Lost Prayers #3

Acts of Homage to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Part 1: Prayer

Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, sweet companion in our exile, I adore Thee.

Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee.

Heart solitary, Heart humiliated, I adore Thee.

Heart abandoned, Heart forgotten, I adore Thee.

Heart despised, Heart outraged, I adore Thee.

Heart ignored by men, I adore Thee.

Heart, lover of our hearts, I adore Thee.

Heart desirous of being loved, I adore Thee.

Heart patient in waiting for us, I adore Thee.

Heart eager to hear us, I adore Thee.

Heart longing to be prayed to, I adore Thee.

Heart source of new graces, I adore Thee.

Heart, wrapped in silence, desiring to speak to souls, I adore Thee.

Heart, the sweet refuge of the hidden life, I adore Thee.

Heart, the teacher of the secrets of union with God, I adore Thee.

Heart of Him who sleeps, yet ever watches, I adore Thee.

Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on us.

Jesus victim, I desire to console Thee.

I unite myself to Thee, and sacrifice myself with Thee.

I annihilate myself in Thy presence.

I would forget myself to be mindful of Thee.

I would be forgotten and despised for love of Thee.

And be neither understood nor loved, unless by Thee.

I will silence myself to listen to Thee; I will abandon myself to lose myself in Thee.

Grant that I may thus appease Thy thirst, the thirst for my sanctification and salvation, and that being purified I may bestow on Thee a pure and true love.

I would no longer weary Thy patience; take possession of me; I give myself to Thee.

I offer Thee all my actions, my intellect to be illuminated by Thee, my heart to be guided by Thee, my will to be made strong, my soul and body to be nourished, my misery to be lightened.

Eucharistic Heart of my Jesus, whose blood is the life of my soul, may it be no longer I that live, but do Thou alone live in me. Amen.

(This prayer comes from the 1910 edition of the Raccolta.)

Colossians 1:3 – Praying

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ continually for you praying...

Praying... Paul and Timothy combine their thanksgiving with praying. We all know that prayer is central to Scripture and to our Christian life, but how often do we stop to think about the meaning of prayer? For most of us, probably not often at all.

The Greek word for “praying” here is proseuchomenoi, which is a present tense participle that modifies the subject “we,” indicating Paul and Timothy are the ones praying. The participle comes from the verb proseuchomai, which contains two parts: pros meaning towards or exchange and euchomai meaning wish or pray.

Based on this definition, praying involves two movements, wishing/praying towards and exchanging wishes/prayers. The first of these is fairly obvious. When we pray, we direct our wishes toward God. We tell Him about our needs and desires (and about everything else, too, for God wants us to talk to Him in this intimate way), and this is very good when we behave like trusting children, placing ourselves and our lives in God's hands.

But there's also a second element. When we pray, we exchange wishes with God, and this is perhaps even more important than merely asking God for something. When we pray in this “exchanging wishes” sort of way, we learn to let go of our own views, our own desires, our own needs and accept God's will instead. We realize that God sometimes says “no” to our prayers and that He does it for our own good because He sees infinitely further than we do and knows what is truly in our best interests. We begin to discover that prayer is more about relationship than anything else, that it's more about getting Someone than something. In prayer, we open our hearts to God that we may know Him better and love Him more.

Prayer, then, should change us. As we encounter God more and more deeply, our ideas, our attitudes, our desires, and our actions should all change. We should become more and more like God the more we pray, the more we exchange wishes with Him, the more we learn that prayer is not so much about what we want as about what our loving Father wants for us.

Colossians 1:3 – Giving Thanks

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ continually for you...

Paul assures the Colossians that he and Timothy give thanks to God for them always, but there is more here than the apostle simply saying, “Hey, God, thanks so much for these great people!”

The Greek verb for “give thanks” is eucharisteō. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The verb is comprised of the prefix eu, meaning “good,” and a variant of the noun charis, “grace.” When we give thanks, we are gratefully acknowledging the good grace that God has showered down upon us.

And the Eucharist is as good a grace as we can possibly receive, for in the Eucharist Jesus gives Himself to us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He enters into our very bodies and allows us to share in His divine life.

Paul's choice of this verb, eucharisteō, hints that he doesn't merely thank God for the Colossians in a general way. Instead, it suggests that Paul and Timothy offer the Eucharist for their fellow Christians, much like we do today. When we offer Mass for someone, living or dead, we hold that person before God in a special way and ask for an abundant outpouring of His grace, the great grace of the Mass, to envelope him or her and to heal him or her spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally, whatever is needed.

Like Paul, then, we should frequently offer Mass for our loved ones. We can do this by stopping in at our parish office and requesting Masses (there will usually be a small donation requested). We can also request Masses from organizations like the Seraphic Mass Association, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, the Society of the Little Flower, or the Salesian Missions. At the very least, we can lift up our loved ones to God when we participate in the Mass, holding them closely in our hearts and asking our Lord for graces for them.

Then we will be like Paul and Timothy, who continually gave thanks, eucharisteō, for those they loved and served.

(Greek definitions come from Biblehub.com, especially HELPS Word Studies.)

Holy Saturday – Some Remarkable Readings

As we wait to celebrate our Lord's Resurrection tomorrow, we should spend some time meditating on the great truths of our faith and on salvation history. On this Holy Saturday, then, we might read and reflect on the Easter Vigil readings available here:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/033118.cfm

We may also wish to focus our attention on what Jesus did during the time His body lay in the tomb. The Office of Readings in today's Liturgy of the Hours presents an ancient homily about this very thing. It may be found here:

http://universalis.com/20180331/readings.htm

Good Friday – Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith, Who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (NRSV-CE)

On this Good Friday, meditate on Jesus, enduring the cross, unashamed, looking ahead to the joy of our salvation, longing to open Heaven to us that we may shed our sin, run the race of faith, and gather around Him as part of the great cloud of witnesses. Then, simply thank our Savior for His amazing love.

Holy Thursday – God's Great Gift

Almost two thousand years ago, on the night before He died, our Lord gave us a great gift, a gift that would remain with us until the end of time. He gave us Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He gave us the Eucharist. 

Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. He meant what He said when He proclaimed, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). He was serious when He said, “Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood abide in Me, and I in them” (John 6:54-56). At the Last Supper, the bread and wine truly became Jesus' Body and Blood as He said, “This is My Body,” and “This is My Blood of the covenant” (Matthew 26:26, 28). This happens again and again, every time the priest, speaking in the person of Christ, proclaims these words, for Jesus also instructed, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). 

When we receive Holy Communion at Mass, we receive Jesus, really and truly. Our God enters into our bodies and our hearts. We are united more closely to Jesus. Our venial sins disappear, and we are strengthened to avoid sin in the future. We are joined more perfectly to the Church, the Body of Christ. We receive a foretaste of Heaven. 

This evening, as we commemorate God's great gift of the Eucharist, we should take a few minutes to grow in our appreciation of the Sacrament. We might read the Catechism (#1322-1419) or perhaps learn about some of the amazing Eucharistic miracles our Lord has provided to strengthen our faith (http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/engl_mir.htm). But most of all, we should spend some time thanking Jesus for remaining with us in such a truly awesome way.

Colossians 1:2 – Grace and Peace

...grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ... 

Grace and peace. These are what St. Paul bestows in blessing upon the Colossians. We've all heard these words hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times, so often that we don't stop to think about what they really mean. As usual, the original Greek can offer us some insight. 

The Greek word for grace is charis, and it typically means favor and kindness as well as grace. The word's root, however, adds another dimension to its meaning, for it denotes a leaning, an extension, and an inclination toward someone or something. Grace, then, is God leaning toward us, extending Himself toward us, inclining toward us in His kindness. Indeed, God's grace reaches out to provide us with more help and benefit than we can imagine, including and especially a share in God's very own life. By grace, God bends down to us that He may lift us up to Him. 

The Greek word for peace, eirēnē, also brings to light a deeper meaning. The noun derives from the verb eirō, which means “to join, tie together into a whole.” This is a wonderful way to think about peace, as wholeness, with everything in order, just as it should be, nothing missing, everything in place, all parts working smoothly, all relationships intact in love. When we are truly at peace, we are whole; we are complete; we are everything God intends us to be. 

May God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ grant us grace and peace in the deepest, most beautiful sense of these words. Amen. 

(Greek definitions come from Biblehub.com, especially HELPS Word Studies.)