The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: The Value of Sacrifice

The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

The Value of Sacrifice

1. SACRIFICE IS THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE! A father and a mother make many sacrifices to feed, clothe and shelter their family. Without sacrifice, there is no love. The spirit of sacrifice is the spirit of Christianity. Jesus sacrificed everything for love of you and your salvation. Are you willing to make this sacrifice for love of Him, that our parish may give Him the glory of having perpetual adoration of the blessed Sacrament?

2. GOD WILL BLESS YOU TEN TIMES AS MUCH FOR MAKING THIS SACRIFICE! The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament of God's infinite generosity towards man. When we are generous in our response to Him in this sacrament of love, God pours out His infinite goodness upon all mankind. God will bless you, your family and the world ten times as much for this sacrifice BECAUSE GOD CANNOT BE OUTDONE IN GENEROSITY. Whatever we give to Him, He gives us back ten, a hundred times as much. Those who are generous and willing to make a sacrifice by taking one of the most difficult hours are the ones who bring down God's blessings upon the earth like rain that pours forth from the heavens. This is why Pope John Paul II exclaimed: "Let us be generous in our time in going to meet Him..." (Dominicae Cenae)

3. SACRIFICE IS THE KEY TO REPARATION! Evil must be overcome with good. Greater evil must be overcome with greater good. The extraordinary evils of the world today must be overcome with the extraordinary good of perpetual adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Your sacrifice in spending one hour each week in the middle of the night will repair for the evils of the world and open up the floodgate of God's merciful love upon all mankind. This is why our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II in calling for "unceasing adoration" asks us to be "ready" to sacrifice that we may "make reparation for the evils of the world." (Dominicae Cenae)

4. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL UNITE OUR COUNTRY AND BRING PEACE TO THE WORLD! "Today solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is the grace and need of our time. Society will be restored and renewed when all its members group themselves around our Emmanuel." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

5. DON'T BE AFRAID! Don't be afraid to come out in the middle of the night. There has never been a single case of anyone being harmed in the middle of the night going to or coming from adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. On the contrary, the Blessed Sacrament is the safest place to be, the safest place to go, and the safest place to come from. Jesus is the Light that casts out all darkness. Where He is adored. the devil flees. The Jesus that dwells in the Blessed Sacrament is the same Jesus in the Gospel who cast out the demons, calmed the storms, cured the sick and raised the dead. He says, "Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid!" (Mark 6:50) Before going to make your holy hour, when you are lying in bed in the middle of the night, think of these words from Scriptures: "You have nothing whatsoever to fear from Him! Get up! He is calling you!" (Mk. 10:50)

6. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL MAKE THE STREETS SAFE FOR GOD'S PEOPLE! The Bible (Haggai and Zechariah) states that God will make the streets safe for His people when they become "zealous for His glory in the sanctuary." Those willing to make a sacrifice and keep Jesus company in the middle of the night are the ones who are "zealous for His glory in the sanctuary." They are the ones that will release God's power and make the streets safe for His people. When we unite ourselves with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we unite ourselves with all the power on earth and in heaven. When you go before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, you release His power and His graces upon the whole world. This is why Jesus said, "If you had the faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, 'be uprooted and transplanted,' and it will obey you."

Those who are willing to make a sacrifice and come to Jesus in the middle of the night have that faith! They put their faith in the greatest power on earth. This is why the crime rate actually goes down in those neighborhoods where the church has perpetual adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

7. BE A "PRAYER WARRIOR FOR PEACE!" Countless men throughout the ages have made many sacrifices to go to war. How few men are willing to make even a small sacrifice in order to bring about peace. There has never been a weak army that has ever won a battle against a stronger one. Evil prevails throughout the world to day because those who are against God are willing to make more sacrifices than those who are for God. There is a spiritual warfare going on today between good and evil. This is the greatest war in the history of humanity because the destiny of the Church and the world are in the balance. There is a spiritual "red alert." Who will awake from the complacency of indifference and become a soldier for Christ, a prayer warrior for peace? Who will be a man of God and take up the spiritual arms of prayer and sacrifice? "Stir into flame the gift God has bestowed upon you. The spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit but rather, one that makes us strong." (1 Tim. 1:6-7). Who will answer the appeal of Christ who calls out in the middle of the night. "Could you not watch one hour with me?"

8. SACRIFICE IS THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE! The Eucharist is the greatest expression of God's love for you. In the Divine Eucharist, Jesus gives you the gift of Himself, all He has, and all He is. St. Augustine says of the Holy Eucharist: "Although God is all powerful, He is unable to give more; though supremely wise, He knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, He has not more to give." Give Jesus the sacrifice of spending an hour with Him in the middle of the night and it will be the perfect expression of your appreciation for the gift of His infinite love for you in the Holy Eucharist.

9. YOUR SACRIFICE THANKS HIM FOR ALL HE HAS DONE FOR YOU! Through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we have the gift of the Holy Eucharist. Good Friday follows Holy Thursday because the passion and death of Jesus was the price that He paid so that we may have divine, immortal, everlasting life in Him in the new and everlasting covenant of the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist flows from our Lord's passion. He poured out His very last drop of Blood on the Cross so that He may fill you with His divine love each time that you receive Him in Holy Communion. What a wonderful opportunity we have in thanking Him for this great gift! Your sacrifice of spending an hour with Jesus in the middle of the night is thanking Him for all the sufferings that He endured to give us the gift of the Holy Eucharist.

10. WHAT SACRIFICE CAN BE COMPARED TO HIS? Jesus gave up His body on the Cross for love of you that He may give His body to you in the Holy Eucharist, making Himself one with you forever in everlasting glory. Like wheat which is beaten, broken and crushed before it becomes bread, Jesus was willing to be beaten, broken and crushed in His passion that He may become for us the "Living Bread come down from heaven." He said, "The Bread I will give to you is My Flesh for the life of the world." Jesus continues to immolate Himself in sacrificial love for us in the Holy Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus is the "Immaculate Victim," the Sacrificial Lamb. Does the sacrifice of spending one hour with Him in the middle of the night even begin to compare to the sacrifice that He has made and continues to make for love of us in the Blessed Sacrament?

11. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL WIN GRACES FOR MANY! After the last supper, Jesus went to the garden to pray. As He began to pray He started to sweat blood because He realized that the gift of the Holy Eucharist that He had just given mankind on Holy Thursday night would be appreciated by so few and rejected by so many. He saw down through the ages. He saw how many would walk away from His Eucharistic love and not even bother to come to Mass on Sunday. He saw in how many tabernacles of the world He would be left alone and forgotten. He saw how few would believe in His Real Presence and fewer still would respond to His appeal to be loved day and night in the Blessed Sacrament. He saw how most people would live their lives as if He were not here, God living among His people in the Blessed Sacrament. He comes to bring so many graces and blessings, and yet so few come to receive them. "He came into His own, and yet His own received Him not." Your sacrifices will gain many graces for those who are far from Jesus and bring them back to Him in the Blessed Sacrament.

12. YOUR SACRIFICE CONSOLED JESUS IN THE GARDEN! When Jesus was in the garden, an angel from heaven came to console Him. This angel consoled Jesus by showing Him every Holy Hour that you would ever make. Jesus saw the many sacrifices you would make to get up in the middle of the night each week to keep Him company in the Blessed Sacrament for one hour. These sacrifices greatly comforted, consoled, strengthened and encouraged Him. When Jesus saw your sacrifice before Him in the garden, He knew then that His love would be returned for He was about to make for us the greatest sacrifice of all whereby He said: "Greater love than this no man has than to lay down his life for his friends."

13. YOUR SACRIFICE CONSOLES JESUS NOW! When Jesus was in the garden, Scripture says that "His heart was filled with sorrow to the point of death." He came to give Himself to humanity through the gift of the Holy Eucharist, yet, so many would reject His Eucharistic love. Rejection broke His heart. "He looked for one who would comfort Him but found none." He called on His apostles to comfort Him, but they preferred to sleep because it was in the middle of the night. They slept through Christ's greatest crisis even after He pleaded with them, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" You are the apostles of Christ today. Today is another hour of great crisis. Today, Jesus calls out to you in the middle of the night, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" He looks to you to comfort Him now!

14. YOUR SACRIFICE CHANGES HIS PAIN TO CONSOLATION! Whenever you see a picture of Jesus, you see a crown of thorns around His Sacred Heart. Jesus explains that these thorns symbolize the pain of rejection that He experiences in the Blessed Sacrament because of the indifference, coldness and ingratitude of men. Mysteriously, He said that He suffers more now because of men's ingratitude toward His love in the Blessed Sacrament than He did during His entire passion. Your sacrifice of keeping Jesus company each week in the middle of the night will change the many thorns in His heart into many flowers of consolation. Your willingness to do something extra will make up for those who are unwilling to do anything at all.

15. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL MAKE YOU THE OASIS OF THE HEART OF JESUS! The special delivery message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to you is: "Behold this heart which has loved men so much, and yet is loved so little in return. I thirst with such a terrible thirst to be loved by you in the Blessed Sacrament." The Blessed Sacrament is Jesus, the God-Man sacred in His divinity, sacred in His humanity. His heart is the most sensitive of all hearts. The Blessed Sacrament is the infinite desire of Jesus to love and to be loved. This desire makes Him a prisoner of love in the Blessed Sacrament. This desire makes Him vulnerable, capable of being wounded by man's indifference capable of being healed and delighted by man's response. The divine vulnerability of the humanity of Jesus makes Him infinitely lovable, for it teaches us that His heart is not made of wood, it is not a stone. It is a heart of flesh like yours and mine. For this reason He is not indifferent to your love like He could take it or leave it. Your love is meaningful to Him, so meaningful that He yearns for it. Like one who searches for an oasis in the desert, Jesus searches for love in a cold world. Your sacrifice will make you "the oasis of His heart."

16. YOUR SACRIFICE MAKES UP FOR THE INGRATITUDE OF OTHERS! Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one came back to give Him thanks for the miracle of a clean body. Jesus said: "Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine?" Every Sunday Jesus performs a far greater miracle for us. The gift of the Holy Eucharist makes us immortal with divine life. Each communion will leave our soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in heaven. In spite of the fact that Jesus asks us to give thanks for this great gift by coming back during the week and visiting Him in the Blessed Sacrament, only a very few do. Your sacrifice will make up for the ingratitude of "the other nine," for the many who never think of visiting Him at all.

17. GOD WILL HONOR YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY! Consider the humble sacrifice that the shepherds and the three Wise Men made in their long journey to adore the Christ Child. Only the humble shepherds and the wise astrologers followed the star of faith to Bethlehem. He was the King, much greater than they were. No journey was too long because any trouble they had was infinitely worth the sacrifice. When they saw Him, they bowed down before Him. Where was the rest of the world? Who could understand then that the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes was the hidden Incarnate Word of God? He came quietly and lovingly. Only the humble and wise could see the humble Jesus lying in a manger. The rest of the world passed Him by. Look at how God has never stopped honoring the shepherds and the magi for honoring His Son in Bethlehem. The humble sacrifice of their long journey is praised in Scripture. And around the world in every church and Christian home at Christmas, they are included in every Nativity scene. In the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus comes to us even more humbly than He did before. That is why your sacrifice will give God even greater glory than the glory given Him by the shepherds and the three Wise Men. And God will honor you even more than the shepherds and the three Wise Men for all eternity for honoring His Son in the Blessed Sacrament with the humility of your sacrifice!

18. JESUS WILL CALL YOU "BLESSED!" The Holy Eucharist is the continuation of Christ's Incarnation on earth, where the same Jesus born two thousand years ago in Bethlehem is truly present with us now as He was then. Again, He comes quietly and humbly. Again, only the humble can see with the eyes of faith the humble Jesus hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. This is the faith that prompts you to come out in the middle of the night to adore Him. If He were visible and we could see Him with our senses, everyone would run out to welcome Him even in the middle of the night. But he remains hidden in the Blessed Sacrament because He is calling us to faith that we may come to Him in humility Your sacrifice is the gold, frankincense and myrrh that pleases Him. Your sacrifice is of more value than all the gifts in the world. Your sacrifice is the key that opens the door of His Heart and allows the gifts of His graces and blessings to flow to the whole world in order that the promise of Jesus' coming may be fulfilled: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of goodwill." This is why Jesus calls you "blessed," when He said, "Thomas, you believe because you see Me. Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe."

19. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL BRING SOULS TO HEAVEN! Our Lady of Fatima said that there are more souls going to hell because there is no one to pray and make sacrifices for them. The sacrifice you make by spending an hour with Jesus in the middle of the night will save many souls from hell and bring many souls to heaven. The love you give to Jesus in this special sacrifice will win pardon and forgiveness for those who do not love Him at all. The value of your sacrifice is expressed in the Reparation Prayer of Fatima: "My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, I hope and I love thee. I beg pardon for all those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, do not hope and do not love Thee."

20. YOUR SACRIFICE WILL CONVERT THE WORLD! Our Lady's "Peace Plan" calls for prayer, penance and sacrifice. She said that if her requests were met, Russia would be converted, Her Immaculate Heart would triumph, and there would be an everlasting peace on the face of the earth. Through the angel of Fatima, heaven taught us the secret of how to convert the whole world through the great power of Eucharistic adoration. The angel brought a Sacred Host and taught us this adoration prayer: "O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly, I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. BY THE INFINITE MERITS OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS and the merits of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg you for the CONVERSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD." Perpetual adoration is the perfect fulfillment of all the requests of Our Lady of Fatima for prayer, penance and sacrifice. Your sacrifice will convert the whole world to Christ!

21. THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS IS GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO US! The Mass is the renewal of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Through this perfect sacrifice, we offer the Father the perfect praise, love and thanksgiving of His Son. Through the Mass we offer God perfect worship. Your sacrifice is thanksgiving to God for the greatest of His gifts, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Your sacrifice is joined to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus in the continuous praise offered to the Heavenly Father for the salvation of souls.

22. JESUS WILL MAKE UP FOR YOUR LOSS OF SLEEP! God is the giver of time. The sacrifice of time you give to Him in the middle of the night will come back to you. The joy you experience the next day in the gift you have given to God will make it seem as if you had made no sacrifice at all! If you have difficulty at work the next day, you can always go to bed one or two hours earlier on the night that you have to get up. Or, if you get a little sleepy the next day, you can always go to bed earlier that night. Many people who make this sacrifice learn to adjust by going to bed earlier on the night they have to make the sacrifice. Some get more sleep in this way than they ordinarily do on a regular night.

23. BE LIKE ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE! Only John had the courage to follow Jesus all the way to the Cross. Because of his spirit of sacrifice, he is known as "the Apostle whom Jesus loved." Be willing to make a sacrifice by keeping Jesus company for one hour each week in the middle of the night, and you too, for all eternity, will be known in heaven as "the Apostle whom Jesus loves."

If the thought of getting up in the middle of the night seems like too much of an inconvenience to you, the secret is to think of Jesus instead of yourself. Think of the scene in the gospel of Jesus' crying and weeping over Jerusalem: "How I have longed to gather you together, as a mother hen gathers her little chicks, yet you wouldst not." This scene is as true today as it was then. Jesus longs with infinite longing for everyone to come to Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Yet He is rejected today as He was then. Your sacrifice will help bring all humanity to Him and bring about that day "where every knee will bend and proclaim Him Lord." Jesus longs with infinite longing to make all men one in His Eucharistic Heart. Yet mankind is torn with war and division. Your sacrifice will help in a great way fulfill His theme at the last Supper, "May they all be one."

At the Last Supper, how privileged John was to come close to the Lord and rest his head on the heart of Jesus. The experience of the love of Jesus gave John the spirit of sacrifice and enabled him to follow our Lord all the way to the Cross. You are even more privileged than John in being invited to spend an hour with Jesus in the middle of the night. Before the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus calls you to come close to Him and rest your head on His Sacred Heart. His infinite love for you will make this sacrifice a joy and forever, you will be known in heaven like John, as "the Apostle whom Jesus loves."

24. MIRACLES OF LOVE John heard a voice crying out from heaven that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is worthy of the unceasing adoration of men for all He has done for our salvation. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor, glory and praise." John saw the faith of the people in action. They were going before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the "Lamb on the Throne" day and night "without pause." From Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Lamb of God, there flowed a river of grace and love that "healed all the nations." This is the power, the value and the importance of your sacrifice! Your sacrifice will heal all nations.

This is what Jesus meant when He said: "If you believe in my love in the Blessed Sacrament, If you really believe in My love, then you shall see miracles of My love."

Is there a relative, a friend, a loved one, whom you are deeply concerned about? Put him, or her, or all of them, into the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Be convinced that Jesus will really help them. Have absolute confidence and trust in the power of His love to bring them back to His Sacred Heart. He promised: "I will reign in every heart, in every home, in every country throughout the entire world. I will reign through the Omnipotent, all-powerful love of My Eucharistic Heart."

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(The Purpose of this pamphlet is to help us understand the value of being willing to make a sacrifice by spending one hour each week in the middle of the night with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament so that our parish may have the great Blessing of having Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration.)

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APOSTOLATE FOR PERPETUAL ADORATION P.O. BOX 46502 44441 ELIZABETH MT. CLEMENS, MICHIGAN 48043

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