And here is June that in which we rejoice since we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus! As to better prepare ourselves, the month begins with a solemnity also dear to all the committed: the Body and Blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
If on Holy Thursday, we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ allows us to deepen the mystery of the real Presence under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, and this, not only during the celebration of the Mass, but also of the real Presence of Jesus in all the tabernacles of our churches! This presence, though often manifested by a lit night light, does not always attract our attention or even any reverence on our part. Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud challenges us on this subject:
The real Presence
Under the apparent fragility of the host, the Body and the Blood, the soul and the divinity of Jesus are really present. None of us think about challenging it but are we still well aware of it? A living, active, and practical faith is too often lacking. If we truly knew the precious gift that God gives us by making ourselves alive in his Eucharist, we would not be able to resist the attraction of his Presence. Like angels, we would remain in perpetual adoration.
It is true that the Eucharist is a mystery of faith, but to know it one must approach it, one must contemplate, adore and especially love it! Who will say with what the ardor Jesus-Host calls us at his feet, the eagerness with which He welcomes us, his joy when we expose to him our distresses, our needs, our miseries? Who will say especially the tremors of his tenderness when he sees us entering the Holy Place?
Alas, the whirlwind of our affairs, the solicitudes of life, the concerns of all kinds lead us to the material, the sensitive and because our God is veiled in the form of a humble host of bread we forget it without even a sigh of our heart. Ignorant as we are, we become enemies of our own happiness!
The guards of honor have no other mission than to love, to console the Heart of Jesus for all those who outrage it . Let us yield to no one else the happiness of loving better Jesus-Eucharist prisoner of the tabernacles of our churches. We will draw from it the forces necessary for our lives and will receive treasures of its tenderness. (Sr. Bernaud)
“Lord Jesus, present in the Tabernacle, I offer you this hour with all my actions, my joys and my sorrows to glorify your Heart by this testimony of love and reparation. “