A modern need for adoration

St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) born near Grenoble in France – an Apostle of the Eucharist - and founder of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation is especially remembered today.  A strong feature of his life, as with so many saints, were the many trials and tribulations he faced in responding to his vocation from opposition within his family, especially his father, to difficulties in the religious congregation he joined and later in establishing the congregation he founded. His physical health was fragile throughout.  At a young age he felt drawn to the Blessed Sacrament and a vocation to the priesthood. 

The mission of the congregation he founded is to spread knowledge and love of Jesus in the Eucharist everywhere. In practice, many of its communities carry out this mission in the heart of major cities.  By happy coincidence,

Adoration at the heart of the city

My home city, Dublin, has been blessed with the presence of the Congregation of the BlessedSacrament since 1970. A modest chapel opened that year on D'Olier Street before moving, in 1995, to Bachelor's Walk, where it remains today.

Many hundreds of people pass through its doors each day - some to pause for a prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, others to attend one of the daily Masses or celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation or, perhaps, seek spiritual help as I did from 1981 for a time. People come from every walk of life, representing a wide range of ages, backgrounds and circumstances. The visible signs of homelessness, addiction and mental health struggles that mark the streets of the city are not absent from this oasis of peace. Equally noticeable is the growing number of visitors from other continents, many of whom appear younger than those typically found in many parish congregations.

United in Christ – the eucharistic witness of Saints Peter and Paul

Today is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. St Peter, the first among the Apostles, was the rock on which Jesus built his Church. Saint Paul was the Apostle who, in a particular way, brought the Gospel to the Gentiles. Both ended their lives in Rome, where they were martyred.

Tradition recognises Peter as having oversight of the early Christian community, and as the first Bishop of Rome, the beginning of a line of bishops who would lead the Church there and exercise a ministry of unity and oversight among all the churches throughout the world.

Given up for all

St Thomas More (1478–1535), whose feast day we mark today, was a martyr of the English Reformation. He is the patron saint of lawyers, statesmen and politicians. His memory was powerfully brought to life for a modern audience in the celebrated 1960s film A Man for All Seasons, in which he was portrayed by Paul Scofield.

An Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament

One thousand years ago, a certain Saint Norbert (1080-1134) helped pioneer devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.  He is known as the Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament.  His deep personal devotion to the Eucharist including a regular offering of Mass and devotion of significant time to prayer at the altar enabled him to win hearts and minds.  His witness was highly significant at a time of disunity and disruption in the church. As an article published by the online resource aleteia.org said about him:

St. Norbert is traditionally depicted holding a monstrance, highlighting the deep devotion he had to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and his missionary zeal in proclaiming belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Many other saints in the centuries that followed took his example.  Today, more than ever, we need apostles of the Eucharist who will witness to God’s love in the heart of the city.

Food for body and soul

In a previous blog, A second-century ceebration of the Mass, I considered the writings and witness of a very early Christian martyr, St Justin Martyr (c. AD 100–165) whose feast day we celebrate today.  St Justin gives one of the earliest and clearest accounts of the Eucharist in which we receive not common bread and drink but the actual flesh and blood of Jesus. This transformation occurs in the Eucharist in the prayer of thanksgiving.  It is a gift to all baptised Christians who stand in unity with the core beliefs and teachings of the Christian community.  His descriptions place the Eucharist at the centre of the week on the Day of Resurrection. 

A Sunday without the Eucharist, in my view, makes no sense;  none.