Exhaling

I love this feast.

I chose this for my Carmelite name: “of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” It’s all there. Everything we need to know, all that draws us, is contained in that wounded Heart, poured out for us. It encompasses the Incarnation, Mercy, the Eucharist, the whole of salvation history. I won’t wax poetic, or I’ll destroy what good sentiments you might have (some things are so sublime, words only crush them).

I want to remind you that this day is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. That was John Paul II’s doing, and a profound doing it is.

Because St Therese is one of my patrons (have I already said how it seems I should be a lot smarter, having been named after the only three women to be designated Doctors of the Church?!), I will share her prayer for today:

‘O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.’

Amen, my sister in Carmel.

As I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet recently, kneeling before the crucifix, I seemed to recognize anew Christ’s total oblation, to see with fresh eyes the beauty of this complete Gift. I was filled with gratitude as I looked on this perfect Sacrifice, given for me. But then I saw something else - the gift of salvation, yes; the perpetual oblation, yes; but there is more:

You want us to be grateful for all You have given for our salvation (Yourself), but also to accept wholly what You continually give (Yourself). You eagerly give Yourself to us, desiring to be wholly ours and to be ONE with us - and this eagerness is so vehement, this love so passionate, this longing so uncontainable that it burns and overflows from Your gentle Heart and drives You (as it were) to continually pour Yourself out for us, to give Yourself as FOOD to be EATEN. Take and EAT; this is My Body, given up for you.  The force of these words is too often lost to us…

The Sacrament is inseparable from the Sacrifice. When we look on the Cross, we should also see the continuous Gift of the Eucharist. When we look on the Eucharist, we should  also see the Cross, where this Gift was given.

You long to become one with us, and we must long to become one with You, for others.

Always on the brink of drought and fruitlessness, we
    reach with arms and hearts for
       water -
   water to sustain, water to purify.
We know only this until
  You look on us with love and reveal that You
    are the Rock from which flows living water, and You say,
                        “Come to Me.”
    And then You show that this water can
       flow deep within.

Cana’s drought of wine
     might abrupt the feast, and Your time is not yet come, but
     You are eager to give in full measure, pressed down,
              running over -
the water of our sustenance,
the water of our cleansing,
the water of our offering,
     becomes the richest wine,
                       the wine of celebration,
                        the wine of joy.
Because of the eagerness of Your love,
    Your time, which has not yet come -
           the glorious Feast, which is our eternal Wedding -
                    is NOW.

The Bridegroom is here.
Let us surrender with joy.

I will let another speak first, to move us on to the Eucharist and the Mystical Body:

As Christ continues to offer the sacrifice of the Mass through the ministry of His priests, He wishes its fruits to extend to every member of the Mystical Body in need the world over. And every soul that is open to His grace in some measure is benefited by each Mass.

In the Old Testament the Prophet Malachi foretold that from the rising of the sun to the setting a sacrifice, a pure offering, would be offered in the Lord’s name. (Mal.1:11) That prophecy is certainly fulfilled in the Sacrifice of the Cross - extended through the Mass. Every minute of every day and night that sacrifice is being offered somewhere in the world, bringing the fruits of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary to all souls who are disposed to receive them.

As the heart continually pumps life-giving blood to all members of the human body, so each Mass is like a heartbeat sending life-giving grace of the Divine Head to all members of His Mystical Body who do not place obstacles in the way of His gifts.

St. Paul speaks of Christ in Heaven always making intercession for us before the Father. “Because He continues forever, He has an everlasting priesthood. Therefore He is able at all times to save those who come to God through Him, since He lives always to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25)

That must be understood in the sense that the time will come, at the end of the world, when Christ will hand over His kingdom to the Father. That will be the end of the application of the fruits of His passion, and the last of His intercession for the souls of men; for then the great mystery of the redemption will have been consummated. Then the elect, the Church triumphant, in union with Christ, will offer that oblation of adoration and praise and thanksgiving for all eternity.

                                                                                     - Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P.