Seventh Little Visit to Jesus & Mary

Dedication, Introduction & Index

Yes, I believe! Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.

"Praised, thanked, and adored forever be Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar."
                                             

Prayer Before Visit

THE HOME WHERE JESUS LIVES 

"Be assured, I am with you all days, to the very end of time." (St. Matt. 28). 

Jesus the Good Shepherd, full of love, has given His life for us His sheep: but even in death He could not bear to be separated from us. Therefore He says: my cherished flock, you whom I so love, see―I am with you still. I have found a way to remain with you. So long as you wish it, here you will be able to find me in this Sacrament always. Here you will get help; you will find consolation in my presence. Until the end of the world I will not leave you; never, so long as you remain upon this earth.  

St. Peter of Alcantara says: Jesus, going far away, would not leave the one He loved lonely and without an intimate friend. So in the Blessed Sacrament He left the best of all possible friends―no other than Himself. 

O my Most Gentle Lord, My Savior most lovely, I have come to visit you and I am here before you now at this altar. You return my visit with still greater love, when in Holy Communion you enter the house of my soul; for at that time you are not only present before me but you become my own food, forming with me a complete union and making yourself my perfect gift. Thus at such a time I can truly say: My Jesus, now you belong to me entirely. When you give yourself so completely to me, it is only right that I make a complete gift of myself to you. What a poor insignificant thing I am; and you are my God. O God of love, O love of my heart, when will it be that I shall be yours―all yours―not in word only but in reality? It is you who can bring this about. 

Give me greater confidence, through the merits of your Precious Blood, that for a certainty I may obtain from you this grace: before I die to see myself unreservedly yours, and my own in nothing any longer. My God, the prayers of everybody are heard by you. Today hear the prayer of one who wishes to love you in all reality: for I wish to love you with all my strength; I wish to be obedient to your smallest wish without any interest of my own, without any form of consolation, and without any reward; for love alone I wish to serve you, solely to give you pleasure; solely to give joy to your Heart which burns with such an intense fire for me. My reward―my only reward―will be to love you. O Son, loved of the Eternal Father, rob me of my liberty; rob me of my will; rob me of everything―rob me of myself―and then give yourself to me. I love you; I seek you; I sigh for you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Aspiration―O My Jesus, make me wholly yours.  

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION  

Jesus, I believe you are in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you; I want you to come to me. Come into my heart; I embrace you; O never depart from me.   

A VISIT TO MARY 

HAIL MARY, OUR HOPE 

The Divine Master establishes Mary as mistress of the abode she purifies. O, Mary, reign over us forever, you and your divine Son.

O Lady―Our Lady―You are of all the most lovely, the entire Church calls you and greets you, "Our Hope." You therefore who are the Hope of All, be my Hope too. It is St. Bernard who calls you, "The whole reason of my hope;" and he says of you, "Even the one whose need is desperate can hope in you." In like manner I too can say: O Mary, you are mine―you can save those who are in desperate need. In you I put all my hope.

Aspiration―Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.

Prayer After Visit

3. The Spirituality of The Angels

FSA photographer Dorothea Lange came across Florence Thompson and her children in a pea picker's camp in Lipoma, California, in March of 1936.  It is one of the most haunting photographs of the 'Dust Bowl' landscape.  Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Index to Older Meditations

Being without bodies the Angels have nothing to drag them down from their proper level; they are not drawn two ways at once by opposing forces; there is no veil to obscure their direct vision of God's face;  there is no deception to make error look like truth;  there is nothing to tarnish their purity and sanctity.

This spiritual life is to be yours one day.  

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Florence Thompson 1903 - 1983

Dorothea Lange - Photographer

2. The Existence of The Angels

French actress Barbara Lange, Paris, 1946

Index to Older Meditations

Great as you are in the material creation, you are weak and miserable compared with the higher world.  Strive to raise yourself to it;  above all do not fall lower than your already lowly position. 

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A Little Visit to Jesus & Mary - 5th Day

Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.
 

Dedication, Introduction & Index

Prayer Before Each Visit

LORD, ABIDE WITH ME

"The sparrow finds for itself a shelter, and the turtle dove finds for itself a nest and there they place their young. But thy place of rest is the altar, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God." (Psal. 83). 

David tells us the sparrow finds its place of dwelling among the houses; the turtle dove in its nest. But that you, my King and my God, have found your shelter and the place of your rest on earth upon our altars. It is there you are found; and it is there you dwell together with us. 

O Lord, is there any need for us to say that you are too much in love with men: it seems that you do not know anything more that you can attempt, to make yourself loved by them. But yes, O Most Lovable Jesus, you can do yet one more thing: set our hearts on fire with a greater love for you. It is surely not right that we should be cold in the love that we have for that God who loves us with such an intense love. With the sweet bonds of your love draw us more closely to you: yes, my Jesus, give us a deep knowledge of all those beautiful qualities of yours which will so inspire our love. 

O Majesty which is Infinite, O Goodness which is Boundless―it is you who love men with so great love; it is you who have done so much in order to be loved by men. 

And yet how does it come about that there are so few who love you in return? But I at least do not wish to be any longer―as I once was―among the number of these unhappy and ungrateful ones. I am resolved to love you as much as I can and to love no other than you. You deserve all my love; you command and insist that I love you; and for me, my only wish is to satisfy your longing. 

Bring it about, O God of my soul, that I may be able to satisfy you fully; this favor I beg of you through the merits of your Passion, and this is what I hope for. 

As to the goods of this world, give them to those who want them; but for me, my only wish, and my one petition, is for the great treasure of your love. 

O my Jesus, O Goodness that is Boundless, I love you; I love you. You are my whole Treasure; you are my whole Happiness; you are all my Love.

Aspiration―My Jesus, you have given your whole self to me; I give my whole self to you. 

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION  

Jesus, I believe you are in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you; I want you to come to me. Come into my heart; I embrace you; O never depart from me.       

A VISIT TO MARY 

THE ROBBER OF HEARTS 

Vivifying Source!
My heart is a fountain of living water where my servants come to find strength.

My Lady, St. Bernard says you are the Ravisher of Hearts. With your beauty and your goodness you go around stealing hearts. O I pray you, steal this heart of mine also, together with my will; I make a complete gift of it to you; unite it with your own and offer it to God. 
  
Aspiration―O Mother Most Lovable, pray for me.


Prayer After Each Visit

April 5 - First Friday's Divine Mercy Chaplet

During the month of May, in the year 1688, St. Margaret Mary wrote to her superior in Dijon: "During Holy Communion on a certain Friday the Lord spoke to me, His unworthy servant, the following words: 'I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without having received the sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge at that last moment.'" Dedicated To

Chapter 7 of The Way Back Home - Is This Book Propaganda

Catholic Evidence Guild, Hyde Park, 1948

Index

Today there are hundreds of thousands of men and women who, though they claim to be Christians, belong to no particular church. They are living in practical indifference to God and are risking the salvation of their immortal souls. They will have much to answer for when they stand before the judgment seat of the Almighty. For if Christ founded a Church upon earth, he meant that men should enter it. If He commanded that all men receive Baptism, He meant that they should become members of His Church. If He commanded that all men listen and accept the teaching of His Apostles, He meant that all men should be docile members of that Church He would build upon Peter, the head of the Apostles.  To such men this little book makes its appeal. The invitation which God gives you now, you must not put off too lightly. As the Scripture warns us: "The night cometh when no man can work." And again: "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation." The invitation, which God gives you now, may not be given again.

As you read these pages however, it may seem to you that what is written here is Catholic propaganda. As a matter of fact, in the good sense of the word, it is. Propaganda in it original sense means anything that is written or spoken or depicted in order to encourage and promote a movement, an idea, a faith. This is the honest and true type of propaganda the Church practices at the command of Christ Himself. Upon establishing His Church He gave the clear command to the Apostles: "Go forth and teach all nations."

In the sense in which the word propaganda is often used today, it signifies anything said, written or done in a partly false manner to influence people into accepting some belief or some idea not entirely true. The Catholic Church does not employ this false type of propaganda. It realized that no true conversion will ever be made by force, by deceit, or by trickery. It presents its claims honestly and openly to your reason and to your conscience. It invites your full investigation into its history, its dogmas and its practices. Only then when the truth prevails under the impulse of God's assistance can a true conversion be made.  

If the Catholic Church fulfills the duty given it by Christ, she must never cease teaching the doctrines  of Christ to all men. Catholic missionaries have in fact carried the message of Christ to all parts of the world. All parts of the world have responded to their appeal. On the other hand, there could be more effort made at times by the ordinary lay Catholic at home, and even by the priest at times, to restate Catholic doctrine to their Protestant brethren. Secure in his faith, content with his faith and not wishing to impose his faith upon the unwilling, the Catholic layman usually makes little effort to propagate it. The ordinary priest, moreover, is so immersed in the duties of taking care of his congregation that he has little energy and time left over for the work of reconverting those who have strayed. Christ Himself, however, gave us the injunction to work for the conversion of those not as yet in His fold. "Other sheep I have," He says, "that are not of this fold; them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

It is strange and yet it is true, that the Catholic Church, although two thousand years old, remains largely unknown to a large part of the modern world. A certain convert in Alaska once remarked:  "What kind of a church do you people run? Is it a closed corporation? It seems as difficult to enter it as it is to pry open the door of a bank vault. I have been coming to your church now for the past six weeks, assisting at the services on Sundays, and I have not as yet met the priest in charge." In some cases then the approach to the Church is difficult.  To make it less difficult, is the purpose for which this book is written.

Pray Your Rosary Every Day

Treatise III - 1. Creation in General

Preparing to take Carmelite vows, Bronx, New York, 1944.

Index to Older Meditations

What a vast difference between God and creatures! They were once in nothingness, He was always existent; they began a definite time ago, He had no beginning; they are dependent and imperfect, He is absolute uncontrolled Master, all powerful and all perfect. What an enormity it is, and how ridiculous, when any of God’s creatures dare to deny His authority, and disobey His commands, and raise their heads in pride, and say “I will not serve!” This you do when you commit sin.

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20. The Glory of The Blessed Trinity

Pablo Casels & wife at Holy Mass, 1966.

Index to Older Meditations 

Even this world renders much glory to the Holy Trinity. Apart from the manifestation of God in the natural order and the praise given to Him on that account, there is the supernatural glory rendered by the great sacrifice which, from age to age, is offered unceasingly from the rising to the setting of the sun, in the presence of millions of devout worshippers. 

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19. The Divine Persons as Given To Us

The Long Walk, United Kingdom, 1930

Index to Older Meditations 

The greatest wonder in the Divine temporal missions is that, not merely the grace and aid of God, but the Blessed Persons Themselves are given to us for our elevation and our comfort.  

Be careful never to lose that divine presence.

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Month of Mary - 2nd Day

"O Mother of fair love!" show me thy glory and fill me with admiration to thee - the most beautiful work of thy and my Creator. Replenish me with love to thee who didst give me Jesus - the fruit of the love of God, who still givest me Jesus, and teach me to know Him, to love Him, thus to gain His mercy. Look with pleasure upon the small tokens of my love and obtain by thy intercession for me a holy spirit that I may always honor thee and pray to thee in spirit and in truth.  Amen.   

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18. The Mission of The Divine Persons

Holy Mass, St. Pauls Cathedral, Munster, Germany, 1946

Index to Older Meditations

You need always to watch with anxiety lest the human spirit, or the spirit of the world, or even the spirit of Satan, should intrude itself into your mind and become the motive power of your actions.  
Humility, obedience, and the love of God will be your preservatives.

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Month of Mary - May 1

I am the Virgin of all Nations

O Mother of fair love!  show me thy glory and fill me with admiration to thee - the most beautiful work of thy and my Creator. Replenish me with love to thee who didst give me Jesus - the fruit of the love of God, who still givest me Jesus, and teach me to know Him, to love Him, thus to gain His mercy. Look with pleasure upon the small tokens of my love and obtain by thy intercession for me a holy spirit that I may always honor thee and pray to thee in spirit and in truth.  Amen.

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