In the Prayers For Eucharistic Adoration which were compiled by the Serra Club of Singapore there is this prayer: “Give us the faith of all Your Saints to whom the Blessed Sacrament was Heaven begun on earth”.
For quite some time, I have been pondering on the real depth of the prayer. How could heaven be here on earth? Searching for the answer to my question I eventually realized that MEANING IS IN PEOPLE. The word HEAVEN can have different meanings for people who have different viewpoints. Hence, I asked myself: WHAT IS “HEAVEN” TO ME?
The Catechism for Filipino Catholics states: “Filipinos usually speak of heaven as if it were a “place”, but only because, since we live in time and space, we imagine everything as a place. Actually, heaven means the state of “being with the Lord”.(CFC 2068)
From this teaching, I now conclude that the essence of HEAVEN is TO BE WITH THE LORD. The “LORD” is OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, the only begotten Son of God, the WORD made FLESH thru the mystery of INCARNATION. (John 1:14)
Where is JESUS CHRIST now? The Catechism for Filipino Catholics speaks of Christ’s Multiple Presence in a Eucharistic Celebration. He is present in the ASSEMBLY, in the MINISTER, in the HOLY SCRIPTURES, and under the EUCHARISTIC SPECIES. It states further: “Christ’s presence in the consecrated bread and wine is called “real” not to exclude all other types of presence, but because it is presence in the fullest sense, a substantial presence by which Christ, the God-Man, is wholly and entirely present”. Thus, JESUS CHRIST is PRESENT in a very special way in the BLESSED SACRAMENT.
The Saints, like St. John Vianney, must have taken this truth seriously and so they manifested in their life a love for JESUS in the BLESSED SACRAMENT through regular VISITS and ADORATION. In his biography it said that St. John Vianney as a priest drew from the Eucharist the ardour of his pastoral charity and the dynamism of his apostolic zeal.
The Presence of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blessed Sacrament is, indeed, a great mystery. It is something beyond our comprehension. Rev. Fr. Horacio dela Costa, SJ, puts it in one of his homilies that “God has a habit of giving things too true to be false. That is why our faith is a faith of the unexpected, a religion of surprise.” With this thought and further reflecting on the scripture verse: “So, then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead” (James 2:26), I made a commitment, in order to live what I believe, to visit and adore JESUS CHRIST Who is present in the Blessed Sacrament at the Adoration Chapel. At first my schedule of visitation was for a period of one hour weekly. However, in one of my visits, I perceived a challenging thought, the Lord saying to me: “I am giving you 24 hours everyday. Can you not spend with Me even only one hour everyday in the Blessed Sacrament?” I realized that much of my time everyday is mostly for myself, like eating, drinking, reading, exercising and sleeping. Can I not offer even only one hour everyday to worship the Lord JESUS CHRIST, Who is Present in a very special way in the Blessed Sacrament? Then I remembered that Sister Briege McKenna,OSC, a world renown for divine healing, spends at least three hours everyday before the Blessed Sacrament. I then accepted the challenge and prayed for the grace to persevere in this commitment of VISITING OUR LORD IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT EVERYDAY for a period of least ONE HOUR. While sometimes I experience some problems in carrying out this commitment, there is a thought that keeps me strong in my resolve, despite all difficulties, and that is: ”THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IS A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH”.
by: Salvador 'Buddy' Cagurangan
August 15, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment