The sins against the Blessed Sacrament and the need of a crusade of Eucharistic reparation
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Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité gave a profound theological explanation of the meaning of the “suffering” or “sadness” of God because of the offenses the sinners commit against Him:
This “‘suffering,’” this “‘sadness’” of the Heavenly Father, or of Jesus since His Ascension, are to be understood analogically. They are not suffered passively as with us, but on the contrary freely willed and chosen as the ultimate expression of Their mercy towards sinners called to conversion. They are only a manifestation of God’s love for sinners, a love which is sovereignly free and gratuitous, and which is not irrevocable.” (The Whole Truth About Fatima, vol. I, pp. 1311-1312)
This analogical spiritual meaning of the “sadness” or the “suffering” of Jesus in the Eucharistic mystery is confirmed by the words of the Angel in his apparition in 1916 to the children of Fatima and especially by the words and the example of the life of St. Francisco Marto. The children were invited by the Angel to make reparation for offenses against the Eucharistic Jesus and to console Him, as we can read in the Memoirs of Sister Lucia:
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Reporting about the third Apparition on July 13, 1917, Sister Lucia stressed how Francisco perceived the mystery of God and the necessity to console Him because of the offenses of the sinners:
What made the most powerful impression on him [Francisco] and what wholly absorbed him, was God, the Most Holy Trinity, perceived in that light which penetrated our inmost souls. Afterwards, he said: “We were on fire in that light which is God, and yet we were not burnt! What is God?... We could never put it into words. Yes, that is something indeed which we could never express! But what a pity it is that He is so sad! If only I could console Him!” (Sister Lucia’s Memoirs, p. 147)
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I asked him one day: “Francisco, which do you like better—to console Our Lord, or to convert sinners, so that no more souls will go to hell?” “I would rather console Our Lord. Didn’t you notice how sad Our Lady was that last month, when she said that people must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already much offended? I would like to console Our Lord, and after that convert sinners so that they won’t offend Him any more.” (Sister Lucia’s Memoirs, p. 156)
In his prayers and in the offering of his sufferings St. Francisco Marto gave priority to the intention of “consoling the Hidden Jesus,” i.e. the Eucharistic Lord. Sister Lucia reported these words of Francisco, which he said to her: “When you come out of school, go and stay for a little while near the Hidden Jesus, and afterwards come home by yourself.” When Lucia asked Francisco about his sufferings, he answered: “I’m suffering to console Our Lord. First I make it to console Our Lord and Our Lady, and then, afterwards, for sinners and for the Holy Father. … More than anything else I want to console Him.” (Sister Lucia’s Memoirs, p. 157; 163)
Jesus Christ continues in a mysterious way his Passion in Gethsemane throughout the ages in the mystery of His Church and also in the Eucharistic mystery, the mystery of His immense Love. Known is the expression of Blaise Pascal: “Jesus will be in agony even to the end of the world. We must not sleep during that time.” (Pensées, n. 553)
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And now the Church seeks to recover that hour in Gethsemane—the hour lost by Peter, James and John—so as to compensate for the Master’s lack of companionship which increased his soul’s suffering. The desire to recover that hour has become a real need for many hearts, especially for those who live as fully as they can the mystery of the divine heart. The Lord Jesus allows us to meet him in that hour [and] he invites us to share the prayer of his heart. Faced with all the trials that man and the Church have to undergo, there is a constant need to return to Gethsemane and undertake that sharing in the prayer of Christ our Lord.” (Sign of Contradiction, chapter 17, “The prayer in Gethsemane”)
Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic mystery is not indifferent and insensitive towards the behavior which men show in His regard in this Sacrament of Love. Christ is present in this Sacrament also with His soul, which is hypostatically united with His Divine Person. The Roman theologian Antonio Piolanti presented a sound theological explanation in this regard. Even if the body of Christ in the Eucharist cannot see nor sensibly feel what happens or what is said in the place of his sacramental presence, Christ in the Eucharist “hears all and sees with superior knowledge.” Piolanti then quotes Cardinal Franzelin:
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One of the greatest apostles of the Eucharist of modern times, St. Peter Julian Eymard, left us the following profound reflections on the affections of the sacrificial love of Christ in the Eucharist:
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St. Peter Julian Eymard wrote the following moving and almost mystical profession of the Eucharistic love of Christ, with an ardent appeal for Eucharistic reparation:
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It would be a pastorally urgent and spiritually fruitful measure for the Church to establish in all dioceses of the world an annual “Day of Reparation for the crimes against the Most Holy Eucharist.” Such a day could be the octave day of the Feast of Corpus Christi. The Holy Spirit will give special graces of renewal to the Church in our days when, and only when, the Eucharistic Body of Christ will be adored with all Divine honors, will be loved, will be carefully treated and defended as really the Holiest of Holies. Saint Thomas Aquinas says in the hymn Sacris sollemniis: “O Lord, visit us to the extent that we venerate you in this sacrament” (sic nos Tu visita, sicut Te colimus). And we can say without doubt: O Lord, you will visit your Church in our days to the extent that the modern practice of Communion in the hand will recede and to the extent that we offer to you acts of reparation and love.
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In view of the horrible maltreatments of Our Eucharistic Lord—He being continuously trampled under foot because of Communion in the hand, during which almost always little fragments of the host fall on the floor; He being treated in a minimalistic manner, deprived of sacredness, like a cookie, or treated like garbage by the use of household gloves—no true Catholic bishop, priest or lay faithful can remain indifferent and simply stand by and watch.
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The day when, in all the churches of the Catholic world, the faithful will receive the Eucharistic Lord, veiled under the species of the little sacred host, with true faith and a pure heart, in the biblical gesture of adoration (proskynesis), that is, kneeling, and in the attitude of a child, opening the mouth and allowing oneself to be fed by Christ Himself in the spirit of humility, then undoubtedly will the authentic spiritual springtime of the Church come closer. The Church will grow in the purity of the Catholic Faith, in the missionary zeal of salvation of souls, and in the holiness of the clergy and the faithful. In deed, the Lord will visit His Church with His graces to the extent that we venerate Him in His ineffable sacrament of love (sic nos Tu visita, sicut Te colimus).
God grant that through the Eucharistic crusade of reparation, there may increase the number of adorers, lovers, defenders, and consolers of the Eucharistic Lord. May the two little Eucharistic apostles of our time, St. Francisco Marto and the soon-to-be-Blessed Carlo Acutis (beatification on October 10, 2020), and all of the Eucharistic saints, be the protectors of this Eucharistic crusade. For, as St. Peter Julian Eymard reminds us, the irrevocable truth is this: “An age prospers or dwindles in proportion to its devotion to the Eucharist. This is the measure of its spiritual life, faith, charity, and virtue.”
+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
Prayer of the Crusade of Reparation to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love you! I ask pardon for those who do not believe,
do not adore, do not trust and do not love you. (3 times)
O Divine Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, behold us prostrate with a contrite and adoring heart before the majesty of your redeeming love in the Most Blessed Sacrament. We declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offenses, but in particular for the unspeakable outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences by which you are offended in the Most Blessed Sacrament of your Divine love in this our time, especially through the practice of Communion in the hand and the reception of Holy Communion in a state of unbelief and mortal sin.
The more unbelief attacks your Divinity and your Real Presence in the Eucharist, the more we believe in you and adore you, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells all the fullness of the divinity!
The more your sacraments are outraged, the more firmly we believe in them and the more reverently we want to receive them, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness!
The more your Most Blessed Sacrament is denigrated and blasphemed, the more we proclaim solemnly: “My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love you! I ask pardon for for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love you,” O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise!
The more you are abandoned and forgotten in your churches, the more we want to visit you, who are dwelling amongst us in the tabernacles of our churches, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven!
The more the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is deprived of its sacredness, the more we want to support a reverent celebration of Holy Mass, exteriorly and interiorly oriented towards you, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High!
The more you are received in the hand of standing communicants, in a manner lacking a sign of humility and adoration, the more we want to receive you kneeling and on the tongue, with the lowliness of the publican and the simplicity of an infant, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty!
The more you are received in Holy Communion by uncleansed hearts in the state of mortal sin, the more we want to do acts of contrition and cleanse our heart with a frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, our Peace and Reconciliation!
The more hell works for the perdition of souls, the more may our zeal for their salvation burn by the fire of your love, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in you!
The more the diversity of religions is declared as the positive will of God and as a right based in human nature, and the more doctrinal relativism grows, the more we intrepidly confess that you are the only Savior of mankind and the only way to God the Father, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts!
The more Church authorities continue to be unrepentant about the display of pagan idols in churches, and even in Rome, the more we will confess the truth: “What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor. 6:16), the more we will condemn with you “the abomination of desolation, standing in the holy place” (Matt. 24:15), O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, holy Temple of God!
The more your holy commandments are forgotten and transgressed, the more we want to observe them with the help of your grace, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues!
The more sensuality, selfishness, and pride reign amongst men, the more we want to dedicate our lives to you in the spirit of sacrifice and self-abnegation, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches!
The more violently the gates of hell storm against your Church and the rock of Peter in Rome, the more we believe in the indestructibility of your Church, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, who do not abandon your church and the rock of Peter even in the heaviest storms!
The more people separate from each other in hatred, violence, and selfishness, the more intimately we as members of the one family of God in the Church want to love each other in you, O Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love!
O Divine Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, grant us your grace, that we may be faithful and humble adorers, lovers, defenders, and consolers of your Eucharistic Heart in this life, and come to receive the glories of your love in the beatific vision for all eternity. Amen.
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love you! I ask pardon for for those who do not believe,
do not adore, do not trust and do not love you. (3 times)
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us!
St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Francisco Marto, St. Padre Pio, and all Eucharistic Saints, pray for us!
+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
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