Of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

This is the third in a series of sermons by Saint Peter Julian Eymard from The Real Presence. - Asst. Ed.

The Our Father 

Quodcumque petieritis Pat rem in nomine meo, hoc faciam, et glorificetur Pater in Filio.

Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John xiv. 13.)

I.-----Our Father Who art in Heaven, in the heaven of the Eucharist, to Thee, Who art seated on the throne of grace and love, be benediction, and honor, and glory, and power, for ever and ever!

II.-----Hallowed be Thy Name, first in ourselves, through the spirit of Thy humility, obedience, and charity. May we in all humility and zeal make Thee known, adored, and loved by all men in the Eucharist! 

III.-----Thy Kingdom come, Thy Eucharistic Kingdom. Rule Thou alone forever over us for Thy greater glory through the power of Thy love, the triumph of Thy virtues, and the grace of a Eucharistic vocation. Grant us the grace and mission of Thy holy love so that we may be able effectively to preach, extend, and spread Thy Eucharistic Kingdom everywhere, and thus realize the desire Thou didst express: "I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled?" Oh! That we also might be the incendiaries of this heavenly fire!

IV.-----Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Grant us to find all our joy in wanting Thee alone, in desiring Thee alone, and in thinking of Thee alone. Grant that by denying ourselves always and in all things we may find light and life in obeying Thy good, acceptable, perfect will. And as to the condition and progress of our Society, I will what Thou willest; I will it because Thou willest it; I will it as Thou willest it; I will it as long as Thou willest it. Perish our thoughts and desires if they are not purely from Thee, for Thee, and in Thee! 

V.-----Give us this day our daily bread. Lord Jesus, Thou Who didst daily give manna to Thy people in the wilderness; Thou Who didst will to be the only portion and inheritance of the Levites; Thou Who didst bequeath Thy Divine poverty to Thy Apostles, we want and select Thee to be our only Provider and Treasurer in all things. Thou alone wilt be our food and clothing, our riches and glory, our remedy in illness, and our protection against our enemies. We promise not to accept or even to desire anything from the favor of men or from the friendship of the world. Thou wilt be all things to us; men, and all they stand for, will be nothing to us save a cross and a subject of oblivion.

VI.-----And forgive us our trespasses. Forgive, Lord Jesus, the sins of my youth! Forgive the sins committed in such a holy vocation so that worthily, with a pure heart and a good conscience, I may dare approach Thy sacred altar and serve Thee holily, and deserve to praise Thee with the Angels and Saints. Forgive the offenses committed against us. Take not revenge on those who oppose, calumniate, and persecute us. Grant them good for evil, pardon for sin, love for hate. As we forgive those who trespass against us; with our whole heart, in true charity; with our whole soul, in the simplicity of little children; with our whole will, we desire to obtain for them, as for us, all the gifts of Thy love.

VII.-----And lead us not into temptation. Keep away from Thy Eucharistic family crafty, false, and impure vocations. Let not this poor little family ever be ruled by a proud and ambitious man or a hiirsh and passionate one. Deliver not up to unclean and wicked beasts the souls that trust in Thee. Make Thy Society immune from scandal, pure from vice, free from worldly servitude, a stranger to the world, so that it may find its joy in serving Thee in holiness and liberty, in peace and tranquillity.

VIII.-----But deliver us from evil. Deliver us from the demon of pride, impurity, and discord. Deliver us from the cares and worries of this life so that, with a pure heart and a free mind, we may gladly spend and devote all that we are and all that we have to the service of the Eucharist. Deliver us from false brethren, lest they oppress Thy infant Society; from the wise of this world, lest they corrupt Thy spirit among us; from learned and proud men, lest they stir up Thy wrath against us and cause Thee to abandon us; from effeminate men, lest they cool the ardor of virtue and weaken the strength of holy discipline; from inconstant and double-faced men, lest they greatly deceive our simplicity.

Amen.

In Thee, O Lord Jesus, have I hoped; let me not be confounded forever. Thou alone art good. Thou alone art powerful. Thou alone art eternal. To Thee alone be honor and glory, love and thanksgiving for ever and ever.

The Institution of the Eucharist

Cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos.

Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end. (John xiii. 1.)

HOW good is the Lord ]esusl How loving! Not satisfied with having become our Brother by His Incarnation and our Savior by His Passion, not satisfied with having delivered Himself up for us, He wants to strain His love to the point of making Himself our Sacrament of life!

With what joy He prepared this great and supreme gift of His love!

With what happiness He instituted the Eucharist and bequeathed it to us as His last will!

Let us observe this Divine wisdom at work preparing the Eucharist. Let us adore His power, exhausting itself in this act of love.

I

JESUS revealed the Eucharist long beforehand. He was born at Bethlehem, the house of bread, domus panis. He lay on the straw which then seemed to bear an ear of the true wheat.

At Cana and in the desert, when He multiplied the loaves, He revealed the Eucharist and also promised it. It was a public and formal promise. 

He promised with an oath that He would give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. That was the remote preparation. 

The time had come for the more immediate preparation of the Eucharist. Jesus wanted to see to these preparations Himself. Love does not unburden itself of its obligations on others. Love does everything itself. That is its boast. 

Jesus selected the city: Jerusalem, the city of the sacrifices of the Old Law. He selected the house: the Cenacle. He chose His attendants in this undertaking: Peter and John, Peter, the disciple of faith, and John, the disciple of love. He appointed the time: the last hour of His life He could freely dispose of. 

Finally, He came from Bethany to the Cenacle; He was full of joy; He quickened His step; He could not get there soon enough. Love welcomes sacrifice. 

II

THE time for the institution of the august Sacrament had come. What a moment! The hour of love had struck. The Mosaic Pasch was about to be consummated, the true Lamb to take the place of its figure in the Old Law, and the Bread of life, the Bread from heaven, to be substituted to the manna of the wilderness. Jesus sat down at table with a grave simplicity. They had to eat the new Pasch sitting down, in the repose of God. A deep silence came over them all; the Apostles looked on very attentively. 

Jesus became meditative. He took some bread in His holy and venerable hands, raised His eyes to Heaven, gave thanks to His Father for this hour He had so desired, stretched out His hand, blessed the bread.  . . . 

And while the Apostles, filled with respect, dared not ask the meaning of symbols so mysterious, Jesus pronounced these beautiful words. as powerful as the creative word of God: Take ye and eat. This is My Body.  . . . Drink ye all of This. This is My Blood. 

The mystery of love was consummated. Jesus had fulfilled His promise. He had nothing more to give but His mortal life upon the Cross. He would give it and would rise again to be our perpetual Host of propitiation, the Host of our Communion, the Host of our adoration. 

Heaven was enraptured at the sight of this mystery. The Most Holy Trinity contemplated it with: love. The Angels, struck with awe, adored it. 

And with what a frantic rage were not the demons seized in Hell!

Yes, Lord Jesus, all is consummated! Thou hast now nothing more to give man to prove him Thy love. Thou mayest die now; Thou wilt not leave us, even by dying. Thy love is perpetuated on earth. Go back to the Heaven of Thy glory; the Eucharist will be the Heaven of Thy love. O Cenacle! Where art thou? O Holy Table which bore the consecrated Body of Jesus! O Divine fire which Jesus kindled on Mount Sion, burn, spread thy flames, and set the world on fire!

Heavenly Father, Thou wilt always love men; they possess Jesus Christ forever! Thou wilt not lay waste the earth anymore with storms and floods, the Eucharist is our rainbow. Thou wilt love men since Thy Son Jesus Christ loves them so much! 

What a love this good Savior had for us! Did He not love us enough to deserve our gratitude? What more do we need to consecrate our affections and our lives to Him in return? 

Have we other desires still unsatisfied? Do we require further proofs of our Lord's love? 

Alas! If the love of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament does not win our hearts, Jesus is vanquished! Our ingratitude is greater than His goodness; our malice is more powerful than His charity! Oh! No, my good Savior, Thy charity presses me, torments me, binds me! 

I want to devote myself to the service and glory of Thy Sacrament. By dint of love I want to make Thee forget that up to this day I have been so ungrateful; by dint of devotedness I want to obtain forgiveness for having loved Thee so late! . . .