Sister Evangelina Canag, FSP
The Eucharist God’s Eternal Love
PHILIPPINES
EUCHARIST: God’s Eternal Love Sr. Evangelina Canag, fsp Copyright Š 2017 Daughters of St. Paul Published and distributed by Paulines Publishing House 2650 F.B. Harrison Street 1302 Pasay City, Philippines E-mail: edpph@paulines.ph Website: www.paulines.ph Cover design and photo: Ann Marie Nemenzo, FSP All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without the written permission from the publisher. 1st printing 2017 ISBN 978-971-590-829-0
at the service of the Gospel and culture
Introduction The year 2015 marked the centenary of our foundation as Daughters of St. Paul. We, the Daughters of St. Paul, together with the other Institutes of the Pauline Family, were born in the Eucharist during our Founder’s four-hour adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Later, in a moment of crisis, Blessed Alberione, our Founder was assured by Jesus: “Fear not, I am with you”. Pointing to the tabernacle our Lord added: “ From here I will enlighten”. Hence, our Founder had inculcated in us, his sons and daughters, a deep Eucharistic devotion: “Everything from the Eucharist. Never without the Eucharist.” Throughout our one hundred years of existence and service in the Church, we have experienced innumerable graces and V
much joy that comes from the Eucharist. Present in five continents, we continue to carry out our mission of proclaiming the Word of God through the means of social communication notwithstanding great difficulties. What a coincidence that in 2016, the local Church in the Philippines hosted the 51st International Eucharistic Congress. This makes us recall that the first Daughters of St. Paul missionary to the Philippines arrived in Manila in 1937 aboard the ship which carried the delegates to the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress. It is then but proper that we give thanks to God and tell the world of the power of the Eucharist. Hence, this little book. It is not a great treatise. It is a fruit of my reflections on the basic doctrines of our Mother Church regarding the Eucharist. These are inspirations given me by the Holy Spirit as I soaked in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and enlivened by the
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Eucharistic stories I have read or that have been shared with me. I wrote this book “on my knees” because I am but mud, trying to write about something divine. At the outset I thought it would be easy and would take only a short time. But in the process of writing, the Lord made me experience keenly his words “Without me you can do nothing.” When in the chapel, I had lots of inspirations. Words and sentences danced before the eyes of my mind and joy overflowed my heart. But when I sat before the computer, my mind would go blank. I felt restless, slothful, de-energized. I could not type a thing. One day, I chanced upon a writing of Blessed Alberione which, to me, explained this phenomenon: “ It is the Lord purifying us even to 99 degrees. The Lord will remove your presumption and the sense of self-sufficiency you had instead of trusting in him. He will shatter the idea that good can be achieved very easily and He will make you learn that the good requires VII
much sacrifice, many tears and sometimes bloodshed. The Lord will leave one percent, but with this you can achieve marvels.” With a contrite heart for my presumption and supported by the prayers of my sisters I managed to finish this work. I was also inspired by what Kathryn Spink, collaborator of Mother (St.)Teresa of Calcutta, said of the holy foundress’ encouragement of her: “She told me that if a book brought just one soul – just one – nearer to God, then it was worth all the heartache that went into it”. This book is written for devotees of the Eucharist, so that they may understand better what their hearts already love, as well as for those who are cold in their Eucharistic devotion, so that they may be warmed again with the fire of divine love and give witness that indeed, “Christ in us is our hope of glory.” The Author VIII
TABLE OF CONTENTS What’s in a Name? The Eucharist: A Mystery of Faith The Two Tables “This Is My Body...This Is My Blood” The Eucharist: The Greatest Sacrifice “Do This in Remembrance of Me” “Take and Eat” Holy Communion He Wants to Remain with Us The Eucharist: The Great Thanksgiving The Importance of the Eucharist The Invisible Presence The Adoration: A Prolonged, Loving Look The Fruits of the Adoration The Eucharist: Sacrament of Communion The Eucharist: Sacrament of Transformation
1 4 8 12 16 20 25 29 33 36 39 42 47 52 56 60
The Eucharist: School of Jesus, the Divine Teacher 65 The Eucharist: Home of Lonely Hearts 70 The Eucharist Is Mission 74 The Eucharist: Defender from Enemies 78 The Eucharist: Intimate Union with the Blessed Trinity 82 The Eucharist: Food for the Journey 86 The Eucharist: Hope of the Poor 89 The Eucharist Heals 93 The Eucharist: Fountain of Mercy 98 and Compassion The Eucharist Makes the Family Fruitful 102 The Eucharist Frees the Souls in Purgatory 106 The Humility of Jesus in the Eucharist 110 The Eucharist: A Pledge of Christ’s Return 115 The Eucharist and Mary 119 The Eucharist: Strength in Suffering 123 The Eucharist and the Priest 127 Living the Eucharist 131 Eucharistic Prayers 135
“This is my Body... This is my blood� In the 13th century (1263), a Bohemian priest named Peter of Prague was tortured by doubt on the real presence of Christ during consecration at Mass. He went to Rome for a pilgrimage to ask for the grace of an increase of faith. Passing by Bolsena, he celebrated Mass in the church of St. Christina. During consecration, when he broke the Host, lo and behold, blood dripped from it and overflowed into the corporal. Stunned, the doubting priest hurriedly wrapped the bleeding Host in the corporal and brought it to Pope Urban IV who was then in Orvieto, 12
a short distance from Bolsena. During the transport, some drops of blood fell on the pavement. These were encased in glass and can be seen up to this writing. The bloodstained corporal is also preserved in the cathedral of Orvieto. On the night of the Last Supper, “Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat, this is my body”. (Mt. 26:26). He changed bread into his own body. He has given his priest this same power. At the moment of the consecration during Mass, the bread ceases to be bread. It is now the body of Christ. St. Ambrose says that the word, “This is my body” is an operative, or effective word. What is said comes to exist through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why before the consecration, the priest prays: “Lord, let your Spirit come upon these gifts...(cf. Eucharistic Prayer II). At Mass, the priest personifies Jesus. At the consecration the priest does not 13
say, “this is the body of Jesus” but “this is my body!” Our human eyes do not see the change. But bread is now the body of Christ. Theologians explain this phenomenon using the argument of transubstantiation. This might sound complicated. The simple explanation is, Jesus said it! We believe because with God nothing is impossible. In the beginning, “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). Now Jesus says, “This is my body” and there, on the altar is his body! When God speaks, he (creates) makes things happen! How is my faith in the words of Jesus? During the sacred moment of the consecration, do I adore with all my mind, will and heart? What are my thoughts during consecration?
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P rayer Omnipotent and loving God, I offer you the homage of my mind. You gave me intelligence to understand and explore the realities in the world. Now that you present to me a reality that my mind cannot fathom, I acknowledge my poverty and bow before you, Oh great and omniscient One. Glory and praise to you!
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“Take
and
Eat�
Blessed Alessandrina da Costa (19041955) of Balasar, Portugal was completely paralyzed and bedridden for around 30 years as a result of a fall when she jumped from a window to escape a rapist who entered her home. Prayer and pain have become her daily bread. Then, Jesus asked her to be a victim soul, that is, to suffer in union with him for the conversion of sinners. On Tuesday nights until Friday afternoon, she would experience in her body the Passion of Jesus. On March 27, 1942, she began a total fast until her death. Her sole food was Holy Communion. Jesus told her that he allowed 25
her to be living by the Eucharist alone in order to prove to the world the power of the Eucharist and the power of his life in souls. The Eucharist is food. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body” (cf. Mt. 26:26). His body is to be eaten. He had said to the Jews: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35). The Jews murmured. But Jesus did not take back his words. He went on: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn. 6:48-51). In Holy Communion we receive the body of Jesus Christ, the bread of life, the seed of eternal life. We do not wait to die 26
in order to live eternal life. We are living it now when we receive Holy Communion. After death we shall but continue to live eternal life in heaven. Those who feed on the body of Christ need not be afraid of death because only the material body dies. The soul continues to live in the Lord. Sometimes we are too preoccupied with our health; we take care to eat healthy food. The healthiest food is on the altar. It nourishes. It heals. It has no harmful chemical, it has no pollutant. It is accessible to the rich and the poor. For free! Because Somebody had already paid the price. One needs only to believe. When I receive Holy Communion, do I believe in the words of Jesus that eternal life already begins in me? From now on, I will ask my guardian angel to help me make a beautiful thanksgiving prayer after communion.
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P rayer Oh good Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Eucharist wherein you feed me with your body and blood. I am malnourished, Lord; and so are many of my brothers and sisters. We prefer to eat junk food of earthly pleasures, sometimes outright poisonous ones. Hence, we are sickly. Draw us to you. Give us a desire of the heavenly food, a desire to be united with you on this earth and in heaven. Amen.
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The Adoration: A Prolonged, Loving Look Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, rapt in attention, drinking in every word of his. In the kitchen, her sister, Martha is very busy preparing food for Jesus and the apostles who surely have good appetites. Martha is anxious to serve the best to Jesus but Mary does nothing to help her. She appeals to Jesus: “Please tell her, Lord, to help me.” But Jesus answered her: “Let her be.” Jesus liked the full attention Mary gives him. A person in love usually steals glances at the beloved, because the eyes turn where the heart is. But when two persons have already 47
established a pledge of love, the stolen glances will mature into prolonged, loving looks. In adoration before the Blessed Sacrament we give Jesus a prolonged, loving look. It is doing on earth what we shall do forever in heaven – to contemplate him forever! Now it is in faith; in heaven it will be vision; we shall behold him as he is, in perfect beauty and splendor. Prolonged gazing at the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament brings about transformation in our being. Venerable Fulton Sheen has this to say: “We become like what we gaze upon. Looking into a sunset the face takes on a golden glow. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way.� Sometimes we do not know how to pray because our heart is too burdened. We need not worry; we can just be there and look at Jesus because he is looking at us lovingly. During the day, we have many things to attend to. We have no time to think of Jesus. 48
During adoration we focus our attention on him alone. We talk to him; we pour out our heart. Jesus listens with empathy and mercy. He also makes us see our mistakes and sinfulness but he never condemns us. Rather, he assures us of his forgiveness and unconditional love. If we really feel dry during the adoration or Visit, we can read the Bible. We shall understand it better because Jesus, the Word of God, is the same Jesus in the Eucharist. We might be helped also by a good prayer book. St. Alphonsus de Liguori has this to say: “One thing is certain, that next to Holy Communion no act of worship is so pleasing to God, and none is so useful, as the daily visit to our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament dwelling upon our altars. Know that in one-quarter of an hour which you spend before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament you attain more than in all the good works of the rest of the day.� Blessed 49
Alberione exhorts: “During the Visit enter into communion with Jesus. If one does not enter into this intimacy, there is no true prayer.” After adoration we leave Jesus. But he follows us with his gaze wherever we go. He looks at us night and day – lovingly; just like a mother who never tires of looking at her child. Even when that child grows up and leaves her, the eyes of the mother’s heart continues to follow her child. Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament is the time when I can return Jesus’ loving look and be filled with the Holy Spirit. If I cannot make it one hour, even a fifteen-minute Visit would please Jesus.
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P rayer One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: To live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to seek counsel in his temple. (Ps. 27:4)
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