AT HIS FEET: Inspirations for Eucharistic Prayer Before the Lord of Love in the Eucharist

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Jesus said, I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven… Jesus took bread, and said: This is my Body, which is given up for you… As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in in my love. (Jn 6:51; Lk 22:19; Jn 15:9)

I believe whatever the Son of God has said. Nothing is truer than the Word of Truth. (St. Thomas Aaquinas)

Some people say, If only I had lived at the time of Jesus... If only I had seen Jesus... If only I had talked with Jesus... But do we not have in the Eucharist the living, true and real Jesus present before us? Why look for more? (St. Teresa of Avila)

Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less powerful, no less generous in the Blessed Sacrament than he was during his mortal life on earth. (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier)

The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself. (St. Peter Eymard)

The Eucharist is everything, because from the Eucharist, everything is. (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

It is Jesus. He is alive. In the Eucharist, we go to a living encounter with Jesus. (Pope Francis)  

Jesus said, I thirst… I so ardently thirst to be loved by men in the Most Blessed Sacrament that this thirst devours me. ((Jn 19: 28; Jesus to St. Margaret Mary)

Do you realize that Jesus is there in the Blessed Sacrament expressly for you, for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart. (St.Therese of Lisieux)

Each time you approach the Blessed Sacrament remember that Jesus has been waiting for you for twenty centuries for this personal visit from you. (St. Josemaría)

How kind is our Sacramental Jesus! He welcomes you at any hour of the day or night. His Love never knows rest. He is always most gentle towards you. When you visit Him, He forgets your sins and speaks only of His joy, His tenderness, and His Love. By the reception He gives to you, one would think He has need of you to make Him happy. (St. Peter Eymard)

Frequently, only silence can express my prayer. However, this Divine Guest of the tabernacle understands all, even the silence of a child’s soul filled with gratitude. When I am before the tabernacle, I can say only one thing to Our Lord: ‘My God, you know that I love you’ and I feel my prayer does not tire Jesus; knowing my weakness, He is satisfied with my good will. (St.Therese of Lisieux)

I devoutly adore you, O hidden Deity, / Who truly dwell hidden beneath these signs. / To you my whole heart surrenders, / For in contemplating you, all else seems vain. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

O fire of love! Was it not enough to gift us with creation in your image and likeness, and to create us anew to grace in your Son’s blood, without giving us yourself as food, the whole of divine being, the whole of God? What drove you? Nothing but your charity, mad with love as you are! (St. Catherine of Siena)

Consider what is most beautiful and most noble on earth, what pleases the mind and the other faculties, and what delights the flesh and the senses And the world, and the other worlds that shine in the night: the whole universe. Well this, along with all the follies of the heart satisfied, is worth nothing, is nothing and less than nothing compared... with this God of mine!—of yours! Infinite treasure, pearl of great price, humbled, become a slave, reduced to the form of a servant in the stable where he chose to be born, in Joseph’s workshop, in his passion and in his ignominious death... and in the madness of Love, the blessed Eucharist. (St. Josemaría)

Look upon the hour of adoration assigned to you as an hour in paradise. Go to your adoration as one would to heaven, to the divine banquet. (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven, and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth. (St. Mother Teresa)

The Kingdom of God...is brought near in the Word incarnate...it has come in Christ’s death and Resurrection...In the Eucharist, it is in our midst. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2816)

O memorial of our Lord’s death, / Living Bread that gives life to man. /Grant that my soul may live by you, / And always savor your sweetness. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Jesus is inside an abandoned tabernacle. The Heart of Jesus in the tabernacle looks at me. He looks at me always. He looks at me everywhere. He looks at me as if he doesn’t have anyone else to look at but me. He is in desperate need of a friend. His gaze was telling me much and asking me for more: a gaze reflecting all the sadness of the Gospels: “No room in the inn;” “Do you also want to leave me?” (cf. St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia)

Be a eucharistic soul! —If the center around which your thoughts and hopes turn is the Tabernacle, then, my child, how abundant the fruits of your sanctity and apostolate will be! (St. Josemaría)

How great is the value of conversation with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness! (St. Pope Paul VI)

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GABAY SA MISA: Ilang sagot ng bayan sa Misa at patnubay upang matanggap ang naguumapaw na grasya at pag-ibig ng Diyos sa Eukaristia

Walang higit na mabisa para abutin ang Diyos at ang kanyang mga pagpapala kaysa sa Eukaristiya. (cf S Pablo VI)

I-download ang isang pahinang Gabay sa Misa dito. 

ANO ANG SANTA MISA?

- Ginagawang presente ang sakrispiyo ni Kristo sa krus (CCC 1323, 1330, 1366,1353)

- Mismong sakripisyo ng Katawan at Dugo ni Hesus; Pag-alala sa pagdurusa at muling pagkabuhay ni Hesus (Compendium 271; CCC 1330)

- Tanda ng pagkakaisa, buklod ng pag-ibig, at piging ng Paskuwa, pangako ng darating na kaluwalhatian. (Compendium 271)

- Ganap na pagpapahayag ng walang-hanggang pag-ibig ng Diyos (S. Juan Pablo II) Pinagmulan at tugatog ng buhay Kristiyano  (CCC 1324)

PAGKILALA SA MGA KASALANAN

Pinagdurusa ng ating kasalanan si Kristo sa krus. (cf. CCC 598)

Inaamin ko sa makapangyarihang Diyos, at sa inyo, mga kapatid, na lubha akong nagkasala (Dadagok ang lahat sa dibdib) sa isip, sa salita, sa gawa at sa aking pagkukulang. Kaya isinasamo ko sa Mahal na Birheng Maria, sa lahat ng mga anghel at mga banal at sa inyo, mga kapatid, na ako’y ipanalangin sa Panginoong ating Diyos.

PAPURI SA DIYOS: Pagkilala sa kadakilaan ng Diyos

Papuri sa Diyos sa kaitaasan at sa lupa’y kapayapaan sa mga taong kinalulugdan niya. Pinupuri ka namin, dinarangal ka namin, sinasamba ka namin, ipinagbubunyi ka namin, pinasasalamatan ka namin, dahil sa dakila mong angking kapurihan. Panginoong Diyos, Hari ng langit, Diyos, Amang makapangyarihan sa lahaBayan:  Panginoong Hesukristo, Bugtong na Anak, Panginoong Diyos, Kordero ng Diyos, Anak ng Ama. Ikaw na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, maawa ka sa amin. Ikaw na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, tanggapin mo ang aming kahilingan. Ikaw na naluluklok sa kanan ng Ama, maawa ka sa amin. Sapagka’t ikaw lamang ang banal, ikaw lamang ang Panginoon, ikaw lamang, O Hesukristo, ang Kataas-taasan, kasama ng Espiritu Santo sa kadakilaan ng Diyos Ama. Amen.

PAGPAPAHAYAG NG SALITA NG DIYOS

Diyos mismo ang nagsasalita. (GIRM) Makinig nang mabuti, at hangarin ang pagtupad ng kalooban ng Diyos araw araw. 

Papuri sa iyo, Panginoon.

Pinupuri ka namin, Panginoong Hesukristo.

SUMASAMPALATAYA: Sa Santatlong Diyos at ang kanyang mga biyaya ng pag-ibig para sa atin

Sumasampalataya ako sa Diyos Amang makapangyarihan sa lahat, na may gawa ng langit at lupa. Sumasampalataya ako kay Hesukristo, iisang Anak ng Diyos, Panginoon nating lahat. Nagkatawang-tao siya lalang ng Espiritu Santo, ipinanganak ni Santa Mariang Birhen. Pinagpakasakit ni Poncio Pilato, ipinako sa krus, namatay, inilibing. Nanaog sa kinaroroonan ng mga yumao. Nang may ikatlong araw nabuhay na mag-uli. Umakyat sa langit,  Naluluklok sa kanan ng Diyos Amang makapangyarihan sa lahat.  Doon magmumulang paririto at huhukom sa nangabubuhay at nangamatay na tao. Sumasampalataya naman ako sa Diyos Espiritu Santo, sa banal na Simbahang Katolika, sa kasamahan ng mga banal, sa kapatawaran ng mga kasalanan, sa pagkabuhay na muli ng nangamatay na tao at sa buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.

PAGHAHANDA NG MGA ALAY

Iniaalay natin ang ating buong buhay at ang buong daigdig, kasama ng tinapay at ng alak—para sa lahat ng tao, at lalo na para sa ating mga mahal sa buhay, mga kakilala at mga nangangailangan.

Kapuri-puri ang Poong Maykapal ngayon at kailanman!

Tanggapin nawa ng Panginoon itong paghahain sa iyong mga kamay sa kapurihan niya at karangalan sa ating kapakinabangan at sa buong Sambayanan niyang banal.

SANTO: Patikim ng liturhiya sa langit, pananabik sa pagdating ni Kristo sa Eukaristia

Kasama natin ang hukbo ng mga anghel, lahat ng mga santo, at ang buong sangnilikha sa pagpupuri sa Diyos na Santatlo.

Santo, santo, santo, Panginoong Diyos ng mga hukbo. Napupuno ang langit at lupa ng kadakilaan mo. Osana sa kaitaasan! Pinagpala ang naparirito sa ngalan ng Panginoon. Osana sa kaitaasan!

TRANSUBSTANSAYON: Ito ang Aking Katawan; Ito ang Kalis ng Aking Dugo

Ito ang pinakasentro ng Misa: Ginagawang presente ni Hesus at ng Espiritu Santo ang katawan at dugo ni Kristo, ang sakrisyo ni Kristo sa krus. (cf CCC 1353)  Sambahin at ibigin natin si Jesus. Mamangha tayo sa kanyang presensya at kabaliwan ng pag-ibig—buong pag-aalay ng sarili.

MISTERYO NG PANANAMPALATAYA

Si Kristo’y namatay! Si Kristo’y nabuhay!

Si Kristo’y babalik sa wakas ng panahon!

AMA NAMIN:  Maayos at perpektong panalangin ni Hesus

Ama namin, sumasalangit ka. Sambahin ang ngalan mo. Mapasaamin ang kaharian mo. Sundin ang loob mo dito sa lupa para nang sa langit. Bigyan mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw. At patawarin mo kami sa aming mga sala para nang pagpapatawad namin sa nagkakasala sa amin. At huwag mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso. At iadya mo kami sa lahat ng masama.

DOKSOLOHIYA: Liturhikong panalangin sa langit

Sapagka’t iyo ang kaharian at ang kapangyarihan at ang kapurihan magpakailanman! Amen.

KORDERO NG DIYOS: Hesus, ang ating pagbabayad-sala 

Kordero ng Diyos, na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, maawa ka sa amin.

Kordero ng Diyos, na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, maawa ka sa amin.

Kordero ng Diyos, na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan, ipagkaloob mo sa amin ang kapayapaan.

KOMUNYON:  Malapit at matalik na pakikipag-isa kay Kristo na muling nabuhay

Panginoon, hindi ako karapat-dapat na magpatuloy sa iyo nguni’t sa isang salita mo lamang ay gagaling na ako.

“Nandito si Hesus. Siya ay buhay.” (Francisco)

“Ang pagtinging nabihag ng pag-ibig ni Maria sa mukha ng bagong silang na Kristo ang ating huwaran ng pag-ibig sa Komunyon” (cf. S. Juan Pablo II)

Pinakamahalagang utos ni Jesus para sa araw-araw na buhay: Ibigin mo ang Panginoon mong Diyos nang buong puso, nang buong kaluluwa, nang buong pag-iisip, at nang buong lakas… Ibigin mo ang iyong kapwa gaya ng iyong sarili alang-alang sa Diyos.  (Mk 12:28–31; CCC 1822)

I-download ang isang pahinang Gabay sa Misa dito. 

BASAHIN DIN: 

Bakit Tayo Nagsisimba? 

Kumpisal: Simpleng Dahilan, Simpleng Paraan

Opus Dei: Inquiry into the "Monster" by Patrice de Plunkett

 L'Opus Dei : enquête sur le "monstre" (English: Opus Dei: Inquiry into the "Monster") is a French-language journalistic and historical work of Patrice de Plunkett about Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church. Plunkett was the editor of the French magazine Le Figaro. His book was released on 17 May 2006, the debut of the film The Da Vinci Code which portrayed Opus Dei in a negative light.^[1] The purpose of the book is to inform the public about the Catholic Church, Christianity and Opus Dei,^[2] and to understand the black legend against Opus Dei.^[3]

Purpose

According to Plunkett, the purpose of his book was to "re-inform our contemporaries" because "We are entering an era where Christianity is not known to the public."^[4] He sees that The Da Vinci Code sends the following message:^[3][4]

• Opus Dei is a monster
• Opus Dei is a product of the Church
• The Church makes monsters

He believes that Opus Dei is a "concentrate" of what our times accuse the Roman Catholic Church of. By casting light on the daughter (Opus Dei), he said, he was casting light on the mother (the Catholic Church).^[4]

Plunkett begun his research when he found out that 31% of French readers believed in the contents of The Da Vinci Code, although he already had an initial idea of conducting an investigation when there was media consensus against the beatification of Josemaría Escrivá in 1992.^[2]

Content

The poor image of Opus Dei, Plunkett concluded, is due in part to the Opus Dei strategy of silence or "discretion".^[3][4] He is certain that members and officers of Opus Dei committed mistakes that contributed to this poor image.^[4] "But nothing, in fact, corresponds to the charges (even hugely improbable) that circulate against Opus Dei," he stated.^[3] The error of Opus Dei was to extend its system of "discretion" (born of the Spanish situation) beyond the borders of Spain.^[3] This gave Opus Dei an image of a secret society. The reason it fells into this error was its great confidence in the universality of its form of organization. And it took The Da Vinci Code for Opus Dei to understand how this discretion has harmed it.^[4]

Plunkett asserts that his investigation has led to surprising discoveries.^[3] "It is not the left that opened hostilities against Opus Dei but the extreme wing of the Francoist government in Spain of the 1940s, because Josemaria Escriva refused to integrate with the official ideology of the time! "Holy Mafia", "White freemasonry': all these terms which our present-day media make use of today when they speak of Opus Dei, have been forged in Spain for over sixty years by the newspapers of the Falange."^[4]

As to the reason why the black legends against Opus Dei ran across the decades, Plunkett provides this explanation:^[3][4]

• From 1970 to the present, society projected its successive fantasies on Opus Dei, according to the "needs" of every era.
• The 70s media brought back the idea of Opus Dei rightist mafia that was opposed to the ideas of 1968.
• The 80s saw Opus Dei as representing the "cult" which was an enemy of individualistic hedonism and consumerism.
• The 90s decided that the conservative shift of John Paul II can only be explained by a conspiracy hatched by Opus Dei.

After September 11, 2001, the media dressed up Opus Dei again into something else: "the secret network that is plotting the victory of the Christian West." European opinion leaders were threatened by Islam but didn't want to deal with it, and so they posed as critics of all fundamentalism in religion. They attribute this fundamentalism in the Catholic Church to Opus Dei.^[4]

Between 2001 and 2006, the myth of Opus Monster was fed by the appearance of Christianophobia or Catholic phobia in the wealthy Western societies, especially France. After September 11, our opinion leaders decided that all religions are dangerous.^[3] They searched among the Catholic groups what would embody the fundamentalism that they saw in Islamic groups. And they chose Opus Dei. This is the latest mutation of a virus containing a black legend.^[3]

Thus, Plunkett said that from age to age, society uses the myth of the Opus Dei monster for different reasons, even contradictory to each other. Opus Dei, the "enemy of today's values" for the Falange is still the "enemy of today's values" for the liberals.^[4]

Enquête sur le « monstre » explains the success of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code on the popular image which has been carved through the decades, an image to which Dan Brown can easily add another layer, even darker and scarier, because the public has already been accustomed to see Opus Dei as a monster. Thus, Plunkett dedicates a chapter on conspiracy theories throughout the centuries: Jesuit conspiracy, Masonic conspiracy, Jewish conspiracy.^[4]

Plunkett is perplexed whether the monstrosity that scares both the rightist Spaniard of the 1940s and the contemporary journalist is really monstrous or it is Opus Dei's vision of life, the Catholic vision of life, something that escapes the "politically correct" of each era, i.e. those who are behave in ideologic conformity to an orthodox authority of a specific time.

Today, Plunkett sees Opus Dei has learned the lessons of The Da Vinci Code. It has learned that its traditional discretion has backfired, and that in this day and age transparency is security. "It is essential for people to understand who we exactly are, and what we do, and why we do what we do."^[4]

As to the nature of Opus Dei, he described it as a "service station", providing members and other active people some spiritual services which they ask for, providing advice, methods of prayer, study, evenings of reflection in small groups.^[3] Some of the "users" make a special contract to make a permanent bond between themselves and the service station.^[3]

Many of the members of Opus Dei are engaged in schools, universities, clinics, hospitals, and welfare centers.^[3] He also investigated the accusation on whether there is a financial octopus in Opus Dei, and also the well-known companies created by the laity of Opus Dei, managed by them according to its culture.^[3] He concluded that these companies do not belong to Opus Dei: the money from these corporations - charitable donations, the potential benefits - is not sent to Rome.^[3] If money was sent to Rome, these companies would go bankrupt, he said.^[3] One of the surprises in his investigation is that there is no evidence that Opus Dei functions as a "money pump".^[3]

Research process

According to Plunkett, Opus Dei was at first cautious about cooperating with the investigation but later on cooperated willingly when it was seen that the investigation was to their advantage due to the success of The Da Vinci Code.^[2]

He also investigated about Opus Dei in other sectors of the Catholic Church, including the Vatican and the dioceses with secular and anticlerical historians. He placed special emphasis on the younger generation of Spanish researchers. He also went to various countries of Europe and Latin America.^[2]

Footnotes

1.  Rendez-vous manqué avec l'Opus Dei in Libre
2.  Interview with Plunkett in the Opus Dei page
3.  Interview exclusif de Patrice de Plunkett, auteur d'une nouvelle enquête sur l'Opus Dei Par Pr. Youri Davincikof
4.  Entretien avec l’auteur de L’Opus Dei – Enquête sur le « monstre », Zenit

References

• Interview exclusif de Patrice de Plunkett, auteur d'une nouvelle enquête sur l'Opus Dei
• Zenit interview with Plunkett
• Interview in the Opus Dei page
• Entretin avec l'auteur de L'Opus Dei: enquete sur le monstre, Catholique.org
• Rendezvous Manque avec L'Opus Dei, La libre.be