Saint Joseph Cafasso ----- A Saint Who Guided Holy Priests

Joseph Cafasso was born in Castelnuovo d’Asti, the same country of St. John Bosco, on Jan. 15, 1811. He was the third of four children. The last, his sister Marianna, would be the mother of Blessed Joseph Allamano, founder of the Missionaries of the Consolata. He was born in a 19th century Piedmont characterized by grave social problems, but also by a great number of saints who were determined to find remedies for them. They were linked among themselves by a total love of Christ and a profound charity toward the poorest: the grace of the Lord is able to spread and multiply the seeds of holiness!

Cafasso did his secondary studies and two years of philosophy at the College of Chieri and, in 1830, he went to the theological seminary where he was ordained a priest in 1833. Four months later he entered the place that for him would be the fundamental and only “stop” of his priestly life: the Ecclesiastical Academy of St. Francis of Assisi in Turin. Having gone there to perfect himself in pastoral ministry, here he brought to fruition his gifts as a spiritual director and his great spirit of charity. The academy, in fact, was not only a school of moral theology where young priests, coming above all from the countryside, learned to confess and to preach, but it was also a true and proper school of priestly life, where presbyters were formed in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola and in the moral and pastoral theology of the great holy bishop, Alphonsus Mary of Liguori.

The type of priest that Cafasso found in the academy and that he himself contributed to reinforce — especially as rector — was that of the true pastor with a rich interior life and a profound zeal in pastoral ministry: faithful to prayer, committed to preaching and catechesis, dedicated to the celebration of the Eucharist and to the ministry of confession, according to the model embodied by St. Charles Borromeo, by St. Francis de Sales and promoted by the Council of Trent. A happy expression of St. John Bosco synthesizes the meaning of the educational work in that community: “at the Academy one learned to be a priest.”

St. Joseph Cafasso tried to bring about this model in the formation of young priests so that, in turn, they would become formators of other priests, religious and laymen, according to a special and effective chain. From his chair of moral theology he educated them to be good confessors and spiritual directors, concerned with the true spiritual good of the person, animated by great balance in making the mercy of God felt and, at the same time, an acute and lively sense of sin.

St Joseph Cafasso had three main virtues, as St. John Bosco recalled: tranquility, wisdom and prudence. For him, the ministry of confession was the verification of the lessons taught, and he himself dedicated many hours of the day [to hearing confessions]. Bishops, priests, religious, eminent laymen and simple people went to him: To all he was able to give the necessary time. For many, as well, who became saints and founders of religious institutes, he was a wise spiritual adviser. His teaching was never abstract, based only on the books used at that time, but was born of the intense experience of the mercy of God and of the profound knowledge of the human spirit acquired in the long hours spent in the confessional and in spiritual direction: his was a true school of priestly life.

His secret was simple: to be a man of God; to do, in little daily actions, “that which can turn to the greater glory of God and to the advantage of souls.” He loved the Lord totally, he was animated by a well-rooted faith, sustained by profound and prolonged prayer, he lived a sincere charity toward all. He knew moral theology, but he likewise knew the situations and the hearts of people and looked after their best interests, as the Good Shepherd.

Each of those who had the grace of being close to him was transformed into another good pastor and effective confessor. He indicated with clarity to all priests the holiness to be attained precisely in pastoral ministry. Blessed Father Clement Marchisio, founder of the Daughters of St. Joseph, affirmed: “You entered the Academy being a great cheeky youngster and a rash leader, without knowing what it meant to be a priest, and you came out entirely different, fully conscious of the dignity of the priest.” How many priests were formed by him in the academy and then followed spiritually!

Among these — as I already said — emerges St. John Bosco, who had him as spiritual director for a good 25 years, from 1835 to 1860: first as cleric, then as priest and finally as founder. All the fundamental choices of the life of St. John Bosco had St. Joseph Cafasso as their counselor and guide, but in a very specific way: Cafasso never tried to form a disciple in Don Bosco “in his image and likeness” and Don Bosco did not copy Cafasso. He imitated him, certainly, in human and priestly virtues — describing him as a “model of priestly life” — but according to his own attitudes and his own peculiar vocation … a sign of the wisdom of the spiritual teacher and of the intelligence of the disciple: The first did not impose himself on the second, but respected him in his personality and helped him to read the will of God for him.

Credits : Zenit News 

Saint Gonsalo Garcia -- The Friar Saint From Mumbai

Gonsalo Gracia was born of a Portuguese father and a Canarese mother (Konkani-speaking) in Bassein, (Maharastra) East India, about the year 1556 or 1557.

His early training was entrusted to the Jesuits, who brought him up in their college in Bassein Fort. At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five he went to Japan in the company of some Jesuit Fathers who were ordered, in 1580, to join their mission in Japan. He quickly acquired a knowledge of the language; he won the hearts of the people and did great service as a catechist for eight years.

He then left this kind of work and betook himself to Alacao for trading purposes. His business soon flourished and branches were opened in different places. During his frequent visits to Manila he came into contact with the Franciscans, and being drawn more and more towards them he finally joined the Seraphic Order of St. Francis of Assisi as a lay brother. He sailed from the Philippine Islands with other companions in religion under Peter Baptista, 26 May, 1592, on an embassy from the Spanish Governor to the Emperor of Japan.

In Japan, Gonsalo Garcia became the center of attraction as he knew the Japanese language well. He was the official member of Spanish translator of Fr. Peter Baptista. After facing some initial difficulties the Franciscans settled in Japan and began their missionary work in Kyoto, Osaka, etc. The Japanese shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was very friendly with these Franciscans. It was a time when Jesuits were facing lot of opposition in Japan. The people of Japan appreciated the simple way of living adopted by these Franciscan missionaries. It helped them to accelerate their conversion program. Many Japanese, including their landlords accepted the Christian religion. Slowly Japan became the great center of evangelization for the Franciscan missionaries.

After working zealously for the glory of God for more than four years, the Emperor Taiko-Sama, suspecting the missionaries were aiming at the overthrow of his throne, ordered St. Garcia and his companions to be guarded in their Convent at Miaco on 8 December, 1596. A few days afterwards, when they were singing vespers, they were apprehended and with their hands tied behind their backs were taken to prison.

On 3 January, 1597, the extremities of the left ears of twenty-six confessors, St. Garcia amongst the number, were cut off; but were with great respect these were collected by the Christians. On 5 February of the same year, the day of the martyrdom, St. Garcia was the first to be nailed to the cross, which was then erected in the middle of those of his companions. Two lances piercing the body from one side to the other and passing through the heart, whilst the saint was singing the praises of God during the infliction of the torture, put an end to his sufferings and won for Garcia the martyr’s crown.

In 1627 these twenty-six servants of God were declared venerable by Urban VIII; their feast occurs
on 5 February, the anniversary of their sufferings; and in 1629 their veneration was permitted throughout the Universal Church. The people of Bassein practiced devotion towards the saint; after the severe persecution to which Christianity was subjected in that region, from about 1739 he was gradually entirely forgotten until a well-known writer recently undertook to write the history of the place, and drew the attention of the public to St. Garcia Gonsalo.

Owing to the praiseworthy endeavors of a secular priest, and the great interest evinced by the Bishop of Damaun in the promotion of the devotion towards the saint, the feast of St. Garcia is now annually celebrated with great solemnity; and pilgrims from all parts of Bassein, Salsette, and Bombay flock to the place on that occasion.

Saint John De Britto -- The Portuguese Saint Francis Xavier Of Southern India

John de Britto was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1647.

He was dedicated at birth to St. Francis Xavier, and his family was known to the king at that time, King Pedro.

He entered the Society of Jesus at the age of fifteen. In his effort to promote education among the native Indian people as a missionary to Goa, he wandered through Malabar and other regions and even adopted the customs and dress of the Brahmin caste which gave him access to the noble classes. His dress was yellow cotton; he abstained from every kind of animal food and from wine in an effort to be one with the people he wished to serve.

Saint John de Britto was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr, often called ‘the Portuguese St Francis Xavier’ by Indian Catholics.

A terrible illness made him turn for aid to St. Francis Xavier, a Saint so well loved by the Portuguese; and when, in answer to his prayers, he recovered, his mother vested him for a year in the dress worn in those days by the Jesuit Fathers. From that time John’s heart burned to follow the example of the Apostle of the Indies. He gained his wish.

On December 17, 1662, he entered the novitiate of the Society at Lisbon; and eleven years later, in spite of the most determined opposition of his family and of the court, he left all to go to convert the Hindus of Madura.

When Blessed John’s mother knew that her son was going to the Indies, she used all her influence to prevent him leaving his own country, and persuaded the Papal Nuncio to interfere. “God, Who called me from the world into religious life, now calls me from Portugal to India,” was the reply of the future martyr. “Not to answer the vocation as I ought, would be to provoke the justice of God. As long as I live, I shall never cease striving to gain a passage to India.”

For fourteen years he toiled, preaching, converting, baptizing multitudes, at the cost of privations, hardships, and persecutions.

In 1683, John de Britto had to leave India but returned in 1691.

He advised Teriadeven, a Maravese to dismiss the many wives he had and keep only one. However, one of Teriadeven’s wives was the niece of the king. Due to this, John de Britto began to be persecuted. In 1693, he was taken to the capital Ramnad and from there led to Oriyur a small village in Tamil Nadu, where he was tortured and put to death by beheading.

He had wrought many conversions during his life, established many stations, and was famous for his miracles before and after his death.

There is a shrine to Britto in Oriyur, where he is a significant figure revered by the Kallar, Maravar and Agamudayar castes who together are often referred to as the Thevars.

There is only one church In Coimbatore, dedicated to John de Britto located at R S Puram and is one of the largest parishes in the diocese of Coimbatore.

He was beatified in 1853 and was canonized in 1947.
Are you like John de Britto and ready to face the consequences of standing up for the truth?

Credits : Indian Catholic Matters 

Saint Cyril Of Jerusalem -- A Bishop Who Educated His Flock

It is the Christ-given obligation of every Catholic bishop, and the priests and deacons who share in his ministry, to teach, sanctify, and govern all people under their spiritual care. Regarding teaching, the letters of Saint Paul, as well as the writings of early Christian theologians, abundantly attest to the duty of the Apostles and their appointed successors to ensure that false doctrine never infects their flocks. 

The episcopal duty to teach was not a charism or gift of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues, performing miracles, or healing the infirm. Teaching correct doctrine might be aided by the Holy Spirit, but it was first a mandate from the Lord Himself. To not teach, to teach incompletely, or to teach falsely, was for the shepherd to ignore, neglect, or scatter the sheep entrusted to his care and protection.  

Saint, Cyril, the Bishop of Jerusalem in the late fourth century, was a model teacher of right doctrine. He did not just teach teachers what to teach. He did not deputize or delegate others to teach on his behalf. He was the local Father, and, concerned for Christian formation in the household of faith, he personally taught the faith. How do we know this? Two reasons: First, because a holy woman named Egeria went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the 380s. 

She documented her travels in a journal identifying the bishop, known to be Cyril, as the catechist in the domed mausoleum covering the tomb of Christ (part of today’s church of the Holy Sepulchre). Second, we know of Bishop Cyril’s talks because many of them were dutifully recorded and preserved, presumably because of their high caliber. The talks are rich, early testimony to the perennial, consistent doctrines of the Catholic Church.

Egeria states that Cyril taught about Lent and Easter to catechumens and neophytes (the newly baptized) by going through the entire Bible and the Creed, article by article. He taught for three hours each day, every one of the forty days of Lent and during Easter week. In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul wrote, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Romans 10:14). Bishop Cyril admirably fulfilled his apostolic duty to teach and to proclaim so that others would know the Lord.

Among the profound teachings of Saint Cyril on the Mass, Baptism, and the Sacraments are his extended reflections on the nature of the Holy Eucharist. He is explicit: “Since He Himself has declared and said of the bread: This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any more? And when He asserts and says: This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate and say it is not His Blood?…Do not think it mere bread and wine, for it is the Body and Blood of Christ, according to the Lord’s declaration” (St. Cyril Catechetical Lecture XXII). Cyril notes that if Christ could change water into wine, why could He not change wine into His own Blood? 

Reading these words of Cyril, it is perplexing that any modern Christian could doubt the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As Blessed Cardinal Newman wrote: “To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant”(An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Introduction, chpt. 5).

He is in many ways a model to all bishops for his zealous yet tender care of souls, especially those preparing to be washed in the saving waters of baptism at Easter. Saint Cyril fortified the content of the Church’s teaching with his personal presence, and by extension, the presence of the Sacrament of Holy Orders in his very person. He is a bishop remote in time, yet near in doctrine. Far removed from us historically, he is still close at our side when we stand to recite the same Creed he recited at every Sunday Mass.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, through your generous dedication to teaching the faith, come to the assistance of all catechists, ordained and lay, to be equally committed to teaching those under their care, in season and out of season, knowing that fidelity to the Lord and His Church is what counts the most.

Saint Francis De Sales -- A Gentleman Saint

The angelical Bishop Francis de Sales has a right to a distinguished position near the Crib of Jesus, on account of the sweetness of his virtues, the childlike simplicity of his heart, and the humility and tenderness of his love. He comes with the luster of his glorious conquests upon him—seventy-two thousand heretics converted to the Church by the ardor of his charity; an Order of holy servants of God, which he founded; and countless thousands of souls trained to piety by his prudent and persuasive words and writings.

God gave him to the Church at the very time that heresy was holding Her out to the world as a worn-out system, that had no influence over men’s minds. He raised up this true minister of the Gospel in the very country where the harsh doctrines of Calvin were most in vogue, that the ardent charity of St. Francis might counteract the sad influence of that heresy. If you want heretics to be convinced of their errors, said the learned Cardinal du Perron, you may send them to me; but if you want them to be converted, send them to the Bishop of Geneva.

St. Francis de Sales was sent, then, as a living image of Jesus, opening his arms and calling sinners to repentance, and all men to confidence and love. The Holy Ghost had rested on him with all His divine power and sweetness. A few days back we were meditating on the Baptism of Jesus, and how the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the shape of a dove. There is an incident in the life of St. Francis which reminds us of this great Mystery. He was singing Mass on Pentecost Sunday at Annecy. 

A dove, which had been let into the Cathedral, after flying for a long time round the building, at length came into the sanctuary, and rested on the Saint's head. The people could not but be impressed with this circumstance, which they looked on as an appropriate symbol of St. Francis' loving spirit; just as the globe of fire which appeared above the head of St. Martin, when he was offering up the Holy Sacrifice, was interpreted as a sign of his apostolic zeal.

The same thing happened to our Saint on another occasion. It was the Feast of Our Lady's Nativity, and St. Francis was officiating at Vespers in the Collegiate Church at Annecy. He was seated on a Throne, the carving of which represented the Tree of Jesse, which the prophet Isaias tells us produced the virginal Branch (or Rod), whence sprang the divine Flower, on which there rested the Spirit of love. They were singing the psalms of the Feast, when a dove flew into the Church, through an aperture in one of the windows of the choir, on the epistle side of the Altar. It flew about for some moments, and then lighted first on the Bishop's shoulder, then on this knee, where it was caught by one of the assistants. When the Vespers were over the Saint mounted the pulpit, and ingeniously turned the incident that had occurred into an illustration which he hoped would distract the people from himself—he spoke to them of Mary, who, being full of the grace of the Holy Ghost, is called the Dove that is all fair, in whom there is no blemish (Cant. 6: 8).

If we were asked which of the Disciples of Our Lord was the model on which this admirable Prelate formed his character, we should mention, without any hesitation, the Beloved Disciple, St. John the Evangelist. St. Francis de Sales is, like him, the Apostle of charity; and the simplicity of the great Evangelist caressing an innocent bird is reflected with perfection in the heart of the Bishop of Geneva. A mere look from St. John, a single word of his, used to draw men to the love of Jesus; and the contemporaries of St. Francis were wont to say: "If the Bishop of Geneva is so amiable, what, O Lord, must not Thou be!"

A circumstance in our Saint's last illness again suggests to us the relation between himself and the Beloved Disciple. It was on the 27th of December, the Feast of St. John, that St. Francis, after celebrating Mass and giving Holy Communion to his dear Daughters of the Visitation, felt the first approach of the sickness which was to cause his death. As soon as it was known, the consternation was general; but the Saint had already his whole conversation in Heaven, and on the following day, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, his soul took its flight to its Creator, and the candor and simplicity of his spirit made him a worthy companion of those dear little ones of Bethlehem.

But on neither of these two days could the Church place his Feast, as they were already devoted to the memory of St. John and the Holy Innocents; so She has ordered it to be kept during the forty days consecrated to the Birth of Our Lord, and the 29th of January is the day fixed for it.

St. Francis, then, the ardent lover of our new-born King, is to aid us, like all these other Christmas Saints, to know the charms of the Divine Babe. In his admirable Letters we find him expressing, with all the freedom of friendly correspondence, the sweetness which used to fill his heart during this holy Season. Let us read a few passages from these confidential papers—they will teach us how to love our Jesus.

Towards the end of the Advent of 1619, he wrote to a religious of the Visitation, instructing her how to prepare for Christmas: "My very dear Daughter, our sweet Infant Jesus is soon to be born in our remembrance, at the coming Feasts; and since He is born on purpose that he may visit us in the name of His Eternal Father, and is to be visited in His Crib by the Shepherds and the Kings, I look on Him as both the Father and the Child of Our Lady of the Visitation.

"Come then, load Him with your caresses; join all our Sisters in giving Him a warm welcome of hospitality; sing to Him the sweetest carols you can find; and above all, adore Him very earnestly, and very sweetly, and with Him adore His poverty, His humility, His obedience and His meekness, as did His Most Holy Mother and St. Joseph. Take one of His divine tears, which is the dew of Heaven, and put it on your heart, that so you may never admit any other sadness there, than the sadness which will gladden this sweet Infant. And when you recommend your own soul to Him, recommend mine also, for you know its devotedness to yours.

"I beg of you to remember me affectionately to the dear Sisters, whom I look upon as simple shepherdesses keeping watch over their flocks, that is, their affections, and who, being warned by the Angel, are going to pay their homage to the Divine Babe, and offer Him, as an earnest of their eternal loyalty, the fairest of their lambs, which is their love, unreserved and undivided."

On Christmas Eve, filled by anticipation with the joy of the Sacred Night which is to give the world its Redeemer, St. Francis wrote to St. Jane Frances de Chantal, and thus invited her to profit by the visit of the Divine Infant:

"May the sweet Infant of Bethlehem ever be your happiness and your love, my very dear Mother. Oh! the loveliness of this Little Child! I imagine I see Solomon on his ivory throne, all beautifully gilded and carved, which, as the Scripture tells us, had no equal in all the kingdoms of the earth, neither was there any king that could be compared for glory and magnificence with the king that sat upon it. And yet I would a hundred times rather see the dear Jesus in His Crib, than all the kings of the world on their thrones.

"But when I see Him on the lap or in the arms of His Blessed Mother, He seems to me to be more magnificent on this Throne, not only than Solomon ever was on his of ivory, but than He Himself on any throne with which the heavens could provide Him; for though the heavens surpass Mary in outward grandeur, yet She surpasses them in invisible perfections. Oh! may the great St. Joseph give us some of the consolation that filled his soul; may the Blessed Mother lend us something of Her own love, and the Infant Jesus mercifully pour into our hearts a portion of the infinite abundance of His merits!

"I beseech you to keep close to this Divine Babe, and rest near Him as lovingly as you can; He will love you in return, even should your heart feel no tenderness or devotion. What sense had the poor ox and the ass? And yet He refuses not to let them breathe warmly upon Him. And think you that He will refuse the aspirations of our poor hearts, which, though just at present they feel no devotion, yet are sincerely and loyally His, and are ever offering themselves to be the faithful servants of His own Divine Self, and of His Holy Mother, and of His dear protector Joseph!"

Saint Peter Damian -- A Reforming Benedictine Monk

Saint Peter Damian was a reforming Benedictine monk and was cardinal to Pope Leo IX. He was also declared as Doctor of the Church in 1828 with his feast day being celebrated every February 21. Born in Ravenna around 1007, he was the youngest of a large noble, but poor family. Orphaned at an early age, he was adopted by his elder brother, who treated him unfairly and under-fed him while serving him as a swineherd.

Years passed, another brother who goes with the name Damianus, who was Archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him to be educated. Adopting his brother’s name to his own, Peter became great in his studies of theology and canon law, first in Ravenna, then at Faenza, and at the University of Parma, then around age 25 he had already become a famous teacher at Parma and Ravenna.

Around 1035, he gave up his secular profession and while avoiding the compromised luxury of Cluniac monasteries, he then entered the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana. Being a novice and a monk, his dedication was remarkable, but led him to extremes of self-mortification in penance that his health was affected, and he developed severe insomnia.

After his recovery, he was appointed to lecture his fellow monks. Then, due to the request of Guy of Pomposa and other heads of neighboring monasteries, between two to three years he lectured his fellow monks there also. Later, after returning to Fonte Avellana he was appointed as housekeeper of the house of the prior, who appointed him as his successor. In 1043 he became prior of Fonte Avellana, until his death later in February 1072 or 1073.

Like his friend Pope Gregory VII, they both pushed for reforms in the church. He also became watchful to the fortunes of the church, urging Gregory VI to deal with the scandals of the church in Italy. Around 1050 he returned to his hermitage, he wrote a scathing article regarding to the vices of the clergy, including sexual abuses of the minors and the actions of the church superiors to hide these crimes.

Damian also often condemned philosophy; for he believed that the first grammarian was the Devil, the one who taught Adam to decline God. He often argued that monks should not study philosophy because Jesus didn’t choose philosophers as disciples, so according to him studying it isn’t necessary for one’s salvation.

When Stephen IX was elected pope, Damian also was made cardinal and became Cardinal Bishop of Ostia on 30 November 1057. He was also appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gubbio. During his stay he was really impressed with great responsibilities of his office so he wrote a letter addressed to his fellow brother-cardinals encouraging them to set an example before all.

Throughout his life Peter Damian gave great contributions to the church most especially to his writings to reform the church into a better one. Pope Benedict XVI even described him as “one of the most significant figures of the 11th century… a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform.”

 Like him, may we always strive for what is best and right wherever we are assigned by our God. May we also put discipline in our hearts like what Saint Peter Damian did to become living examples of Christ in this world.

Lent 2020 -- A Unique Perspective On Fasting and Prayer

Living the way of the cross is inevitable. The Lenten journey begins with a reminder of our own mortality: “From dust we came and to dust we shall return.” Not one of us, as they say, escapes this journey alive. Death is the universal end of our earthly lives, and every one of us, if we live long enough, dies smaller deaths along the way.

These are the moments that can most try our faith—the fears, grief, and failures that pockmark the road and cause us to stumble or to crumble. An accident. A cancer diagnosis. Abuse. Betrayal. Divorce. Broken dreams. Every one of us carries a burden, often in secret. We put on a brave face.

We cry out to God—and we sometimes wonder if God hears. In this we are in exalted company. The Lord Jesus himself cries out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) As Jesus shares our burden of death and the fearsome prospect of being abandoned by God, he also lights the path of hope: “…those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25).

How do we pray to and with Jesus when we feel we’ve lost ourselves? Some have suggested that one of the most potent prayers we have at our disposal is also one of the simplest: “Help!”

Our Catholic heritage offers us refuge in knowing that all the saints, living and dead, can lift up prayers on our behalf. We have the devotional prayers of our tradition—the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Memorare, and the book of Psalms—which give us words for the times when we have no words of our own.

We also have silence. “Silence is God’s first language,” teaches St. John of the Cross. In our dark hours, it can be enough to lift our sufferings in wordless silence to God.

Lent ends with an empty tomb and the resurrected Messiah whose triumph promises our own resurrections. May our prayer this Lent unite our suffering with the Lord’s suffering so that we can find in him the life he promises.

The Chair Of Saint Peter

In ancient Rome ‘la cattedra’ – the chair or throne - was the seat of notables: magistrates, officials or teachers. For Christians it is the chair of high ecclesiastical authorities.

The Chair of St. Peter is the throne that according to tradition was donated by Saint Pudens to the apostle, in order for him to perform his pontiff faculties in Rome: it symbolizes the pre-eminent position of the pope – the heir of Peter - on Christianity.

A wooden throne inside a bronze throne:

The bronze chair is the custodian of a relic that has been venerated for centuries: a wooden seat decorated in ivory that in the nineteenth century, and again in the 1900s with dendrological analysis, was established as medieval and not an early Christian gift, from Charles the Bald, a Carolingian ruler, to the Pope on the occasion of an imperial coronation.

Since the original is not visible, a copy of it is held in the Treasury of St. Peter.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Throne:

With the reconstruction of the basilica, the chair was positioned in a triumphal arrangement that had never been seen before, in the centre of the apse, the visual fulcrum of the building, thanks to Bernini and pope Alexander VII Chigi.

It was completed in 1666 after 10 years of work, with the help of thirty-five collaborators. The meastro was sixty years old, and resisted the Sun King, Louis XIV's, invitations to Paris, in order to finish the works in St. Peter's.

The Altar of the Chair has a pyramidal structure, which starts from its base in black and white marble from France and jasper from Sicily with the Chigi crests, the base for the the Doctors of the Western and Eastern Church, Augustine of Hippo, Ambrose, Athanasius and John Chrysostom, from where the throne stands, decorated in bas-relief with stories of Peter.

The Doctors are 5.35 meters high and their faces have dramatic expressions inspired by Hellenistic art (just think of the Laocoön in the Vatican Museums), and they represent both the struggle against heresy and support the primacy of Rome.

A total of 74,000 kg of partly gilded bronze. The chair is 7 meters high and the whole structure reaches 15 meters in height.

Bernini is a skilful ‘set designer’, and places his creations as if they were on a theatre stage. The play of light that colours the sculptures, the pathos of the faces and the dynamism of the fluid forms: these are the tools of the Baroque rhetoric of persuasion and emotion, aimed at involving the spectator.

The dove of the Holy Spirit in the window above the throne:

In the invoices of payment this part is called the "splendour".

Above the throne, in a whirlwind of clouds, rays of sunlight and angels (in gilded stucco), there is the oval window of the "Gloria" with the dove of the Holy Spirit (whose wingspan is 162 cm) that at sunset seems to burst into flame, since the apse faces the west.

Angels are another Berninian specialty (just think of the Sant'Angelo bridge): with delicate and languid faces, fluttering clothes and hands resting on their chests to express emotion.

The window is a copy of the original, which shattered on November 5, 1943, due to five bombs that were dropped on the Vatican, damaging several buildings. Allies and Nazi-Fascists exchanged mutual accusations for attacking a neutral state. The event remains a dark page of the civil war into which Italy had fallen after the armistice of September 8^th 1943.

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter:

In the Roman calendar there is a festival dedicated to the Chair of St. Peter, which dates back to the 3rd century and is celebrated on February 22nd.

The Blessed Mother At Lourdes and Saint Bernadette Soubirous

In Lourdes, France, in 1844 a baby girl named Bernadette Soubirous was born.  Bernadette’s family was very poor, and Bernadette was responsible for looking after and caring for her brothers and sisters.

Bernadette was a good natured girl with dark eyes and a round face.  The only education Bernadette received was the Catholic teachings which she studied faithfully in the evenings.

At the age of 13, Bernadette was preparing for her First Holy Communion.  One of Bernadette’s chores was to collect wood for the fire.  On a cold day in February 1858, Bernadette and 2 companions headed off to the Gave River to collect pieces of wood.  The 2 companions ran ahead and left Bernadette struggling to keep up.  As Bernadette was taking off her shoes to make her way through the river, she was startled by a peculiar wind and rustling sound.

Bernadette looked up towards the grotto and the caves on the riverbank.  Near the opening of the grotto, Bernadette glanced and noticed the cave was suddenly filled with golden light.  Lifting up her eyes, she saw a lady of great beauty, dressed in a pure white robe with a blue sash, a veil over her head, a rosary clasped in her hands and yellow roses at her feet.  Bernadette rubbed her eyes.   What a beautiful lady!  But where did she come from?  And what was she doing here?

The beautiful lady smiled at Bernadette and asked her to say her rosary.  Bernadette said her prayers and when she was finished she looked up, the lady had vanished.  Bernadette caught up to her 2 friends and discovered that they were upset with her.  What have you been doing? Playing in the river, while we are out here collecting wood? Bernadette told them about the vision she had just witnessed.  The girls told Bernadette she was silly and probably just seeing things.

Bernadette felt drawn to the grotto and returned there on the next Sunday.  Again Bernadette saw the beautiful lady.  The third time Bernadette went to the grotto, the lady spoke to her.  The beautiful lady asked Bernadette to come here every day for fifteen days.  She said that she wanted Bernadette to tell the priests to build a chapel there.  She told her to drink water from the stream.  The lady also told Bernadette to pray for the conversion of sinners.  Bernadette followed the requests.

On March 25, the Lady finally told Bernadette that she was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and that her purpose in appearing to Bernadette was to warn her to pray and make sacrifices for sinners. The miracles of body and soul performed at Lourdes are the proof that this message was a true warning from the queen of heaven to her children and that she was deeply interested in their welfare.
Bernadette’s daily visits to the grotto caused quite a stir in the countryside.  Crowds of people began to gather and watch Bernadette as she examined the cave and obediently did the things the lady asked of her.

They watched Bernadette scrape away soil beside the grotto until a spring of water started to trickle out.  Would you believe this spring still provides 27,000 gallons of water everyday!
This is the sacred Lourdes water which heals all!  At first, the priests, the town’s folk, and the families doubted Bernadette’s visions and the purpose in her activities.  But Bernadette was stubborn and determined to follow Mary’s plans for her.  Eventually everyone did believe Bernadette and the grotto at Lourdes became a place of worship and the Lourdes holy water was sacred for performing miracles.

At the age of 22, Bernadette became a nun and devoted her life to Mary, to praying for the conversion of sinners and to the service of God.  Bernadette died on April 16, 1879, at the age of 36.
She will be remembered for believing in the greater glory of God as she was faithful to her mission, she was humble in glory and she was valiant in her sufferings.  Today, Lourdes remains one of the most frequented Christian shrines in the world.  More than 3 million visitors, pilgrims and tourists come each year to the Grotto of Massabielle, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette 18 times in 1858.

The Apparitions:

The First Apparition - Thursday, February 11, 1858:

After dinner on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, Bernadette's mother told her children that there was no more wood in the house. Bernadette and her sister, Toinette, and a neighbor friend, Jeanne Abadie, went to the river Gave to gather wood. They had to cross a canal of cold water. Fearing that she would have an asthma attack, Bernadette stayed on the bank, and the other two girls crossed the stream and picked up wood under the grotto until they disappeared along the Gave.

Bernadette heard a great noise like the sound of a storm, but nothing was moving. She was frightened and stood straight up, loosing all power of speech and thought. She turned her head towards the Grotto of Massabieille and saw in the opening of the rock a rosebush, one only, moving as if it were very windy. Almost at the same time, there came out of the interior of the grotto a golden-colored cloud, and soon afterwards, a Lady, young and beautiful --exceedingly beautiful -- the likes of whom she had never seen, came and placed herself at the entrance of the opening above the rosebush. She looked at Bernadette and immediately smiled and signaled her to advance, in a way that a mother motions her child to come near. Bernadette took out her rosary and knelt before the Lady, who also had a rosary on her right arm.

When Bernadette tried to begin saying the rosary by making the sign of the cross, her arm was paralyzed. It was only after the Lady had made the sign of the cross herself that Bernadette was able to do the same. As Bernadette prayed the rosary, the Lady passed the beads of her rosary between her fingers, but remained silent. She did recite the Gloria's with her, however. When the recitation of the rosary was finished, the Lady returned to the interior of the rock and the golden cloud disappeared with her.

Bernadette told her sister of the extraordinary things that had happened to her at the grotto, asking her to keep it a secret. Throughout the day the image of the Lady remained in her mind. In the evening at the family prayer Bernadette was troubled and began to cry. When her mother asked what was the matter, her sister told her everything. Bernadette's mother told her that these were illusions, and forbid her to return to Massabielle.

Bernadette could not sleep that night. The face of the Lady, so good and so gracious, returned incessantly to her memory. It was useless to recall what her mother had said because she did not believe that she had been deceived. Her conviction of this was unshakable. She went on to describe the Beautiful Lady in detail:

"She has the appearance of a young girl of sixteen or seventeen. She is dressed in a white robe, girdled at the waist with a blue ribbon which flows down all around it. A yoke closes it in graceful pleats at the base of the neck. The sleeves are long and tight-fitting. She wears upon her head a veil which is also white. This veil gives just a glimpse of her hair and then falls down at the back below her waist. Her feet are bare but covered by the last folds of her robe except at the point where a yellow rose shines upon each of them. She holds on her right arm a rosary of white beads with a chain of gold shinning like the two roses on her feet." On Sunday, Bernadette's mother allowed her to return to the grotto.

The Second Apparition - Sunday, February 14, 1858:

The three little girls started out, armed with a vial of holy water. If what their elders said was true, they might need this to ward off malign influences. Instead of throwing the water at the Lady, Bernadette poured the water quietly on the ground. Then she turned and told her companion that, judging by the Beautiful Lady's smile, She was pleased by this action. Before Jeanne Abadie, who was just arriving, could explain that she had thrown a stone for fun, the others had scattered in every direction, screaming for help as they ran. When Toinette reached the cachot (home) and poured out her story, her mother headed for the site.

By now the whole town was talking. Fortunately for the unhappy little Bernadette, one local woman of considerable prominence interpreted the apparitions in a different light from most of the townspeople. She got Louise's permission to let her daughter Bernadette accompany her and a friend to the grotto.

The Third Apparition - Thursday, February 18, 1858:

All three went first to early Mass. Then they set out for the grotto. Madame Millet carried a blessed candle; Antoinette Peyret a pen, paper and ink to record anything that might be said. The Beautiful Lady said to Bernadette: "There is no need for me to write down what I have to say to you. Will you be so kind as to come here every day for fifteen days?" No explicit reason was given for this request, but a definite pledge accompanied it: though she did not promise that Bernadette would be happy in the world, the Beautiful Lady gave her word that happiness would be waiting in heaven.

The Fourth Apparition - Friday, February 19, 1858:

Bernadette's parents and her aunt accompanied her to the Grotto along with some neighbors. Shortly after Bernadette began to pray the Rosary, everyone present noticed that her face was transfigured and illuminated.

The Fifth Apparition - Saturday, February 20, 1858:

On Her fifth visit, the Beautiful Lady taught Bernadette a prayer, which she recited daily for the rest of her life. She never revealed the prayer to anyone, but she did say that she was told to always bring a blessed candle with her. Candles now burn perpetually at the Shrine.

The Sixth Apparition - Sunday, February 21, 1858:

The Beautiful Lady told Bernadette on this occasion to "pray for sinners", which she never failed to do. Several hundred people were present on that day, including Dr. Dozous, a prominent physician in Lourdes. He told the crowd that he could find nothing abnormal about Bernadette's physical condition, even when her mental state was trancelike: "Her pulse was regular, her respiration easy, and nothing indicated nervous excitement."

A meeting was called by the citizens of the town, and sharp differences of opinion were expressed regarding the apparitions. They expressed concern for the dangers that could accompany gatherings of such large crowds. They persuaded the Procurer Imperial, M. Dutour, to officially forbid Bernadette to return to the Grotto. Bernadette responded that she could not give her word to refrain from going to the Grotto because she had promised the Beautiful Lady she would do so. Dutour dismissed her, and discussed this matter with two local officials: M. Jacomet, the Chief of Police; and M. Estrade, who was to become Bernadette's and Dutour's friend and who was also to perform an invaluable service by listening in at future conversations and scrupulously recording them word for word.

Estrade recorded a conversation between the Chief of Police and Bernadette. During that meeting, M. Jacomet deliberately tried to confuse Bernadette to change her account of the apparitions. When that attempt failed, the Chief of Police released Bernadette to the custody of her father with an admonition that he take her home and guarantee that there would be no further disturbances. But the interior call which was urging her on was stronger than any earthly admonition.

On Monday, February 22, 1858, Bernadette returned to the Grotto after school. Two policemen saw her and followed her, and so did the usual crowd. The policemen stood at respectful attention as she knelt down in her accustomed place. But as she arose, they sprang forward and asked her if she still insisted that she had seen a Beautiful Lady. "No, this time I saw nothing at all," she answered. She was allowed to go home, but she was taunted and threatened. People said mockingly that the Beautiful Lady was afraid of the police and had found some safer place to go.

The Seventh Apparition - Tuesday, February 23, 1858:

Approximately two hundred people were present at this apparition. When Bernadette's appearance was once more transformed, the men present removed their hats and fell to their knees. Bernadette appeared to be gravely serious and listening, and then joyful, and she would occasionally bow low. At the conclusion of the vision, which lasted an hour, Bernadette moved on her knees toward the rose bush and kissed the ground. When asked what the Lady had said, Bernadette replied that the Lady had entrusted her with three secrets, which she never revealed.

The Eighth Apparition - Wednesday, February 24, 1858:

During the eighth apparition, Bernadette turned and faced the crowd of more than four hundred people, and three times she repeated, "penitence, penitence, penitence!"

The Ninth Apparition - Thursday, February 25, 1858:

During this apparition, the Beautiful Lady told Bernadette to, "drink from the fountain and bathe in it." Bernadette was puzzled; there had never been a fountain at Massabieille, or any kind of a natural spring. She began to scratch the loose gravel off the ground which encircled her. As she did so, she noticed that the ground beneath her was moist, and that a little pool was forming and bubbles were rising from it. She cupped her hands together and drank, and then washed her face. The next day, the pool was overflowing and water was dripping down over the rock. The following day, the trickle had become a real stream. Of course, it was immediately said -- and has been said by skeptics ever since -- that the spring was there all the time. The fact remains that Bernadette did find the spring as the result of a direct command.

The Tenth Apparition - Saturday, February 27, 1858:

On this occasion, the Beautiful Lady told Bernadette to "kiss the ground on behalf of sinners." She immediately did so, and the crowd followed her example.

The Eleventh Apparition - Sunday, February 28, 1858:

There were approximately two thousand spectators at the Grotto that morning. The Lady asked Bernadette to tell the clergy to build a chapel on the site of the Grotto.

The Twelfth Apparition - Monday, March 1, 1858:

During this apparition, the Lady commented to Bernadette that she was not using her own Rosary, which was an accurate statement. Bernadette had been asked by Pauline Sans to use Pauline's Rosary at the Grotto that day.

The Thirteenth Apparition - Tuesday, March 2, 1858:

Bernadette arrived at the Grotto early in the morning, prayed the Rosary in the presence of the Lady, who remained silent except for the Gloria's.

The Fourteenth Apparition - Wednesday, March 3, 1858:

During this apparition, the Lady repeated that She wanted a chapel built by the clergy and, additionally, that She wanted people to come to this chapel in processional form. Bernadette was terribly afraid of the parish priest, Abbe Peyramale. It had been difficult for her to go to him the first time about building a chapel, but it took a great deal of courage for her to present herself to him a second time about processions. He dismissed her curtly, ordering her to tell the Beautiful Lady that the Cure of Lourdes was not in the habit of dealing with mysterious strangers; that if She wanted a chapel -- if She had a right to one -- She must reveal Her identity.

The Fifteenth Apparition - Thursday, March 4, 1858:

By now, most everyone in France knew that March 4th was the last of the fifteen days that Bernadette had promised the Lady that she would be present at the Grotto. Twenty thousand people were present that day, including an entire military garrison in full-dress uniform. As Bernadette approached the apparition site, a path was cleared for her, and the soldiers who accompanied her did so with respect.

After the apparition, Bernadette told the crowd that she would continue coming to the Grotto because the Beautiful Lady had said nothing in the form of a farewell. The crowd was disappointed and disillusioned. They had seen Bernadette transfigured with a strange radiance, but they had hoped to also share her vision, to hear the same voice that she did, and they expected that, at the very least, the rosebush would burst into a sudden miraculous bloom.

The Sixteenth Apparition - Thursday, March 25, 1858:

During the sixteenth apparition, which occurred on the Feast of the Annunciation, the Beautiful Lady revealed her identity to Bernadette: "Que soy era Immaculado Conception", I am the Immaculate Conception. Bernadette was not sure what this name meant, but people who needed no explanation flocked to Lourdes in greater numbers than ever before. Baron Massy, a local official, ordered Bernadette to be examined by three more physicians. They found her to be physically and mentally sound.

The Seventeenth Apparition - Wednesday, April 7, 1858:

Bernadette had never failed to bring a lighted candle to the Grotto since the first time she had been instructed to do so by the Beautiful Lady. During this apparition, she unconsciously placed one of her hands over the flame of the candle. People witnessed the flame burning through her fingers.

Bernadette did not even hear the cries of horror which arose from the crowd. She continued to pray for at least fifteen minutes while the flame burned through her hand. She emerged quietly from prayer unscathed. Then Dr. Dozous took another candle and, without warning, touched the flame to her hand. Bernadette immediately cried out in pain. Shortly after this apparition, the Prefect took matters into his own hands and ordered the Grotto closed, and the rustic altar was dismantled.

The Eighteenth Apparition - Friday, July 16, 1858:

Bernadette seemed relieved that she was becoming less of a public figure. Several months had passed, and after receiving communion on the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Bernadette felt an irresistible urge to return to the Grotto. Since the barricade was still in place, she and her aunt could not get as close to the sacred spot as they wanted, so they knelt in the grass, and the Beautiful Lady appeared to her one last time.

Bernardette after the apparitions

Bernadette joined the order of the Sisters of Charity. Throughout her life she remained sickly, but attended patiently to her duties as infirmarian and sacristan. She died a holy death on April 16, 1879. She was 34 years old. Bernadette was buried on the convent grounds in Nevers, France.

Her body was exhumed thirty years later on September 22, 1909, in the presence of two doctors, several appointed officials, and nuns from the local convent. When Bernadette's coffin was opened, there was no odor, and her body was completely untouched by the laws of nature.

A second exhumation took place on April 3, 1919. The body of the then declared Venerable was found in the same state of preservation as ten years earlier, except that the face was slightly discolored, due to the washing it had undergone during the first exhumation.

A worker in wax was entrusted with the task of coating the face of the Saint who had been dead forty years. The sacred relic (Bernadette's body) was placed in a coffin of gold and glass and can be viewed to this very day in the Chapel of Saint Bernadette at the motherhouse in Nevers, France.

Lourdes as a Shrine and miraculous place:

Today, around the grotto, a neo-Byzantine, three-level basilica was built. Underground is another basilica, which holds 7,000 people and has a ramp for wheelchairs. The baths, the real focal point of  the shrine, are small cubicles full of ice-cold water from the spring, in which the sick, some terminally ill, immerse themselves in hopes of being healed. Two hospitals, which care for but do not treat the sick, are part of the complex.

Of the 3 million individuals who come to Lourdes every year, 500,000 are sick people hoping to be cured miraculously. Recent data from the Lourdes Bureau Médical, 66 cases have officially been acknowledged as miraculous, from 1858 to nowadays; from the first case occurring a few days after the first apparition at Massabielle, to the last case, relating to Mr. Jean-Pierre Bély, acknowledged in 1999, versus an overall number of 7000 recoveries claimed.

Claims of miracles must go through  the study of one of the most strict group of physicians. In fact, the Lourdes National Medical Committee was established in 1947, made up by university specialists, in order for a more rigorous and independent control to better guarantee the authenticity of the possible miracles.

This committee became International (LIMC) in 1954, thus acquiring even greater authority and a universal dimension.

At present, the Lourdes International Medical Committee (LIMC,) based in Paris,  is made up by 25 members, including physicians of international renown, university professors and  experienced and qualified medical practitioners, from different countries worldwide.

There must be medical proof that the sick person was indeed sick to begin with, that the symptoms disappeared within hours, and that the cure lasted for several years. The patient is examined on the spot by a medical bureau, which sends its conclusions to LIMC.

If the commission regards the cure as authentic, the report goes to a canonical commission in the diocese from which the cured person came, and the bishop makes a pronouncement on it. Only then the recovery is officially proclaimed a miracle.

Credits : Catholic News Agency 

Feast Of The Presentation Of Our Lord

The feast of Jesus' presentation in the temple forty days after his birth, celebrated on February 2nd, has a long history in the Eastern and Western Church.

The Mosaic law prescribed that every firstborn male in Israel had to be consecrated to God forty days after birth and redeemed with a sum deposited in the Temple treasury. This was in remembrance of the firstborn sons being preserved from death on the night of the first Passover during the exodus from Egypt. The Gospel according to St. Luke gives us this account of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple: when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.”

St. Joseph and our Lady entered the temple, unnoticed among the crowd. The “desired of all nations” came to the house of his Father in his Mother’s arms. The liturgy of this feast-day exhorts us, in the Responsorial Psalm, to adore the King of Glory in the heart of his humble family: Attolite, portae, capita vestra, et elevamini, portae aeternales, et introibit rex gloriae: “Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.”

The Church of Jerusalem began the annual commemoration of this mystery in the 4^th century. The feast was celebrated on February 14^th, forty days after the Epiphany, because the Jerusalem liturgy had not yet adopted the Roman custom of celebrating Christmas on December 25^th. That is why when this became the common custom throughout the whole Christian world, the feast of the Presentation was moved to February 2^nd and was soon celebrated throughout the entire East. In Byzantium, the emperor Justinian I introduced it in the 6^th century, under the title “Hypapante” or “encounter,” referring to Jesus’ encounter with the aged Simeon, who was a figure of the just men of Israel who had patiently awaited the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies for so many years.

During the 7^th century, the celebration also took root in the West. The widespread name of Candlemas comes from the tradition instituted by Pope Sergius I of having a procession with candles. As the elderly Simeon proclaimed, Jesus is the Savior, prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.

In commemorating the arrival and manifestation of the divine light to the world, the Church each year blesses candles, symbol of Jesus’ perennial presence and the light of faith that the faithful receive in the sacrament of Baptism. The procession with lighted candles thus becomes an expression of Christian life: a pathway illuminated by the light of Christ.

The annual commemoration of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple is also a Marian celebration and therefore at certain times in the past it was also known as the feast of the Purification of Mary. Even though Mary was preserved by God from original sin, as a Hebrew mother she chose to submit to the Law of the Lord, and therefore offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Mary’s offering was thus a sign of her prompt obedience to God’s commands. “Through this example, foolish child, will you learn to obey the Holy Law of God, regardless of any personal sacrifice?”

Feast Of The Seven Holy Founders Of The Servite Order

This Feast commemorates seven young men who belonged to a merchant guild in Florence, Italy, in the 1200s. These seven men were serious Christians. They loved God and the Church. And in addition to protecting their commercial interests by joining a guild, they also protected their souls by joining a local spiritual guild called the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin, where their spiritual exercises were guided by a wise and educated priest who encouraged their devotion.

After the members of the Confraternity experienced mystical visions of the Virgin Mary, there was nothing left to do except abandon their worldly concerns, set aside money for their families to live without their help, and flee the busy city for a solitary life in the nearby mountains. The Seven fasted, prayed, and lived lives of such extreme austerity that a visiting cardinal admonished them to stop living like dogs. Over time they adopted a rule, accepted new recruits, elected leaders, and spread throughout Italy and beyond. They eventually took the name of the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Servants of Mary, or Servites.

The Seven Holy Founders were especially devoted to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and the Servites were instrumental in the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows becoming part of the Church’s calendar on September 15. The Sorrows of Mary, the sword that pierced her heart, the tears she shed when witnessing Our Lord’s passion and death, motivated the Seven Holy Founders to promote devotion to Mary under this title. Mary was strong and stood at the foot of the cross. But she was also a mom who loved her boy. So she had a heavy heart that continually pondered what His suffering meant. We unite in joy at Christ’s resurrection on Easter and join with Mary’s sorrow just days before. The emotions of Scripture become the emotions of those who read it and those who live it in the liturgy and devotions of the Church.

The names of the Seven Holy Founders are known. But the Church celebrates them as a group, with their individuality ceding to their group identity. Together they accomplished more than seven men working separately could ever have accomplished. Their confraternity became an Order, and that Order still exists for the mutual spiritual benefit of all, a theological guild holding its members to high standards of spiritual perfection. 

Servite priests and brothers are still active in various countries around the world, hundreds of years after the Order’s founding. This is a testament to the immovable, rock solid, foundation on which its Seven Holy Founders constructed their spiritual and theological home.

The Value Of The Holy Eucharist In The Life Of Don Bosco

The Holy Eucharist is the centre of Catholic Worship, and so it was the centre of Saint John Bosco’s devotion.  As, a young man and later as a seminarian he was happy to assist at “Holy Mass” and when possible serve at it too. Very often, he received Our Lord Jesus Christ in “Holy Communion” and visited him in the Blessed Sacrament.  When, he was ordained a Priest, Saint John Bosco had many more opportunities of practicing this devotion, as he was able to celebrate “Holy Mass”. Don Bosco was a staunch believer in the “Real Presence” of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. His spiritual life was dominated by the “Real Presence”. 

His Priesthood gave him many opportunities to spread this devotion specially among the Youth. This is so true in the case of Saint Dominic Savio. He often spoke about Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament through Books that he wrote to help people to receive Jesus Christ worthily, to make reparation for injuries inflicted upon him, and to console him for the neglect he suffers. 

The following are interesting little titbits about today’s Saint of the Holy Eucharist, St. John Bosco: 1. Early in childhood our Lord and His blessed mother inspired him to rescue young boys from evil ways. 2. The boys under Don Bosco’s care learned about the Catholic faith “under a remarkable educational system based upon frequent confession and daily Mass.” 3. In 1862 Don Bosco had a vision of the dangers threatening the Church. Since everyone is familiar with the story I will skip to the end of the dream:

“Suddenly two marble columns surged from the depths of the stormy ocean, one surmounted by a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament – “Salvation of Believers” and the other by a statue of Mary Immaculate “Help of Christians.”

The Eucharistic Dream:

For sixty years St. John Bosco received remarkable dreams which were almost visions. Probably his best-known dream-vision was that of the Church like a ship taking refuge between two pillars in the sea. In May 1862 he shared his experience of this dream. He could see a very big ship in the sea which he understood as the Church. There were many smaller ships drawn up to do battle against the big ship, they were the enemies of the Church and persecutions. Two pillars or columns were protruding from the sea a little distant from each other. 

On the top of one was a statue of Our Lady with Help of Christians written beneath. On top of the other pillar was a host (blessed sacrament) beneath which was written Salvation of the Faithful. The commander of the ship was the Pope. He was directing all his energies to steering the ship between those two columns or pillars. All the enemy ships moved to attack. 

Sometimes the large ship, the Church, got large, deep holes in its sides, but no sooner was the harm done than a gentle breeze blew from the two columns and the cracks closed up and the gaps were stopped immediately. In a battle the Pope fell gravely wounded. Immediately those who were with him helped him up. A second time the Pope was struck, this time he fell and died. The new Pope was so promptly chosen that the enemies begin to lose courage. 

The new Pope overcame all obstacles and enemies and guided the ship right between the two columns. He fastened a chain from the bow of the ship to the column on which stands the host, and fastened a chain from the ship’s stern to the column on which stands a statue of Our Lady. All the ships which had fought against the Pope’s ship were scattered and broken to pieces and other smaller ships which had fought for the Pope’s ship now bound themselves to the same two columns. 

In this remarkable dream-vision experienced by St. John Bosco the Church has two means to save itself in the midst of her persecutions; devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and devotion to Our Lady.

Devotion to The Eucharist – One of the Pillars of Salesian Spirituality:

The second pillar of Don Bosco’s spirituality was devotion to Jesus in the
Eucharist, which he saw as the heart of every Salesian house. 

He used to remind young people: “If you want many graces, pay many visits to Jesus in the Sacrament; if you want few graces, pay him few”. Don Bosco was a “vir eucharisticus“, that is, a saint formed through and through by the Eucharist. He was so passionate about the Eucharist that he communicated his passion to the young people he carefully prepared for communion with the Lord through the sacrament of Reconciliation. 

For Don Bosco, Confession and the Eucharist were the two sacraments that inculcated in young people the Christian virtues and holiness. On this topic he wrote in 1877:

“Frequent Confession, frequent Communion and daily Mass are the pillars that must support an educational building that we desire to protect from threats and scourges. Never force youngsters to receive the holy sacraments, but only encourage them and make it easy for them to do so” (John Bosco, Il sistema preventivo nella educazione della gioventù [1877], n. 4).

The 15-year-old St Dominic Savio is a shining example of this sacramental pedagogy which strengthened his virtuous habits and his union with Jesus, witnessed by his Eucharistic ecstasies during Holy Communion.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard And His Relationship With The Blessed Sacrament

God is there, present in His Divine Son, on the altar, captured beneath the tangible appearances of bread and wine. This is the Mystery of our Faith: Christ truly present, body and blood, soul and divinity on the Catholic altars of the world. This is the Corpus Christi celebrated in centuries-old liturgies and neighborhood processions.  This reality of our Eucharistic Lord and God is the heart of Catholicism, the source of its divine fire, a source which is a stumbling block to an unbelieving world.

Unfortunately, many of the faithful fall prey to the world’s skepticism. That is when God chooses willing souls to reveal the divine fulfillment of man’s yearnings.  Such a chosen soul was Francis of Assisi, whose life of poverty revitalized a materialistic world.  Another was Margaret Mary who spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, battled the devil and touched souls in the confessional. Yet another was Peter Julian Eymard, the Saint of the Eucharist, who lived only for this Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Devoted to the Blessed Sacrament as a Little Boy

For Peter Julian Eymard, who was born in La Mure d’Isere, France, on Feb. 4, 1811, visits to the Blessed Sacrament were as much a daily necessity as food and drink. According to the book, St. Peter Julian Eymard, The Priest of the Eucharist by Rev. Albert Tesniere, SSS, (Eymard League, New York, l962), his mother had set aside frequent time with Christ in the tabernacle and Peter, first as infant, and soon as an active little boy, accompanied his mother without complaint.

Although there is no record of what the youngster thought about this, it is known that at age five, he was found praying while on a ladder behind the tabernacle at church. Why? “Because I can listen to Him better from here” (p.12). Soon he expressed the desire to be a priest and had written in his journal, “Holy Communion – the ambition of my eighth year – the goal of all my efforts” (p.15). He served Mass, read Saints’ lives, and visited the Blessed Sacrament while making deliveries for his father, who was an oil presser.

At age five, St. Peter Julian was found praying while on a ladder behind the tabernacle at church. Why? “Because I can listen to Him better from here” 

At age ten, Peter Julian thought nothing extraordinary of making a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Laus in another town for a retreat. There he poured out his heart to his heavenly Mother and she, in turn, directed him in ways of grace, as she would later on in his life.

The Trials Begin To Test His Destiny As A Priest

As Peter Julian came of age, his father wished to set him up in business and arrange for a marriage. Peter, who usually obeyed his father willingly in all things, refused. He already had been studying Latin in preparation for the priesthood. But Mr. Eymard was adamant, refusing permission and funding for his son to go to school.

This was the first example of the opposition to what Peter Julian discerned to be God’s will for him. Such trials honed his perseverance and trust in Providence to a fine point. Peter Julian attained his education by becoming a scholarship student and doing janitorial duties.  To earn his tuition later on, he even worked as a secretary and servant to a chaplain at an insane asylum. After he finally entered the novitiate of the fledgling Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he was forced by illness to return home in six months: another setback to his priestly calling!

Powered by the Blessed Sacrament, Close to the Blessed Mother

It was only after Peter Julian’s father died the next year that he was able to enter the Major Seminary of Grenoble and resume his studies. It was like coming home at last and Peter Julian’s pursuit of holiness reached new levels. A fellow student wrote: “His love of God shone forth in all his actions; …visiting frequently the Blessed Sacrament caused his fervor to grow daily …His mere presence inspired us with love for virtue” (p. 26). He was considered “truly a model” (p. 27) by his counterparts, as they noted in their own writings.

Peter Julian saw himself in another light. He felt he did not pray enough. “I have not sufficiently shown my love for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament” (p. 27), because of distractions during meditation. He strove for “greater interior silence in God’s presence” (p.27), greater humility.
On July 20, 1834, Peter Julian Eymard was ordained He offered his first Mass in a monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, who had sustained him in his quest for the priesthood.

At the feet of the Tabernacled God

What happens to a parish with a saint-in-the-making for a pastor? In the five years Fr. Eymard served as  diocesan priest in Chatte and Monteynard, the spirituality of his congregations deepened. The poor, the sick, the sinful, were inspired by this humble servant: his preaching on the love of the Eucharistic Lord and his hours of adoration before this Love of his life drew them to him and fired their lives with the same love of God.

For Fr. Eymard, his outward labors were a “Calvary of obedience, of self-denial, and of crucifixion.”  He preferred to dwell “at the feet of (his) tabernacled God” (p.38).

In 1839, Fr. Eymard began his sojourn with the Society of Mary. Hardly had he learned of the Order’s existence than he knew it was the place for him. He sought and received – after prayer and much soul-searching – permission to leave the ranks of the diocesan priesthood and become a servant of his Blessed Lady as a Marist.

Like Father Ciszek, St. Peter Julian Eymard Found God’s Will in Obedience to Providence (Circumstance)

Peter Julian saw before him his life’s task: sanctity. He also saw that to accomplish this, he should be “in a state of perfect self-surrender and of abnegation” (p. 42), to let himself be guided to do the immediate good. Obeying the wishes of God as revealed by his religious superiors was one way to do this.

Thus Fr. Eymard humbly accepted the almost immediate appointment as spiritual director at the Order’s boarding school at Belley, where he became  a source of inspiration. He breathed new life into the students’ Sodality of the Blessed Virgin there and at a nearby cathedral. His influence was to such a degree that a student said, “When Fr. Eymard comes, how happy we are; we feel all afire” (p.46). Fr.  Eymard was afire as well, his dominant thought being His Lord and God in the Blessed Sacrament.

The Blessed Virgin has led me to Our Lord

It was while wearing the blue cape of Mary’s Society – soon as the Order’s Provincial, Assistant and Visitor Generals, Director of the soon revitalized Third Order of Mary, and later as superior at a boarding school – that Fr. Eymard made his total commitment to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He liked to say that “the Blessed Virgin has led me to Our Lord” (p.42). In fact, she provided a training ground for him as his thoughts became concentrated on spreading devotion to the Eucharistic Lord.

The pull of Christ on Fr. Eymard’s life was continuous and strong. Our Lord revealed to him that a congregation dedicated to adoring the Eucharistic Christ was going to be his life’s work (p.54) and then, in l853, while at prayer, Fr. Eymard was shown by Our Lord that the time had come for this work to begin, even if it meant leaving everything, including his home for 17 years, his beloved Marist Order.

From the Marists to the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

The decision to leave the Society of Mary met with great opposition from his Superiors and only Fr. Eymard’s conviction that he was doing God’s will sustained him. Eventually he was released from his vows as a Marist and with his friend, Fr. deCuers, set about the work of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Property was leased from the Archbishop of Paris and on the Feast of Corpus Christi, June l, l856, the first house of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament opened on rue l’Enfer.

Just because a work of God is undertaken doesn’t mean things are destined to run smoothly. In fact, the opposite appears to occur. Vocations were slow in coming.  Priests who came did not persevere. Money donations were few – a constant worry to Fr. deCuers – so that the purchase of even so small an item as altar candles was at times questionable.  And hardly had enough vocations allowed Solemn Exposition to begin than notification came that the priests would have to move because the building would be needed by the new archbishop of Paris.

Trials Further Refine his Trust in Divine Providence

With characteristic trust in Divine Providence, Fr. Eymard depended on God to show him the place that would be suitable. And so it was. A scant few days before the eviction from rue l’Enfer, another home for the Congregation was found at rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, destined to become, as Fr. Eymard called it, the “Chapel of Miracles” (p.99). From this location, the Order began to grow, the effects of their Eucharistic apostolate reaching deeply into the souls of all with whom they came into contact. No small part in this growth was played by Fr. Eymard himself who preached about his Eucharistic Lord at every chance.

The Purpose of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament had a two-fold purpose in Fr. Eymard’s mind:

• First and foremost was perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• The other mission of the Order was the promotion of Eucharistic devotion, not only through Eucharistic leagues for priests and laity but in bringing Christ to the unchurched. 

Those youth who had not received their First Communion or had not even been instructed in their Faith were Fr. Eymard’s targets.

Catechizing these stray sheep was an important job for the new religious order. Through the youth, the adults were reached, marriages validated. Fr. Eymard sponsored retreats, performed marriages, conducted First Communion celebrations for the poor families he sought out.

The following years were busy for Fr. Eymard. Three houses had to be established before formal canonical approbation could be given for the Order from Rome.  As the Congregation’s reputation grew, other cities wanted their presence. Marseilles, in 1859, saw the foundation of the second house of the Congregation, under the direction of Fr. deCuers. There, with Fr. Leroyer, the Congregation bore much fruit. Within two years, the People’s Eucharistic League — formed for lay adorers for the Blessed Sacrament – numbered 3000.

A third house came in 1862 in Angers. Fr. Eymard had spent a long time there trying to find a house. Everything seemed to work against him. Finally, he decided to stop at a Carmelite Monastery to beg for prayers. After telling the nuns what he needed, the Mother Superior said their church was available if the priests would be their chaplains.

With the third house established, the Order sought and received canonical approval, the letter arriving on the eve of Corpus Christi, June 3, 1863.

As the Congregation Grew, Eymard Establishes the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament

In addition to work with the men’s Order, Fr. Eymard established a religious order for women, the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament. They were named for Our Blessed Lady who had likened herself to a Servant of God; their purpose was adoration and catechizing of young girls who had not been instructed in their Faith and/or who had not yet made their First Holy Communion.

Marguerite Guillot had come in contact with Fr. Eymard at one of the schools he had supervised. She placed herself under his spiritual direction and they kept up a correspondence for years. When the idea of a religious order for honoring the Blessed Sacrament was made known to Fr. Eymard, he knew it meant Orders for both men and women (p.172) and he had no doubts who would be the eventual superior of the women.

When Providence showed him that the time had come for official formation to begin, Fr. Eymard summoned Miss Guillot and on July l, 1858, the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament were officially established. As with the men’s Order, other houses followed, with canonical approval coming in 1885.

Amid all of this work, establishing religious houses preaching, travelling to Brussels, Jerusalem, and Rome, and the cares of running a religious order, Fr. Eymard continued his personal adoration of his Eucharistic Lord. His preaching drew crowds who saw him for the saint he was. Yet, it was not enough.

About a retreat in Rome, Fr. Eymard wrote, “Our Lord has given me to understand that I have hitherto limited myself to exterior manifestations of my love…I have been carried on by the enthusiasm of feverish activity, with the sad result that my piety became emotional, my union with God momentary, and my fervor nothing more than a passing sentiment…” (p.191).  His remedy? Immolation of personality.  “Our Lord does not ask for my gift but myself” (p.191). He felt he was inconstant in mind, heart and will, not yet concentrating on God enough. He felt he needed  greater personal self-denial.

Let us Bless the cross which God sends us…

With this attitude, Fr. Eymard wanted to become a mere member of his religious order. That way he could concentrate on remedying his own weakness. When he convoked the first formal General Chapter meeting, he instructed his brothers not to consider him for Superior General. His request was ignored and he saw in his election a Calvary. “Divine love, it is said, always enters one’s heart by a fresh wound. It takes pleasure in riddling the heart in order that its heavenly flame may penetrate it through and through. Let us bless the cross which God sends us…(p.209).

Further Trials Tempt Eymard’s Faith

The last years of Fr. Eymard’s life were heaped with sufferings. Rheumatism and neuralgia plagued him physically. Spiritually, he experienced great aridity; he described it in his journal: God “draws a veil over one’s mind and crushes one’s heart.  He plunges one’s soul into darkness and into temptations against faith and confidence in His goodness; no peace is left to it.

The Congregation suffered many setbacks which added deeply to Fr. Eymard’s grief. In l867, the houses on rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques and in Angers had to be relocated.

The unexpected necessity of razing the building found in Angers created a huge debt. The Sisters’ house in Nemours had to be closed as well.  In addition, Fr. deCuers, trusted first companion of Fr. Eymard, had requested leave from the Order to start a new one.  Fr.  Eymard urged him to work at this from within the ranks of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, but never lived to see Fr. deCuers give up his project and return his whole attention to their Order.

Eventually, Fr. Eymard’s physical ailments reigned over him. He was pain-wracked and subject to paralysis. He was growing weaker, yet he preached Christ in the Eucharist as long as he was able. One of his last admonitions to the faithful was to strive for faith in the Holy Eucharist. “You have the Eucharist! What more do you want?”

The Incorrupt Body of St. Peter Julian Eymard

Peter Julian Eymard died Aug. 1, 1868 and was buried in the graveyard of his home parish in La Mure d’Isere. But even in death, he was a lesson to the faithful.  In l877, the grave was opened to take the remains to Paris. There it was found that while the coffin was falling to pieces, the body was not.
“There he is! It is indeed he!” witnesses exclaimed. Fr. Eymard was incorrupt, with no odor or sign of decay except a darkening of the body (The Incorruptibles, Cruz, TAN, l977, p. 280).

The body has since decayed and only bones remain which are now encased for veneration in the Corpus Christi Chapel (Tesniere, p. 245). Canonization of the Saint of the Eucharist came in 1962 at the Second Vatican Council.

The essence of Fr. Peter Julian Eymard’s life was Christ present in the Holy Eucharist. In Him all acts were to begin and end. With Him all life could be transformed.  But even so elemental a Catholic truth was not and is not universally accepted, even by priests.

Fr.  Eymard wrote, “There is no longer question of defending some truth of our Faith, but of defending the God of truth who is attacked everywhere; …of serving Our Lord abandoned in the Blessed Sacrament.  We must fight against the great evil of the day: religious indifference…” (p.122). Fr. Eymard burned to bring all to Christ. “Jesus is there! Everybody to Him!” he wrote (p. 127).

Is Adoration Still Possible Today?

Adoration. Not the trifling kind as tossed about in reference to music and movie idols, and even chocolate or perfume, but rather a true, humble bowing to something holy. Such a thing is foreign to our modern minds because of our immense human pride. To adore means to acknowledge One greater and worthy of this honor. Is this relevant in this day and age, when man has elevated himself to deity status?

Perhaps Eucharistic adoration is even more necessary now than in the centuries past. Love for God has grown more cold than ever before. Man is forever seeking purpose and place, a cause upon which to focus, but all of these are fleeting.

What he desires can be fulfilled in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. There the spark of the divine is waiting to be fanned into a wildfire of love to truly renew the face of the earth. All that is needed is a humbly bent knee and willing, open hearts. Corpus Christi – the Body of Christ Himself – is there to do the rest.

Credits : The Bellarmine Forum 

The Solid Like A Rock Devotion Of Saint Thomas Aquinas To The Person Of Jesus Christ

The Eucharistic theology of Thomas Aquinas is remarkable for its clarity and perception. But Thomas was not only able to set it out masterfully; his contemplation of the Eucharist was so intense that it tapped a poetic vein and enabled him to imbue with lyrical tones a dogmatic language so perfect and refined as to produce sequences and hymns that we all know and still sing.

Moreover, a very deep devotion to the Body and Blood of Christ was part of the Angelic Doctor's life, which was, as it were, sealed by passionate prayer to the Blessed Sacrament.

His biographer, William of Tocco, says that before receiving Viaticum in the guest room of the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanuova, where he had arrived exhausted and consumed by the effort of study and teaching, Thomas prayed: "I receive you, price of my soul's redemption, I receive you, Viaticum of my pilgrimage: for love of you I have studied, watched and toiled".

Passion for The Blessed Sacrament combined with scientific rigour:

It does not take long, however, for those who attentively study Thomas' texts on the Eucharist and become familiar with them, to realize that the precision of his concepts and the rigour of his analysis not only do not quench his passionate feeling for the Blessed Sacrament but, on the contrary, express it and are a perceptive and eloquent sign of it.

If the theological context with its debates and problems multiplies even the most subtle and, in our view today, superfluous points, it can be noted that after their ramifications and discussions, they are finally led back to the heart of Catholic Eucharistic theology, which is "the memorial of Christ's Passion" (cf. Summa Theologiae, III, 76, 2, 2m), just as they flowed from this heart.

In reviewing the writings of Thomas that are dedicated to this memorial and tracing its content, we realize that we have before us the most enlightening and complete synthesis of the Catholic faith concerning the mystery of the Eucharist.

We also see that there are no grounds for criticizing his prevalent reduction to philosophy, which was believed to impoverish Thomas' Eucharistic thought by abstracting it from the concreteness and the promptings of Scripture, the liturgy and Patristic tradition.

For an understanding of the Eucharist in Thomas Aquinas, it is important first of all to indicate where it is situated by the ordo disciplinae, or where he places it in the theological plan of his Summa Theologica.

Obviously, St Thomas places Eucharist among the sacraments, which in turn are considered after Christology and, significantly, after the theology of the mysteries of Christ: indeed, the sacraments "derive their efficacy from the Word Incarnate himself" (Summa, III, 60, Introduction), which it is their task to incorporate.

"Through the sacraments of the New Law man is incorporated with Christ" (Summa, III, 62, 1, 3m).
"The sacraments... flow from Christ himself, and have a certain likeness to him" (Summa, III 60, 6, 3m). Indeed, "the sacraments... obtain their effect through the power of Christ's Passion; and Christ's Passion is, so to say, applied to man (applicatur) through the sacraments" (Summa, III, 61, 1, 3m).
Thomas continues by stating: "The sacraments of the Church derive their power specially from Christ's Passion, the virtue of which is in a manner united to us (nobis copulatur) by our receiving the sacraments" (Summa, II, 62, 5, 1); "the power of Christ's Passion is united to us by faith and the sacraments", so that its "continuation" (continuatio) will result (Summa, II, 62, 6, c.).He was also to explain, in treating Baptism, that it "derives its efficacy from Christ's Passion and from the Holy Ghost" (Summa, III, 66, 12, c.).

Sacrament of the Eucharist: threefold significance:

This is what an interpretation of the whole of salvation history considers the most splendid of Thomas' affirmations: "A sacrament is a sign that is both a reminder of the past, that is, the Passion of Christ; and an indication of that which is effected in us by Christ's Passion, that is, grace; and a prognostic (precognosticum), that is, a foretelling (praenuntiativum) of future glory" (Summa, III, 60, 3, c.).

What Thomas says here of every sacrament he was to say, indeed to sing, for the Eucharist: "This sacrament has a threefold significance: one with regard to the past, inasmuch as it is commemorative of our Lord's Passion, which was a true sacrifice, as stated above, and in this respect it is called a Sacrifice.

"With regard to the present it has another meaning, namely, that of ecclesiastical unity, in which men are aggregated through this sacrament; and in this respect it is called Communion....
"With regard to the future it has a third meaning, inasmuch as this sacrament foreshadows the Divine fruition which shall come to pass in heaven; and according to this it is called Viaticum, because it supplies the way of winning thither" (Summa, III, 73, 4, c.).

We find the Christian event fully present in the Eucharist, which is also the perfect initiation to it. The fact that in the treatment of the sacraments the Holy Eucharist follows Baptism and Confirmation does not prevent it from being "the sacrament" par excellence, the "summit" or "completion of the sacraments" and the one to which all the other sacraments relate.

The Eucharist is, as it were, "the consummation of the spiritual life, and the end of all the sacraments" (Summa, III, 73, 3, c.).

The reason for this, St Thomas explains, lies in the fact that whereas the energy — "vis" or "virtus" — of the Passion of Christ is active in the other sacraments, the Eucharist contains "Christ's own Body" (Summa, III, 73, 1, 3m); in Scholastic language, Christ is present as "the common spiritual good of the whole Church... contained substantially in the sacrament itself of the Eucharist" (Summa, III, 65, 3, 1), in order to bring man to full communion with Christ in the Passion (cf. Summa, III, 73, 2, 3m).

The Eucharist, sign of supreme love and hope:

In other words, if every sacrament is rooted in Christ's Passion, the Eucharist is the perfect sign of this. As the Angelic Doctor wrote: The Eucharist "is perfective of all the other sacraments, in which Christ's virtue is participated" (Summa, III, 75, 1, c.).

"When Christ was going to leave his disciples in his proper species, he left himself with them under the sacramental species". Jesus instituted the sacrament so that "there should be at all times among men something to show forth our Lord's Passion", given that "without
faith in the Passion there could never be any salvation" (Summa, III, 73, 5, c.).

St Thomas also writes that "in our pilgrimage, [Christ] does not deprive us of his bodily presence, but unites us with himself in this sacrament through the truth of his Body and Blood" (Summa, III, 75, 1, c.), always seen in their sacrificial condition".

"Hence, this sacrament is the sign of supreme charity, and the uplifter of our hope, from such familiar union of Christ with us" (Summa, III, 75, 1, c.).

Thomas often uses the terms "sacrament", "representation" (repraesentatio) and representative (repraesentativus), "memory" or "memorial". This is not to indicate a simple, transient reminder of a reality that in any case has passed, but the truth of a real, substantial presence of the Passion event in the person of Christ who suffered.

Theology, starting with Casel in particular, was to affirm that the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Passion "event".

I believe that Thomas' theology, in different language and exempt from the later explicit classification by theme, says the same thing; in other words, Thomas teaches that in the modality of the signs, by attaining and receiving "Christ who suffered", we enter into real communion with that event.

"The sacrifices of the Old Law contained only in figure that true sacrifice of Christ's Passion", whereas, "it was necessary that the sacrifice of the New Law instituted by Christ should have something more, namely, that it should contain Christ himself crucified, not merely in signification or figure, but also in very truth" (Summa, III, 75, 1, c.).

The Eucharist represents the Passion of Christ:

This is like saying that Christ's sacrifice is truly and effectively active in the Eucharist. The value and efficacy of Christ's Passion converge in the Eucharist on the basis of the presence, precisely, of "Christ who suffered".

For Thomas, as we have seen, Christ's Passion "comes alive" in every sacrament. This happens in the Eucharist because it is the Christ of the Passion in person or the Christ who suffered and is "available" to you, who institutes its actuality. The anti-Berengarian profile is clearly evoked by Thomas and, precisely in the language of "representation", is realistically recapitulated in that of "representation".

To emphasize further the realism of the presence of the Passion, Thomas writes: "What is represented by this sacrament... is Christ's Passion ('Quod repraesentatur est passio Christi'). And therefore this sacrament works in man the effect which Christ's Passion wrought in the world.

"Hence, Chrysostom says", commenting on the words of John, "'Immediately there came out blood and water (19:34). Since the sacred mysteries derive their origin from thence, when you draw nigh to the awe-inspiring chalice, so approach as if you were going to drink from Christ's own side"' (Summa, III, 79, 1, c.).

Thomas' words, borrowed from the Greek Father, could not be more perceptive and moving as they are when he repeats: "There is but one victim, namely, that which Christ offered, and which we offer" (Summa, III, 83, 1, 1m); and this explains the reason that "by this sacrament, we are made partakers of the fruit of our Lord's Passion".

"Hence, in one of the Sunday Secrets we say: 'Whenever the commemoration of this sacrifice is celebrated, the work of our redemption is enacted'" (Summa, III, 83, 1, c.); thus, "it is proper to this sacrament for Christ to be sacrificed in its celebration", for the Old Testament contains only figures of his sacrifice (Summa, III, 83, 1, c.).