- Satan, that they may let him rule, and Jesus Christ, that they may offer Him in sacrifice as a Victim to Satan." Thus the Catechism of the Council of Trent (De Euch., v. i) declares: "As of all the sacred mysteries ... none can compare with the ... Eucharist, so likewise for no crime is there heavier punishment to be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use by the faithful of that which ... contains the very Author and Source of holiness."

On the other hand, Confession made before Holy Communion to render a soul already in the state of Sanctifying Grace more pure and more beautiful, is something precious even though not required. It is precious because it clothes the soul with a more beautiful "wedding garment" (Matthew 22:12) with which it may take its place at the table of the Angels. For this reason the most conscientious souls have always made frequent use (at least once a week) of the sacramental cleansing of absolution, even for venial sins. If you want. great purity of soul in order to receive Jesus, no purity shines brighter than that which one obtains when he makes a good confession, where the cleansing Blood of Jesus renders the repentant soul divinely bright and beautiful. "The soul that receives the Divine Blood becomes beautiful, as being clothed in a more precious garment, and it appears so beautifully aglow that if you could see it you would be tempted to adore it," declared St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi.

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 3

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Making Your Holy Communion with Mary

Holy Scripture
"But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of the Chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)

Meditation
“Oh, if Mary were but known, how much more wonderful would be our faith, and how different would our Communions be!” (Fr. Faber, Preface to True Devotion to Mary).

Oh, how much it pleases Jesus, to be received by a soul cleansed and clothed with His Divine Blood! And what affectionate delight He takes, when such a soul is a chaste virgin! For "the Eucharist came from the Paradise of Virginity" (namely, Mary), said St. Albert the Great; and our Eucharistic Lord does not find such a paradise except in virginity. No one can repeat, quite like a virgin, with the Spouse of the Canticle of Canticles, at every Holy Communion: "All mine is my true Love, and I am all His; ... He goes out to pasture among the lilies ... Come back, my heart's Love" (Canticles 2:16-17).

If you have had the misfortune to sully your purity or virginity, then all is not lost—remember the words of St. Bernard's, who said: “A long period of chastity is a second virginity.” St. Mary Magdalen had stained her virginity more than most, yet she discovered a chaste love for Our Lord and lived it out for the rest of her life!

One praiseworthy way of preparing for Holy Communion is to invoke the Immaculate Virgin, to count on Her to enable us to receive Jesus with Her humility, Her purity and Her love --- praying rather that she herself may come to receive Him in us. This pious practice is much recommended by the Saints, in particular St. Louis de Montfort, St. Peter Eymard, St. Alphonsus Liguori, and St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe. "The best preparation for Holy Communion is that which is made with Mary," wrote St. Peter Eymard. A delightful illustration is given by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, picturing her soul as a little three or four-year old girl, whose hair and dress were in disarray, ashamed to present herself at the altar rail to receive Jesus. However, she appeals to the Madonna, and "immediately," the Saint writes, "the Virgin Mary occupies herself with me. She quickly replaces my dirty dress, ties up my hair with a pretty ribbon and adds a simple flower ... This is enough to make me attractive and enables me to take my place without embarrassment at the banquet of the Angels."

Let us try this method of preparation. We will not be disappointed. We will be able to say what St. Gemma exclaimed in ecstasy, "How beautiful it is to receive Communion with the Mother of Paradise!"

St. Louis de Montfort insists upon Holy Communion being always made with the assistance of Our Lady. The following quotes combine to give a marvelous lesson on how to make Holy Communions with Mary:

“Today, more than ever, we must take pains in choosing true devotion to our Blessed Lady, because, more than ever before, there are false devotions to our Blessed Lady which are easily mistaken for true ones. The devil, like a false coiner and a subtle and experienced sharper, has already deceived and destroyed so many souls by a false devotion to the Blessed Virgin that he makes a daily use of his diabolical experience to plunge many others by this same way into everlasting perdition; amusing them, lulling them to sleep in sin, under the pretext of some prayers badly said or of some outward practices which he inspires. As a false coiner does not ordinarily counterfeit anything but gold or silver, and very rarely other metals, because they are not worth the trouble, so the evil spirit does not for the most part counterfeit other devotions, but only those to Jesus and Mary–devotion to Holy Communion and to our Blessed Lady–because they are among other devotions what gold and silver are among other metals” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §90).

“Tell her confidently that all you have given her of your goods is little enough to honor her; but that by Holy Communion you wish to make her the same present as the Eternal Father gave her, and that you will honor her more by that than if you gave her all the goods in the world and finally, that Jesus, who loves her in a most special manner, still desires to take His pleasure and repose in her, even in your soul, though it be far filthier and poorer than the stable where He did not hesitate to come, simply because she was there. You will ask her for her heart, by these tender words: ‘I take thee for my all. Give me thy heart, O Mary’” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §266).

“After the Our Father [during Mass], just before receiving Jesus Christ, you say three times: ’Lord, I am not worthy!’ Say the first one to the Eternal Father, telling Him you are not worthy, because of your evil thoughts and ingratitude toward so good a Father, to receive His only Son; but that He is to behold Mary His handmaid: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord’ (Luke 1:38). It is this Handmaid, Mary, who acts for you and who gives you a singular confidence and hope with His Majesty: ‘For thou singularly hast settled me in hope’ (Psalm 4:10).” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §267).

“You will say to the Son: ‘Lord, I am not worthy!’ — telling Him that you are not worthy to receive Him because of your idle and evil words and your infidelity to His service; but that nevertheless you pray Him to have pity on you, because you are about to bring Him into the house of His own Mother and yours, and that you will not let Him go without His coming to lodge with her: ‘I held Him; and I will not let Him go, till I bring Him into my Mother’s house and into the chamber of her that bore me’ (Canticles 3 4). You will pray to Him to rise, and come to the place of His repose and into the ark of His sanctification: ‘Arise, Lord, into Thy resting place: Thou and the ark which Thou hast sanctified!’ (Psalm 131:8). Tell Him you put no confidence at all in your own merits, your own strength and your own preparations, as Esau did; but that you trust only in Mary, your dear Mother, as the little Jacob did in Rebecca. Tell Him that, sinner and Esau that you are, you dare to approach His sanctity, supported and adorned as you are with the virtues of His holy Mother” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §268).

“You will say to the Holy Ghost: ‘Lord, I am not worthy!’ — telling Him that you are not worthy to receive this masterpiece of His charity, because of the lukewarmness and iniquity of your actions, and because of your resistance to His inspirations; but that all your confidence is in Mary, His faithful spouse. You will say, with St. Bernard: ‘She is my greatest security; she is the source of all my hope!’ You can even pray Him to come Himself in Mary, His inseparable spouse, telling Him that her bosom is as pure and her heart as burning as ever; and that, without His descent into your soul, neither Jesus nor Mary will be formed nor worthily lodged” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §269).

“After Holy Communion, inwardly recollected and holding your eyes shut, you will introduce Jesus into the heart of Mary. You will give Him to His Mother, who will receive Him lovingly, will place Him honorably, will adore Him profoundly, will love Him perfectly, will embrace Him closely, and will render to Him, in spirit and in truth, many homages which are unknown to us in our thick darkness” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §270).

“Or else you will keep yourself profoundly humbled in your heart, in the presence of Jesus residing in Mary. Or else you will sit like a slave at the gate of the King’s palace, where He is speaking with the Queen; and while they talk to each other without need of you, you will go in spirit to Heaven and over all the earth, praying all creatures to thank, adore and love Jesus and Mary in your place: ‘Come, let us adore!’ (Psalm 94:6).” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §271).

“Or else you will yourself ask of Jesus, in union with Mary, the coming of His kingdom on earth, through His holy Mother; or you will sue for divine wisdom, or for divine love, or for the pardon of your sins, or for some other grace; but always by Mary and in Mary; saying, while you look aside at yourself: ‘Lord, look not at my sins! But let Your eyes look at nothing in me but the virtues and merits of Mary!’ And then, remembering your sins, you will add: ‘It is I who have committed these sins!’ (Matthew 13:28); or you will say: ‘Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man!’ (Psalm 42:1); or else: ‘My Jesus, You must increase in my soul, and I must decrease!’ (John 3:30); Mary, you must increase within me, and I must be still less than I have been. ‘O Jesus and Mary, increase in me, and multiply yourselves outside in others also!’ (Genesis 1:22 ff.).” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §272).

“There are an infinity of other thoughts which the Holy Ghost furnishes, and will furnish you, if you are thoroughly interior, mortified and faithful to this grand and sublime devotion which I have been teaching you. But always remember that the more you allow Mary to act in your Communion, the more Jesus will be glorified; and you will allow Mary to act for Jesus and Jesus to act in Mary in the measure that you humble yourself and listen to them in peace and in silence, without troubling yourself about seeing, tasting or feeling; for the just man lives throughout on Faith, and particularly in Holy Communion, which is an action of Faith: ‘My just man liveth by Faith.’ (Hebrews 10:38).” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §273).

There is a special beauty in a Thanksgiving made in Mary's company in honor of Her Annunciation. Right after Holy Communion we carry Jesus within our souls and bodies, just as the Blessed Virgin Mary did when she had received the message of the Angel. We cannot find a better way to adore and love Jesus at that time than by making our dispositions agree with those of the Mother of God, taking for our own the very same sentiments of adoration and love, that she had toward Her Divine Son Jesus, enclosed for the first time in her womb, under Her Immaculate Heart. It can be helpful in achieving this, to recite meditatively the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary after Holy Communion. Let us try it. We cannot fail to profit by becoming united, in this way, with the Madonna, in order to love Jesus with her heavenly and Immaculate Heart.

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 1

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Thanksgiving After Holy Communion

Holy Scripture
"But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of the Chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)

Meditation
The time of Thanksgiving after Holy Communion is the most ideal time for an intimate exchange of love with Jesus. Let it be a love of total self-giving thus returning Jesus' love so wholeheartedly that there is no longer two of us but one, so to speak, in soul and body. Let it be a love that vivifies and unites — He in me and I in Him, so that we may be consumed in the uniqueness and unity of His love.

"You are my loving prey just as I am the object of Your immense charity," said St. Gemma to Jesus with tenderness.

St. John wrote: “Blessed are they that are called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb" (Apocalypse 19:9). In truth, in Eucharistic Communion rightly received, the soul realizes, in a heavenly virginal union, a nuptial love for the Spouse, Jesus, to Whom the soul can say with the most tender enthusiasm of the Bride in the Canticle of Canticles: "Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth" (Canticles 1:1).

Thanksgiving after Holy Communion is a small foretaste, while on earth, of the love which will be experienced in Paradise. In Heaven, in fact, how shall we love Jesus if not by being one with Him eternally? Dear Jesus, sweet Jesus, oh how I ought to thank You for every Holy Communion that You grant me! Did not St. Gemma have good reason to say she would thank You in Paradise for the Eucharist more than for anything else? What a miracle of love to be so completely united with You, O Jesus!

Water, Yeast, Wax
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Father of the Church, used three illustrations to show the union of love with Jesus in Holy Communion: "He who receives Communion is made holy and Divinized in soul and body in the same way that water, set over a fire, becomes boiling. ... Communion works like yeast that has been mixed into dough so that it leavens the whole Mass: ... Just as by melting two candles together you get one piece of wax, so, I think, one who receives the Flesh and Blood of Jesus is fused together with Him by this Communion, and the soul finds that he is in Christ and Christ is in him."

Jesus is All
For this reason St. Gemma Galgani used to speak in awed wonder of the Eucharistic union between "Jesus Who is All and Gemma who is nothing." In an ecstasy she exclaimed: "What great sweetness there is, O Jesus, in Communion! I want to live in Your embrace and die in Your embrace." And Blessed Contardo Ferrini wrote: "Ah, Holy Communion! unspeakable heights for a human spirit to reach! What does the world have that equals these pure, heavenly joys, these tastes of eternal glory?"

There is another value Holy Communion has that deserves our reflections, and it is in reference to the Blessed Trinity. One day St. Mary Magdalene di Pazzi was kneeling with arms crossed among the novices after Communion. She raised her eyes heavenward and said: “O Sisters, if only we would comprehend the fact that while the Eucharistic Species remain within us, Jesus is there and working in us inseparably with the Father and the Holy Ghost and therefore the whole Holy Trinity is there." She could not finish speaking because she became wrapt in ecstasy.

Remain at Least Fifteen Minutes
The Saints chose, when it was possible, to set no time limit for thanksgiving after Communion, which would last at least a half hour. St. Teresa of Jesus told her daughters: “Let us detain ourselves lovingly with Jesus and not waste the hour that follows Communion. It is an excellent time to deal with God and put before Him the matters that concern our soul. ... As we know that good Jesus remains within us until our natural warmth has dissolved the bread-like qualities, we should take great care not to lose such a beautiful opportunity to treat with Him and lay our needs before Him."

St. Francis of Assisi, St. Juliana Falconieri, St. Catherine, St. Paschal, St. Veronica, St. Joseph Cupertino, St. Gemma, and many others, used to almost always go into a loving ecstasy immediately after Holy Communion. As for the duration, only the angels measured the time. Also St. Teresa of Avila nearly always went into ecstasy right after receiving Holy Communion, and sometimes it was necessary to carry her away bodily from the Communion grille.

St. John of Avila, St. Ignatius Loyola, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga used to make their thanksgiving on their knees for two hours. St. Mary Magdalene di Pazzi wanted it to continue without interruption. It was necessary to constrain her so that she might take a little nourishment "The minutes that follow Communion," the Saint said: “are the most precious we have in our lives. They are the minutes best suited on our part for treating with God, and on His part for communicating His love to us."

St. Louis Grignon de Montfort used to remain for Thanksgiving after Holy Mass at least a half hour, and he would not let there be any worry or engagement that could make him omit it. He said: “I would not give up this hour of Thanksgiving even for an hour of Paradise."

Let us also then make the following resolutions: That we will so organize our time and our lives that we will remain in Thanksgiving after Holy Communion for at least fifteen minutes; and further resolve to allow nothing to stop us from taking this time for Thanksgiving. These minutes in which Jesus is physically present to our souls and within our bodies are heavenly minutes that we should by no means waste.

St. Philip and the Candles
The Apostle, St. Paul, wrote: “Glorify and bear God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20). There is no time in which these words, taken literally, apply so well, as during the time immediately after receiving Holy Communion. How unfeeling it is, then, for someone to receive Communion and leave the church at once as soon as Mass is over, or as soon as he has received Our Lord! We may remember the example of St. Philip Neri, who had two altar boys with lighted candies go to accompany a man who had left the church right after his Communion. What a beautiful lesson! For the sake of good manners, if for no other reason, when a person receives a guest, he pauses to give his attention to him and takes interest in him.

If this guest is Jesus, then we will only have reason to be sorry that His bodily presence within us scarcely lasts fifteen minutes or a little more. In view of this, St. Joseph Cottolengo used to personally oversee the baking of hosts for Mass and Communion. To the sister assigned to this he gave the following instruction: "Make the hosts thick so that I can linger a long time with Jesus. I do not want the Sacred Species to quickly dissolve."

Are we not perhaps acting contrary to the example of the Saints when we regard our period of Thanksgiving as too long and perhaps feel impatient to get it over with? But, oh how we should watch ourselves here! For if it is true that at every Communion Jesus "gives us a hundredfold for the hospitality we show Him," as St. Teresa of Jesus declares, then it is likewise true that we must answer a hundredfold for neglecting this hospitality. A fellow Capuchin of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina told how one day he went to Confession to the holy friar, and among other things, confessed omitting his Thanksgiving after Holy Mass because, he said, some ministry made him unable. While St. Padre Pio was lenient in judging the other faults when he heard him confess this omission, he grew more serious, and, with a stern look, he said firmly "Let us see to it that our being unable is not just being unwilling. I always have to make my Thanksgiving; otherwise I pay dearly."

Let us give the matter serious thought and attention. When it comes to something so very precious as this Thanksgiving, let us take to heart the Holy Ghost's admonition: “Let not your share of desired good pass you by" (Ecclesiasticus 14:14).

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 2

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: The Bread of Strength, The Bread of Life

Holy Scripture
"But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of the Chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)

Meditation
The Bread of the Strong
It ought not to be necessary to say that for everybody, Christ in the Eucharist is the true Bread to make them strong. It is the nourishment to make men heroic, to sustain Martyrs, and to bring strength and peace to souls in their last agony.

In the Eucharist, Jesus repeats to us, who suffer and moan in this valley of tears, this affectionate summons: “Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28).

For certainly: “The life of man upon earth is a warfare" (Job 7:1). Moreover, Jesus' followers "shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:10); and it is true that they that are Christ's "have crucified their flesh with its passions and concupiscences" (Galatians 5:24), and that we ought to live as dead "with Christ to the elements of the world" (Colossians 2:20).

It is also true that with Jesus "I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13), for Jesus is "all" (John 1:3; Colossians 1:17). In Holy Communion He makes Himself "all mine." I can, then, say with the Servant of God, Luisa M. Claret de la Touche: “What need I fear? He Who sustains the world is within me. The Blood of a God circulates within my veins: Have no fear, O my soul. The Lord of the Universe has taken you up into His Arms and wants you to find rest in Him."

Hence, St. Vincent de Paul was able to ask his missionaries: “When you have received Jesus into your hearts, can any sacrifice be impossible for you?" And St. Vincent, during the two years he had to suffer in prison as a victim of persecution, exceedingly abounded with joy in all his tribulations (2 Corinthians 7:4), because he managed to be able to celebrate Holy Mass every day in spite of his fetters and chains and the darkness of his dungeon. The same fortitude and joy was given to St. Joan of Arc when she was allowed to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist before going to her execution at the stake. When Jesus entered her dark prison, the Saint fell on her knees, and, wearing her chains, received Jesus, and became absorbed in prayer. As soon as she was bidden to go forth to her death, she rose and made her journey, without interrupting her prayer. She proceeded to the stake and died amid the flames, ever in union with Jesus, Who remained in her soul and in that body which was sacrificed.

Strength of the Martyrs
The whole history of the Martyrs, from St. Stephen, the proto-Martyr, to the angelic Martyr, St. Tarcisius, and the more recent Martyrs, is a story of the super-human strength which the Eucharist bestows on them as they do battle against the devil and against all the hellish powers that operate in the world (1 Peter 5:9).

Remember, also, the heavenly comfort and help which Holy Communion brings to the sick, and not merely to their souls, but to their bodies also, which sometimes become wonderfully healed. It used to happen, for example, to St. Lidwina and to Alexandria Da Costa, that during the whole time the Sacred Species remained within their bodies, their terrible physical sufferings would marvelously cease. It likewise happened to St. Lawrence of Brindisi and St. Peter Claver, that all the pains of the serious ailments that had been tormenting them, would cease when they were celebrating Holy Mass.

Take Care of the Soul First
But most consoling of all is the Christian's final Holy Communion, which is called Viaticum; that is, food for the journey from this life to the next. Oh, what great importance the Saints attached to our receiving It in good time and with the best dispositions!

Strength for the Road to Heaven
When St. Dominic Savio was sent home because of a grave illness, the doctor held out good hopes of his recovery. But the holy youth called his father and said: “Father, it will be a good thing if I deal with the heavenly Doctor. I want to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion."

When St. Anthony Claret's declining health began to cause serious concern, two physicians were called in for advice. Noticing this, the Saint realized the gravity of his illness and said: “I understand, but first let us think about the soul, and then the body," for he wanted to receive the Sacraments at once. After that was done, he sent for the two physicians and told them: “Now do what you want to do."

Ah! What a great grace Holy Viaticum is! When the holy Curé of Ars was dying and heard the ringing of the bell that announced the arrival of Holy Viaticum, he was moved to tears, and said: “How can we not weep when Jesus is coming, for the last time to us, with so much love?"

First the soul, and then the body. Is it possible that we do not appreciate this? Often we are so unthinking that we concern ourselves a great deal about getting the doctor in to tend to the sick person, whereas we get around to summoning the priest only at the last minute when the patient is, perhaps, too far gone to receive the Sacraments with full awareness, or cannot even receive them at all. Oh how foolish, how unwise we are! How can we escape being answerable, if, by failing to call the priest on time, we put a dying person's salvation in jeopardy and deprive him of the support and great help that he could receive in his last moments?

Pledge of Everlasting Life
The Eucharist is the highest guarantee, pledging true life, to the Christian who dwells in this poor land of exile. "Our bodies," writes St. Gregory of Nyssa: “when united to Christ's Body, gain a beginning of immortality, because they are united to Immortality." When the body's short life is failing, we look to Jesus, Who is eternal Life. He is given to us in Holy Communion in order to be the true and enduring Life of our immortal souls and to be the Resurrection of our mortal bodies: "He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has life everlasting" (John 6:55). "He who eats this Bread shall live forever" (John 6:59), because "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11: 25).

Yes, Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is Love that has become my food, my strength, my life, my heart's craving. Every time I receive Him, during life or at the time of death, He makes Himself mine in order to make me His. Yes, He is all mine and I am all His — the one in the other, the one belonging to the other (John 6:57). This is the fullness of Love for the soul and for the body, on earth and in Heaven.

We have no problem with all these thoughts in the intellectual side of our lives—it is in the practical side of our lives that we fail so often in our devotion to the Holy Eucharist. As the quote of St. Paul so rightly says that there are many who are guilty of “not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:28-30).

The devil knows what the most effective and powerful spiritual weapons are, and so he seeks to keep those weapons out of our hands. The greatest weapon is that of the Holy Eucharist—both as a Sacrifice, as it is in the Mass, and a Sacrament, as it is in Holy Communion, or in the Blessed Sacrament within the tabernacle. Hence the attacks and temptations will be the greatest in this regard. It is hardly surprising that many, if not most, Catholic no longer believe in the Real Presence anymore—and what we do not believe, we do not love.

We have an endless and perpetual battle on our hands in keeping alive and making grow our devotion to the Holy Eucharist. It will be not be pleasant at times, it will go against our inclination for pleasure at other times, it may even risk becoming boring, humdrum and routine—we will sit in silent presence of God in the tabernacle, with our minds empty and our hearts feeling cold. At times our Faith in the Real Presence will be tried and tested. At other times we will be asked to sacrifice human activities and ‘fun’ activities in our preference for going to Mass or making visits to the Blessed Sacrament. We will have to prove that what is our “Greatest Treasure” in theory, remains the “Greatest Treasure” in practice. All this will be hard! “But he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

LITANY OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST

There will be three litanies to the Holy Eucharist which we will rotate daily. The first two will honor the Eucharist, the third will make reparation.

LITANY # 3

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Topic to Contemplate: Every Day With Jesus!

Holy Scripture
"And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to His disciples, and said: 'Take ye, and eat. This is My body'" (Matthew 26:26).
“Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matthew 28:20)

Meditation
Jesus is in the tabernacle for my sake. He is the Food of my soul. "My Flesh is food indeed and My Blood is drink indeed" (John 6:56). If I want to nourish myself spiritually and be fully supplied with life, I must receive Him: “Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you" (John 6:54). St. Augustine informs us that the Catholic people in his diocese in Africa called the Eucharist by the word "Life." When they were to go to Holy Communion, they would say: “We are going to the Life." What a wonderful way of expressing it!

To keep my supernatural powers and energies—my supernatural life—in good health, I must nourish them. The Holy Eucharist is exactly what is needed for this, for It is the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35), the "Bread that has come down from Heaven" (John 6:59), which bestows, replenishes, preserves and increases the spiritual energies of the soul. St. Peter J. Eymard ventured to say: “Communion is as necessary for us to sustain our Christian vitality, as the vision of God is necessary to the Angels, to maintain their fife of glory."

Every day I ought to nourish my soul, just as every day I feed my body in order to give it physical vitality. St. Augustine teaches: “The Eucharist is a daily Bread that we take as a remedy for the frailty we suffer from daily." And St. Peter J. Eymard adds: “Jesus has prepared not just one Host, but One for every day of our life. The Hosts for us are ready. Let us not forfeit even One of Them."

Jesus is that Host, that Victim of love, Who is so sweet and so healthful to the soul, as to move St. Gemma Galgani to say: “I feel a great need to be strengthened anew by that Food so sweet, which Jesus offers me; This affectionate therapy that Jesus gives me every morning unstiffens me and draws to Him every affection of my heart."

For the Saints, daily Communion fulfills an imperative need for Life and Love, corresponding to Jesus' Divine desire to give Himself to be every soul's Life and Love. We should not forget that Holy Thursday was the day for which Jesus had "longed" (Luke 22:15). Hence, the holy Cure of Ars said emphatically: “Every Consecrated Host is made to burn Itself up with love in a human heart." And St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote to another Sister: “It is not in order to occupy a golden ciborium that Jesus every day comes down from Heaven, but it is to find another heaven, namely, our soul, in which He takes His delight; and when a soul well able to do so does not want to receive Jesus into its heart, Jesus weeps. Therefore, when the devil cannot enter with sin into a soul's sanctuary, he wants the soul to be at least unoccupied, with no Master, and well removed from Holy Communion."

It should surely be evident that we are here concerned with a snare of the devil; for only the devil can be interested in keeping us away from Jesus. May we be on our guard, then. We should try not to fall victim to the devil's deceptions. "Endeavor not to miss any Holy Communion," St. Margaret Mary Alacoque advises; "We can scarcely give our enemy, the devil, greater joy than when we withdraw from Jesus, Who takes away the power the enemy has over us."

Daily Communion is a daily wellspring of love, of strength, of light, of joy, of courage, of every virtue and every good. "If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink," Jesus said (John 7 :37). He alone is the "Fountain of water springing up unto life everlasting" (John 4:14). How can there be anyone, who is in the state of Sanctifying Grace, not want, or who finds it hard, to go to this Divine "table of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 10:21)?

The great Lord Chancellor of England, St. Thomas More, who died a Martyr because of his resistance to schism, used to hear Mass every morning and receive Holy Communion. Some friends tried to persuade him that this care was not suitable for a layman heavily engaged in so many affairs of state. "You present all your reasons, and they rather convince me the more that I should receive Holy Communion every day!" he said. "My distractions are numerous, and, with Jesus, I learn to recollect myself. The occasions of offending God are frequent, and I receive strength every day from Him to flee from them. I need light and prudence to manage very difficult affairs, and every day I can consult Jesus in Holy Communion. He is my great Teacher."

Someone once asked the celebrated biologist, Banting, why he cared so much about daily Communion. "Have you ever reflected," he answered: “what would happen if the dew did not fall every night? No plant could develop. The grass and flowers could not survive the evaporations and the dryness that the day's heat brings in one way or another. Their cycle of energies, their natural renewal, the balance of their lymphatic fluids, the very life of plants requires this dew." After a pause, he continued: "Now my soul is like a little plant. It is something rather frail, that the winds and heat do battle with every day. So it is necessary that every morning I go get my fresh stock of spiritual dew, by going to Holy Communion."

St. Joseph Cottolengo recommended to the physicians of his House of Divine Providence, that they hear Mass and go to Communion before undertaking their difficult surgeries. This was because, as he said: “Medicine is a great science, but God is the great Physician." Blessed Joseph Moscati, the celebrated physician of Naples, used to be very regular about this, and go to unbelievable lengths (at the cost of enormous inconvenience, especially in view of the frequent trips he had to make) to avoid missing daily Communion. If on any day it was quite impossible to receive Communion, he had not the courage that day to make his doctor's calls; for he said: “Without Jesus I do not have enough light to save my poor patients."

Oh, the ardent love the Saints have for daily Holy Communion! And who can properly describe it? St. Joseph Cupertino, who did not fail to receive his beloved Lord every day, once ventured to say to his brothers in religious life: “Be sure that I will depart into the next life on the day that I cannot receive the Pecoriello (the Great Lamb)" as he affectionately and devotedly called the Divine Lamb. And, in fact, it took a severe illness to prevent him from receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist one day; and that was the day of his death!

When St. Gemma Galgani's father was worried about his daughter's health, he criticized her for setting out too early every morning to go to Mass. His criticism drew this answer from the Saint: "But Father, as for me, I become ill if I don't receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist."

When St. Catherine of Genoa learned of the interdict put on her city, carrying a prohibition against Mass and Holy Communion, she went on foot every day to a remote Sanctuary outside Genoa in order to go to Communion. When she was told that she was overdoing things, the Saint replied: “If I had to go miles and miles over burning coals in order to receive Jesus, I would say the way was easy, as if I were walking on a carpet of roses."

This should teach a lesson to us who may have a Church within a short walk, where we can go at our convenience to receive Jesus into our hearts. And even if this should cost us some sacrifice, would it not be worth it? But there is yet more to this, if we reflect that the Saints would have wanted to receive Communion not just once, but several times a day.

Full Ciborium, Empty Bread Boxes
Let us go forward! We should not apologize for doing something so holy as receiving daily Communion, to which every blessing for soul and body is attached.

Blessings for the Soul
As for blessings for the soul, St. Cyril of Alexandria, Father and Doctor of the Church, wrote: "If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste."

When people wanted to know how it came about that St. Charles Borromeo kept chaste and upright in the midst of other youths who were loose and frivolous, this was his secret: frequent Holy Communion. It was this same St. Charles who recommended frequent Communion to the young St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who became the Saint of angelic purity. Assuredly, the Eucharist proves to be "the wheat of the elect and wine which sprouts forth virgins" (Zacharias 9:17). And St. Philip Neri, a priest thoroughly familiar with young people, remarked: “Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Blessed Virgin are not simply the best way, but in fact the only way to keep purity. At the age of twenty nothing but Communion can keep one's heart pure ... Chastity is not possible without the Eucharist." This is most true.

Blessings for the Body
And what of the blessings that the Holy Eucharist brings for the body? St. Luke said of Our Lord: “Power went forth from Him and healed all" (Luke 6:19). How many times at Lourdes has this not again proved true of Our Savior in the Eucharist? How many bodies have been healed by this kind Lord, veiled within the white Host? How many people, who were suffering from sickness or from poverty, have there not been who have received, with the Eucharistic Bread, the bread of health, of strength, and aid for other needs?

One day St. Joseph Cottolengo noticed that a number of patients in his House of Providence had not chosen to receive Holy Communion. The ciborium remained full. Now that same day the pantry ran out of bread for the forthcoming meal. The Saint, setting the ciborium on the altar, turned and very animatedly made this expressive statement: "Full ciborium, empty bread boxes!" This bore out a truth. Jesus is the fullness of life and love for my soul. Without Him, all else is empty and arid. With Him I have limitless reserves every day for every good, purity and joy.

Resolution
I will read and meditate more often on the Holy Eucharist. I will make time to receive the Holy Eucharist more often.
I will convince myself of the supreme importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. To prove this in a practical manner, I will spend more time in preparation and thanksgiving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and will make more visits to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Our Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever Amen

[Mention Intention]

Let us pray:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. (Prayer of St. John Vianney).

Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!