Tuesday April 16th: Do You Need A Sign from God?
April 16, 2024
To answer the call
April 17, 2024
By Fr Jesse Maingot OP
There is such a thing as Eucharistic fire. It is the burning love of the Eucharistic Jesus that sets our hearts aflame. It is the fire of joy and happiness of being in His presence. A radiant light that burns away our sinful tendencies, our worries, our despair, and our insecurities. It is a fire of power and strength to endure the crosses of life.
It never fails to amaze me how transformative it is to be with the Eucharistic Jesus.
Our Catholic faith, rooted in Scripture, tells us that the Eucharist IS Jesus. No one ever comes to Jesus in the Eucharist with an open heart and leaves the same. Years ago, when I reverted to my Catholic faith, a friend explained that sitting in front of the tabernacle or monstrance changes the soul, Jesus shines forth His grace which makes the soul radiant with light. No different, he said, to sitting in the sun and getting a tan. By simply putting yourself there in front of Jesus, with faith, He goes to work in your soul.
It is because of the power of Jesus in the Mass, Holy Communion, and Adoration that Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon desires that the whole Archdiocese make a 33-day journey to consecrating ourselves and our Church to the Eucharistic Lord.
As a people of God, this journey will help prepare us to draw even more graces and blessings from Jesus’ Eucharistic heart. To do this, we will use Matthew Kelly’s new book, 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory.
Kelly has donated thousands of books to help us on this journey. They will be distributed to our parishes and faith communities in due time. The book offers a daily reflection to revitalise our Eucharistic devotion and prepare us for consecration to a deeper commitment to Jesus in the Eucharist.
We encourage you to gather in your homes once a week with friends and family to discuss the book’s daily readings. Parishes can also facilitate gatherings for reflections and discussions. This is a time to come together and speak about Jesus who is with us in the tabernacle. There will be many other activities which will be announced to help us make this pilgrimage together as an Archdiocese.
Stay tuned and spread the word. The journey begins April 28 and the consecration day will be May 30, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
Brothers and sisters, my own experience of Adoration and lingering in His presence is the root of my conviction that the antidote to many of our problems is to simply be with Christ.
As a priest, I am privileged to speak to countless people who in many different situations witness to the power of being with Jesus in the Eucharist. These encounters have further convinced me that receiving Holy Communion and being with Jesus’ true presence in Adoration is something practical which we can do to bring about change in the world.
The Church teaches us that the depths of Christ’s Eucharistic power is released according to the depth of our faith and the disposition and holiness of our hearts. The more we prepare for Holy Communion and Adoration, the greater the release of divine power from Jesus. This 33-day journey will help us be better prepared. A new vitality and grace will be released into our lives.
I leave you with the words of Pope Francis on Eucharistic Adoration: “One cannot know the Lord without being in the habit of adoring, of adoring in silence. I believe, if I am not mistaken, that this prayer of Adoration is the least known among us; it is the one we engage in the least. To waste time — if I may say it — before the Lord, before the mystery of Jesus Christ. To adore, there in the silence, in the silence of Adoration. He is the Lord, and I adore Him.”
If you have a Eucharistic testimony of an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, please share it to build the faith of others– send an email to eucharist@catholictt.org
