Fr. Lucas Etlin - Holy Eucharist Our All

The Holy Eucharist Our All

Fr. Lukas Etlin, O.S.B.

Nihil Obstat:	Stephen Schappler, O.S.B.
Abbot Coadjutor
Immaculate Conception Province
Imprimatur:	Charles Hubert Le Blond
Bishop of St. Joseph

Originally published by the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration, Clyde, Missouri.

Retypeset and republished in 1999 by TAN Books.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 99-70788

ISBN: 978-0-89555-649-3

TAN Books

Charlotte, North Carolina

www.TANBooks.com

The Heavenly Father, in giving us Jesus, His beloved Son, has with Him, given us all things. (Romans 8:32).

Behold the Bread of Angels made the Food of men!

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Our God and Our All

D URING the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinian, A.D. 527, the city of Antioch was repeatedly shaken by violent earthquakes. People found no other means of safety than that of inscribing on their doors the words which were revealed to a faithful servant of God: Christus nobiscum; state!Christ is with us; stand firm. All the houses whose doors bore this inscription are said to have been preserved from the ruin which threatened them, while the others were shattered and crushed.

It is similar with those souls who love and serve God. In the midst of a Godless world there is but one means of preservation from eternal ruin, one means of perseverance in the great tribulation of lifefaithful adherence to the Most Blessed Sacrament, to the God-man concealed beneath the form of bread and wine. The words, Jesus Christ is with me; stand firm, should be engraven in the heart of every Christian. Protected by this shield, the servants of God will remain firm in the Faith, even though all about them totter and fall.

Our devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament must be true and tender; it must show itself by our assisting at Holy Massnot only on Sundays, but also on weekdays, as far as the duties of our state allow. Above all, our love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist must manifest itself by a frequent reception of Holy Communion, by visits to the Prisoner in the Tabernacle, and by a penetrating faith in this Mystery of Love.

In a word, our life must be a life in Christ, rooted in the Holy Eucharist. With St. Ignatius we must be able to say, To withdraw from creatures and repose with Jesus in the Tabernacle is my delight; there I can hide myself and seek rest. There I find a life which I cannot describe, a joy which I cannot make others comprehend, a peace such as is found only under the hospitable roof of our best Friend.

Jesus in the Tabernacle protects me against all my enemies: against the evil spirits, the world, my own wicked passions and evil inclinations. He is my support in weakness, my comfort in suffering, my weapon in combat, my refreshment in heat, food for my hungry soul, my stimulus when I am exhaustedHe is my Heaven on earth. Jesus in the Tabernacle is my riches in poverty, my defense in calumny, my crown in misfortune. Jesus in the Tabernacle is my God and my All!

Chapter 2

Our Companion in Exile

W ITHOUT the Holy Eucharist, earth would seem to us empty, the temple of God desolate, the soul cold, the heart isolated. O God, this earth is a vale of tears where I weep and sigh! It is a Mount of Olives where I drink the bitter chalice of life. Here I cannot remain alonealone with people who are careless and indifferent to my suffering; I have need of Thee!

Were our Saviour not present in His Adorable Sacrament, where could we find Him? In His holy Scriptures? Yes, but in these He speaks from afar, and the past cannot satisfy us. Contemplating Him in His glory in Heaven would but increase our longing. We cannot live on meditation and desires alone. But, oh, mercy and love of our Saviour! He foresaw all this and for that reason instituted this Miracle of Love, the Holy Eucharist.

When Jesus gives Himself to us in this Sacrament, we possess Him as holy Simeon did when he held Him as an infant in his arms; as Magdalen did when she caressed and kissed His feet; as St. John did when he reposed on His Heart. Jesus has unweariedly followed us from the Crib to Calvary; from Calvary to the Tabernacle; from the Tabernacle to the hands of the priest; from the hands of the priest to our heart.

We receive Himbut how? We should receive Him with faith, because we believe Him to be there present, even as He was present in the Crib when the Wise Men saw and adored Him. We should believe as St. Peter did when he cried out, Indeed, thou art the Son of God! (Matt. 14:33).

We should approach Him with a living faith, with a deep sense of our unworthiness, but no less with confidence and unfaltering trust, a trust without limit and reservation. The measure of confidence is without measure, says St. Francis de Sales.

Therefore, let the flame of our faith be bright; let our confidence be unlimited; but above all, let our love be aglow. Jesus desires to be loved. St. Bernard, during a vision in which the Holy Child appeared to him, cried out, Jesus! Jesus! King David prophesied that Thou art great and admirable, but I say Thou art little and exceedingly lovable.

Yes, Jesus wills to be loved; let us give Him our love. Though we may have squandered the powers of our soul, perverted the safeguards of our heart, our Saviour is ready to receive this wreck of humanity, if only we return with sorrow and love.

Chapter 3

The Great Gift of God

T HE Most Blessed Sacrament is the Memorial of Divine Love. Our Lord did something infinitely great when He gave Himself wholly to us through His living and personal presence in the adorable Eucharist. Our Saviour could not possibly have given us a greater, a more tender and a more ardent proof of love. It is beyond human intellect to grasp and understand this love. Not even the highest of celestial spirits are capable of comprehending or penetrating the infinite and unfathomable depths of this love. In wondrous amazement the angelic hosts offer praise and adoration to their God made man, present under the species of bread. But let us ask:

For whom is Jesus present?

For whom does He offer Himself?

To whom does He give Himself as Food?

Ah! stammers the poor, sinful creature, Not an Angel of Heaven, no, but II, a perishable child of eartham the happy recipient of such wondrous love! What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? (Ps. 8:5) asked the Psalmist in astonishment, as he beheld the magnificence of God reflected in the visible creation; and still greater was his astonishment when, with prophetic eye, he contemplated human nature favored by the Incarnation of the Son of God.

And we? What shall we exclaim when we look into the Tabernacle and ponder the ineffable love that urges Our Lord to remain personally near us, to bestow upon us, not only countless graces, but