Suffering With Joy

Online Eucharistic Adoration

May 17, 2010

Thanks to Karinann over at Blessings for The Day for informing her readers about online Eucharistic adoration.  Of course we can pray to Jesus anytime.  He is always with us.  But for us Catholics, adoration is very special.  Under the appearance of bread He is present personally – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  The King of creation wills to be with us and wills us to be with Him so that He can continue to nourish us as He did in the Eucharistic celebration on Sunday.  It is by faith we know this to be true.

So many of us are unable to get out much because of our infirmities or other aspects of our life situation.  The site, Savior.org is a wonderful way to spend time with Jesus much more often. Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament is presented live via webcam from the Chapel of Divine Love in Philadelphia (the City of Brotherly Love – how apropos), PA – a source of perpetual Eucharistic adoration by the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters since 1916.

This is an answer to prayer.  I have wanted to be able to spend time in adoration and been frustrated by a number of practical factors.  When I read about fellow bloggers who have stopped for a short visit with Jesus at a chapel, I felt happy for them and sad for me.  Now I can say the Divine Office in His presence, do spiritual reading, or just pray.

Click on the picture above or on the link and it will take you to the live feed. This site has much to offer, too.  Here are some paragraphs from their “About online adoration” section:

A Powerful Channel for the Aged, Lonely and Suffering

The favorite of Our Savior, the aging, lonely and suffering are those in greatest need of His Love. The on-line access available through Savior.org, provides new hope for these individuals stemming from the electronic access they can now have to the Living Presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The suffering will have new opportunities to unite their pain with the passion of Our Lord, yielding merits for their souls and the souls of others. The aged, free from the distractions of their earlier years, can now spend increasing hours in the presence of Our Lord strengthening their bond to Him during the twilight of their lives. And the lonely will benefit from the abundance of love and hope poured forth from this Most Faithful of Friends.

Technology is a wonderful thing if used to do God’s will. Join us at Savior.org in ‘taking back the Internet for Christ’.

Suggestions on How to Utilize Savior.org

On-line Adoration - Be with Our Lord, centered on Him wholly and completely. Sit in silence with Him – The Sacred Doctor of human hearts. Utilize some of the many on-line devotional aides to structure a Holy Hour with Him. Or pray your own favorite adoration prayers and meditations.

Liturgy of the Hours and Other Daily Prayers - Enrich your daily recitation of the liturgy of the hours and other daily prayer routines by conducting them in the presence of a live electronic image of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Invite Our Lord into your day – In your office or at home conducting your daily activities, offer your work as a prayer to Our Lord. We offer a low-bandwidth feed for those who wish to maintain the live feed over an extended period of time, as well as a static image for those who cannot maintain a persistent connection (dialup users).

Family Rosaries - Say your family rosary in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament on-line.

Saying Goodnight – Our children have quickly adopted a routine of wanting to ‘say goodnight to Jesus’ on-line. Before they go to bed, they will ask us to bring up the Blessed Sacrament online, then they will say their evening prayers and say ‘goodnight’ to Jesus as the last act before they climb into bed.

For only $10 you can purchase flowers for the altar and everyone participating will pray for your intentions for that week. I encourage my readers to take advantage of this opportunity to spend more time with Jesus.  Prayer is an important part of wellness.

Tags: Christ, suffering

St. Stephen, the First Martyr

Stoning of St. Stephen, c. 1660, Pietro da Cortona, oil on canvas, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Happy feast day to all who are named “Stephen” or some variation thereof in any language.  Today the Church celebrates his day of glory, being accepted into the kingdom of heaven after having been stoned to death by a mob.

Acts 6:8 says that “Stephen, full of grace and power was working great wonders and signs among the people.”  We know St. Stephen was a deacon who was charged with caring for the widows, poor, and orphans.  The wonder working was on behalf of these, the “least” of our brethren, and they must have been so happy to hear of Jesus and His love for all mankind from the lips of this follower of Christ. Likewise, they must have been anguished by the loss of one so kind in a harsh and condemning world.

One of the antiphons of the Divine Office today reads: “They stoned Stephen; but he cried out with a loud voice to the Lord, saying: Lay not this sin against them.”  The lesson I learned today from the life of St. Stephen is that, like Christ, he forgave those who were killing him.

Forgiveness is very difficult, especially when the perceived wrong comes from family or friends. Right now at Christmastime when family and friends gather to celebrate the birth of Christ is when people can get on each other’s nerves.  A little celebrating is great fun, but too much and the devil is bound to stir up hate and discontent because he cannot stand to see the children of God getting along and happy over the greatest intervention by God in the history of the world.  In fact, anytime we are striving to be joyful and imitate Christ, the devil is very near.

For those who are struggling with physical, mental, or emotional issues, vulnerability to sins against charity are especially possible with all the commotion of the holidays and having to meet other’s expectations when we may not feel like it.  It is also possible for us to feel put upon or unappreciated, something we need to be on guard against and to ask God for the grace to be gracious to all in the name of Jesus.

St. Stephen makes me think that the harder it is to forgive someone, the more exaggerated a sense of importance about ourselves we have. St. Stephen was a just man.  He knew he was a creature of God, and that he was returning to the Christ he had faithfully followed.  This is all I or anyone else needs to be aware of when we are wronged.  It helps put things into perspective: in the light of eternity with God, is this aggravation, insult, slight or whatever all that important?  From this day forward, I want to be more like St. Stephen, much more ready to forgive and think instead of an eternity with God.

Tags: Christ, Christmas, St. Stephen

Prayer to Our Lady for Souls in Trouble

 Efficacious Consecration of Persons to the Pierced and Immaculate Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

– thou whom the Precious Blood of JESUS didst render immaculate and all-beautiful, even before that same Blood was formed in thy virginal womb and poured out upon the altar of the Cross,

– thou whom the HOLY SPIRIT didst fill full with every grace in view of the glorious motherhood of the Son of God for which thou wast created,

– thou art she who crusheth the head of the ancient serpent, thou art she who alone overcometh the evil that is in us and around us.To thee, O Mary, thy Son hath entrusted the liberation of souls enchained by sin, the healing of wounded souls, and the sanctification of souls who have suffered evil’s worst ravages.

Thou hast only to open thy immaculate hands over them, and they are shot through with the rays of thy purity.  Through thee, entereth the light to shine in the darkest places. Through thee, souls are washed in a downpour of graces. Through thee, the Holy Spirit succoureth the weakest souls and giveth to the sterile a wonderful fecundity.

Thou, O Mary, art the only hope of thy children scarred by sin and poisoned by its venom. To those whom the enemy hath made to go astray in bitterness and in fear, thou openest the path of life and of beatitude.

This is why, impelled today by the boldness that cometh of the Holy Spirit, and by a confidence that is altogether that of a son, [and when the consecration is made by a priest: and in virtue of my priesthood,] I entrust to thee N. and N., in consecrating them to thy pierced and immaculate Heart.

Show thyself the Mother of mercy. Show thyself our all-powerful Queen, for there is nothing that resisteth thy supplication in the presence of Jesus, the King of Love.

Mediatrix of all graces, save these souls from the tentacles of evil. Heal them, even in those secret and painful wounds, that only thy most gentle motherly hand can touch without adding to their pain. From this moment on, these souls are consecrated entirely to thee. Do thou for them whatsoever thy maternal Heart will suggest to thee. Purify them in the Precious Blood of thy Jesus, the Lamb without stain, so that now, and even unto the ages of ages, they may live for the praise of the glory of the Father + and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tags: Blessed Virgin, Catholic Church, Christ

Mother Teresa a Political Philosopher?

Normally I would not deal with political issues in this blog, but since the subject of Mother Teresa was brought up by Anita Dunn, a White House media strategist, I am making an exception.  It seems that Ms. Dunn gave a talk this spring to some high school students in which she stated that her two favorite political philosophers are Mao Tse-tung and Mother Teresa.  In the clip shown on Glenn Beck’s show and which is available on YouTube for the entire world to see, Ms. Dunn continued her address by extolling Mao to the students and elaborating on his philosophy.

 I am not going to address the myriad issues here of how a communist sympathizer came to be addressing impressionable youth, nor why the students are being exposed to uncritical and positive remarks about communism and a brutal communist leader who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese and a total degradation of the people of his country.  Instead I want to correct the falsehood that Mother Teresa was a political philosopher.  She was no such thing any more than Jesus was.

 Granted, we all tend to filter reality and information through our areas of expertise.  Mathematicians and scientists apply their knowledge to events through their scientific filters, musicians and artists through their aesthetic filters, and politicians through their power filters.  It is no surprise that a person as deeply involved in politics for her total career as Ms. Dunn has been would interpret Mother Teresa’s words and actions from within her own political construct. 

Mother Teresa gave her life to bring Christ to others.  She started every day with several hours of prayer and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  She went into the streets of Calcutta and brought back the sick and the dying to care for them and honor their dignity as a human being.  Many times she said that she always saw Christ in the faces of the poor she ministered to, and that she was aware that she was bringing Christ to them.  Mother Teresa was never a political force.  She was a moral force, accomplishing what she did by the grace of God. 

By the power of God Mother Teresa was able to establish so many charitable foundations in over 700 countries.  Bishops from all over the world contacted her and invited her to bring her Missionaries of Charity to their dioceses to help with the poor and the sick.  Governments welcomed her foundations because she could do what the state could not – inspire many young women and men to give their lives selflessly for the good of others and care for the poor. 

As for herself personally, Mother Teresa lived her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience daily.  She attracted wealth from many different sources and used it all for the people she so lovingly cared for.  Once Pope Paul VI gave her an expensive automobile that had been given to him for his trip through India.  Mother Teresa and her sisters raffled it off and used the proceeds for the poor.  She slept on the floor wherever she stayed and always lived simply.  She required her religious community to live among the poor they served. 

Tags: Anita Dunn, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, Christ, Glenn Beck, moral authority, sacrifice

He Made Us; His We Are

“From the beginning and before the world was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.” Eccl. 24:14.

Catholics praying the Divine Office will find this Biblical quote in the hour of Lauds from the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is a favorite of mine because not only does it apply to Our Lady, it applies to every person created.  In this one verse God tells us that we are in His mind from all eternity, and that we will live forever after death, worshiping and praising Him. 

I am constantly struck by the love God has for each person – that He made us and His we are. (Ps. 99:3)  When we are struggling with pain and illnesses of all types we can sometimes forget that One greater than we has us in His heart.  Often we are so preoccupied with just getting by under our own power we forget to surrender to His power – to stop and ask what He is asking from us.

With the culture of death gaining greater ascendance daily, it seems to me that we must practice our Faith ever more diligently and especially to pray for the conversion of others.  (We must pray daily for our own conversion, too, but that is another topic.) 

For those of us who cannot do much in the physical realm, there remain the intentions of the heart: the unseen sacrifices we make in union with Christ.  The value of these sacrifices cannot be measured in earthly terms.  We will only know their true worth at the Last Judgment.  Fortunately, we have great examples to follow from Our Lady to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone on before us.  Saints such as Catherine Laboure, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Cantius, and Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld – all spiritual giants who called no attention to themselves but left us the example of quiet holiness and the desire that all come to know and love Our Lord.

Tags: Blessed Virgin, Christ, conversion, Divine Office, pain, sacrifice, suffering