273 Saint Peter Julian Eymard

"Jesus is more cruelly treated by bad Christians than by the Jews. In Jerusalem He was condemned only once, but in the Blessed Sacrament, He is condemned everyday and in thousands of places, and by an appalling number of unjust judges."

274 Saint Peter Julian Eymard

"And yet Jesus allows Himself to be insulted, despised, condemned: He still continues His sacramental life in order to show us that His love for us is without condition or reserve, that it is greater than our ingratitude."

275 Saint Peter Julian Eymard

A reflection on the Adoring Love of St. Joseph

For three months the Blessed Virgin guarded her secret alone. No one but her knew that she bore her God within her womb. But when Saint Joseph learned of it from the angel, his faith acquiesced at once in blind submission. For six months he poured forth his soul in sublime adoration to God Who dwelt within Mary.

Words cannot express the perfection of his adoration. If Saint John leaped in the womb at the approach of Mary, what feeling must have coursed through Joseph during those six months when he had at his side and under his very eyes the hidden God! If the father of Origen used to kiss his child during the night and adore the Holy Spirit living within him, can we doubt that Joseph must often have adored Jesus hidden in the pure tabernacle of Mary? How fervent that adoration must have been: My Lord and my God behold your servant! No one can describe the adoration of this noble soul. He saw nothing, yet he believed; his faith had to pierce the virginal veil of Mary. So likewise with you! Under the veil of the Sacred Species your faith must see our Lord. Ask Saint Joseph for his lively, constant faith.

When later he carried the Child in his arms, acts of loving faith welled up constantly in his heart. It was a worship that pleased our Lord more than that which he receives in heaven. Picture to yourself Saint Joseph, adoring the little Child in his arms as his God. He tells of his readiness to die for Christ, of all his plans to promote Christ’s glory, and to win more souls to his love. No lover builds more scintillating plans for his loved one than a saint. The purer and simpler a soul, the more magnificent its love and adoration. Adore the Word present on the altar, born as a little Child for you; no matter what you do, your adoration will never equal in worth that of Saint Joseph. Join with his merits. A soul that loves God offers everything to Him in love and God listens to such a soul, for she is worth a thousand others.

276 Saint Thomas Aquinas, Panis Angelicus

"The Bread of angels has
become the Bread of mankind;
This heavenly Bread puts an
end to all images;
O wonderful reality!
The poor, the slave, and the
humble can eat the Lord."

277 Saint John of the Cross

The eternal spring is hidden
in this living bread for our life's sake,
although it is night.
It is here calling out to creatures;
and they satisfy their thirst,
although in darkness,
because it is night.

This living spring that I long for,
I see in this bread of life,
although it is night.

278 Saint Alphonsus Ligouri

"My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament..."

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